ITANAGAR, 28 Sep: Chief Minister Pema Khandu urged the people of the state to explore their own state and country.
“Dekho apna desh should be the first agenda on our bucket list. Visiting foreign countries should be second,” he said on the occasion of the World Tourism Day here on Friday morning.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating the campaign, he said that “the call holds much significance in view of the diversity India possesses.”
Khandu informed that the state government, taking a cue from the national campaign, has launched its own ‘Dekho Apna Pradesh’ campaign and has till date organised six tours, “taking tourism stakeholders across the state.”
“Arunachal Pradesh is so much blessed with varieties of geographical, climatic and cultural ambience that call for its own people to visit and explore,” he said.
Khandu observed that many Arunachalees haven’t visited places within Arunachal, except their own areas, but have visited a couple or more foreign countries.
He said that, before enriching themselves with the culture and places of other countries, the people should first explore their own state and country.
The CM informed that the state government will soon notify a new tourism policy, “including film, farm, wine and ecotourism, homestay policy, to provide holistic experiences to domestic and foreign tourists, attract investments, and provide employment and self-employment opportunities for the youths.”
He assured that “this policy will focus on preserving the local cultures and heritage through community involvement, and showcase local champions.”
Khandu reiterated the push for growth of high-end, niche tourism in the state, keeping in mind “the ecological carrying capacity of the high-tourism potential locations.”
Uncontrolled tourism and rampant tourist flow, he said, would ultimately take a toll on the state’s culture, biodiversity and environment, and “advocated high-end, niche tourism in the long run.”
“We do not want crowd. Crowd produces garbage and pollution. We want sustainable tourism while preserving our rich biodiversity. High-end tourism, in line with Bhutan, is the only way forward,” he said.
Observing that tourists will not come to see how developed the state is but to see its unique cultures, its hills and forests, its biodiversity, flora and fauna, Khandu said that “all these factors should be preserved for posterity.”
“We intend to build a sports tourism ecosystem in collaboration with the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports, based at Dirang, to impart certificate courses for the youths,” the CM said.
He urged the youths to take advantage of the UNNATI scheme launched by the pri9me minister during his last visit to Itanagar. He informed that,under the scheme, tourism in the Northeast gets a major share, of which Arunachal will get a share of Rs 900 crores.
“I call upon our youths to approach the industries department with innovative concepts to avail the scheme and propel forward our tourism industry,” he said.
Khandu revealed that the union budget this year too has offered a “special assistance for infrastructure development in tourism to Arunachal of about Rs 250 crores.”
He added that tourism, with the support of all stakeholders, would become the engine of growth for Arunachal in the coming years.
Social media influencers promoting Arunachal as a tourist destination were felicitated on the occasion. (CM’s PR Cell)
