Akshay Kumar & Steena Joy – Mumbai
The Government of Maharashtra has declared 2017 as ‘Visit Maharashtra’ year. The ministry of tourism, Government of Maharashtra has planned several new initiatives to put Maharashtra on the global tourism map. One such initiative is an International Buddhist Conclave, which will be a B2B exhibition to be held in March 2016 and will focus on the development of Buddhist tourism in the entire SAARC region.
Speaking exclusively to Express TravelWorld, Valsa Nair Singh, secretary, tourism and cultural affairs, Government of Maharashtra said, “The new government has declared 2017 as Visit Maharashtra year which will give a major boost to the tourism inflow into Maharashtra. But before 2017, we have one and a half year which will help us to properly channelise and spread more awareness about the state in the domestic and international markets. Aggressive marketing and branding is the need of the hour.”
The ministry of tourism also plans to strengthen its domestic market by introducing a new event called ‘Festivals of Maharashtra’, a series of five day festivals, highlighting the culture, art, festivals, cuisine, etc, of Maharashtra in other states. From October to December, the event will be held in five cities namely – Ahmedabad, Baroda, Bhopal, Indore and Raipur and from January to March in other cities like Kolkata, Delhi, Chandigarh, Patna, Chennai, Thanjavur, Kochi and Bengaluru.
Also, this year the ministry of culture, Government of Maharashtra has plans to organise for the first time a five day Raigad Festival in Raigad Fort. The uniqueness of the festival will be the ambiance, which will be recreated as it was when the fort was built.
To promote Maharashtra in the international as well as domestic markets, for the first time MTDC will be organising the Maharashtra International Travel Mart (MITM) from September 28- 30, 2015 in Mumbai. Speaking about MITM, Singh said, “MITM is a major event for us. We will have more than 2000 trade visitors and 250 sellers. This event will surely help in positioning Maharashtra in the global map as one of the best destinations.”