In a transfer to faucet into its tourism potential and interact the Indian journey neighborhood, Punjab is intensifying its efforts by adopting strategic insurance policies, attracting investments, and enhancing promotions by means of roadshows and different initiatives.
The heritage-rich state, visited by over 2 crore vacationers final 12 months, is targeted on drawing each native and world guests and to drive development, the state authorities has taken numerous actions. These embrace establishing Invest Punjab, providing monetary incentives underneath the framework of the Industrial Coverage 2022, updating the Eco Tourism and Tradition Coverage, and placing into impact the Adventure Tourism & Water Tourism Policy, amongst different steps.
Notably, the state is now gearing as much as launch its Wellness Coverage. Aiming to place Punjab as a number one medical tourism vacation spot in India, Anmol Gagan Maan, the Minister of Tourism & Cultural Affairs, Funding Promotion, and Labour, emphasised the expansion potential of medical tourism and superior dental providers in Jalandhar, particularly specializing in NRI dental tourism, which is already effectively recognised throughout the diaspora.
“Our inspiration comes from Kerala’s long-standing practices. Whereas we’re simply starting to form this strategy and are at a really nascent stage, we’re keen to attract classes from their success. We’re waiting for set up ayurvedic spas and resorts in addition to meditation retreats,” mentioned Rakhee Gupta Bhandari, Principal Secretary of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.
“Punjab Tourism is actively wanting on the business’s help in shaping up this coverage and solutions on how we will construct upon our robust factors,” she added.
The state authorities can also be specializing in leveraging the Journey Tourism & Water Tourism Coverage. Bhandari talked about a noticeable rise within the reputation of water sports activities. With the introduction of the Water & Journey Tourism Coverage 2023, Punjab Tourism goals to utilise the peaceable environment ample within the state, together with riverbanks and rural landscapes.
Unveiled in February this 12 months by Maan, the Journey Tourism & Water Tourism Coverage 2023 goals to collaborate with the non-public sector for progressive water web site improvement, granting rights to boost tourism.
“The federal government recognises the immense potential inside the tourism sector of Punjab. The introduction of this coverage serves as a transparent testomony to the state authorities’s dedication to fostering the enlargement of Tourism and producing employment alternatives for the populace of Punjab,” Maan acknowledged.
Whereas the journey and tourism business in India presents accessible alternatives for ladies, it’s shadowed by persistent disparities equivalent to decrease pay, questions of safety, job safety, entry to finance, digital literacy, illustration in decision-making our bodies and gender primarily based discrimination on the office. We converse to the ladies within the business to grasp the state of affairs on floor.
“We have recognized a number of locations for selling journey and water sports activities, with Hoshiarpur, Mohalli, and Pathankot being a few of them. Watersports have already been initiated on the chosen places,” the minister shared throughout her tackle in Delhi.
She additionally welcomed energetic funding from the tourism business in these initiatives, assuring full authorities help by means of incentives and streamlined approvals.
Additional, the cornerstone of the federal government’s funding promotion technique, Make investments Punjab, goals to be a singular platform catering to funding promotion, regulatory clearances, facilitation, and post-investment help. This initiative has considerably contributed to Punjab’s excessive rating in India’s Ease of Doing Enterprise Index for 2022.
The just lately launched fiscal incentives underneath the Industrial Coverage 2022 prolong advantages to resorts with twenty or extra rooms, in addition to services for Conferences, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE). Furthermore, media and leisure ventures designed for vacationers, equivalent to amusement parks, journey parks, and thematic points of interest, are additionally included.
As per the state tourism division, these incentives will invigorate investments in eco-tourism models, farm stays, dwelling stays, tented lodging, tenting services, caravan tourism, journey and water tourism initiatives, heritage resorts, and movie manufacturing.
A web-based portal for movie taking pictures permissions in Punjab has additionally been operational on Make investments Punjab’s Enterprise First Portal since October 2020. Over 90 permissions have been granted by means of the portal, with the appliance and payment fee processes being totally on-line.
Based on the state tourism division, these new amendments and developments have been integrated within the mentioned insurance policies preserving in view the brand new developments and calls for of the business.
Maiden Tourism Summit and Journey Mart in September
In a run as much as these initiatives and introduced insurance policies, Punjab’s Tourism Minister Mann, introduced down the curtains to the 4-city roadshow in Delhi final week. Organised to advertise the state as a premier vacation spot to the tourism fraternity in Delhi, Jaipur, Mumbai, and Hyderabad, the roadshows showcased a collection of ongoing and upcoming initiatives, together with the state’s tourism choices.
Talking on the sidelines of the Delhi roadshow, Mann emphasised the federal government’s robust dedication to spice up the state’s tourism with the inaugural Punjab Tourism Summit and Travel Mart deliberate from September 11 to 13 , 2023 on the Amity College, Punjab.
Mann acknowledged that the pre-event buzz has obtained overwhelming help from commerce companions and tourism our bodies in the course of the four-city roadshow, whereas hoping that the occasion in September could be a runaway success.
The occasion is predicted to attract participation from overseas and home tour operators, DMCs, DMOs, journey commerce media, journey influencers, resort operators, B&B and farm keep proprietors, tourism boards, and extra. The agenda for the occasion consists of Data classes, B2B & B2C Mart and FAM journeys put up occasion.
Setting the stage for world tourism by 2030
As per the tourism division’s statistics, Amritsar, Roopnagar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Patiala, and Fatehgarh Sahib have already captured the pursuits of vacationers, and now the Division of Tourism is set to raise Punjab’s place on the tourism map even additional.
Punjab’s objective has expanded to create a basis for the state to emerge as a number one world vacationer vacation spot by 2030. When requested concerning the methods rolled out on this route, Bhandari defined, “With a big diaspora of NRIs, there is a robust need amongst people to return to their roots and showcase their heritage to the following generations.”
“Our predominant focus will not be solely on bold targets. As a substitute, we’re working to facilitate a reconnection with Punjab, strengthening these linkages. We plan to progressively construct on this and have a look at regular enlargement,” she shared with ETTravelWorld.
Moreover, the state additionally goals to construct on its potential in thematic circuits and create comparable circuits by means of PPP mannequin. These circuits might be available for info and reserving by means of a state tourism app which shall be out quickly. This may present complete details about the state’s different initiatives and tourism choices.
The state can also be waiting for upcoming airports in numerous cities together with Jalandhar, Ludhiana and extra, moreover being effectively linked with all the foremost cities by means of 2100 km of rail infrastructure, nearly 64,000km of roads and 5 airports. Current Worldwide airports are in Amritsar and Mohali.
Moreover, the federal government additionally plans to supply coaching and skill-building applications for ladies who’re considering totally different jobs within the tourism subject. This consists of jobs like taking good care of friends, guiding excursions, serving to prospects, and managing occasions in addition to helping girls who wish to start their very own companies associated to tourism.
Bhandari talked about that if girls are given extra energy and included within the tourism business in Punjab, it’ll make the business higher and assist the state develop.
Led by consumerism and senseless spending, throwing plastics and different rubbish is having antagonistic results on the ocean ecosystems and tourism sadly is the most important contributor. Niralee Shah, an advocate for sustainable tourism, has not solely initiated a marketing campaign however has additionally pitched the pressing want for inexperienced tourism initiatives and collaboration among the many tourism-related industries.
