Union Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat today said that by 2029 the organised tourism sector will grow to 500 US billion dollar from present size of 250 billion dollar.

Addressing the inaugural session of two day travel and tourism fair 2024 in Patna, Mr. Shekhawat said the sector has huge potential in both foreign and domestic tourism.

The union minister said the tourism sector has potential to become the growth engine of Indian economy with its current growth rate which is much higher.

Mr. Shekhawat thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for including the tourism sector in long term infrastructure investment fund in union budget. Earlier Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Mr. Shekhawat inaugurated the TTF 2024 in which 17 Indian states including Nepal and Bhutan are participating.