This refers to “Tourism minister comes under fire for foreign and domestic trips” (Herald March 25). The tourism dept is reported to have spent Rs 42 crore on promotion of tourism in India and abroad. The amount spent does not matter; what is important is how and where the amount is spent.
Ministers and officials participated in 32 international marts and 72 domestic promotions. The ministers attended 14 of the 32 international marts but not a single domestic promotion! And this is very significant as the domestic tourists increased from 23 lakhs in 2012 to 35 lakhs in 2014, no thanks to the ministers! Ironically, a road show in Tokyo attracted only 826 Japanese tourists!
The government must concentrate more on high-end domestic tourists who unlike foreign tourists , are always on the move, eating and moving on without wasting time, thus keeping the cash registers ringing.
Prof Robert Castellino, Calangute
