Foreign tourists: UP third in country, dept to revise policy to tap potential

In 2013, the state was placed fourth, after Delhi.

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Realising the state’s potential, the tourism department has been asked to revise the existing tourism policy. Sources said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has also given a go ahead to a first-of-its-kind International Travel Writer’s conclave in Lucknow in October, which will be followed by International Balloon Festival in November.

Recently, the tourism department had held a photography contest — “Your ticket to Uttar Pradesh” — in collaboration with National Geographic. The winners were offered stay packages at different tourist locations in UP along with prize money for air travel.

“Considering the fact that most foreign tourists coming to India land in Delhi, UP beating even Delhi in terms of foreign tourists’ arrival, is amazing. We are working on strengthening our tourism infrastructure further with the launch of different schemes,” said Director General (Tourism) Amrit Abhijat.

This year, while 29.09 lakh foreign tourists have visited UP, Tamil Nadu has seen 46.57 lakh such tourists, followed by Maharastra with 43.89 lakh. Delhi with 23.19 lakh tourists and Rajasthan with 15.25 lakh tourists have bagged the fourth and fifth positions.

As Agra with 1.18 lakh foreign tourist footfall topped the state, the Akhilesh government has decided to focus on tourism promotion projects and improvement of facilities around Taj Mahal.

On Tuesday, the state cabinet gave in-principal approval to build ‘Mughal Museum’ — worth Rs 130 crore — near the Taj. This museum will display artifacts and literature associated with the Mughal era.

The government has decided to form a committee of experts — headed by the chief secretary at the state level — and led by Agra Commissioner at ground zero to give a final shape to the museum.

Land belonging to the power department near Taj Mahal has been made available for Mughal Museum and Taj Orientation Centre.

DOMESTIC SCENE

While Uttar Pradesh managed to secure the second position after Tamil Nadu when it came to domestic tourists — as was the case in 2013 — there has been a steep fall in the actual number of domestic tourists visiting the state. Sources said around 4 crore less domestic tourists have visited UP this year, when compared to 2013.

A senior government official said: “While we have been able to maintain our second position, the low footfall is due to Maha Kumbh Mela that took place in Allahabad in 2013. Footfall of tourists in Maha Kumbh was also included in overall figures of 2013, thus in 2014, the figures show a steep fall. But if one compares the same with the 2012 figures, there has been a rise in footfall.”

However, sources said a worried government has cleared the formation of district-level tourism promotion boards in 36 districts. These include Lucknow, Rampur, Ghazipur, Lakhimpur Kheri, Kannauj, Etawah, Mathura, Meerut, Agra and Varanasi.