Tourism ministers of South Indian states will meet in Thiruvananthapuram on August 20 and 21, 2011 under the aegis of the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, to discuss common issues related to tourism in the region. This is the third such regional meeting by the MoT after Subodh Kant Sahai took over as Union Minister for Tourism. The MoT had earlier organised similar meetings in the Northern Region (in Rishikesh) and in the Western Region (Aurangabad).
When asked about the agenda of these meetings, Sahai said, “The objective is to 'sensitise the states' about the potential of the tourism sector. If you look at most of the states’ annual budget, the financial allocation for the tourism sector is in single digits. That should change. States should try to involve the private sector in destination development." While basic infrastructure facilities can be set up by central and state funding, private investors should get involved in destination development activities undertaken by the states, he suggested.