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Newstrack
SAARC tourism ministers hopeful of working towards joint tourism co-operation
Reema Sisodia - Mumbai
Though the recently held 14th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation)
summit held in New Delhi recently did not give tourism the required emphasis,
the individual tourism minister's and national tourism boards (NTOs) are hoping
to promote tourism within the SAARC region. A number of proposals have been
put up by individual tourism ministers and also tourism representatives from
the various SAARC countries.
Says Salman Javed, managing director, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation
(PTDC), "SAARC has a tourism working group in place and we all need to
strengthen the working of this group further. The efforts are on and we are
all trying to work on a number of issues." The Pakistan tourism minister,
Nilofar Bakhtiar, was also recently in India and visited Ambika Soni, union
minister for tourism and culture, Government of India with an aim to boost the
tourism connections between the countries. Ambika Soni has called for better
air, train and bus connectivity to promote tourism in the SAARC Region.
SAARC was established with its charter formally adopted on December 8, 1985,
by the heads of state of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives,
Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
| Ujjwala Dani, manager, tourism marketing & promotions,
Nepal Tourism Board, has also listed down few recommendations that were
given to the Nepal Tourism Ministry to be put forth at the SAARC tourism
working group.
The points are as follows:
1) A common currency between
SAARC countries similar to Euro
2) Transport of vehicles between the
SAARC region should be hassle free in terms of logistics and the entry
exit procedures should be made user friendly
3) Joint promotion on SAARC region
as a tourism product at international exhibitions.
4) Common tourism products and themes
like the Buddhist circuit and also Great Himalayan Trail can be promoted
to the western world
5) A SAARC Visa should be introduced.
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