Gujarat partners Rajasthan to drive FTA growth
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Gujarat and Rajasthan have jointly agreed to actively attract tourists from Europe and the US to western India under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) which is expected to be signed soon. The announcement was made by Vipul Mittra, Principal Secretary of Tourism and Civil Aviation for the Government of Gujarat, at FICCI’s Great Indian Travel Bazaar 2011 in Jaipur.Mittra said that the Gujarat Tourism Department is also in talks with the Maharashtra Government for the joint western India tourism promotion strategy, which will further enhance foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) to the region. He added that the Gujarat Government was also taking steps to improve air connectivity so that foreign tourists can fly into Ahmedabad or Surat, before heading to other destinations in the State. For this purpose, the tourism department has tied up with Air Deccan which will run two daily ATR flights from Ahmedabad and Surat to 11 other airports in the State. Tourism authorities have also decided to promote film tourism in the State in a big way. The tourism department is talking to Bollywood producers to begin shooting in Gujarat, highlighting Kutchch and Mandvi as ideal locations for film makers. This would go a long way in promoting tourism amongst international audiences, Mittra pointed out. The state has already been working the Bollywood angle to attract tourists to Gujarat by having famed star Amitabha Bachan endorse the State in a move which has already provided rich dividend, Mittra said. Another MOU has also been signed with a Surat-based group for the development of a film city that will rival Ramoji Rao Film City in Hyderabad.Mittra observed that the State Government was looking for private sector participation in building large tourism-related infrastructure projects. The recently-concluded ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ convention, he said, had seen a huge expression of interest amongst investors and an investment of about INR75,000 crore has already been promised.
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