On the occasion of the World Tourism Day, Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today addressed a virtual meet on the theme of Tourism and rural development, along with Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel.

Mr Pradhan commended the Ministry of Tourism for its novel initiative Dekho Apna Desh that promotes and encourages local heritage and tourist sites. He spoke about India’s rich culture, history and ancient architectural marvels which offer immense scope for the growth of tourism industry.

Talking about Internet’s role in making the world a global village, Mr Pradhan called for effective use of technology to further strengthen India’s position as a global tourist hotspot.

Mr Pradhan said that tourism industry offers unprecedented potential for employment generation and empowerment of our youth, also in the rural areas.

He said that every district of our country has a historic story to share or a legend to narrate, and as India celebrates 75 years of independence in 2022, we must work on creating more tourism sites around the heroism of our freedom fighters.

The Minister called for weaving sustainability with tourism and collaborating to switch prime tourist cities to 100 per cent clean fuels, which will further help protect the monuments and ensure a cleaner environment for the tourists.