Question : PROMOTION OF TOURISM

(a) the steps taken by Railways for promotion of tourism in the country in a big way;

(b) if so, the tourist circuits identified and the Railway Zones under which they come;

(c) whether any special tour packages in cooperation with various State Tourism Development Corporations have been devised;

(d) if so, the number of agreements signed for running special tourist trains in collaboration with State Tourist Development Corporations;

(e) whether any proposal has been received from State Government of Andhra Pradesh for promotion of tourism through Railways in that State; and

(f) if so, the action taken thereon?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI BANDARU DATTATRAYA)
(a) to (c): Railways have taken steps for promotion of tourism by running special trains/coaches as per demand, luxury trains like Palace on Wheels, Royal Orient Express, providing Indrail Passes, reservation quota, facilitation centres for the foreign tourists etc. A new company, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), has also been set up by the Railways for providing value added tourism packages and it is actively engaged in promotion of tourism by rail. No tourist circuits have been identified for this purpose. The IRCTC has devised tour packages in cooperation with the Kerala Tourism Development Corporation and Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation.
(d): Indian Railways have an agreement with the RTDC for running the “Palace on Wheels” train.
(e) & (f): The proposals for running Special trains and Palace on Wheels type train in Andhra Pradesh so far have not been found viable.