Jaipur: Rajasthan has been ranked as the fifth most popular state among tourists, according to data compiled by the Union govt, with a 7.1% and 8.8% share in domestic and international tourists, said Principal Secretary (Tourism) Rajesh Yadav. However, he cautioned the industry about high room rates that could divert tourists to other destinations.In 2023, 2,507 million domestic tourists visited different parts of the country, with Rajasthan having a share of 180 million. Out of the 19.25 million foreign tourists who visited India, 1.70 million came to Rajasthan, as per the data.While giving details of the Rajasthan Domestic Travel Mart, organised by the tourism department along with the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of Rajasthan, Yadav said that Southeast Asian countries are becoming cheaper compared to Rajasthan, and the industry needs to take note of it and act.He also said that the state tourism department is working on a strategy to introduce an ‘adopt a monument scheme’ in line with the Union govt’s initiative to maintain the monuments. He appealed to the industry to support the scheme to make the monuments more attractive for tourists.Underlining the importance of rural tourism, he proposed that the stakeholders of the industry help identify 1,000 villages out of the nearly 50,000 in the state. “We can develop them as model villages for tourism,” Yadav added, emphasizing the diversification of tourism movement from hotspots to new destinations.Some cities in the state, including Jaipur and Udaipur, have sporadically experienced the impact of overtourism as the existing infrastructure capacity falls short of the demand due to the rush of visitors.Speaking about the domestic tourism mart, President of FHTR Kuldeep Singh Chandela said over 1,000 tour operators, travel agents, and experience sellers will participate in the three-day event starting from Sept 12. He said over 8,000 business-to-business meetings have already been scheduled to take place during the event.Tourism Commissioner Rukmani Riar, FHTR Honorary Secretary Virendra Singh Shekhawat, and Senior Vice President of the industry body Surendra Singh Shahpura highlighted various issues of tourism.
Raj ranks 5th in tourism in India, but hotels need to lower rates: Tourism Secy | Jaipur News
