Blitz Bureau
AYODHYA: PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (PHDCCI) first Global Spiritual Tourism Conclave, ROOHmantic, held here on August 23, came in for high praise from the Union Ministry of Tourism; Uttar Pradesh Tourism and Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board, which collaborated with it in organising the conclave.
Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary, Tourism and Culture, Madhya Pradesh, extolled the concept of the summit, which he said was unique and showed the innovative thinking of the Chamber in combining spirituality with tourism.
The conclave brought together global thought leaders, Government officials and industry stakeholders, who took the holy city of Ayodhya’s transformation into a global spiritual tourism destination a notch higher, fostering discussions that will shape the future of the industry.
Also present in the inaugural session were Eesha Priya, Special Secretary – Tourism, Government of Uttar Pradesh; Arun Srivastava, Joint Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Rajan Sehgal, Co-Chair – Tourism & Hospitality Committee, PHDCCI; and Shalini S Sharma, Assistant Secretary General, PHDCCI.
Shukla provided insights into Madhya Pradesh’s efforts in preserving and promoting its spiritual heritage. Priya spoke about the state’s commitment to enhancing infrastructure in spiritual hubs like Ayodhya. Srivastava highlighted the Government’s initiatives to promote spiritual destinations across the country. Sehgal emphasised on the significance of spiritual tourism in India’s socioeconomic landscape.
A special guest at the conclave was Champat Rai, General Secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra, who gave insights into the vision behind Shri Ram Mandir, the kind of facilities that it has the provision to provide and the direction which future development is going to take.
Two reports were released, one by the PHDCCI on the conclave and other by KPMG in tie-up with PHDCCI on the scope, challenges and recommendations for spiritual tourism.
