Madhya Pradesh to emerge prominently as a major tourist destination

A lot is being said and written about the state. A new campaign was followed by jingles on FM drawing the tourist to MP for diverse holiday experiences. Despite the hype, Madhya Pradesh’s Tourism Minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia, is keen to share the ground reality.
In an effort to boost the tourism sector in the state, the state’s tourism ministry is in the process of reviewing the existing tourism policy and is also planning to introduce a new hotel policy for the state. "The world is changing fast and there is a need to review the current tourism policy to make it more suitable keeping in mind emerging trends in the tourism sector," Tourism minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia declared. The new tourism policy will address issues related to infrastructure, taxation, medical tourism and other related areas. The policy will incorporate implementation measures to execute tourism-related projects within the given time-frame and will also focus on attracting private players to build the tourism infrastructure of the state.
The government will also introduce a new hotel policy to develop the hotel infrastructure of the state. "Both these policies will be approved within four months," Scindia added.
The tourism ministry is working on developing the ‘Narmada Circuit’ as one of the major tourist hotspots in the state. "The Narmada Circuit could ever be our USP," she said. The proposed circuit will cover a 1,200-km-stretch in MP starting from Amarkantak and will go on to Dindori–Jabalpaur–Hoshangabad-Nemawar-Omkareshwar-Maheshwar-Barwari. To be christened ‘Narmada Parikarma’, the circuit should undoubtedly strengthen the pilgrim and adventure tourism potential in the state.
Outlining the development plan for this circuit, Scindia said that the idea was to connect the entire stretch by land, water and railway. The Centre has, ‘in-principle’, agreed to sanction Rs 8 crore for the circuit this year and another Rs 8 crore next year for the Narmada Circuit train.
Apart from this circuit, the ministry is also planning to develop the existing forts of the state as tourist sites. "We are gathering information about the existing forts and their conditions from all 48 districts. We will try to develop these forts as tourist attraction centres," Scindia said.
The state tourism ministry is also in the process of signing MoUs to develop tourism infrastructure. "We have already signed an MoU with STOC to promote the state. Another MoU will be signed with Raj Express in the first week of October to run Volvo buses on 10 major tourist routes. The third MoU will be signed with the MP Flying Club to start MP Air. It will be a quasi-government body and will start operating with a six-seater aircraft to cater to the need of high-end tourists," informed the minister.
Scindia is making all efforts to improve the air connectivity in the state. "We have already gathered information from all 48 districts about the number and status of airstrips to expedite the issue of connectivity between destinations," she added. Air Deccan is awaiting permission to fly the Mumbai-Indore-Jabalpur and Ahmedabad-Indore-Nagpur routes, permission for which should be granted soon.
Rail links are also a focus and the rail link between Mahoba and Khajuraho will be ready by June 2007 which should enhance numbers to Khajuraho and the rest of the state as well. The Railways has also agreed, ‘in-principle’, to extend the route of the Taj Express to include Jhansi which will then offer better connectivity to Orchha and Khajuraho. Presently, it runs upto Gwalior.
The thrust is also on building better road infrastructure between the major tourist destinations to provide better connectivity as bad roads have been deterring tourists from coming to MP. The upgradation of roads is being executed at an expenditure of Rs 55 crores.
The tourism ministry is also in the process of inviting hoteliers to invest in building hotel infrastructure in the state.