Foreign tourists near the landmark Red Fort, constructed in the 17th century by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, in New Delhi. (Agence France-Presse)
The BJP-led government at the Centre is all set to launch a new tourism campaign that seeks to give new impetus to PM Modi's pet project,
Swachh Bharat (Clean India) drive.
The official announcement is expected to be made on December 25, on the birthday of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee; the campaign will have a tagline
Swachh Bharat Swachh Smarak (Clean India, Clean Monuments.)
The focus of the campaign would be to spruce up India's monuments and heritage sites and provide a hassle free experience to tourists across the country. Apart from the monuments maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), a central government agency, Tourism Ministry plans to rope in state governments as most tourist sites across the country are maintained by them.
The new plan is being closely monitored by the Tourism Minister Dr Mahesh Sharma. "All I can say is that we are working on a new plan but can't disclose everything now. Keep something for the 25 December as well," he said.
Officials in the ministry say the other theme that the ministry is working on is to encourage tourist inflow into areas affected by militancy. "Tourism, not terrorism should be our goal," said an official.
The ministry also plans to address the concerns faced by foreign tourists, especially about being harassed by touts, by launching "end-to-end" tourism.
"If we receive a person at the airport, work out their itinerary, take them around in India and finally drop them off at the airport with the assurance that they are looked after by the government as guests, concerns about touts and harassment would disappear," said the official.
Officials indicated that details of the plan are still being worked upon.