Madhya Pradesh Travel Mart, a travel trade event by Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC), was recently held in state capital Bhopal. The trade show was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, state tourism minister Surendra Patwa and officials of MPSTDC including Tapan Bhowmik, chairman; Hari Ranjan Rao, tourism secretary and managing director, MPSTDC and Tanvi Sundriyal, additional managing director among other dignitaries.
Addressing the the inaugural gathering, Chauhan revealed the state government’s plan to develop Madhya Pradesh into India’s eco tourism and adventure tourism hub. He indicated this will be done through bringing investments from the private sector. Chauhan said, “Madhya Pradesh is a unique state and has potential across diverse avenues. The states has been growing at a rate of over 10 per cent for the last eight years. We have identified tourism as one of the major industries in the state and want to put the private sector ahead to develop tourism in the state.”
The central government has granted INR 275 crore to Madhya Pradesh for developing tourism. The state had received about eight crore tourist arrivals last year.
“MP has gone forward a lot and investors have realised it and are planning to invest in the state’s tourism opportunities. We are working on various avenues to ensure sustainable development of tourism in the state,” commented Patwa.
The state is leveraging upon factors such as political and financial stability, pricing parity and process reforms to attract tourism and hospitality players to provide fillip to the industry. Rao mentioned about the recently introduced tourism policy of Madhya Pradesh, terming it “investor-friendly”. In terms of MICE offerings, MPSTDC will be converting the renowed Minto Hall into a heritage convention centre.
Rao added, “Private sector has been contributing a lot to the growth of tourism and infrastructure in the state. Water tourism is the recent addition to the state’s tourism offerings.”
The three-day event witnessed participation of 28 countries, 175 domestic buyers, 70 international buyers and over 50 exhibitors. Alongside the trade show, the first day also witnessed MP State Tourism Awards, which rewarded 39 top performers in the industry across 22 categories.
