Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday laid emphasis on associating local youths with tourism, saying this will give a major boost to development prospects.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart-2019.
The chief minister said if the tourists are connected with activities in the place they are visiting, then there will be a spurt in development and employment opportunities.
Referring to Dudhwa National Park, Adityanath said, "There are many centres, which along with tourist spots, are also associated with wildlife. Be it Sonbhadra, Bundelkhand or Terai area. Tour operators can play a vital role in connecting the tourists with wildlife activities."
The operators and others working in this industry should train local youths as there should be good guides and service providers in this sector, he said, adding that they can give a major boost in taking ahead the prospects of tourism development.
Adityanath said that new development boards were set up from the point of view of spiritual tourism.
"We successfully hosted the Kumbh at Prayagraj because we formed the Prayagraj Mela Pradhikaran. Similarly, seven pilgrimage spots, including Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, Gokul and Nandgaon, have been linked to Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad," he said.
"More than 24 crore devotees participated in the world's largest spiritual, religious, and cultural congregation. Kumbh established standards with regards to cleanliness and security which was witnessed by the whole world. Be it Pravasi Bhartiya Sammelan in Kashi or Deepotsav in Ayodhya, these are being organised in UP," he said.
Adityanath said that through the Kashi Vishwanath Dhaam, the work of holistic development of the area was taken ahead.
"Uttar Pradesh is a major centre of spiritual tourism, and tourists and pilgrims visit the state in lakhs. We have also started working on establishing development boards in Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya, Vindhyawasini Dhaam and Devipatan Dhaam," he said.
The chief minister said that under the new tourism development policy, a number of hotels and restaurant chains will come up in the state.
Adityanath said tour operators will be able to translate various possibilities of tourism into reality, and the state government will help them in every possible way under the policy.
"Tour operators act as a bridge between tourists and tourism. UP is a centre of Buddhist circuit over which a lot of work has been done. A lot of work has also been done in Sarnath, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu, Shravasti. Along with this, Uttar Pradesh also has an important place in Jain tourism. The work related to the spiritual circuit and Ramayan circuit is also being done," he said in a statement issued by the UP government.
Adityanath also said Lord Ram spent most of his exile years in Chitrakoot and the government has worked on developing tourism here.
Speaking about air and road connectivity, he said, "The road and air connectivity in the state has improved compared to previous years. The work on building 11 new airports, including the international airport at Jewar, has also been expedited."
He said the work on building Purvanchal Expressway has been expedited and it will be opened for public in 2020. Similarly the Bundelkhand Expressway and other expressways will be made operational in time.
The chief minister said all district headquarters in the state have been linked by four-lane roads.
A total of 49 tour operators from 19 countries are participating in this Travel Mart, including 21 Indian tour operators, the statement said.
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