Rajasthan, the northwestern state of India exudes a magical charm with the aura of its golden sand dunes and undulating landscape flecked with marvelous forts and palaces.
The famous tourist attractions of the state are- cities like Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Pushkar, Ranakpur, Forts and Palaces like Mehrangarh Fort, Golden Fort,Wildlife Sanctuaries like Sariska, Ranthambore, Chambal Gardens, Temples of Mount Abu and Kiradu temples and lots of other attractions.
According to a survey, about 620,000 foreign and 7 million domestic tourists visited Rajasthan in the year 2002. Rajasthan contributes about 11.2 per cent and 3.3 per cent share in India's foreign and domestic tourist arrivals respectively. It is calculated that on an average Rs 400 per day is spend by a domestic tourist and Rs 800 per day by a foreign tourist. Thus tourism adds greatly to the economy of the state by contributing 13 per cent of the State Domestic Product. In fact in terms of economy, tourism is the third significant sector next to agriculture and industry.
Over the years, Rajasthan has come up with well-developed tourism infrastructure that includes about 6,000 hotel rooms in over 150 hotels. Among these 1400 rooms are of 54 heritage hotels and resorts. The Indian Hotels, ITC-Sheraton, The Oberoi and Holiday Inn are the renowned and predominant names in the Tourism industry of Rajasthan.
The world class luxury train- 'Palace on Wheels' is also a chief attraction for the tourists.
The Rajasthan government has brought down the luxury tax from 10% to 8% to boost the tourism industry of Rajasthan.
Last Updated on : 01 December 2011
