India News | Bengaluru to Host Two-day Conference of Tourism, Culture Ministers of Southern Region
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A two-day conference of tourism and culture ministers of southern India is set to take place in Bengaluru starting Thursday, aiming to apprise various stakeholders about the projects and initiatives being taken by the Centre for the development of the region.
New Delhi, Oct 27 (PTI) A two-day conference of tourism and culture ministers of southern India is set to take place in Bengaluru starting Thursday, aiming to apprise various stakeholders about the projects and initiatives being taken by the Centre for the development of the region.
Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are slated to address at the event on October 28, officials said on Wednesday.
The event is expected to be attended by the Union ministers of state for tourism, senior officials from various central ministries, state governments, Union Territory administrations, and media and industry stakeholders, they said.
The conference is taking place three months after the Ramappa temple at Palampet in Telangana's Warangal was conferred the tag of UNESCO World Heritage site.
The temple, a 13th century engineering marvel named after its architect, Ramappa, was proposed by the government as its only nomination for the UNESCO World Heritage site tag for the year 2019.
A large number of iconic and historic heritage sites are located in southern region of India.
The country at present has 40 World Heritage Sites, both cultural and natural, spanning across the country.
The states and UTs in the southern region are endowed with diverse tourist attractions and each state or UT has its own distinct features, the Ministry of Tourism said in a statement on the eve of the conference.
The two-day programme will have presentations by tourism, shipping, railways and environment ministries, Archaeological Survey of India, NITI Aayog to "apprise the participants about the various projects and initiatives being taken by the central government for the development of the region," it said.
The Ministry of Tourism said it is continuously working on different verticals like infrastructure development, promotion and publicity, skill development, to facilitate the development of overall tourism in the region.
Representatives of state governments and UTs from the region will also be making presentations on the status of the tourism sector in their states and latest initiatives being taken by them for development of tourism.
During the sessions, discussion on heritage and cultural tourism initiatives, rail tourism, skill development, potential of cruise tourism in the southern region will also be held, officials said.
The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination, including southern region states and UTs on various platforms, including digital, print and social media. Since April 2020, under 'Dekho Apna Desh' campaign, the Ministry of Tourism is conducting webinars on various tourism products, including dedicated webinars on states and UTs of the southern region.
The connectivity by air, rail and road to various destinations in the region is excellent and sought-after destinations by many, the officials said.
The Ministry of Tourism has concentrated on the issues of skill development in tourism sector, and creating a pool of well-trained and professional tourist facilitators is essential for providing world-class services to the tourists, promotion and marketing for creating awareness about the destination in the domestic and international markets, they said.
"As the domestic tourism is showing a great surge in the last few months and as the borders will be open for international tourists soon, building confidence and trust of the tourists is extremely important," it said.
In this connection, the health ministry has already notified COVID-19 safety and hygiene protocols. The ministry has put in place a System for Assessment, Awareness and Training in Hospitality Industry (SAATHI) to ensure compliance with Covid safety guidelines and to ensure safety and health of employees and customers, the tourism ministry said.
The Ministry of Tourism undertakes development of infrastructure at tourist destinations across the country under its infrastructure development schemes viz. Swadesh Darshan (SD) and PRASHAD (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive), it added.
In the Swadesh Darshan scheme, 76 projects have been sanctioned across India, which also includes projects from southern region states and UTs, the statement said.
Under the scheme, projects have been sanctioned in different themes such as Coastal Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Eco Circuit, Spiritual Circuit. Under the PRASHAD scheme, 37 projects have been sanctioned in India, which also include projects from the southern states. These efforts are expected to culminate in a major fillip to the tourism sector in the region, it said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)