Sunday, March 19 2006 12:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India has unleashed a publicity blitzkreig and a host of other measures to put the country on the global tourism map as the 'most-favoured destination' and to give impetus to the industry, one of the major foreign exchange earners and job providers.

Government has kick started an ambitious training programme of various stakeholders to sensitise them in hospitality, organised road shows and trade fairs, developed new tourist destinations and joined hands with international tour operators to boost arrivals in the country.

The Centre has spent Rs 140 crore this fiscal for the publicity campaign to position 'Brand India' as the most-favoured global destination, according to the performance budget, tabled in the Rajya Sabha.

Among other initiatives, the government has trained over 52,000 stakeholders, including taxi drivers and porters, for raising their level of awareness on the importance of tourism as part of the Tourism Ministry's much-popularised 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' campaign, it said.

The Ministry has taken steps to place the highly-successful 'Incredible India' campaign to the next level and launch a centralised media campaign in important overseas markets, with special emphasis on emerging markets in East and South East Asia.