PROMOTION OF TOURISM SECTOR IN AMRIT KAAL
PROMOTION OF TOURISM SECTOR IN AMRIT KAAL
In order to boost tourism sector in the country during Amrit Kaal, the Ministry of Tourism has taken the following initiatives: –
Indian Railways have taken various steps to improve the railway network and other infrastructures, which are outlined below:
i) Railway Infrastructure Projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations, enhancing connectivity to tourist and cultural places etc. depending upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands. As on 01.04.2024, out of 488 Railway Infrastructure projects (187 New Line, 40 Gauge Conversion and 261 Doubling) of total length 44,488 Km costing approx. Rs. 7.44 lakh crore, 12,045 Km length has been commissioned across Indian Railways with an expenditure of Rs. 2.92 lakh crore. Augmenting railway infrastructures across Indian Railways is an ongoing and continuous process.
ii) The Ministry of Railways has recently launched the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for development of Railway stations on Indian Railways. The Scheme envisages development of stations on a continuous basis with a long-term approach. It involves preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve amenities at stations, like improvement of station access, circulating areas, waiting halls, toilets, lift/escalators as necessary, platform surfacing and cover over platform, cleanliness, free Wi-Fi, kiosks for local products through schemes like ‘One Station One Product’, better passenger information systems, Executive Lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. So far, 1337 stations have been identified under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme over Indian Railways.
iii) Under the National Rail Plan (NRP), around 243 tourist destinations in India were identified. Out of these, 111 places are already connected with the existing rail network, 30 tourist places are within a distance of 10 kms from the nearest railway station and 30 are within a distance of 15 kms from the nearest railway station. The remaining 72 locations are primarily wildlife sanctuaries, beaches and areas located in hilly and mountainous terrain where providing rail connectivity is either not advisable or difficult.
Further, with a view to provide enhanced amenities and facilities for tourists, projects for joint development of tourist amenities at 22 railway stations by the Ministry of Railways (MoR) and Ministry of Tourism were sanctioned on cost sharing basis.
Details of month-wise Foreign Tourist arrivals (FTAs) in the country during 2023 and 2024 (till August) are given below:
Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) (in Lakhs)
Month
2023
2024 @
January
8.91
9.59
February
8.93
10.03
March
8.25
8.60
April
6.26
6.51
May
6.18
6.00
June
6.68
7.06
July
7.86
7.76
August
6.64
6.36
September
6.67
–
October
8.32
–
November
9.49
–
December
11.02
–
Total (Jan-Aug)
59.71
61.91
Grand Total
95.21
–
@: Provisional
Source: Bureau of Immigration (BOI)
This information was given by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
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