India will focus more closely on promoting coastal tourism to develop the country's long coast tourist resources and its links with other Indian Ocean countries, said an official on Saturday.
"India has a long coastline of 7,500 km which possesses rich culture and heritage. If this can be harnessed along with beach tourism, culture and pilgrim tourism, all states particularly coastal states like Odisha will be benefited," Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma said at the international conference in Bhubaneswar in the eastern state Odisha.
The minister said India's new initiative to deepen ties with Indian Ocean Rim (IOR) countries would also help to promote intra- regional trade and tourism among countries of the grouping.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka is the example of the government's initiative in this direction, said the official.
"The prime minister has given more importance to promote ties with our IOR neighbors which will not only strengthen the security of our vast sea lanes in Indian Ocean but also secure our age-old cultural relations with them," he said.
The conference is attended by the representatives of 20 countries of Indian Ocean Region.