UP's new tourism policy likely to attract Rs 10K-crore investments

The Uttar Pradesh government is drafting a new five-year tourism policy that may attract investments of Rs 10,000 crore, officials said.

The proposed policy is aimed to set up a world-class tourism infrastructure, create mass employment opportunities, and attract big-ticket private investments. The policy will align with the state’s target of becoming a trillion-dollar economy by 2027.

“We are in the process of formulating the new tourism policy, which will provide a host of incentives to the private sector and will have a liberal approach for attracting investment,” UP Tourism Principal Secretary Mukesh Kumar Meshram told Business Standard.

The new policy will be implemented by February 2023 once it’s finalised and approved by the state government. “We found that the existing policy could be amended to make it more investor-friendly and amenable to investment,” he said.

The government is prioritising the sector to improve basic infrastructural facilities across tourism hotspots.

Owing to the pandemic and other factors, the government has disbursed Rs 200 crore earmarked for the existing policy for investments in hospitality. Therefore, the amended policy will ensure that the investors receive all the promised incentives for a positive multiplier effect.

Moreover, the Yogi Adityanath government has launched a campaign to promote rural tourism to boost rural income and integrate the countryside in the state’s tourism blueprint.

“UP has the highest number of villages in the country, and thus has an enormous potential in the agri-tourism sector,” Meshram said, adding that special advisory organisations have been constituted in the selected districts.

“A survey will be conducted to identify the villages in these districts. A plan will also be chalked out to educate the youth about hinterland and their specialties to promote rural tourism,” he said.