Maharashtra wants Sachin Tendulkar as tourism ambassador

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government may rope in cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, singer Lata Mangeshkar and actress Madhuri Dixit as brand ambassadors for its ambitious tourism promotion campaign. The state wants to model its tourism promotion project after neighbouring Gujarat but also would be competing with that state in tourism.

“Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting on Tuesday in Nagpur to plan the tourism promotion project.CM Fadnavis wants to make the forests of Vidarbha region tourism capital of the country and wants to offer packages to domestic and international tourists on the lines of African safari packages“ said a senior officer in the state tourism ministry.

“Gujarat has seen an annual growth of over 4% in tourists coming to the state since a pro motion campaign with actor Amitabh Bachchan was launched for tourism promotion three years ago. Local festivals, religious events and holiday season are used by the state to offer best packages. Gujarat has also promoted wild life tourism using Gir forest. CM Fadnavis wants a similar plan for Maharashtra. He wants two wild life sanctuaries of Vidarbha region for this,“ said the bureaucrat.

The state has already pushed development of an airport in the coastal Sindhu durg district and hopes that the beach resorts in the area would benefit once the airport is operational.

Maharashtra tourism development corporation's (MTDC) Deccan odyssey project designed on the lines of “Palace on Wheels“ did not take of in the state as expected.The state wants to invite private participation in tourism and will be asking private players to ideate on new projects. CM Fadnavis has suggested that Tendulkar, Mangeshkar and Madhuri Dixit should be brand ambassadors for all promotional campaigns appearing in media.