Perception, not money is a key challenge for Indian Tourism

Delivering the keynote at the Tourism Conclave, Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister with Independent charge of Tourism and Culture, said that money is not an issue as far as tourism promotion is concerned, but the larger issue is with the perception. He said that all stakeholders, including the media have to work together to address and remove the negative perception about the country.

The minister said that, he always tries to understand the image and perception of the country through interactions with people from different walks of life, including tourists. Patel said that one single well-organised Kumbh Mela changed the whole perception about Indian Tourism. He also added that India being a rich treasure house for tourism, only inviting tourists from various countries without creating the right facilities can damage our image globally. 

Drawing attention towards Chinese tourism minister said, tourists in China also face challenges in terms of lack of adequate number of language guides, the quality of mineral water, the quality of toilets, etc. The Minister commented that he has recommended to the Ministry of Human Resource Development to make it mandatory for 11th and 12th class students from central schools to visit North East India, so that they can become future Ambassadors of Indian tourism.