Himachal bags award for the best mountain destination in the Country
Himachal bagged first prize in India Today’s Award Ceremony at Delhi Will Promote Tourism in less traveled areas: Harshwardhan Chauhan Himachal Pradesh has topped in the country in the tourism sector for being adjudged as the Best Mountain destination, the Best Adventure destination and for its Best Scenic Roads in India.
Industries Minister, Harshwardhan Chauhan received the award from Minister of State for Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, Arjun Ram Meghwal in India Today Tourism Survey and Awards Ceremony held at New Delhi today.
In a survey conducted by an independent agency and as per the standards set by the India Today Group editorial board, Kullu was placed in the ‘Best Adventure Destination’ category for River Rafting, Shimla-Kinnaur highway in the ‘Most Scenic Roads’ category, and Shimla and Manali were selected as the ‘Best Mountain Destinations’ in the country.
Speaking on the occasion the Industries Minister said that the State Government has been laying special emphasis for making Himachal the best tourist destination in India by developing unexplored tourist places in phased manner under the guidance and leadership of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
He said that Himachal has rich cultural heritage and age-old traditions and is known for its warm hospitality besides its unique handicrafts & handlooms. The State Government is making efforts to introduce the visitors from all over the world to the rich heritage of Himachal Pradesh, said the minister. The state government has decided to make Kangra district as a ‘Tourism Capital’ of Himachal besides promoting the Art, Culture, and History. This decision would help in the sustainable development of the tourism sector. “To motivate the tourists, to stay for maximum period in Himachal, especially in Shimla, Kullu-Manali, Dalhousie and other part of the state, the Government will develop the existing infrastructure besides will regulate the movement of the traffic in a planned manner to ease congestion” said Harshwardhan Chauhan.
He said that Tourism sector is in the ambit of the flagship schemes of the Government. Adventure, religious, rural, health, religious and weekend tourism would be promoted in big way.
Tourists are being encouraged to spend more time in the less travelled destinations through home stay series. “Our Government is committed to strengthen the tourism infrastructure and mulling to construct helipads near each district headquarters besides developing existing airports to increase the tourist footfall in far off and less traveled places”, said Sh. Chauhan.
Food and cultural festivals are also being organized to promote the traditional cuisine and handicrafts of the state. The government is also promoting water sports in the reservoirs of the state.
Expressing his gratitude to the India Today group for conferring the first prize to Himachal, the Minister said that this will certainly provide fillip to the initiatives of the present government to boost tourism and providing a launching platform to the state in the country.
Uttarakhand Tourism Minister, Satpal Maharaj, NITI Aayog CEO, Parameswaran Iyer and Union Tourism Secretary, Arvind Singh also expressed their views on the occasion.
Group Editorial Director, India Today, Raj Chengappa, welcomed all the dignitaries and gave detailed information about the India Today Tourism Survey and Awards.
Political representatives and senior officers of other states viz. Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Odisha, Mizoram Kerala, Goa were present on the occasion, were present.
