Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 21: Various programmes will be initiated with focus on spiritual and cruise tourism to attract tourists by promoting the coastal belt of the state, Union minister of state for culture and tourism, Mahesh Sharma, said Saturday at the conference “Indian and the Indian Ocean” being held in the city.
“We have a coastal belt of 7,500 km across the country and of this around 485 km comes under Orissa, which has a huge potential of attracting tourists from across the globe. Hence, we are initiating various programmes focusing on spiritual and cruise tourism,” said Sharma.
“Recently, we have rolled out schemes for promoting cruise and spiritual tourism, which has not been explored in the past. These initiatives will go long way in promoting tourism along the coastal belt of India,” he said.
Pilgrimage sites in the state would also be developed through Central government schemes, the minister said on the second day of the three-day conference organised by the Institute of Social and Cultural Studies (ISCS) jointly with Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS).
The NDA government has recently allocated `500 crore to create five new tourist circuits in India during the current fiscal, he said. The Centre also launched the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY). To give a boost to religious tourism, they are to set up the national mission on pilgrimage, rejuvenation and spiritual augmentation drive (PRASAD).