By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 6 Mar: During the interaction Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had with the representatives of various sectors of the economy at the CM’s Residence yesterday, many useful suggestions were shared with him by the representatives. A large number of suggestions received were related to the tourism sector as it has high potential to make the state achieve higher SGDP.
Sandeep Sahni, President of Uttarakhand Hotel & Restaurant Association, and former UTDB Member, submitted some important suggestions on boosting the tourism sector and improving the state’s finances. Some of the suggestions included the need to get more out of the religious and budget tourism as 80 percent of the tourists who visit the state are from this category. He also suggested mulling ways to get more value out of religious tourism while at the same time increasing footfall of high spending tourists in the state. He also suggested making it mandatory to have at least a one night stay at altitudes above 1,000 metres for acclimatisation. He also suggested restricting self kitchens for the Yatris and instead making provisions for subsidised meals on the Yatra routes in order to create more local employment and also to prevent littering on the roadsides.
Sahni further suggested introducing a state entry tax like the one in force in Himachal Pradesh. He also stressed on the need to improve the infrastructure in order to improve the experience of leisure and adventure for high spending tourists. He added that there is a need to resolve the issue of choking of all major entry points to the state and at the major tourist spots during the peak season and almost throughout the year on a priority basis.
Sahni said that Nainital and Mussoorie should be developed as Nainital & Mussoorie circuits with major infrastructure upgrades as this would ensure the high spending tourist stays longer and the experience is enhanced.
