New Delhi: TV9 Network Travel and Tourism and Travel Summit saw some illustrious luminaries on stage on Monday. The discussion on spiritual, cultural and natural wonders of India had Mugdha Sinha, Niharika Rai IAS, Keshav Murari Das, Shivraj Singh and Shriji Huzur Dr Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar as the panelists.
Mugdha Sinha said that India is a modern nation. Over 2700 million people travelled through India, double the number of travellers across the world. We have 2 million hotel rooms, aspiring to go up to 3 million by next year, she said.
Jyoti Mayal is the CEO of Red Hat Communications and Director New Airways Travel. She said that we need private partnership. This means that the private partner takes over, not the government. India’s show window may be useless, but the stuff is wonderful. We have a different palate, in Europe the food remains the same everywhere, she added. India is rich but we need skilling, so that they can showcase our country, she added. We are all ambassadors of our country, said Mayal.
India has invested in getting some pilgrim centres right. Bulk of tourism in India comes from the pilgrimage centres. Pilgrim centres are driving tourism growth in the country. Devasthan Department in Rajasthan subsidises religious travel across India. This is a department run by the Rajasthan government to help locals travel internally and see India.
IAS Niharika Rai says there is much more to Delhi culturally than what we usually see. We lack publicity, but now we are doing it. We have been promoting Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Several water bodies and baolis are there in Delhi which no one knows about.
Rai said that several natural parks are also coming up in Delhi. Delhi is much more than its monuments. It is a food destination, she added. Food is much more than just Chandni Chowk. Delhi is a hub of different kinds of tourism, said Rai. I request everyone to promote their own country, instead of going to foreign countries and flaunting it on social media.
Spiritual leader Keshav Murari Das says, we have Himalayas, a desert and an ocean. We have a very rich culture of spirituality. There are 350 ISKCON centres in the country. Kashi, Tirupati temples and several temples encourage people to come out of their comfort zone and visit these spiritual places. We also encourage foreigners to visit these temples, he added.
There is a lot of rush in Indian temples now, said Das. Proper arrangements must be made for devotees to encourage tourism, he added.
Shivraj Singh said, people come to India because of what it has to offer. Kerala, Northeast, Ladakh all have their own unique things to offer. What India lacks is good publicity. We need all foreign tourist offices to be opened, he added. We need to have good infrastructure, he said. We lack 5-star hotels in Delhi, he said.
Shriji Huzur Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, said we took a risk in turning our homes into a hotel. This was not a popular thing. We have reached a time when Venice will be known as Udaipur of the West, earlier, Udaipur was known as Venice of East, he said.
Udaipur is known for its weddings now, said Mewar. Several hotels are under construction in Udaipur, he added. Religious tourism has a phenomenal impact on hotels.