Tourism Ministry to devlop 50 destinations in Andaman Islands

Jaipur, Sep 8 (UNI) The Tourism Ministry has identified 50 destinations for tourism development in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as part of its effort to attract more foreign tourists under the Incredible India campaign.

Tourism Secretary A K Mishra said here today the Tourism Ministry had already discussed the details of the projects with the Union Forests and Environment Ministry.

"The clearance is going to be given soon," Mr Mishra, who was here to attend the annual convention of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), said.

He said the ministry had identified 15 tourist destinations for a major state investment for infrastructure development.

Tourism Joint Secretary Amitabh Kant said the ministry was moving away from the generic campaign to specialised campaign in the niche areas.

He said the ministry was making plans to promote Golf Tourism and Fashion as part of the new brand positioning and marketing. "There are 60 Golf courses in the country we can promote them in a big way, besides creating more in the event of a demand," he added.

Mr Kant said all the major tourist destinations, especially those connected with religion and heritage, were given a new touch. In this context, he cited the new facilities created at Varanasi and Haridwar.

He said 15 historic monuments would be renovated in the next two months. This included the Safdarjung tomb and Purana Quila in Delhi.

UNI SH KD KP2010