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Maharashtra to allow casinos in state

The Maharashtra government will allow casinos to be set up in various parts of the state to promote tourism in the state, according to Maharashtra Cultural Affairs Minister Pramod Navalkar.

At an International Tourism Council ceremony in Bombay on World Tourism Day, September 27, he said that initially a few casinos will be allowed to operate on an experimental basis where only foreigners will be allowed. Depending on the success of the concept, it may be thrown open to Indians in the future, he said.

Navalkar said the casinos will not only be a mode of entertainment for the foreign tourists, but will earn foreign exchange. He said the concept of tourism is changing which nowadays is no longer limited sightseeing. There is an urgent need to assess the wants of tourists in order to promote the industry, he said.

Navalkar said Maharashtra and India possess rich culture and the tourism industry should try to project it as part of the promotion policy.

Maharashtra Minister of state for Textiles and Tourism Arjun Khotkar said the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains monuments and old structures, should coordinate with the state government to promote tourism better.

He said that the state government has taken the lead in promoting tourism and has declared Sindhudurg, located along the Arabian Sea coast in southwest Maharashtra, as a tourism district. He pointed out that this is the first tourism district in the country.