Agra: On World Tourism Day on Thursday, Taj city Agra has little to celebrate in spite of being a favourite tourist destination. This is because of the total lack of forward planning, industry stakeholders say. "There is neither the will nor any major policy push being contemplated by the state government, which had made many promises at the time of elections. The UP tourism department looks hardly prepared to create the kind of ambience required to encash the boom in the industry," said Shishir Bhagat, president of Wake Up Agra, an NGO working on different issues that people in the city face.
Tourism organisations in Agra on Thursday organised the ritual welcome of tourists at the railway station and at different hotels. But there was little else to commemorate the day and no sign of activity to make the city any more "tourist-friendly".
Agra is one of India's top tourist destinations. Yet, it lacks basic infrastructure, and thus cannot take advantage of the interest generated in India and its tourist attractions, said Surendra Sharma, founder-president of the Agra Hotels and Restaurants Association. "The (previous) Mayawati government did nothing, and we had great hopes from the young Akhilesh Yadav (the present chief minister)," Sharma said, talking of how successive chief ministers have let the city down.
"We thought the scenario would change for the better, we expected some action on our long list of demands. So far, however, there is nothing to indicate that the state government
02:08 PM, Sep 27, 2012
New Delhi: Every year since 1980, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has celebrated World Tourism Day (WTD) on September 27. The statutes of the UNWTO were adopted on September 27, 1970 and therefore this date was chosen. The purpose of celebrating WTD is to raise public awareness on the role of tourism and to demonstrate how tourism helps spread social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide and lead...
10:50 AM, Sep 27, 2012
