By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 6 Mar: After the conclusion of the one- day tour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Harsil in Uttarkashi, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, following a directive by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, has written an official letter to the Secretary, Tourism, and has directed immediate action on the initiatives mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to boost tourism in Uttarakhand.
During his visit to Mukhwa (Mukhba) and Harsil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had in his speech, included several key points and suggestions to promote round the year tourism in the state. As directed by the CM, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi has asked the tourism secretary that necessary measures should be implemented promptly, and updates should be reported to her on a regular basis.
In her letter to the Secretary, Tourism, the Chief Secretary mentioned several important points raised by PM Modi that need to be get special focus from the tourism department. These include:
MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) activities; development and promotion of wedding destinations; promotion of winter tourism; promotion of the state as a preferred destination for film industry and shooting and adoption of best practices from other countries in tourism. She also reminded that Modi has also spoken about promoting hot springs as wellness destinations.
In addition, as desired by the PM, special focus will be also laid on activities such as spa services; promoting local cuisine; winter yoga retreats (by encouraging Yoga gurus for this), promoting Winter Wildlife Sanctuaries, and involving content creators for information dissemination; organising competitions among content creators and influencers to identify the best clips on Winter Tourism in Uttarakhand.
Raturi further notes that, as desired by PM Modi, the government should develop a plan for a year-round (365 days) tourism programme. Additionally, homestays should be made eligible for Mudra Loans, and hotels should be granted infrastructure status. She also reiterated PM Modi’s suggestion that winter tourism should be promoted as “Ghaam Taap Paryatan.”
