Promoting the state, which has “the epitome of love — the Taj Mahal”, as a wedding destination, organising an international yoga conclave, hot-air balloon rides in Dudhwa National Park, introducing caravan and rural tourism, promoting Agra’s petha, Mathura’s peda, Lucknow’s galawati kababs and Malihabad’s mangoes: all this will be part of a new tourism policy that Uttar Pradesh is drawing up.
News18 has reviewed the draft tourism policy to be implemented from 2023 for the next 10 years in the state. “Suchna (Awareness), Swagat (Welcome), Suvidha (Amenities), Suraksha (Safety), Swachthta (Cleanliness), Sanrachna (Infrastructure) and Sahyog (Support) form the guiding principles for this policy,” the document says.
Uttar Pradesh is a high-tourism destination in India for domestic and foreign visitors, but the policy now aims at “increasing the tourism earnings and footfalls and to encourage repeat visits”.
A new focus area will be encouraging rural homestays in villages of the state. The Yogi Adityanath government also plans to organise nearly a dozen events in the state on a large scale with special marketing and promotional activities like drone shows, and light-and-sound shows. This will include the Deepotsav in Ayodhya, Ramayan Mela, Dev Deepavali, Hot Air Balloon Festival, Navratri Mahotsav, Mahashivratri Mahotsav, World Tourism Day, Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Buddhist Conclave, Rangotsav, Kumbh Mela, and Krishnotsav.
The selling points of Uttar Pradesh
The new tourism policy aims to promote Uttar Pradesh as a wedding destination both in India and abroad. “Uttar Pradesh has the top tourism draw of India, easily recognised world over. With the Taj Mahal, an epitome of love within the State, aim is to develop wedding tourism as a niche product in the policy,” the document says, adding that the government will participate in Indian and international events to promote UP as a wedding destination.
UP also wants to be a “magnet for spiritual tourism” and “wellness tourism” with promotion of yoga and ayurveda for lifestyle enhancement. “The ancient Indian techniques of Yoga and Ayurveda would be focused on and strategically developed to gain national and international attention. An International Yoga Conclave shall be organised annually. World class Wellness Centres can be developed in Sarnath, Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Varanasi and Mathura,” the policy says.
The draft policy also wants to encourage tourists to travel to rural locations and experience the daily activities of the village, which would offer them a chance to imbibe the traditions and culture of the area. “Village tourism hubs would be identified and declared within short driving distance of major tourist sites such as Agra, Varanasi, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Chitrakoot,” the policy mentions.
Adventure hubs would be developed for camping sites including ziplines, ropewalks, and aero sports, yachting and sailing would be promoted on the Gomti river. Caravan tourism would be encouraged to enable travellers to explore the state. “Hot air balloon operators of global repute would be invited and assisted to set up activities such as hot air-balloon rides in destinations like Varanasi and near Dudhwa Wildlife Sanctuary…towards making UP a leading hot air-balloon destination of the country,” says the policy.
Culinary tourism
Culinary tourism is another key focus area of the policy to attract tourists. “Curated experiential activities involving unique food preparations of Uttar Pradesh, exclusively available only in the state, such as Agra Petha (sweet dish), Mathura ka Peda (sweet dish) and Galawati kababs (Lucknow) would be facilitated,” the policy says. It also speaks of the Allahabad Surkha Guava, Mango Malihabadi Dussehri, Kalanamak Rice, Basmati Rice, and Mahoba Desawari Pan.
The foundation of the new policy is to develop focus tourist destinations (FTDs) around Uttar Pradesh, promote and develop tourism in lesser-known areas, build on thematic sectors incentivising investment and generating employment, and collaborate between private and public sector players to create a high-quality tourist-centric ecosystem, the document mentions.
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