Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over the meeting of the Board of Directors of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation Ltd. (HPTDC) here today said that the state government was endeavoring to make Himachal Pradesh a favorite tourist destination of the country. He said several initiatives have been taken by the government for exploring lesser known areas which would not only promote tourism in unexplored areas but would also reduce the burden on overcrowded tourist destinations.Jai Ram Thakur said that the suites in HPTDC hotels should be named after some historic places, monuments, temples, birds and animals of the State. This would be a new concept and provide the tourists a glimpse of culture and history of the State. He said that the staff of the HPTDC hotels should be trained properly so that the visitors visiting the hotels get quality services.The Chief Minister said that 103 posts of various categories would be filled up in the Corporation so that the hotels owned by it could be managed properly. He said special thrust should be laid on recruiting specialized cooks and they should be provided training regularly.
He said that presently the Corporation had a fleet strength of 19 buses out of which eight were Volvo buses. In order to provide better transportation facilities to the tourists, four new Volvo buses would be purchased by the Corporation as replacement of old Volvo buses.In addition, a tempo traveler would also be purchased for commuting the tourists opting for heli taxi services from Shimla to Chandigarh.It was informed in the meeting that the Corporation did a business of Rs. 100.84 crore during the last financial year and target has been set for business of Rs. 125 crore during current financial year.The Chief Minister said that efforts should be made to work with greater commitment and dedication to make all the loss making establishments of the Corporation as profit earning. He also emphasized on proper hygiene and cleanliness in HPTDC owned hotels.Additional Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh assured that the Corporation would work with renewed zeal and commitment in order to achieve the expectations of the government to provide best services to the tourists.Managing Director, HPTDC Sudesh Mokta conducted the proceedings of the meeting.Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhry, Additional Chief Secretary Dr. Shrikant Baldi, Secretary Finance Akshay Sood and other senior officers were present on the occasion among others.