Considering the growing popularity of religious and heritage tourism, the Uttar Pradesh government will be coming out with three new travel circuits besides a slew of measures aimed at attracting more visitors to the culturally rich state. |
"The Uttar Pradesh government is coming out with a new tourism policy shortly. It would focus on attractive taxation, besides development of infrastructure, like hotels, sites, and forest and tourism resorts," State Tourism Minister Kokab Hamid said in an interview. |
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The new policy would include the formation of three new tourist circuits to attract tourists from different parts of the world as well as from all over the country, he said. |
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The three new circuits will be in addition to the existing seven, including the Buddhist circuit, which will celebrate the 2,500th birth anniversary of Lord Buddha from May 14, 2006 to April 2007. |
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The centre has already constituted a committee headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to organise this festival, which is likely to attract millions of tourists during the year-long celebrations, mainly at the buddhist sites of Sarnath, Kushinagar, Varanasi, Gaya (in Bihar) and Lumbini (adjoining the Indo-Nepal border). |
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The proposed 'Mahabharat' circuit in western Uttar Pradesh will comprise the Doad area (the Ganga-Yamuna rivers) and include various historical sites linked with the period. |
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