Sunday, 10 April | PNS | Dehradun
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asserted that he is expecting a boom in the Char Dham Yatra this year. He called upon all the stakeholders to be prepared for a record footfall this season. Dhami said this while speaking at the inaugural session of Uttarakhand Tourism and Hospitality Conference 2022 organised by Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board here on Saturday. The conference also saw the launch of short commercial films “Apnatey Hai Dil Khol Ke”. The films are made by UTDB based on themes of tourism, wellness tourism and homestays and are meant to promote tourism in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, Dhami said that interest in Char Dham is back on track after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic with pilgrims and tourists in big numbers expected to arrive in the state. “Last two years, the Char Dham Yatra was not smooth due to the Covid pandemic and the subsequent restrictions due to it. But now this year we are expecting a record footfall,” the chief minister opined.
Referring to better connectivity, he asserted that the day is not far when travel time between Delhi and Dehradun will be just two and a half hour by road. “The elevated road is coming up which will provide faster and smoother connectivity between Delhi and Dehradun, and people would then prefer travelling by road than taking a flight,” the chief minister said.
Uttarakhand Tourism and Culture minister Satpal Maharaj stressed on promoting caravan and camping tourism. “It’s like room on wheels- for which our state has a lot of opportunities. What we need is to develop camping grounds with toilets and cafeterias,” said Maharaj. He called upon the stakeholders to become service providers while emphasising that tourists are the bread and butter for the state.
The Tourism minister also spoke about the importance of winter tourism besides the Char Dham Yatra. “Char Dham Yatra is conducted in the summer season. We also need to promote skiing and other linked activities to promote winter tourism too,” he added.
Expressing his views, Dharampur MLA Vinod Chamoli laid stress on targeting more tourists for Uttarakhand in the days to come. He also suggested targeting tourists other than just Char Dham pilgrims. “It is generally seen that tourists coming for adventure and wellness tend to spend more,” Chamoli said.
Earlier, Tourism secretary Dilip Jawalkar said that during the past two decades, the state has made a place for itself in the tourism world and was today an all-weather destination. Referring to commercial films launch, Jawalkar said the films were meant to promote tourism in Uttarakhand.
Additional director of UTDB, Vivek Singh Chauhan proposed the vote of thanks. The inaugural session was followed by the plenary sessions which included deliberations on rebooting tourism after Covid-19 and UTDB investment incentive policy. Tourism officials, other stakeholders like hoteliers, those in adventure and wellness tourism were among those present on the occasion.
