Chandigarh:With a view to promoting Punjab as a major tourist destination, the state government has decided to invite investments from private companies in the hotel industry. Stating this here today a spokesman of the government said that Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister Punjab has already agreed to develop Punjab as the major attraction for outside investments. The government would also come out with an exclusive policy for the hotel sector to facilitate its growth in the region. The state was also looking forward to some major investments in the tourism sector, he added.
Punjab was in the process of revamping the infrastructure in the state aiming to increase its earnings from the tourism and hospitality sector. The state was already building up the infrastructure with new highways and expressways, developing area-specific tourism circuits to present Punjab as destination for the future. Now the focus would be on international tourism, he said. The state is in advanced stages of developing a 4,400 acres entertainment circuit in Ludhiana that would include hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, sports parlors, adventure sports areas for horse racing and Safaris and much more. The project would kick start by the end of this year and is likely to be completed by 2018.
Besides, the state is also in the process of setting up two trade fair centers, 100 acres each, and two convention centers with capacity ranging between 4000-5000 each at Mohali and Amritsar. The project is going to start shortly this year as it gets private participation through investments and management of the projects. These projects would act as catalysts for the whole industry and encourage people to come to Punjab and hold conventions there, he said.
Conventional centres to be set up in Mohali and Amritsar
Another pet project in the offing is the development of a hospitality sector around a 32 sq km Green Water Lake near Pathankot. The idea is to develop the area on lines of Maldives island resorts. Punjab has also touched base with some hoteliers and investors to transform some of the forts in the state into hotels. To promote tourism and preserve the old monuments giving an ancient touch, the Punjab government would also transform some magnificent forts in the state into hotels. The state has also assured a hassle free window clearance and development process in the state to the keen investors in the tourism sector in Punjab.