By IANS,
New Delhi : Helicopters will attract tourists to the northeastern state of Meghalaya, Governor Ranjit Shekhar Mooshahary said here Wednesday.
Mooshahary met Tourism Minister Kumari Selja and discussed the state’s tourism potential.
“Meghalaya has vast tourism potential both for domestic as well as foreign tourists. Tourism is one of the most important aspects in achieving the national integration,” he said.
He also said the leave travel concession (LTC) offered by the central government to its employees to visit the northeast has made Meghalaya quite popular among tourists.
On chopper-based tourism, he urged the minister that travel by helicopter to Meghalaya may be made affordable to attract more visitors to the area and hoped a subsidy can be considered.
In July, Kumari Selja had announced that her ministry plans to roll out “nice products” to attract more tourists. One of the projects is helicopter-borne tourism.
It is aimed at promoting remote areas that have good tourism potential but are not easily accessible by road or rail. The ministry will provide financial assistance to the state governments to build helipads at these locations.
Kumari Selja said the central government was committed to promote tourism in the northeast and the region is on the priority agenda for development of tourism-related infrastructure.