President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the National Tourism Awards for 2013-14 at a function held at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. He stressed the need for building a high quality tourism infrastructure to help increase tourism inflow in the country.
(Tourism Minister – Mahesh Sharma)
(Tourism Secretary – Vinod Zutshi)
- Key Awardees
State | Category |
| Gujarat (4) | – 1st prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism – Best Rural Tourism Project for Rann Utsav – Best Film Promotion Friendly State – Best Tourism Promotion Publicity Material for Gujarat’s 50 Golden Destinations’ coffee table book |
| Madhya Pradesh (6) | – 2nd prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism – Best Maintained and Disabled-Friendly Monument for Bhojpur Temple – Best civic management of a tourist destination of India (Municipal Council of Maheshwar, Distt.Khargone) – Most tourist friendly Railway station (Habibganj) – Best Heritage City (Gwalior) |
| Rajasthan | 3rd prize in Comprehensive Development of Tourism |
| Kerala | Most Innovative use of Information technology |
| Delhi | Best Heritage Walk (Mehrauli Archaeological Park) |
| IGI Airport (Delhi) | Best Airport (Class X cities) |
| Swami Vivekananda airport in Raipur, Chhattisgarh | Best Airport (Rest of India) |
| The Great Backwaters of Kerala | Best Tourism film |
Initiatives Taken by Tourism Ministry
- Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) aiming at integrated development of circuits and pilgrim centres.
- 24×7 Incredible India Helpline (1363) to provide the tourists valuable information and to guide them during emergencies which currently operates in Hindi and English It will be available in 12 more foreign languages like Russian and Japanese.
- Welcome Booklet being distributed at immigration counters containing information on Dos and Don’ts for tourists.
Contribution of tourism to economy
- Country earned 1, 23,000 Crore rupees of foreign exchange through tourism last year.
- It contributes 8% to the GDP.
About National Tourism Awards
- These awards are being given since the early 1990s.
- These awards are being given to state governments/Union Territories, classified hotels, heritage hotels, approved travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators, individuals and other private organizations in recognition of their performance in their respective fields.
