Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Culture and MoS Environment, Forest & Climate Change along with Shri K.J Alphons, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Tourism inaugurated the ‘Paryatan Parv celebrations’ today at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Guest Dr. Mahesh Sharma stressed on the close linkage of culture & Tourism in the country and how we need to work on making India’s rich cultural heritage as tourism attractions
Shri. K.J Alphons in his address highlighted the need to drastically improve the tourist arrivals in the country. He also said that tourism is needed for two reason namely providing employment to the people and to become an engine of growth.
Earlier in the day , the ‘Paryatan Parv’ activities began with the flagging of the cycle rally by Smt. Rashmi Verma Secretary, Ministry of Tourism from India Gate, New Delhi to Qutab Minar. Approximately 80 cyclists from across Delhi including members of tourism Industry Stakeholders, officials from central Ministries, doctors, teachers, students participated this rally.
The other activities in the capital included a guided Heritage walk at Humayun’s Tomb & painting competition for children etc.
Tourism awareness Walk & Run were organised in Shillong , Bhubaneswar , Kovalam (Kerala), Hajipur (Bihar), Gurudaspur, Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Jaipur, Imphal, Lucknow, Agra, Hyderabad , Gwalior, Bhopal, Panaji(Goa), Delhi . 100’s of student from Institute of Hotel Management in the said cities & local stakeholders enthusiastically participated in the Tourism walk & Run. The various State Tourism Departments also joined the celebrations by organising various events like trekking programme, photography contest, essay competitions, sensitization program etc.
In Guwahati , the students took to rowing in the Brahmaputra river spreading the message of Paryatanparv.
The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Noida organised a painting competition for school children on the theme “Tourism for All” & “DekhoApnaDesh”.
During the inauguration, the Ministry of Tourism launched a special film on the concept of ParyatanParv and a promotional film on the various competitions to be organised during the ParyatanParv across India .
The microsite on the project “Adopt a Heritage”, www.adoptaheritage.in was unveiled during the inauguration of the “Paryatan Parv” event jointly by the Minister of Culture Sh. Mahesh Sharma and Minister of Tourism, Sh. K.J. Alphons.
Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) envisages to develop the heritage sites and monuments to make them tourist-friendly thereby enhancing the tourism potential and their cultural importance in a planned and phased manner. The concept was launched by Hon’ble President of India on 27.9.2017 during the National Tourism Awards and World Tourism Day.
The celebrations will run from October 5-25 2017 across several cities and iconic tourism destinations in the country. Throughout these 20 days, the ‘Paryatan Parv’ will give an opportunity for the citizens of the country to explore the cultural heritage and enjoy the diverse cuisine, cultural programmes, music, theatre, etc.
