On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the state tourism department on Sunday organised various adventure sports including paramotoring, parasailing and zorbing. A poster competition was also held at the Central Park to mark the day. The celebrations concluded with a mesmerising Music in the Park' programme held at the park in the evening.

Speaking on the occasion, tourism minister Bina Kak said, "Our prime focus should be to provide all the facilities to foreigners so that they repeatedly visit the state." She claimed that the state has earned the reputation of being a tourist-friendly one in the world.

During the day, the minister did a reality check in the city by moving around the tourist places in the Walled City as a common traveller. She walked down to Hawa Mahal, City Palace and Jantar Mantar to get a first hand account of the problems faced by the tourists. "I am happy I didn't face any problem in the market or at the places by guides or touts. It proves that our efforts to curb all the problems faced by the tourists are bearing results," added Kak.

Several private establishments, including hotels, restaurants and others related with tourism industry, organised programmes to celebrate the day. "We have provided complimentary lunch to all our guests, besides organising a puppet show for them in the evening," said Piyush Sharma, the manager at a five-star hotel in the city.

A section of the industry, however, felt that its a collective responsibility of the state and private players to celebrate the event. Sharma lamented the fact that due to poor air connectivity, the state is losing tourists. "The Pink City, which holds a special place on the world map, has no direct flight from any country other than a few in the Middle-East," he added.

In the markets, the shopkeepers offered heavy discounts to the tourists on purchases made by them. "To emerge from a recessionary market, we need to focus on the foreign guests. The discount is a token of our love and respect towards our tourist friends," said Janki Lal, a shopkeeper at Johri Bazar.