Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy on Monday pitched India as a global destination for the world cruise tourism industry at the concluding meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group, being held in Goa.
“With an extended coastline of 7,500 km and home to large rivers, India has immense growth potential in the cruise industry. Our government is dedicated to developing infrastructure for ports, domestic and international cruise terminals,” Reddy said at the Tourism Ministerial Meeting held at a resort in North Goa.
Claiming that the government of India was in the process of adding to its bouquet of tourism offerings along the coastline, Reddy said that beach tourism, light-house tourism and cruise tourism were focus areas of the government.
“India is one of the potential cruise tourism destinations with many of its best tourist destinations yet to be disclosed to the world,” Reddy said. The Union minister also said that the concept of tourism would be inculcated in the youth in the state through a series of youth tourism clubs, which would be instituted in all educational institutes in the country. The clubs, he said, would help promote the growth of India's tourism story and potential.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has not only given an opportunity to rebuild the tourism sector but also to shift focus on the tourism sector and contribute towards green, inclusive and circular economic growth,” Reddy also said.
The Union minister also said that sustainability would go hand-in-hand with tourism promotion in the country, adding that the central government was taking all steps possible to thwart plastic pollution, as part of the Swachh Bharat initiative.
“We are taking all steps to get rid of plastic pollution. There is a need for collective action and knowledge sharing, best practices to achieve our goal to tackle plastic waste. We are committed towards it,” he said.