MP Tourism must make its destinations more circulated and visible around the globe
Friday - December 14, 2018 4:22 pm ,
Category : OPINION & INTERVIEW
WTN- Madhya Pradesh has all the potential to become the top tourist destination of the country and even beyond. But unfortunately, the state has not been able to exploit it to the full and despite strides it still lags in drawing a major chunk of tourists in the country.
Over the last 10 years or so, scores of government tourist motels and resorts have come up in various strategic locations of scenic beauty with excellent facilities across the length and breadth of the country, but even then, we have not been able to trump other states like Kerala, Himachal or Bengal or even Rajasthan when it comes to the number of tourists visiting the state.
There are various reasons for that. One is the ancillary infrastructure support that a tourism state needs. We have just one airport in the whole state in Indore which has some good respectable traffic – which too has grown only in the last 3-4 years. Even it is not served by any international flights yet.
Bhopal and Jabalpur rank way below Indore, where very few planes land. The road connectivity to all the touristy destinations too is not that good when compared to some other states. Things have improved without doubt in the last 7-8 years but there are still long stretches of bad roads which put off the visitor.
Being a hilly state in several parts, railway connectivity has still not reached many places. There is water scarcity for six months a year and power supply is still erratic in many parts. Also, many of the potential tourist destinations have not been promoted or developed due to lack of foresight or funds.
Visibility is an important factor in today’s world. The more ubiquitous a thing is, better are the chances of its selling. MP Tourism must make its destinations more circulated and visible around the globe – in airports and buses, in newspaper and TV ads, in brochures and souvenirs, in sponsorships and conclaves etc so that people outside know more about us. Then there is also the question of extra facilities which today tourists look for when they visit a place.
When a tourist visits a temple for instance, he will also look for a good restaurant around which serves the fares of his choice. If it is not there, he may not visit the place again or recommend it to others. When a family is visiting a dam or a fort or some cave painting per se, he will also be happy to get a theme park around or some recreation facilities for the kids like a game zone etc. to extract more out of the visit.
We need to make the touristy experience more enriching and unique. That’s the way foreign countries do. We need newer innovations – may be a laser show or a massage centre in close proximity to some tourist spot so that people get more out of less. We need to promote attractive packages that save costs for the tourist yet gives him more. Unless we have some extra edge over others, we will lose tourists. In this era of cut throat competition, we need to continually evolve and innovate to stay ahead. As soon as we relax in the thought that we have done a lot, our downfall starts. Such complacency is dangerous.
-Window To News
Over the last 10 years or so, scores of government tourist motels and resorts have come up in various strategic locations of scenic beauty with excellent facilities across the length and breadth of the country, but even then, we have not been able to trump other states like Kerala, Himachal or Bengal or even Rajasthan when it comes to the number of tourists visiting the state.
There are various reasons for that. One is the ancillary infrastructure support that a tourism state needs. We have just one airport in the whole state in Indore which has some good respectable traffic – which too has grown only in the last 3-4 years. Even it is not served by any international flights yet.
Bhopal and Jabalpur rank way below Indore, where very few planes land. The road connectivity to all the touristy destinations too is not that good when compared to some other states. Things have improved without doubt in the last 7-8 years but there are still long stretches of bad roads which put off the visitor.
Being a hilly state in several parts, railway connectivity has still not reached many places. There is water scarcity for six months a year and power supply is still erratic in many parts. Also, many of the potential tourist destinations have not been promoted or developed due to lack of foresight or funds.
Visibility is an important factor in today’s world. The more ubiquitous a thing is, better are the chances of its selling. MP Tourism must make its destinations more circulated and visible around the globe – in airports and buses, in newspaper and TV ads, in brochures and souvenirs, in sponsorships and conclaves etc so that people outside know more about us. Then there is also the question of extra facilities which today tourists look for when they visit a place.
When a tourist visits a temple for instance, he will also look for a good restaurant around which serves the fares of his choice. If it is not there, he may not visit the place again or recommend it to others. When a family is visiting a dam or a fort or some cave painting per se, he will also be happy to get a theme park around or some recreation facilities for the kids like a game zone etc. to extract more out of the visit.
We need to make the touristy experience more enriching and unique. That’s the way foreign countries do. We need newer innovations – may be a laser show or a massage centre in close proximity to some tourist spot so that people get more out of less. We need to promote attractive packages that save costs for the tourist yet gives him more. Unless we have some extra edge over others, we will lose tourists. In this era of cut throat competition, we need to continually evolve and innovate to stay ahead. As soon as we relax in the thought that we have done a lot, our downfall starts. Such complacency is dangerous.
-Window To News
