Domestic tourism will help SMEs: Minister

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The fast-growing domestic tourism market will give immense opportunities for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the union minister for Tourism Subodh Kant Sahai said on Wednesday.

Inaugurating FICCI's Domestic Tourism Conclave here on Wednesday, he said, “Domestic tourism has witnessed annual growth of 10.1 per cent over the previous year and this is good sign for entrepreneurs to grow, especially for small players.”

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Outlining his vision for raising the growth target for domestic tourism from 9 per cent to 12 per cent in the next five years, the minister observed that those in the tourism trade must aim to double their businesses in the next five years through the provision of better facilities to tourists and by giving them evening entertainment and a glimpse of India’s spiritual and cultural life.

Sahai, has also exhorted the states to evolve tourism development plans, including weekend packages, to hold back domestic visitors travelling to their respective states for pilgrimage, leisure or business.

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He said that the domestic circuit, has a huge employment generating opportunities and states must realise this. “The tourism sector has massive job opportunities. If you spend Rs 10 lakh in the sector then you are creating employment scope for 80 people, as per the Planning Commission,” Sahai urges the states.

He added that the Centre is working on the concept of tourism parks to attract and hold back travellers so that they spend and contribute to the economy of the region.

Earlier, the Minister released the FICCI-Yes Bank Study on ‘Domestic Tourism — the Bastion of Future Tourism’.