Eco-tourism part of plan to attract more people to Bihar

CHENNAI: Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation is taking a series of initiatives, including boosting eco-tourism, to attract more visitors to the state, a top official said here today.

"There is more emphasis on eco-tourism as it was absent earlier. The Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve and the Black-Buck Safari are some of the initiatives in this regard," BSTDC Managing Director D K Shukla told a press meet here.

As for the Tiger Reserve, which ranks fourth in India in terms of density of the wild cat population, tourists would be allowed only in "restricted areas" out of the 880 sq.km. sanctuary, he said.

Infrastructure and transport necessary for the tourism sector have been developed and the "image of and perception about Bihar is changing," Shukla said.

Year 2011 marked 2,600 years of enlightenment of Lord Buddha and celebrations would continue in 2012 also, he said, adding a slew of activities had been either rolled out or were in the anvil to attract more tourists to the state.

This includes the popular Buddhist Circuit programme, Rural Tourism, Aqua Tourism with focus on river Ganga and Yoga and Meditation Package, among others, he said.

The provisional tourists figure in January-December 2011 was 1.32 crore, including over 5.27 lakh foreign visitors to his state, Shukla added.