Our psyche stopping India from becoming tourism hub: Modi

New Delhi, Aug 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the tourism industry has a huge potential to generate employment in India and the only thing standing in the way is "our psyche".

Modi said tourism cannot grow only through government advertisements but it needs word of mouth.

"But our psyche is such that if we go to a place and find it beautiful, the first thing we say is that it doesn't feel like we are in India. Then how can we expect tourism to grow in India?

"If we don't feel pride in our own heritage, how can we expect outsiders to do so," Modi said, while addressing around 200 young CEOs at the Niti Aayog's "Champions of Change" programme.

He said tourism had an inbuilt "fear of the unknown" element and it's only when someone shares their experience of a particular place that other tourists follow.

"So tourism cannot grow through government advertising but through word of mouth... I feel that more than the governments, it is the people who can promote tourism."

Modi said that Indians don't have the nature of encouraging their own assets and their own heritage.

"We have such rich heritage that if we introduce it to the world, they would line up."

The Prime Minister added that tourism had huge potential for job creation and everyone needed to come together to encourage it and make it their temperament to promote Indian heritage.