Date:29/07/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/29/stories/2006072918440900.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Tourism promotes national integration: Modi

Special Correspondent

Says he wants to make Gujarat a tourist destination of India "One should feel the warmth and hospitality of Gujarat's people by visiting the State"

CHENNAI: Tourism is not an industry just to earn revenue for the Government but a way of promoting national integration. It helps people understand each other and creates a feeling of oneness from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.

Addressing a travel and tour operators' meet, organised by the Tourism Corporation of Gujarat here, he said tourism united people of different regions. In ancient time, people used to undertake "yatra" not just to visit temples but also to create a feeling of oneness among people.

To promote tourism in Gujarat, Mr.Modi said, the State declared 2006 "Tourism Year." Gujarat offered different types of tourism: there were places of historical importance, state-of-the-art corporate hospitals, hill resorts and sanctuaries. His Government's aim was to make Gujarat a tourism destination of the country, which had a rich heritage of 5000 years.

One should feel the warmth and hospitality of Gujarat's people by visiting the State as tourism was innate in them. Once they visited the State, they would become ambassadors of Gujarat. To suit the budget of various sections, the Tourism Department had been offering several packages.

R.M. Patel, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Gujarat, said the Government wanted to make the State a destination for national and international tourists. But the main constraint was lack of infrastructure. The Government enhanced allotment for tourism from last year's Rs. 30 crore to Rs. 100 crore this year.

Of this, Rs. 60 crore would be spent on improving infrastructure. As part of the tourism year festival, the Government was organising a mega event for "Navaratri."

During the period, Gujarat Tourism would offer various packages for tourists visiting the State.

State's Principal Secretary for Industries and Mines D. Rajagopalan said there were many similarities between Gujarat and Tamil Nadu: in both the States, "Navaratri" was being celebrated on a grand scale. It was an occasion that brought families together.