Places with better healthcare infrastructure will attract more tourists: PM

New Delhi: Asserting that healthcare has a very strong relationship with tourism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said places where more people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 and which have a better healthcare infrastructure will attract more tourists, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

In his address after the launch of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, Modi said when the health infrastructure is integrated and strengthened, it also improves the tourism sector.

“It is a coincidence that today’s programme is being organised on World Tourism Day. Some may wonder what a healthcare programme has to do with tourism, but healthcare has a very strong relationship with tourism,” he said.

“Would a tourist want to come to a place where there is no proper treatment facility in case of an emergency? And after the coronavirus outbreak, this has become even more important,” the prime minister added.

Tourists will feel safer at places where more people have been vaccinated against the viral disease, he said.

Emphasis has been given on vaccination in states with a number of tourist destinations such as Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Goa and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands so that tourists feel confident, Modi said, adding that it is certain that all these factors will get strengthened going forward.

“Wherever the health infrastructure will be better, the tourism prospects will be better. That is, hospital and hospitality will run in tandem with each other,” he said.

Currently, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission is being implemented in a pilot phase in six Union territories.

Its nationwide rollout coincides with the National Health Authority celebrating the third anniversary of the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).

In his remarks, Modi said the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission has the potential to bring revolutionary changes to the country’s health facilities.