UNWTO to prepare master plan for enhancing Uttarakhand’s infrastructure

23 Nov 2007
By Kanika Mehta | New Delhi

UTDB to come up with 112 new trekking routes, adventure activities in the wild.

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), which recently adopted Uttarakhand as a ‘tourism site’, is now preparing a master plan for enhancing tourism infrastructure in the state. The draft plan, which is expected to be ready by 2008-end, will aim at putting the state on the world tourism map. It will focus on developing religious circuits, construction of hotels and enhancement of transport infrastructure, apart from setting-up facilities to boost ecotourism, adventure tourism and spiritual tourism, which are the state’s three main potential segments, according to Prakash Pant, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Parliamentary Affairs, Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board (UTDB) is currently in the process of classifying the 171 state owned corporation properties into three categories – A, B and C – on the basis on their occupancy levels. This classification will be taken into account while developing the master plan and accordingly, new properties will be set-up and the existing ones refurbished. The UTDB has also come up with a land bank comprising of 32 plots, which can be used for setting-up properties as per the master plan’s suggestions. Apart from accommodation, it is concentrating on developing other tourism offerings as well. “We are developing 112 trekking routes in the state and are in talks with the Forest Department to kick-start new adventure tourism activities in forest areas to attract more tourists,” informed Pant.

Earlier this year in August, the State Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Emmar-MGF to develop a five-star hotel and convention centre at Dehradun. It leased 30 acres of land to construct the hotel for Rs 53 lakh rent per month as well as two per cent share in the revenue generated.

News Source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com