Shimla: A total of 1.23 crore tourists visited Himachal Pradesh in 2009-10 and efforts are on to add more sites and increase facilities to further boost tourism in the hill state, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said on Thursday.
Out of the total, 1.19 crore were domestic tourists and four lakh were foreigners who arrived in the state till February-end 2009-10, he said rolling out statistics in reply to a question of Congress's Kual Singh Thakur in the assembly.
The tourist arrival was nearly double of the population of the tiny Himalayan state, which stands at about 70 lakh.
Dhumal, who also holds Tourism portfolio, said the number of tourists arriving in HP has been increasing every year.
While about 88 lakh tourists, domestic as well foreigners, had visited HP in 2007-08, the number rose to 97 lakh in 2008-09 which has further soared to 1.23 crore till February-end in the current financial year, he added.
He said steps were being taken to further boost tourism, the dominant source of revenue earning for the state.
Dhumal said 125 virgin sites abound with scenic beauty or having rich historical background have been selected across the state for developing them into potential tourist spots.
Funds for the same has been sanctioned by the Union government
as well the state government, he added.
For better connectivity, helipads were being built in 12 remote places in the state for luring high-end tourists by starting heli-taxi service.
Public toilets were being constructed along national highways and state highways to add civic facilities for the tourists arriving in the state, he said.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 15:59