100 tourist spots to get a facelift in five-year plan

Hiring global experts, focused plans for selected destinations at a later stage

- Mihir Mishra

A blueprint to spruce up India's tourism industry is in the works. The Centre is preparing a five-year plan to develop about 100 tourist destinations to global standards, and position them according to their individual potential, according to two officials close to the discussions.

"We may take up about 30 destinations in the first phase, where a campaign will be started," the first official said, requesting not to be identified, adding that it would target basics like cleanliness, hygiene and tourist safety.

"The destinations will be distributed across all segments of tourism and will target a substantial improvement in visas, customs and immigration experience across key airports to begin with," the official added.

The two officials said that the dates and announcement timelines of the scheme's roll-out and campaign launch are still being discussed.