Parliamentary Committee recommends govt to formulate promotional strategy to position India as a favoured tourism destination

Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has recommended the government to formulate an integrated marketing and promotional strategy to position India as a favoured tourism destination in the tourism generating markets overseas. The Committee has also suggested that the Ministry of Transport, Tourism and Culture should adopt a strategy to increase India's share of the global tourism market from the present 1.24 per cent to 5 per cent in the years to come. The recommendation was submitted in the 'Three Hundred Thirteenth Report on Promotion of Indian Tourism in Overseas Markets-Role of Overseas Tourist Offices and Indian Embassies". The report was laid in both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on Thursday. The report was adopted by the Committee on January 31. In its recommendation, the Committee said, it is of the firm view that focussed marketing and promotion efforts go a long way in promoting the growth of inbound tourism to India. "The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry should formulate an integrated marketing and promotional strategy to position India as a favoured tourism destination in the tourism generating markets overseas and increase India's share of the global tourism market from the present 1.24 per cent to 5 per cent in the years to come," mentions the report. "The Committee feels that one of the effective steps in this direction would be re-casting the website of the Ministry in an attractive and user-friendly manner." The modern tourism industry is a key driver of socio-economic growth through the creation of jobs, infrastructure development and the export revenues earned because it has the potential to stimulate other sectors through its backward and forward leakages and cross-sectoral synergies with airlines, transport, basic infrastructure, agriculture and handicrafts.