Improving State Tourism - Addl Inputs

Below are the key issues and solutions with State Tourism Industry in India as outlined by you. Please review and share any additional inputs you may have that must be implemented to improve State Tourism in India.

We will then take this up with Ministry of Tourism and state stakeholders for actions.

State Tourism Industry – Issues

1.Cleanliness of the tourism spots is a major issue
2.Public transport facilities are not adequate in most of the places
3.Not enough tourist information counters in cities
4.Existing information centre are manned by non-courteous personnel
5.There are not enough parking facilities
6.Our cities/tourism spots are not ‘pedestrian-friendly’
7.The crime rate in the cities is a big deterrent for the tourists
8.There is a lack of enough qualified or knowledgeable tourist guides
9.The number of public toilets around the tourist areas are very less
10.There is no dedicated helpline for the tourist to report any issue/ask for help
11.A state run tourist information centre does not exist on all airports
12.The existing facilities at tourist destination are ill maintained
13.Rest Houses operated by Tourist department are poorly maintained
14.Most of the Tourist Officers are corrupt
15.Most Government buildings are in a pathetic state of disrepair
16.Taxi Operator Unions have monopoly & loot tourists by charging exorbitant prices
17.State Roadways offer very limited options of luxury buses
18.Hotels around state tourist locations are generally not well organized & charge exorbitantly during peak seasons.

Solutions to improve State Tourism in India

1.The state should allot a budget every year for the betterment of tourists spots
2.Like in western countries, all the tourist spots should be made easily accessible via public transport like metro, bus etc.
3.Tourist information centres should be opened in all major markets in the city
4.Each market have a tourist information centre should have the directions to it marked at several places
5.Staff at these centres should be polite, multi-lingual and well trained in customer service
6.Parking lots should be made available at all the tourist attractions
7.Paid volunteers should be placed on the roads around major tourist attractions to help the tourists walk around safely and comfortably
8.More ‘walk-ways’ should be created for the tourists in the city
9.Private organizations like Sulabh should be asked to set up and maintain toilets at the tourism spots
10.More people should be encouraged to become government certified tourist guides
11.A dedicated helpline should be started for the tourists which is operational 24x7
12.All state airports should mandatorily have a tourist information desk managed by the state government
13. The information counters of metro station can also be converted into tourist information centres
14.The Government buildings should be renovated from the outside and given a prettier look
15.Programs like Incredible India should tie up with hotel chains like OYO Rooms to provide cost effective accommodation to tourists around major attractions in the state
16.Online information on tourist attractions in the country should be promoted and made easily accessible.
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