Numerous small schemes for development of amenities at various sites helped Bihar achieve a double feat in the tourism sector in 2014.

The tourist footfall last year was the highest in the past 14 years. Also, the tourist inflow graph of the state witnessed an upward trend in 2014, following a decline in 2013.

Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi on Wednesday announced that the tourist footfall - foreign and domestic - stood at 2.33 crore last year, up from 2.23 crore in 2013. The corresponding figure in 2012 was 2.25 crore.

In percentage terms, however, the rise in tourist inflow in 2014 as compared to 2013 was mere 4.5 per cent. The number of foreign tourists coming to the state last year (8,29,508) was higher than 2013 (7,65,835), but it remained lower than 2012 (10,96,933) and even 2011 (9,72,487).

Manjhi attributed the 'slight' rise in the overall tourist inflow to development of tourism infrastructure and related amenities across the state.

'We are putting a great deal of emphasis on the tourism sector in the state. It is in this regard that works are being done for development of roads, wayside amenities, hotels and other tourism infrastructure. We want to develop five-star hotels in Bodhgaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Patna among others,' said Manjhi.

Manjhi added that the state government intends to increase the tourist inflow to five crores in the coming years. The CM made the announcement on Wednesday during a programme at Samvad Bhavan in Patna on Wednesday for inauguration of 26 small schemes and foundation laying of 33 new schemes of the tourism department.

Speaking on the occasion, tourism minister Javed Iqbal Ansari said steps have been initiated to rope in a 'brand ambassador' to promote Bihar tourism. Senior officials in the tourism department informed that proposal in this regard has been sent to Bollywood veterans such as Rekha and acclaimed lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar. The department is awaiting their consent on the respective proposals at present.

Apart from a brand ambassador, a meeting on the new tourism policy for the state was also conducted under the chairmanship of chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh on Wednesday.

The feat of rise in tourist inflow has been achieved despite political instability last year and not having a single five-star hotel in the state till date. Experts attributed the same to the recovery made from the shadow of Bodhgaya blasts of July 7, 2013. The serial blasts at the World Heritage Mahabodhi Mahavihara in July 2013 was widely perceived to be the biggest blow to tourism in the state - travellers from Japan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, who go around the Buddhist circuit of Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Nalanda-Vaishali had shunned the state.

However, the state appears to have made a quick recovery and got back on the growth trajectory.

'The recovery from the Bodhgaya blast was very fast. Things seem to have improved in one year. The recently introduced visa-on-arrival scheme seemed to have made significant contribution in the rise in foreign tourists across the country, including Bihar,' said Anuj Kumar, the managing director at Delhi-based Magadh Travels and Tours Pvt. Ltd.

Tourism principal secretary Deepak Prasad said the International Buddhist Conclave held in Bodhgaya in September last year was a big boost to the inflow of foreign tourists.

'Though we still have a long way to go in developing the tourism infrastructure in the state, we are moving ahead towards improvement at steady rate. We are working on numerous small schemes for development of tourist amenities at various sites. For instance, we are ensuring that all tourist sites should have basic amenities like drinking water, lavatories and lampposts among others to make them more tourist-friendly. Similarly, we are also working on ropeway projects on Mandar Hills in Banka and Barabar caves in Gaya among others,' said Deepak.

Diaspora seminar

Bihar Foundation, the platform for the Bihari diaspora, will organise a seminar on Saturday to discuss investment and tourism opportunities in the state.

Ten delegates from seven chapters of the foundation across the world have been invited for the seminar - Bihar Ko Jaano - at Adhiveshan Bhavan near Old Secretariat. Starting at 9am on February 7, it would be a daylong event.

Additional reporting by Shambhavi Singh