Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 22: To give impetus to the pilgrimage tourism and to gain first-hand experience of tourist spots, Joint Director Tourism Jammu Sunaina Sharma Mehta embarked on a two-day tour of the Rajouri district.
On the first day of tour, she visited the world-renowned Shahdara Sharief, which is one the popular religious sites in Rajouri. The other famous sites of pilgrimage circuit are Mangla Mata Temple, Dudhadhari Mandir, Veer Badreshwar Temple etc.
On the second day, she visited the offbeat tourist destination of Dera Ki Gali and interacted with various stakeholders in the tourism industry at Rajouri town which includes members from travel trade fraternity, hotel industry, public representatives and others.
During interaction, she assured them of all possible support in addressing their genuine issues and grievances. She emphasized upon the importance of constant and structured consultations on issues to work out solutions and enhance the standards of the tourism sector. She also laid stress on taking tourist feedback and idea exchange between the stakeholders and the department, which she termed as critical to augment the growth of the industry.
Prominent among those who spoke during the interactive session included Rajesh Gupta (President Beopar Mandal Rajouri), Councillors Mushtaq Ahmed and Sanjay Sharma, Tahir Lone, Haji Alam Din and Umer Malik.
Mehta emphasized the need to upscale the standards of the tourism industry in Rajouri and promote home-stay registration with Tourism Department to generate employment opportunities for the local youth. She also urged them to get themselves registered under the J&K Homestay Policy for which the Department of Tourism shall ensure full facilitation and cooperation. She also stressed the promotion of offbeat destinations in the district to attract more visitors.
ADT Rajouri Arif Lone also accompanied the Joint Director Tourism during her visit.
Interacting with the media at the end of the session, she highlighted that the picturesque areas of the Rajouri district have ample scope for development and encouraged the local people to come together and take advantage of the homestay scheme offered by the Tourism Department. She informed that so far 72 homestays have been registered by the department.
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