OT Your favourite holiday destination
Ambika Soni As tourism minister where do I have the time to take holidays But, no, there are quite a number of places in India I adore. Travelling through the backwaters of Kerala makes for an unusual holiday. I enjoyed my recent trip to Orissa. I don&rsquot like to pick and choose, but if I had to, I guess it would be Hampi. It is out of this world.
OT How challenging is your current assignment
Ambika Soni Tourism is an area where you cannot afford to be stagnant. It has to offer something new to the traveller all the time. My challenge when I took over was how to encourage repeat visitors. We have done a number of surveys and found that only limited hotel rooms are available and the tariff is very high. More attention has to be paid to budget travellers, who are discerning spenders.
OT What&rsquos new on the tourism front
Ambika Soni To deal with room shortages we have started the Incredible India Bed and Breakfast programme in Delhi which will be replicated all over India. It will give us around 10-12,000 rooms in the budget category and also contribute to the economic empowerment of housewives. Eventually we hope to put all this information on the Ministry of Tourism website, through which tourists can book the rooms. I have also written to the FM to give infrastructure status to budget hotels, if not to all hotels. When land prices are so high there is little incentive to build budget hotels.
OT There has been talk of new luxury trains...
Ambika Soni Yes, we will soon have more trains dedicated to tourism &mdash a train for the south called the Deccan Splendour, one for the aam aadmi called Bharat Darshan, and another Palace on Wheels.
OT Is tourism finally being taken seriously
Ambika Soni Tourism contributes over 5% of the GDP and is poised to contribute around 8%. Tourism, directly and indirectly, generates significant employment. So we should be treated as an economic ministry contributing to infrastructure and I am happy to say that the PM has backed us and we are on the Committee on Infrastructure headed by him. The Urban Development Ministry has shortlisted 63 cities for Urban Renewal and we have shortlisted areas of tourist interest in these cities. The Urban Development ministry will create the infrastructure for these sites.
OT Your holiday style
Ambika Soni I love cruises. You get away from everything. I took a seven-day cruise recently to Barcelona. It was totally refreshing.
OT Recent trips
Ambika Soni I travel a lot but mostly for official reasons. Hampi, Bodh Gaya, the Northeast, West Bengal and Mahabalipuram have been some of my recent trips.
OT Travel advice for our readers
Ambika Soni We must keep in mind the sensitivities of the people of the area we are travelling in. We must do our bit towards conserving and preserving that destination. When I travel I should feel proud that I did not leave a pile of garbage. My enjoyment should not come in the way of your enjoyment.