Govt to develop tourism e-portal: Mir

Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 20: With a view to provide comprehensive information regarding varied tourism activities and facilities available for tourists intending to visit Jammu and Kashmir, the Government is considering to develop its own tourism e- Portal.
The decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the officers of Tourism Department held here today.
Minister for Tourism, Ghulam Ahmad Mir chaired the meeting attended by Managing Director, JKTDC, Satish Nehru, Special Secretary Tourism, Anil Kumar Gupta, Director Tourism, Kashmir, Talat Pervez, Director Tourism, Jammu, Soujanya Sharma and other senior officers of Tourism Department besides Vice President Software & IT Services of Navayuga Spital Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad.
During the meeting detailed discussion was held for developing software applications to enhance e- governance in Tourism Department and provide intending tourists requisite knowledge about tourism activities in the State.
The Tourism Minister directed for constituting a committee to supervise development of Tourism e-Portal under the chairmanship of Director Tourism Kashmir and Additional Secretary Tourism besides Deputy Directors Publicity, Kashmir and Jammu and Manager Online JKTDC as its Members. He also directed Director Tourism to formulate a detailed project report for funding from the Centre for this purpose.
Tourism Minister said that in order to reach out to tourists in more efficient manner e-governance should be introduced comprehensively while underlining the need to provide ready information about accommodation, travel destinations, transport facilities besides services of leisure, pilgrimage, adventure and niche tourism etc.
On the occasion, Vice President Software & IT Services of Navayuga Spital Technologies Pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad made a power point presentation of e-Tourism portal where in the concepts of online delivery of the tourist services were presented. The e-tourism portal is intended to provide information about tourist places, events and other tourist related activities taking place in Jammu and Kashmir.
It will also depict the Tariff and Fee being charged for various tourist services. The portal will also help visitors to register their complaints and give their valuable feedback. It also envisages monitoring tourist movement while they are in the state and to reach out to them in case of any distress and emergency situation. The portal further envisages developing mobile based applications for providing ready reference about all tourist facilities available at particular resorts of the State.