Awareness Campaign, Infrastructure Top Renuka’s List

Renuka Chowdhury in an exclusive with Anindita Chattopadhyay, reveals her immediate priority areas and action plan

After her return from the roadshows in Europe, infrastructure and a domestic campaign top the priority list of the tourism minister of state, Renuka Chowdhury. She is taking steps to add more rooms and launch a domestic campaign to deal with the appalling apathy of Indians towards preserving heritage, cleanliness and hygiene. Dovetailing tourism with environment concern, the campaign titled, `Atithi Devo Bhava’, aims at creating awareness about the multiplier effect of tourism and sensitising people about heritage preservation, cleanliness and warm hospitality. "The general concept that tourism is an elitist activity has to change. WTTC's Tourism Satellite Accounting shows that by 2014, India's tourism industry is expected to generate 28 million jobs. This campaign will be a fun, interactive, demonstrative campaign with a logo to educate people about the worth of tourism and update about civic senses." The ministry is currently examining the proposals sent by some 18 agencies. The campaign, to be launched in a couple months on TV, movie theatres and FM channels, will be three pronged. "On one hand, it will educate the general public, on the other hand, there will be training and orientation programmes for taxi drivers, guides, immigration officers and tourist police. The logo will be the sign of accreditation and people who display the logo would mean certified. It will also have a feedback system whereby guests will be asked to fill up forms, which will be kept in taxis, shops and other places, so that we can take action accordingly. We are also putting thrust on having more language guides for convenience of tourists," informed Chowdhury. Infrastructure, justifiably is her other concern as India needs at least 100,000 more rooms by 2010 to sustain the positive growth of tourism. The country, which witnessed a 26 per cent growth till September, this year, has already started feeling the room crunch. In Rajasthan, not only hotels are running full, guests are being accommodated in guesthouses and hostels.

On the sidelines of FHRAI award function held recently in Delhi, she said, "I have already written a letter to the urban development ministry and spoken to the minister personally to look into archaic land laws and facilitate land allotments to hoteliers so that we can have more mid-market hotels." When asked about the industry's demand on infrastructure status under 80I (A), which would give income tax concessions for the next 10 years to a new hotel or convention centre, she said, "I realise that infrastructure status for the hospitality industry is a necessity to encourage more investment. With our eye on the next budget, I have asked the tourism industry to give a collective suggestion on what is required for us in the budget. Then my ministry would do an internal review and I would push the finance ministry for granting the demands of the industry."