Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday laid emphasis on associating local youths with tourism, saying this will give a major boost to development prospects.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of Uttar Pradesh Travel Mart-2019.
The chief minister said if the tourists are connected with activities in the place they are visiting, then there will be a spurt in development and employment opportunities.
Referring to Dudhwa National Park, Adityanath said, "There are many centers, which along with tourist spots, are also associated with wildlife. Be it Sonbhadra, Bundelkhand or Terai area. Tour operators can play a vital role in linking tourists with wildlife activities."
The operators and others working in this industry should train local youths as there should be good guides and service providers in this sector, he said, adding that they can give a major boost in taking ahead of the prospects of tourism development.
Adityanath said that new development boards were set up from the point of view of spiritual tourism.
"We successfully hosted the Kumbh at Prayagraj because we formed the Prayagraj Mela Pradhikaran. Similarly, seven pilgrimage spots, including Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, Gokul and Nandgaon, have been linked to Braj Teerth Vikas Parishad," he said.
Adityanath said that through the Kashi Vishwanath Dhaam, the work of holistic development of the area was taken ahead.
"We have also started working on establishing development boards in Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Naimisharanya, Vindhyawasini Dhaam, and Devipatan Dhaam," he said.
The chief minister said that under the new tourism development policy, a number of hotels and restaurant chains will come up in the state.
He said tour operators will be able to translate various possibilities of tourism into reality, and the state government will help them in every possible way under the policy.