Aurangabad to host first SAARC Tourism Summit

To boost tourism promotion opportunities in the country, the Ministry of External Affairs has chosen Aurangabad to host the first-ever SAARC Tourism Summit. 
•    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the two-day summit in the second week of October. 
•    It aims to tap foreign direct investment under the Make in India and Make in Maharashtra schemes.
•    Aurangabad has been chosen keeping in mind the anniversary of the discovery of Ajanta caves by the British officer John Smith in 2018.
•    The Ajanta-Ellora caves have always remained the biggest tourism attraction in the State. 
•    The historical silk route and connect of the place with the Buddhist circuit across world, including China, is significant.
•    Ajanta also has one of the world’s best visitors’ centers with several life-size replicas of Padmapani.
•    The next two years were important for the progress and prosperity of the tourism sector. 
•    2017 will be celebrated as Visit Maharashtra Year.