Rajasthan tourism has been honoured with the most scenic roads destination – Udaipur to Mount Abu – award in the India Today Tourism Survey and Awards 2023.
Rajasthan tourism department principal secretary Gayatri Rathore received the award.
Union minister of state (independent charge) for earth sciences Kiren Rijiju gave away the awards for the best tourism destinations while lieutenant governor of Delhi V.K. Saxena conferred the awards for best emerging destinations to respective state government officials at a function in New Delhi on February 29.
Gayatri Rathore participated in panel discussion
Rajasthan tourism principal secretary Gayatri Rathore participated in the panel discussion on Modifications in states tourism strategies. She highlighted efforts put in by the Rajasthan government for making state the tourist destination round the year. She also stressed upon the value of state animal camel and its produce, astronomy tourism, rural lifestyle and the rich culture and heritage of Rajasthan.
Efforts to boost Rajasthan tourism
Gayatri Rathore also shared innovative practices by Rajasthan government to attract investment in tourism sector. She said that the state government is serious about women security and has engaged women guides and home guards keeping in view the safety and security of women-tourists.
How awards were decided?
The awards were decided based on responses from frequent travellers and tourists in 121 tourist destinations across the country, nominated by state tourism boards/ ministries under nine categories decided by the India Today team.
After that, survey agency MDRA approached respondents and asked them to rate the destinations on six parameters: infrastructure, facilities, local culture and people, safety, activities and connectivity, on a scale of excellent to poor. An online survey was also conducted on the India Today website. The two modes were then analysed to rank the destinations.
Finally, a further filter of objective data on the number of domestic and foreign tourists visited, railway and airport connectivity, the number of accommodation options available, the government's Swachh Sarvekshan rank and Tripadvisor ratings were also taken into consideration.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
