Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi offers prayers at Mahabodhi Mahavihara in Bodhgaya on Sunday. Earlier in the day, Tripathi formally inaugurated Mahabodhi Hotel that was opened for tourists on July 19. He also inaugurated a seminar, “Tourism in Bihar — opportunities and challenges”, at the hotel’s convention centre. He stressed on proper marketing of tourist attractions. “In foreign countries, tourism is a developed sector owing to proper marketing. Tourist places can be developed to attract foreigners. There can be spiritual, medical, cultural, rural and other forms of tourism,” he said. He also focused on developing adequate infrastructure to increase tourist footfall. Tripathi said: “It would earn revenue for the state and create employment opportunities.” Tourism secretary Harjaut Kaur said: “The state government is set to introduce a policy to tap the tourism potential across the state.” Giriraj Singh, the Union minister of state for micro, small and medium enterprises, said: “There should be an atmosphere where tourists feel free to visit the state.” 
Text by Alok Kumar, picture by Suman