New Delhi: Prime minister Narendra Modi in early March while addressing a post budget webinar on ‘Developing Tourism in Mission Mode’ said that out of box thinking was needed to achieve new heights in the tourism sector.

“We will have to think out of the box and plan ahead to achieve new heights in tourism. It is not a high fancy word representing the rich,” he said. “This year’s budget focuses on the holistic development of the destinations. Increase in the facilities has led to a manifold increase in the arrival of devotees at Kashi Vishwanath, Kedar Dham and Pavagadh,” he added.

Tourism has the same potential in the country as agriculture, real estate development, infrastructure and textile, the Prime Minister said further. Mr Modi suggested that every tourist destination in the country can develop its own revenue model.

“Our villages are becoming centres of tourism due to their improving infrastructure,” the prime minister said. Mr Modi informed that eight lakh foreign tourists had come to India in January this year compared to only two lakh in January last year, adding that India has a lot to offer to high-spending tourists also.