he said as major part of himachal is covered with forest the state can conduct 100 ecotourism activities by ensuring zero impact on environment himachal has peaks rivers waterfalls snow forest cover variety of flora and fauna centre will try its best to help himachal in promotion and development of ecotourism activities he said forest minister govind singh thakur said himachal is rich with biodiversity and is home to hundreds of species of flora and fauna the ecotourism society and state forest department are organizing the conference with an aim to promote ecotourism as a major source of income for the state union minister of state for tourism kj alphons said future of india is in tourism industry as global tourism grew by 7 last year and tourism in india saw an increase of 156 dalip singh rana better known as the great khali who has been made brand ambassador of plasticfree himachal campaign pledged to do his best to help the state government in achieving the task 50 forest rest houses of himachal are already linked to ecotourism activities the state government has identified 113 sites to be developed as ecotourism destinations chief minister jairam thakur said on monday after inaugurating an international conference on ecotourism potential in himachal at manali a total of 31 ecotourism circuits have been identified and we will send a proposal on the same to the centre for approval thakur said we for the first time have started with provision of budget of rs 50 crore for tourism promotion the reservoirs can be used for water sports it will be an added attraction mohali the state has huge potential of tourism on cardslog huts to be built in forest areasthree ecotourism hubs will be developed this year10 new adventure sports destinations will be developed with the help of ecotourism society tourism department and atal bihari vajpayee institute of mountaineering and allied sports manali we also plan to play live shows on history of different places of himachal to the touristshe said herbal gardens and nature parks are being developed across the state and seasonal employment would be ensured for local youths with help of ecotourism union minister of state for tourism kj alphons also attended the conference the cm said 47 sites to be developed as ecotourism spots had been handed over to the state forest corporation 16 to the forest department and five to parties to be developed under a publicprivate partnership besides officials from the forest department and ecotourism society experts from the us uk finland south africa and brazil are participating in the event to explore tourism potential in the state no government in himachal allotted any fund for tourism the cm said himachal has a large number of hydel projects that can be opened for tourists