Rajasthan Tourism has unveiled a set of new measures to push its growth momentum. And while new products are in the offing, a critical part of its larger strategy also includes harnessing its traditional tourism pillars in the near run.
The state tourism has paved the way for night tourism facility at four popular monuments in the Pink City before September, later this year. In fact, the facility has already been initiated at the iconic Amber Fort. “ The product innovation which we are seeking also includes making the most of the existing monuments. And we understand that night viewing facility would make them all the more experiential for the tourists. That is why we have started night tourism at Amber Fort and before the beginning of the next tourist season, this facility will be extended to three more monuments in the pink city – Albert Hall Museum, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal,” S K Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Rajasthan Tourism recently told TourismFirst in an exclusive conversation.
Meanwhile, to improve accessibility to far flung tourism locations within the state, Rajasthan will now partner with Indian Railways. This was decided after a recent visit of Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu to the state. “We are now closely co-operating with the Railways Ministry to improve accessibility within the state for tourists coming from the outside. As a part of this exercise, the Railways Ministry has agreed to add special coaches for tourists in the existing trains plying between Mavli to Marwar Junctions and Kamlighat to Phulad. There would be more initiatives of this nature in association with the Ministry of Railways in the near to medium run,” Aggarwal said.
Rajasthan Tourism is also hopeful that a much liberalised New Unit Tourism Policy, 2015 which was formally initiated recently will go a long way in attracting more private investments. According to Aggarwal, MoUs worth Rs 12,500 crore were signed for tourism centric investment between 2007 to 2014. Out of this, about Rs 5000 crore private investment has actually materialised on the ground.
By Ritwik Sinha
