Dharamshala, Sep 12 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government is making significant efforts to attract 5 crore tourists annually by focusing on adventure, religious, and natural tourism infrastructure, state minister R S Bali said on Tuesday.

The government plans to spend Rs 2,500 crore on tourism development with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Bali, who is also the chairman of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, said.

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A substantial portion of this amount, Rs 1,300 crore, has already been approved. Additionally, a budget provision of Rs 400 crore has been made for promoting tourism activities in the current financial year, he said in the meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC).

Various aspects such as economic impact, tourist safety, and infrastructure development were discussed in the meeting..

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The state plans to introduce hi-tech buses for tourists, similar to those found in foreign countries, to offer comfortable and scenic transportation to tourist destinations.

(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)