Focus on Enhancing Tourism Infrastructure in Himachal through Budget Allocation
The Himachal Pradesh government has announced its budget for the financial year 2019-2020, with a focus on the development of tourism in the state. Jai Ram Thakur, the Chief Minister, will present the budget.
The budget proposes to develop eco-tourism and promote home stays by focusing on sustainable tourism initiatives that involve local communities. The plan includes promoting homestays as a means to provide tourists with authentic experiences while generating income for local residents, thereby encouraging conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
The strategy involves encouraging community participation in tourism activities through home stays, supporting eco-tourism projects with necessary infrastructure and amenities, promoting lesser-known destinations with fragile ecosystems to spread tourist traffic and reduce pressure on popular sites, and providing training and capacity-building for locals to manage and operate eco-tourism and home stay services efficiently.
In addition, the budget emphasizes infrastructure development in eco-sensitive zones and improving marketing efforts for eco-tourism destinations, aiming to leverage the state's natural beauty and biodiversity to attract responsible tourists.
The government will also make efforts to establish facilitation centers in well-known wildlife and biodiversity sites. The budget includes provisions for restoring the Bantony Castle in Shimla during 2019-20 and constructing a cultural center in Janjhehli during the same period.
Moreover, the budget proposes to develop Tattapani as a religious tourism and water sports destination. Replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas will be established at the "Shiv Dham" site in Mandi district to attract tourists and conserve religious heritage.
To enhance connectivity, efforts will be made to connect more towns with Heli Taxi services under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)-Udaan-II. The government is also making efforts to establish an international airport in the state, with Nagchala in Mandi district identified as a potential site.
The budget also includes a plan to launch Heli Taxi services to connect more towns of the state. A new tourism policy will be prepared for holistic development of tourism in Himachal Pradesh.
The Obstacle Limitation Survey for the international airport site has been completed. The limit of rooms for home stays will be increased from 3 to 4 to promote home stays. A Master Plan for promoting Eco-Tourism will be prepared to encourage Eco-Tourism.
The government will send a proposal to the Union government for starting water transport and other activities in Chamera, Kol Dam, Larji and Gobindsagar Lake. A "Shiv Dham" will be established in Mandi district to attract tourists and conserve religious heritage.
Lastly, a Light and Sound Show will be started at two sites in Shimla to enhance the tourist experience. This approach integrates environmental conservation with socio-economic benefits for rural and tribal populations in Himachal Pradesh, enhancing sustainable tourism development as outlined in the 2019 tourism sector budget plan.
- The budget for Himachal Pradesh in 2019-2020 focuses on developing home stays as part of eco-tourism initiatives, offering tourists an authentic local culture experience and providing income for homeowners, thus promoting conservation of natural and cultural heritage.
- In addition to eco-tourism, the budget plans to develop Tattapani as a religious tourism and water sports destination, with replicas of 12 Jyotirlingas to be established at the "Shiv Dham" site in Mandi district, attracting tourists while preserving religious heritage.
