Islands calling: Pattaya-type hotspots in India soon

After pushing for “Make in India” to give manufacturing a boost, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have set his sights on capturing international tourists’ fascination for islands. The Prime Minister is keen to develop a few of India’s 1,208 islands into global tourist hotspots like Thailand’s famous Pattaya, Indonesia’s Bali and the Hawaii Islands in the United States.

With India having a coastline of 7,517 km, there are 1,208 islands littered across the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, with many attracting large numbers of domestic tourists. The PM is learnt to have assigned the task to an inter-ministerial panel, that is likely to be headed by Niti Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant, to first identify the islands that could be developed as international tourist destinations. The panel is likely to comprise officials from the shipping, tourism, finance, home and tribal affairs ministries, as well as those of Niti Aayog.

“The panel will have to first identify a few of the islands, which should ideally enjoy nearby rail-air connectivity. There are many of them in Goa, Karanataka, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, that can become good attractions for international tourists with significant investment and infrastructure development,” said a senior tourism ministry official.

The PM had incidentally held a monthly review meeting of the progress in infrastructure development on Monday, at which he reportedly asked Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya to begin working on the plan to replicate the Hawaii and Pattaya success stories in India. Mr Modi has reportedly directed that he should be given a detailed presentation on the grand plan by the middle of next year, by when the inter-ministerial panels should have assessed the feasibility of the task. The panel would need to be ready with the financial and logistical roadmap for each of the islands identified in about a year’s time, the official added. A large number of India’s 1,208 islands are also uninhabited.

Mr Kant, who made a presentation at Monday’s meeting on the progress of infrastructure development, is credited with having coined the slogan of “God’s own country” for Kerala. He is also said to be keen on replicating Kerala’s success story across a larger canvas.