Ranchi: Jharkhand has registered about
four time rise in tourist inflow since its creation in 2000,
Tourism Minister Bimala Pradhan said on Friday.
"The tourist figure was only 57 lakh when the state
was created on November 15, 2000. As per a survey by 'Market
Plus' agency in 2009/10 it has increased to 257 lakh, a
mammoth growth, particularly with religious places attracting
the maximum," Pradhan told a news conference here.
Above 17,000 foreign tourists visited the state last
year, the minister said.
A Rs 20 crore project has also been launched to train
100 students in hotel management and give them jobs in various
hotels in the state.
The state has taken several initiatives in developing
religious places like Deogarh, Parasnath, Rajarappa and
Basukinath Temple in Dumka, she added.
The department has also proposed to develop Tagore
Hills and Jagganath Temple in Ranchi and a 20-room high-end
tourist complex at Netarhat to lure more tourists, she said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, August 05, 2011, 19:41