Chennai, Sept 27 (KNN) The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday gave industry status to tourism industry with the aim to attract Rs 20,000 crore investment in the sector.

The industry status to the sector has been given with the launch of the state’s tourism policy. The policy aims at giving a fillip to adventure tourism, recreation tourism, caravan tourism, rural and plantation tourism, coastal tourism, cultural tourism, medical and wellness tourism, religious tourism, eco-tourism, MICE (meetings, incentives, conference, and exhibition) tourism, heritage tourism and film tourism.

Under this policy, tourism projects and stakeholders and others will become eligible for funds that come under development of industries and will lead to better employment opportunities and training. Priority sectors and destinations can be developed.

The policy also envisages single window permission for tourism schemes and will also promote private investments in different sectors like parks, heritage hotels, traveller’s lodges, huts, caravans, health tourism resorts, hostels, oceanariums, golf courses and others to promote tourism in a better way, an official statement said. 

The policy also aims at ensuring that tourism will contribute 12 per cent of the state GDP, employment to 25 lakh people and skill development for three lakh people.

As part of efforts to promote responsible tourism to reduce the impact of tourism, the government will try to decongest mass tourism hubs by satellite nodes. Comprehensive guidelines will be established for tourists, local communities, and civic authorities. These guidelines will focus on minimising the negative impact of tourism activities on the environment, particularly in eco-sensitive regions.

As per reports, financial assistance will be provided for tourism initiatives that set the utmost importance on environmental protection. Rainwater harvesting programmes, the use of renewable energy sources, and effective waste management will be incentivised to promote eco-friendly practices. 

Tourism initiatives that implement the requirements of the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) or the Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) will be acknowledged for their commitment to sustainability.

Tamil Nadu shall leverage technology to facilitate data-driven planning and monitoring. In this context, the state shall establish a system to accurately collect and analyse data for informed decision-making. The overall analytics mechanism shall also monitor the ground-level implementation of policy reforms and other tourism initiatives.

KNN Bureau