‘A Strong Integration Between Ministries Will Be My Focus’

Jyoti Koul - New Delhi

Taking on the responsibility of the new tourism minister Renuka Choudhury is at the helm of affairs in the ministry of tourism and culture, government of India. In an exclusive with Express Travel & Tourism, Choudhury disclosed that she would like to carry forward 'the good work' initiated by the former tourism minister, Jagmohan. Commenting on the issues at hand, Choudhury emphasised that she would take forward the good work initiated by her predecessor. "Right now, I am trying to get the hang of things. I still have to look into what has been done and what is slated for the year. I have always admired what Jagmohan has done and I am optimistic to carry forward the work and plans,” she said.

In the capacity of being the new tourism minister of the Congress-led government, Choudhury in her first media briefing as the tourism minister said that India would be 'the’ destination of the world in the near future. To get maximum number of tourists both domestic as well as international, she has identified religious tourism as priority area. "We will be looking at religious tourism - right from Buddhism to domestic religious tourism. This is one area that has remained untapped both in the domestic and international arena. We have a strong Buddhist base here in India. Most of our temples have remarkably outstanding architecture. We can study them from the architectural view point as well as study the myths, stories and the folklore associated with them. These stories and information can also be documented and then printed in the form of little booklets, so that people would get an insight into the romance of these architectural temples," she disclosed.

When asked how would she coordinate with other departments to encourage the inflow of the tourists, she informed, "Tourism is dependent on various other ministries such as the ministry of industry and commerce, railways, civil aviation etc. I do foresee smooth interaction since most of these ministries are being lead by capable ministers. I am confident that there would be team work leading toward positive benefits for tourism. Collectively we shall achieve this goal. There is a need to have an integrated plan of action with all departments because tourism is a very sensitive area. It is prone to many natural or even man-made disasters. Therefore, a strong integration between ministries will be my focus."

Her plans also include that of connecting the far-flung areas on the domestic front and improve connectivity at the international level. With respect to visa on arrival she said, "I need to talk to my people in the ministry to understand what is the ground plan with respect to visa on arrival and what is in the pipeline. It is a bit too early for me to comment. In some time, I will present you a glimpse of what we can do. But I am sure that we will have some happy stories going from this ministry."