ITANAGAR, Sept 28 - Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu appealed the people of the State to adopt �good behaviour� and create a �tourist friendly atmosphere� for promotion of tourism in the State.
Greeting the people on the eve of World Tourism Day, the Chief Minister urged the people to adopt the Government of India-promoted concept �Atithi Devo Bhava� to make tourism a thriving industry to change the State�s fortune.
�Arunachal with its rich natural beauty and diverse culture can become a top tourist destination. To achieve it, we have to start planting our seeds today to reap rich benefits tomorrow. So I call upon the people of the State to let us join hands and work together for the success of �Brand Arunachal� (entity),� Khandu said.
He, however, made it clear that �the government alone cannot sell the idea of �Brand Arunachal� without people as its core component. Therefore, people�s proactive participation is must to create a good image of our State to the outside world.�
�In our pursuit to promote tourism and to encourage tourism entrepreneurs, the State Government has extended loan interest subsidy to 52 beneficiaries recently under the Chief Minister�s Paryatan Vikas Yojana for setting up of patisserie, food court, home stay and purchase of adventure equipments,� he said.
Khandu further said that the State Government is also according high priority to connectivity for promotion of tourism in the State. With completion of Trans-Arunachal Highway and the dual use of Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) for civilians and defence forces, the State will soon see boost of tourist inflow in the State.
Meanwhile, Governor V Shanmuganathan also extended his warm greetings to the people of the State, particularly those entrepreneurs who are in tourism ventures on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
He expressed hope that the celebration of the special day will foster awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economical values.
Calling upon the State Government, the people, entrepreneurs and tour operators to join hands together to make this frontier State most-sought-after tourist destination, the Governor exuded confidence that Arunachal will be the most favoured tourist destination in the country in near future.
�Arunachal Pradesh is blessed with rich cultural and geographical diversity making it one of the most popular tourist destinations among local and foreign travellers. It offers diverse forms of tourism, including cultural, rural, religious, historical, nature, wildlife, water sports, mountaineering, hiking, adventure and eco-tourism to name a few,� the Governor said.
