Special Focus: Rajasthan Tourism Is Key
Rajasthan is the state that symbolises royalty, gallantry, resplendence, festivals and the barren yet striking Thar Desert. Its culture, festivals, customs and even cuisines are deeply associated with the ancient Indian culture. Its diverse landscape attracts tourists from all over the world. Rajasthan constitutes 23 per cent of the NCR, second largest urban agglomeration in the world. Rajasthan houses 322 industrial areas comprising 4 agro parks, 3EPIPs and SEZs. The EPIP in Jaipur is the largest in North India while IT SEZ in the state capital is the largest in the country. With 252 mines currently in operation, Rajasthan accounts for the entire production of lead and zinc concentrates of India
Investment in Tourism Sector—Overview
The State of Rajasthan is one of the most favored destinations of tourists in India for both domestic and international traffic. Its desert dotted with rugged forts and beautiful palaces, lakes, wildlife and bird sanctuaries, charming cities, fairs and festivals, and colorful culture form the most fascinating and unique basket of attractions for any tourist. Tourism accounts for over 14 per cent of the state's economy in 2010 - 2011.
Popular tourist destinations in the state include historic cities (Jaipur, Udaipur), wildlife sanctuaries (Sariska, Ranthambore) and desert locations (Jodhpur, Jaisalmer). The State runs famous luxury tourist trains—Royal Rajasthan on Wheels and Palace on Wheels—that connect some of the important tourist destinations of Rajasthan with Delhi and Agra (in Uttar Pradesh). This year Jantar Mantar, Jaipur has been included in the list of World Heritage Sites of UNESCO.
During the calendar year 2011, up to December, the number of tourist arrivals in the State was 284.89 Lacs (271.37 Lacs domestic and 13.52 Lacs foreign). Rajasthan accounted for 21.49 per cent of total foreign tourists arrival in India in 2011.
Rajasthan ranks 5th in the country in number of domestic tourists arrival (3.9 per cent of total domestic tourists) and 6th in number of foreign tourists arrival (7.8 per cent of total foreign tourists).
Rajasthan has a developed tourism infrastructure, with over 6,000 hotel rooms in more than 150 hotels. Of these, over 1,400 rooms (54 hotels) belong to the heritage category.
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