Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and K.J Alphons, Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism kicked off the Paryatan Parv celebrations at Humayun’s Tomb, New Delhi. The Parv is being organized in each state from October 5 to October 25, 2017. The objective of the Parv is to bring India’s diverse tourism products and culture on the fore.
Speaking on the occasion, Sharma stressed on the close linkage of culture and tourism in the country and how we need to work on making India’s rich cultural heritage as tourism attractions. Alphons highlighted the need to drastically improve the tourist arrivals in the country. He also said that tourism is needed for two reasons namely providing employment to the people and to become an engine of growth.
Earlier in the day, the ‘Paryatan Parv’ activities began with the flagging of the cycle rally by Rashimi Verma, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India from India Gate, New Delhi to Qutab Minar. Approximately 80 cyclists from across Delhi including members of tourism Industry Stakeholders, officials from central Ministries, doctors, teachers and students participated this rally.
The other activities in the capital included a guided Heritage walk at Humayun’s Tomb & painting competition for children etc. Tourism awareness Walk and Run were organised in Shillong , Bhubaneswar , Kovalam (Kerala), Hajipur (Bihar), Gurudaspur, Chennai, Guwahati, Mumbai, Ahmedabad , Jaipur, Imphal, Lucknow, Agra, Hyderabad , Gwalior, Bhopal, Panaji(Goa), Delhi . 100’s of student from Institute of Hotel Management in the said cities & local stakeholders enthusiastically participated in the Tourism walk & Run. The various State Tourism Departments also joined the celebrations by organising various events like trekking programme, photography contest, essay competitions, sensitization program etc.In Guwahati , the students took to rowing in the Brahmaputra river spreading the message of Paryatan parv.
The Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management, Noida organised a painting competition for school children on the theme “Tourism for All” & “Dekho Apna Desh”.
During the inauguration, the Ministry of Tourism launched a special film on the concept of Paryatan Parv and a promotional film on the various competitions to be organised during the Paryatan Parv across India. The microsite on the project “Adopt a Heritage”, www.adoptaheritage.in, was unveiled during the inauguration of the “Paryatan Parv” event jointly by the Sharma and Alphons.
