DELHI: The Centre will soon set up five exclusive tourism zones in public-private partnership mode wherein state governments will offer land in excess of 1,000 acres and also bring in private players for development.
This is expected to alleviate the shortage of hotel rooms in the country, besides generating employment and boosting the economy, reports The Economic Times.
The government will finalise the sites for the proposed zones in accordance with the ‘challenge method’, ranking states on over half-dozen parameters and allotting the zones on the basis of these rankings, a senior official told ET.
The states competing for the project will be ranked on availability of land and infrastructure, tax incentives and, most importantly, whether a state has a plan in place for development of these zones by private players, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Top five ranked states will bag the project for these zones, which will eventually emerge as not just a huge source of revenue for the state governments but also a big source of employment generation,” the official said. “The tourism ministry has already initiated discussions with the state governments and industry, and will soon formalise guidelines for the same.”
