State Culture and Tourism Minister Priya Sethi today emphasized on the need to draw policies and develop technologies that not only advance tourism development but are also friendly to cultural, economic and natural environment.
Inaugurating the 4th International Conference on 'Sustainable Destination Excellence: Empowering Communities for Inclusive Tourism Development' here, Sethi said the state had a unique opportunity to raise awareness on contributions of "sustainable tourism".
"A proper way to analyze sustainable tourism is to scrutinize how it can meet the needs of the host population in terms of improving standards of living in the short and long term," said Sethi.
"With 2017 having been designated as International year of sustainable tourism for development by the United Nations, we have a unique opportunity to raise awareness on contributions of sustainable tourism with regard to development among public and private sector for working together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change," she said.
Sethi said the focus of tourism development should be towards improving the lifestyle of the local people.
"The real parameters for measuring social and economic development are the improvement in condition of life and livelihood of ordinary people. The more local people gain from tourism the more they will support tourism activity and greater will be their motivation to protect natural resources and heritages," she said.
Sethi also emphasised on the importance of innovation in policy, practical technology and mechanism to achieve "sustainable tourism".
Academicians, policy makers, travel editors and industry professionals from across the country and six foreign nations are taking part in this two-day International Conference.
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