New tourism policy should contribute to economic growth: Minister

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SME Times News Bureau | 09 Apr, 2015
Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma on Wednesday said the new tourism policy should contribute to the economy, promote cultural heritage, generate employment and ensure women's empowerment.

Sharma was speaking at a meeting held to formulate the new National Tourism Policy, 2015 and participated by the representatives of the tourism departments of state governments and union territories.

"This policy should become the instrument for substantially increasing India's share in global tourism beyond the current share of 0.64 percent," he said.

"It should help to boost the growth of tourism so that its contribution to the GDP of the economy also goes up from the present 6.8 percent," he added.

These representatives also put forward their suggestions and expressed concerns related to their regions.

They demanded tax incentives across the tourism related products and services, connectivity for remote areas, single window clearance and equitable treatment for the less developed regions of India.

The representatives of northeast states stressed the need for connectivity, mobile network connectivity, roadside amenities, lifting of travel restrictions for foreigners, and skill development among others.