Telugu superstar and tourism minister K. Chiranjeevi here on Saturday said that his ministry has set a target of attracting one per cent of world tourists to India in next five years.
Pointing out that India was emerging a leading tourist destination with present arrival of 0.6 per cent of world tourists, Mr Chiranjeevi told reporters, “We need to accelerate the arrival of world tourists by facilitating them with best of infrastructure and presenting diverse cultural heritages of the country.”
Inaugurating the International Tourism Mart, first of its kind in the Northeast, the Telugu film star said, “As a film star, I have visited world over and with my experience, I can say that North-eastern states have tremendous potential to attract tourists from world over.”
Claiming that International Tourism Mart will go a long way in exploring the region, he said, “Buyers and media delegates from 23 countries and from different regions of the country are participating in the three-day long mart and will be engaging in one-to-one meeting with sellers from the North-eastern states and West Bengal.”
Informing that ministry has already sanctioned `560 crores in the 11th Plan for development of tourism in the Northeast, he said that his ministry was keen to make this International Tourism Mart a routine annual event for the Northeast. Around 83 buyer delegates from 23 countries including 10 countries of Asean, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Japan, Korea, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Sweeden, UK and USA are taking part in the Mart.
Besides the foreign delegates, around 70 domestic buyers from various parts of India and 108 sellers from the eight states of Northeast and West Bengal are also participating the International Tourism Mart. Mr Chiranjeevi informed that his ministry has also released domestic television campaigns to promote Northeast.