According to a PTI report, the Government of India (GoI) has increased the allocation for ‘destination and circuit development’ to encourage states to identify more tourist spots. While replying to supplementaries during question hour in the Rajya Sabha today, Ambika Soni, Union Minister, Tourism and Culture said, “As state governments have to identify tourist spots, we had earlier allocated Rs five crore for destination development and Rs eight crore for circuit development. However after monitoring, it was found that the money was not adequate, therefore we have upgraded the allocation and now to Rs 25 crore for destination development and Rs 50 crore for circuit development.”
Soni also stated that Ministry of Tourism (MoT) has identified 22 mega destinations based on their national importance, tourism footfalls and future potential in consultation with concerned state governments. “Projects for 20 destinations have been sanctioned and out of these, Rs 378 crore has been sanctioned for 16 projects during the current fiscal,” added Soni. Replying to another supplementary, |