Comparative Analysis Of Tourism Policy Implementation In Uttar Pradesh And Maharashtra
- IJLLR Journal
- Sep 19
- 2 min read
Sanya Kukreja, Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur
1. Introduction and Background of the Problem
Brief Overview
India is a land of multi-diversity. Every state here represents something different, something unique which cannot be found anywhere else in the world, whether it may be the scenery, the food, the culture, traditions, people or anything else. People around the world are attracted to India for all different reasons. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said,
"To other countries, I may go as a tourist, but to India, I come as a pilgrim."
Indian tourism is on a surge and to manage it there are different policies enacted by the states from time to time. Tourism is an essential sector contributing significantly to India's socio- economic development. Effective implementation of tourism policies is the key to attract both domestic and international tourists. Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Maharashtra, two of India's most visited states, have adopted structured tourism policies to promote cultural, religious, and heritage tourism.
To evaluate the extent of transparency and implementation of these policies, we filed RTI applications with the respective Tourism Departments of UP and Maharashtra. The objective was to assess major infrastructure initiatives, efforts towards conservation of UNESCO sites, public-private partnerships, FDI inflows, tourist police deployment, and government collaborations for event management and accommodation services. While Maharashtra is famous for metropolitan attractions like Mumbai with cultural sites like Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Uttar Pradesh is most known for its religious tourism and UNESCO heritage buildings like the Taj Mahal. There is little public knowledge about stakeholder participation, budget transparency, and real-time progress in these efforts. These RTIs aimed to assess transparency, accountability, and the actual implementation status of the respective tourism policies. We will also be delving into comparative analysis between the approaches of two states with respect to the budget allocation, the FDIs and other information mentioned above.
