Dr.
Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and MoS
Environment, Forest & Climate Change along with Shri K.J Alphons, Minister
of State (Independent Charge) for tourism inaugurated the ‘Paryatan Parv
celebrations’ today at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi.
Speaking
on the occasion, the Chief Guest Dr. Mahesh Sharma stressed on the close
linkage of culture & Tourism in the country and how we need to work on
making India’s rich cultural heritage as tourism attractions
Shri.
K.J Alphons in his address highlighted the need to drastically improve the
tourist arrivals in the country. He also said that tourism is needed for two
reason namely providing employment to the people and to become an engine of
growth.
Earlier
in the day , the ‘Paryatan Parv’ activities began with the flagging of the
cycle rally by Smt. Rashmi Verma Secretary, Ministry of Tourism from India
Gate, New Delhi to Qutab Minar. Approximately 80 cyclists from across Delhi
including members of tourism Industry Stakeholders, officials from central
Ministries, doctors, teachers, students participated this rally.
The
other activities in the capital included a guided Heritage walk at Humayun’s
Tomb & painting competition for children etc.
Tourism
awareness Walk & Run were organised in Shillong , Bhubaneswar , Kovalam (Kerala),
Hajipur (Bihar), Gurudaspur, Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Jaipur,
Imphal, Lucknow, Agra, Hyderabad , Gwalior, Bhopal, Panaji(Goa), Delhi .
100’s of student from Institute of hotel management in the said cities &
local stakeholders enthusiastically participated in the Tourism walk &
Run. The various State Tourism Departments also joined the celebrations by
organising various events like trekking programme, photography contest, essay
competitions, sensitization program etc.
In
Guwahati , the students took to rowing in the Brahmaputra river spreading the
message of Paryatanparv.
The
Indian Institute of Tourism & travel Management, Noida organised a painting
competition for school children on the theme “Tourism for All” &
“DekhoApnaDesh”.
During
the inauguration, the Ministry of Tourism launched a special film on the
concept of ParyatanParv and a promotional film on the various competitions to
be organised during the ParyatanParv across India .
The
microsite on the project “Adopt a Heritage”, www.adoptaheritage.in was unveiled
during the inauguration of the “Paryatan Parv” event jointly by the Minister of
Culture Sh. Mahesh Sharma and Minister of Tourism, Sh. K.J. Alphons.
Ministry
of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological
Survey of India (ASI) envisages to develop the heritage sites and monuments to
make them tourist-friendly thereby enhancing the tourism potential and their
cultural importance in a planned and phased manner. The concept was launched by
Hon’ble President of India on 27.9.2017 during the National Tourism Awards and
World Tourism Day.
The
celebrations will run from October 5-25 2017 across several cities and iconic
tourism destinations in the country. Throughout these 20 days, the ‘Paryatan Parv’
will give an opportunity for the citizens of the country to explore the
cultural heritage and enjoy the diverse cuisine, cultural programmes, music,
theatre, etc.
Sanjay Kumar/Tourism-4-F/905.10.2017
