A parliamentary committee has recommended a 14-fold increase in the plan allocation for the tourism sector in order to realise its full potential.
For the ninth plan, the tourism ministry has sought a plan allocation of Rs 6,397 crore, nearly 14 times higher than the amount allocated for the Eighth Plan.
The funds sought by the department for the Ninth Plan should be made available to it, the committee said in its 26th report.
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The department of tourism deserves a substantially higher allocation, specially as its plan budget outlay has stayed at 0.15 per cent of the total central plan, the committee on transport and tourism, headed by Sunder Singh Bhandari, which presented the report in Parliament last week, said.
It urged the government to take a serious look at the tourism industry.
and alleged that the present neglect by the planners was costing it.
The committee observes that despite enormous potential, the tourism sector continues to suffer from neglect at the hands of our planners.
The planning commission had made an allocation of Rs 448.74 crore for the plan schemes during the Eighth Plan while the actual expenditure was Rs 445.51 crore.
The committee said the low budgetary allocation does not leave much scope for any significant initiatives or new schemes to be undertaken by the industry and noted that much smaller countries in the region, have by investing in tourism, achieved spectacular results.
It recommended that a formal institutional mechanism in the form of the board of tourism industry and trade for effective coordination among all infrastructural departments, public sector undertakings, state governments and private sector be set up at the earliest.
This is essential as this board is expected to play a pivotal role in the strategy drawn up for the Ninth Plan, the committee said.
It noted that there was an increased pressure on the overseas offices of the industry to adjust to new technological developments like internet and emphasised the urgent need for investment in these technologies.
Given the potentially high returns to the domestic tourism industry and the economy such investments are unavoidable. Otherwise the sector may continue to find itself in the fringes of the world tourism market.
The committee said though state governments also spend money from their respective budgets on promotional material, tourists do not get suitable literature while travelling in India.
Sufficient publicity literature should be made available at important tourist places and there should not be any shortfall in utilisation of budgetary allocations meant for this purpose, it said.
The total number of tourist arrivals in India in 1996-97 was over 2.28 million, with estimated foreign exchange earnings of over Rs 10,000 crore.
Indias share in world tourist arrivals and receipts during 1996 stood at 0.39 per cent and 0.72 per cent, respectively, and the industry retained its place as the countrys third largest export industry after gems and jeweller and garments.
The committee said that fairs, festivals and rural craft melas have become a popular component of our tourism product and, therefore, recommended that efforts should be made to develop more such events through out the country.
Konark dance festival in Orissa, Surajkund crafts mela, desert festival in Jaisalmer and great elephant march in Kerala drew special mention from the committee report.