Lighthouse tourism in India: Lighthouse tourism in India set to get a increase! Lighthouses are an fascinating tourism feature all more than the world, and it is time that the feature catches up in India as nicely. Since lighthouses are commonly situated close to the coastline, they provide a scenic view of the spot to vacationers. And now, the Parliament has passed the Marine Aids To Navigation 2021, which would lead to the development of lighthouses as tourist destinations. According to an Expression of Interest document of the Union Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, 65 lighthouse web pages have been identified to be created into tourist spots in public private partnership mode.
The ministry has mentioned that one of the lighthouses that would be transformed for this project is the Mandvi Lighthouse in Gujarat, which is constructed on the Mandvi Fort and overlooks the Arabian Sea from the west coast of the nation. This lighthouse is situated at a distance of 8km from the Mandvi Beach, and as per plans, throughout its development, the spot would get facilities like gardening, landscaping and seating.
Under the Marine Aids To Navigation 2021, standard and historical values of lighthouses would be preserved as nicely as showcased as portion of the initiative.
In the Expression of Interest, the ministry wrote that as compared to the possible India has when it comes to tourism, its gains are “relatively modest”. It added that the ministry recognised the untapped possible for tourism on the vast coastlines of the nation, and it has as a result decided to open up lighthouses for tourism possibilities via the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships (DGLL).
The ministry has undertaken the initiative with the objective of enhancing and creating the current lighthouses into maritime landmark as nicely as exceptional tourist destinations, even though identifying and creating the tourism infrastructure elements to increase the lighthouse tourism and exploring the possibilities of undertaking these projects in the PPP mode.
The identified lighthouses are spread across Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.