Promotion of Yoga to Boost Tourism Promotion of tourism including Spiritual Tourism such as Yoga, Meditation, Pilgrimage etc. and development of its infrastructure is primarily undertaken by the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations (UTs). The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) under its various schemes including Swadesh Darshan Scheme extends Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to them for development of infrastructure related to Spiritual tourism such as Yoga Centres, Meditation Centres, facilities/amenities at Pilgrim Centres etc. subject to adherence to the existing scheme guidelines, availability of funds and submission of Utilization Certificates for funds released earlier. The Ministry of Tourism promotes India as a holistic destination in the domestic and international markets that include various tourism destinations, wellness & medical tourism and other tourism products of the country. The steps taken by the MoT to promote yoga and spiritual tourism include promotion in overseas markets through its overseas offices, road shows, participation in travel marts, production of brochures, films and other publicity material. This information was given by The Minister of State for Tourism (Independent Charge), Culture (Independent Charge) and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in reply to an unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha today .
