- To develop integrated tourism city with luxury hospitality and innovative tourism products and experiences. The expected investment is USD 500 Mn for projects.
- To develop three places as International skiing destinations. Expected investment is around USD 100 Mn, to attract tourists from across the world.
Uttarakhand beckons investments and tourist influx with its blend of pristine natural beauty and modernity, offering a haven for adventurous souls, tranquility-seekers, and alike. To boost the State’s tourism product mix and overall infrastructure, Uttarakhand brings to light the Investor Showcase Roadshow for the Uttarakhand Global Investor Summit 2023 in Mumbai on 6th November 2023.
The roadshow was graced by the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Pushkar Singh Dhami; Praveer Sinha, Managing Director & CEO, Tata Power and the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Principal Secretary, RK Sudhanshu; Director General & Commissioner of Industries, Uttarakhand, Rohit Meena; Sonia Garg, Vice Chairperson, CII Uttarakhand State Council & CEO, Forace Industries Pvt Ltd; and other respected dignitaries.
During the roadshow, the Minister drew light on the vibrant tourism USPs of the State and the vision for growing the tourism investment opportunities in Uttarakhand. According to him, there are good investment opportunities and available 6000-acre land bank in the State. The opportunities are backed by the new policies that are formulated to support investors/business in a structured, focused and comprehensive manner. Dhami welcomed the guests from the diverse segments and emphasized on the intention of how Uttarakhand is keen on inviting and encouraging investments from private units/stakeholders for various sectors in the State.
“We have come to Mumbai after all the preparations with the much-needed policies that are formulated on the basis of the feedback that we have received from the private stakeholders. We are flexible, and open to more feedback and suggestions on the same, to make the processes seamless for the investors. There have been migrations occurring from Uttarakhand, where inhabitants move out of Uttarakhand for opportunities. We are looking to generate employment opportunities within the State, with the support of the investments, so that the local communities do not have to step outside the State.”
Talking about the overall steps taken to influence investments in the State, Dhami mentioned “We have met around 70-80 people already before coming here, and we altogether, are looking to meet more 400-500 people, where the bigger share is expected to be from Mumbai. We are glad to share that we have received many investable offers, and we have already signed 1 lakh crore MoUs till date that we will be sincerely looking forward to executing.”
“We have laid special emphasis on the Single Window Clearance System, which is not 100% operational yet but we are trying our best to enable the processes seamlessly. We have also introduced the Investment Promotion & Facilitation Centre (IPFC), a one-stop shop for investors/businesses to interact with Govt. of Uttarakhand for investment needs. This dedicated agency is set up to provide complete handholding support in a structured, focused and comprehensive manner”, added the Minister.
Sharing factual insights with the guests, Director General & Commissioner of Industries, Uttarakhand, Rohit Meena highlighted the Tourism Policy that is with a vision to establish destinations, circuits, and clusters with tourist-friendly infrastructure and to enable world-class tourism experiences in the State. He stated, “We are looking at developing three places as International skiing destinations. Expected investment is around USD 100 Mn, to attract tourists from across the world. Uttarakhand, with beautiful snow-clad mountains, have the potential to become one of the top skiing destinations in the world. The projects are Auli, Chamoli; Munsiyari, Pithoragarh; Dayara Bugyal, Uttarkashi.”
“There are also plans to develop integrated tourism city with luxury hospitality and innovative tourism products and experiences. The expected investment is USD 500 Mn for projects Integrated Tourism City, Patwadangar, Nainital; Multiple Hospitality Projects at HMT, Nainital; Infrastructure Projects in Tehri”, Meena added. He also drew light on the investment opportunities in the related industries.
The main focus areas with regard to inviting investments for tourism infrastructure are Adventure, Ayush, and Wellness. The goal of the Tourism Policy is to attract investment of over twenty thousand crore in tourism, and take up 100 PPP projects before 2030. Other goals include employing over 10 lakh people, with women accounting for at least 30% of the workforce through tourism and its supporting industries; To increase average length of stay of tourists in Uttarakhand to 4-5 days; to increase foreign tourist visits as a proportion of total non-religious tourist visits in Uttarakhand to 5%, and more.