Date:19/08/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/08/19/stories/2007081958411100.htm

National

Artisan to figure in ‘rural tourism’

Antara Das

Kolkata: The usually neglected figure of the artisan is set to play an important role in promoting rural tourism, Ambika Soni, the Union Minister for Tourism and Culture, said here on Saturday.

Ms. Soni, who felt that the millions of dollars worth of profit in the tourism industry should not remain confined to big hotel owners and tour operators, said that ‘rural tourism’ was an effort to make the common man a stakeholder in the process. “We have identified 107 villages throughout the country with a core sector of fine arts, crafts and textiles which will be connected to the tourism circuit,” she said. The village of Panchmura in Bankura district might be considered as an entrant from West Bengal, Ms. Soni added. She was speaking at the inauguration function of the Bengal Handicrafts Museum, located at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre at the Salt Lake area.