Hoshang Shah’s tomb in Mandu
Madhya Pradesh has reopened its State Tourism Development Corporation’s hotels, resorts and many private hotels at tourist destinations paving the way to kick-start domestic tourism.
Madhya Pradesh Forest department has also issued a circular regarding re-opening of National Parks from June 15, 2020. National Park’s Buffer Zone will remain open during monsoon season.
Sonia Meena, Additional Managing Director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board said, “Madhya Pradesh has a diverse tourism product portfolio including wildlife. Opening up tourist attractions will also give a sense of “returning to normalcy”. We see great potential in segments like wildlife, heritage, pilgrimage, leisure, and adventure tourism opportunities post reopening.”
“We are ensuring all hygiene and social-distancing norms and SOPs issued by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India,” she added.
The first opportunity that the tourism board is looking to tap is the neighbouring domestic tourism markets. Madhya Pradesh is surrounded by five states and offers easy accessibility thanks to the good road network which connects major tourist destinations in the state.
“To begin with, tourists will opt for small / weekend tours with an itinerary of 3-4 days. Our state could be the choicest tourism destination for such travellers having several interesting tourism attractions,” said Meena
Madhya Pradesh offers an assortment of attractions to everyone who loves to travel. It is the state with the forest area cover of approximately 77,700 sq.kms filled with sal trees and bamboos. It has numerous wildlife hotspots with 11 National parks and 24 wildlife sanctuaries such as Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary and Chambal Ghadiyal Sanctuary. The UNESCO World Heritage sites at Khajuraho, Bhimbetka and Sanchi are the iconic sites in the state. Madhya Pradesh has re-gained the tag of being “The Tiger State of the Country” by having maximum tiger count (526) in the state.
Madhya Pradesh is home to two Jyotirlingas Mahakaleshwar and Omkareshwar. Burhanpur, Bhopal, Gwalior, and Mandu are some of the beautiful architectural sites, whereas lndrasagar, Gandhi sagar, Tawa and Bargi are the spellbinding water bodies. Cultural events like Khajuraho Dance Festival, Mandu Festival, Orchha Cultural Festival and Tansen Festival are some of the annual tourism promotional festivals to attract tourists from all walks of life.