'Bharat Gaurav' trains undertake 172 trips carrying over 96,000 tourists in 2023

New Delhi [India], January 16 : The Ministry of Railways on Tuesday said that the 'Bharat Gaurav' trains in 2023 undertook 172 trips carrying 96,491 tourists.
'Bharat Gaurav' train, a theme-based tourist circuit train, aims to showcase India's rich cultural heritage and magnificent historical places.
During its 172 trips, the trains covered various tourist destinations across the nation, spread in 24 States and Union Territories. These included major tourist circuits like Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra: Ayodhya to Janakpur, Shri Jagannath Yatra, Garvi Gujarat tour, Ambedkar Circuit and North East tour, the ministry of railways reported.
The journey undertaken on these trains are offered in the form of comprehensive tour packages wherein services like off-board travel and excursions by buses, stay at hotels, tour guides, meals, travel insurance etc are provided along with comfortable train journey and allied onboard services.
The train provides holistic service to the rail passengers by taking care of all their travel related needs. The tour package includes all travel facilities (including both rail as well as road transport), accommodation facility, wash and change facilities, catering arrangements (Morning Tea, Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner - both On-Board and Off-Board), Services of professional and friendly tour escorts, Security on train - CCTV Cameras installed in all Coaches, Public announcement facility in all coaches, Travel insurance and presence of IRCTC Tour Managers throughout the travel for assistance, it reported.
The Ministry of Railways has given a concerted thrust for promotion of domestic tourism through provision of rail-based tourism with better quality coaches under Bharat Gaurav Train scheme. This is in line with the Government of India initiatives 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat' and 'Dekho Apna Desh' to encourage domestic tourism.
It also mentioned various measures to increase tourism in India. Among several initiatives undertaken by the government, Dekho Apna Desh initiative was launched in 2020 to promote domestic tourism in India. The objective is to create awareness among the citizens about the rich heritage and culture of the country as well as to promote the lesser known destinations of the country.
The Ministry of Tourism has also undertaken various initiatives to leverage Social Media for destination branding and to engage tourism vloggers and content creators for the promotion of tourism in India.
Furthermore, to leverage technology for the advancement of tourism, Ministry of Tourism has introduced a Pan-India Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF)/Incredible India Tourist Guide (IITG) Program w.e.f. 01.01.2020.
The digital initiative creates an online learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained and professional Tourist Facilitators/Guides across the country. The candidates can pursue these online courses from anywhere and at any time and at their own pace.