Politicians and officials from India were in London recently and talked to acv about attracting tourists to their respective states focussing on the festivals offering – and acv also heard about leader Narendra Modi’s new Chalo India initiative…
HIGH-RANKING Indian tourism ministers and officials mounted an impressive showing at the recent World Travel Market in London.
An annual three-day event that draws some 40,000 people to its doors, several Indian states, including Goa, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had large exhibition space and senior personnel on hand to discuss initiatives and programmes to lure tourists to their region of India.
Festivals are a good way of bringing people into a country and the cultural attractions the country has to offer are second to none in many ways; the national goverment has launched a campaign called Chalo India, encouraging diaspora members to invite non-Indian heritage tourists to India and get a free electronic visa on arrival…
Last year, www.asianculturevulture.com was a guest of the National Film Development Corporation of India and travelled to India’s largest film gathering of professionals and enthusiasts alike – the Internatioanl Film Festival of India (IFFI) and its trade arm, Film Bazaar. It starts tomorrow (November 20). Read our IFFI and Film Bazaar preview here.
Taking place every year in Goa, it’s become a fixture on the scene and there’s a chance to see not only a few Bollywood stars but also catch up with some of the best films the country has seen over the year – in the India Panorama section.
Goa’s palm fringed beaches and hedonistic hotspots need little to no introduction – western tourists have been going there in their droves since their 1960s and the state is also a haven for domestic tourists in search of R&R – every year the region welcomes some 15 million visitors and Rohan Khaunte, minister of tourism, and several other portfolios, spoke to acv about the need for sustainable and regenerative tourism and bills his own state as the first in India to be going down this path.
Khaunte, speaking at the WTM at the London ExCel Centre in at the Royal Victoria Dock in east London, in a one-to-one on November 5, told acv there is a shift in the kind of people Goa wants to attract – it’s no longer overtly backpackers and budget conscious young folks but those with deeper pockets and a more of an interest in art and culture (and religion), and not simply partying.
“We’re looking at more visitors from South East Asia and the UAE and what we found since the pandemic is that there should be a higher per person spend and we’re looking to provide the right infrastructure and development for this. We hosted the G20 Summit there last year. It has to be regenerative and sustainable.”
On December 3, the Feast of St Xavier takes place in Goa and attracts tourists of all denominations and none – and is one of the largest Christian/Catholic events in India’s cultural calendar and the state is looking to expand on its cultural and religious offerings and has earmarked destinations for further development.
Tamil Nadu
Dr Chandra Mohan B is Principal Secretary Tourism, Culture and Religious Endowments for the state of Tamil Nadu.
He told acv: “Tamil Nadu is the most experiential destination India has to offer. The state is home to one of the oldest living civilisations in the world and even today, the art, culture and heritage which tourists see, has been there for thousands of years and it all comes together in festivals that people celebrate in Tamil Nadu. It is known as the land of prayers and festivals.”
Some of these are connected to temples – such as the celestial wedding of the Goddess Meenakashi, which is celebrated in the city of Madurai and brings tourists from far and near.
“When it comes to music and dance, we have 3,000 concerts that take place in the space of one and half months.”
These traditionally start in December and continue into Pongal – the main harvest festival marked in the state – and will be celebrated between January 14-17 next year.
“We attract a lot of tourists especially those who come to see our music and dance concerts – the state is very safe and has facilities for travellers of all budgets.”
Mohan B also said that people also come all over for the Jallikattu Festival – which traditionally occurs during Pongal and is a bull-taming event – when people try to ride the creature – and has criticised by some animal welfare groups. Mohan B defended the practice and said that the welfare of the bull is closely monitored.
At a press meet later in the day at the WTM on November 5, Khaunte was joined by Pravati Parida, the deputy chief minister of the state of Odisha, Jupally Krishna Rao, the minister of tourism for the southern Indian state of Telangana, and top official Mughda Sinha, director general at the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.
at the press conference
They were all at the WTM to promote Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Chalo India initiative – this encourages those with Indian heritage to recommend five non Indian visitors for a free electronic visa to India with the campaign going into March of next year. (See link below).
On the Friday evening (November 7), the Ministry of Tourism Goverment of India and High Commission of India hosted an evening, showcasing Chalo India on board the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, east London. The Cutty Shark is one of London’s major tourist attractions and is a classic design tea clipper famous for its speed when it was built in 1869.
Kerala stand at the WTM
Among those attending were the glitzy evening were Gajendra Sngh Shekhawat, minister of tourism, India High Commissioner Shri Vikram Doraiswami, and the above officials and named ministers, as well as tourism representatives from Utterakhand.
They all enjoyed Indian dance – in the form of Bharatanatyam and Garba and heard from British writer Monisha Rajesh, whose travel book, ‘Around India in 80 Trains’ (2012) was critically acclaimed and remains a popular travelogue.
All pictures: ©ACV/BTM
Links
For more on tourism in Tamil Nadu: https://www.tamilnadutourism.tn.gov.in/
For more on tourism in Goa: https://goatourism.gov.in/
For more info on Chalo India – see https://www.chaloindia.gov.in
