The Hindu Business Line : BIMSTEC meet pitches for tourism revival

Ms Renuka Chowdhury, Union Minister of State for Tourism, lights the lamp to inaugurate the three-day Round Table and workshop of Tourism Ministers from BIMSTEC countries along with heads of delegations from Bhutan, Myanmar, West Bengal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Nepal, in Kolkata on Monday. — Parth Sanyal

Kolkata , Feb. 21

THE Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) tourism ministers' conference opened here on Monday with a call for greater co-operation among member-nations in the area of tourism. The three-day conference was inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Tourism, Ms Renuka Chowdhury.

Calling upon the members to garner resources to revive tourism in the tsunami-affected areas, Ms Chowdhury said that tourism had been booming in 2004, with arrivals growing by 23 per cent in Thailand, 26 per cent in India and 13 per cent in Sri Lanka. However, the catastrophic tsunami had battered many of the countries in the region, leaving thousands of people affected by personal tragedies and the loss of livelihood and property.

Stating that the tourism potential in the region had remained untapped, Ms Chowdhury called upon the participating tourism ministers of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan to exchange expertise in the field. She assured all possible support from India to promote tourism in South Asia.

The Union Tourism Minister indicated that her ministry would soon announce a package for the development of tourism in the North-Eastern States, aimed at linking the Eastern region States with the North-East. The prevailing practice of insisting on "inner land" permits would be done away with in the North-East, which would be connected by air links. "Mountain airlines" would be welcomed in these States, subject to the approval of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry.

She said that the conference was being held here as a follow-up of the Bangkok round of deliberations held in July 2004. It was pointed out that India looked forward to collaborating for co-branding, aggressive promotion and product diversification in an effort to produce results. This alone would enable the region to emerge as a major tourist destination for the world at large, which, in turn, would result in higher foreign exchange earnings and quicker economic growth, she added.

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