AAP government seeks innovative ideas to make Delhi international tourist hub

NEW DELHI: The AAP government today invited "innovative" ideas from senior bureaucrats, who have travelled to foreign countries, to make Delhi an international tourist destination and increase the time of stay of tourists by giving them more options to explore the heritage city.

To revive the tourism sector in Delhi, Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra held a brain-storming session with over 30 senior bureaucrats, including all principal secretaries and HODs, at Delhi Secretariat here today.

Comparing Delhi with other capital cities of Asia and Europe, Mishra highlighted low tourist average stay in Delhi and invited ideas for more tourism avenues.

"The average stay of a tourist in Delhi is very low at 1.2 days as compared to an average of 4.95 days in Bangkok, 2.7 days in Paris and 4.2 days in London. Delhi is at the bottom of the spectrum and we need to increase this number by giving more tourism option.

"There is need to bridge this gap and ensure that tourists don't just use Delhi as a transit city for other locations but enjoy the vast avenues of this modern heritage city has to offer to any traveller of any taste," he said.

According to officials, the officers came up with some out-of-the-box to make Delhi an international tourist destination. They shared experiences and inputs to make Delhi comparable to any metropolis of the world. They gave over 150 ideas related to heritage, tourism, culture, art and languages.

"It is a myth that we need a lot of money and big-ticket infrastructure projects to create a world-class city. Neither do we need to send our team to foreign countries to study their model. Senior bureaucrats have travelled across the world for various government projects. We are tapping the expertise of this in-house talent and they just need to suggest innovative ideas based on their experience," Mishra said.

During the meeting, several bureaucrats shared their experiences from countries that they had travelled to and collectively resolved to make Delhi into the hub of tourism.