India has a coast line of 7,516.6 km, which has immense potential for maritime tourism. Gujarat forms the longest coastline of all Indian states with 1600 km and Goa having the smallest coastline with 101 km. The Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemicals & Fertilizers Mansukh Mandaviya and Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism & Culture Prahlad Singh Patel, in a meeting, emphasised on the need to promote important tourist destinations in the coastal areas of the country through coastal tourism .
It was decided in the meeting to set up a committee of senior officials of the two Ministries to explore the avenues for coastal tourism in the country and work out ways to promote the same. It was also decided to explore the possibilities and opportunities in the areas of Coastal Tourism, Cruise Tourism, Sea Sports, Light House Viewing Gallery. It was suggested that every coastal area can create a calendar of events for tourist engagement, with activities like beach volleyball, sand art, food festivals, dances of the fishing community, to name a few.
The Shipping Ministry is promoting tourism in maritime states under the Sagarmala Programme. This is being done in convergence with the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism Development Departments of maritime state governments.
These new, unexplored tourism areas will open a door to coastal communities of the maritime states where they will find many new and diverse job opportunities. In the coming years, coastal and maritime tourism will be a source for growth and job creation in the coastal states of India.
The two Ministers also underscored the need for better coordination and synergy between their respective Ministries so that desired results can be achieved in a time bound manner.