PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (PHDCCI) first Global Spiritual Tourism Conclave which took place in Ayodhya on 23 August, came in for high praise from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India; Uttar Pradesh Tourism and Madhya Pradesh Tourism
Board, which collaborated with the industry body for organizing the conclave.
Sheo Shekhar Shukla, Principal Secretary – Tourism and Culture, Madhya Pradesh said that 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, Government of India; 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 emphasized on the significance of spiritual tourism in India’s socio-economic landscape.
A special guest at the conclave was Champat Rai, General Secretary, 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. Emphasising on the role of the Government in creating infrastructure and providing facilities to pilgrims, he criticized the profit-making which industry was getting into, in a holy place like Ayodhya.
The inaugural session saw release of two reports – one by PHDCCI on the Conclave with messages from Uttar Pradesh Governor, Anandiben Patel; Tourism and Culture Minister, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the Chamber. The second report was made by KPMG in partnership with PHDCCI on the scope, challenges and recommendations for spiritual tourism.
