States where tourism is the source of income were given priority

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that during the vaccination drive, states where tourism is among the prime source of income were given priority.

"It did not get much discussion but India has given a lot of priority to states associated with the tourism sector in its vaccination campaign. It was very important to open up the tourist destinations. Now the Chaar-Dhaam Yatra in Uttarakhand will also be possible. Along with these efforts, 100% vaccination in Goa is very important," the PM said.

Modi said, "Initially we did not say so much about it because politics would have started happening on this too. However, the central government has also recently taken several steps to encourage foreign tourists. It has been decided to give free visas to 5 lakh tourists visiting India."

“Imagine that if hotel industry people, taxi drivers, shopkeepers all are vaccinated, there will be a sense of safety among the tourists. Now Goa is among a few select international tourist destinations to have the vaccination safety shield,” Modi added.

Meanwhile, India created a record of over 2.5 crore vaccination on the occasion of PM Narendra Modi's 71st birthday.

“I have seen many birthdays and have always been indifferent to that but, in all my years, yesterday was a day that made me deeply emotional,” PM Modi said.