UP government to hire professional PR agency to promote the state as tourist destination

NEW DELHI: The UP government has decided to hire a professional agency to publicise certain facets of the state — such as the upcoming Ardh Kumbh Mela in Allahabad in 2019, the temples of Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, the ghats of Varanasi and the fact that UP is a cradle of Buddhism — to reach out to foreigners and embassies in India.

The state will place advertisements in global newspapers and television channels, with TV commercials being "shot fresh and to be produced of international quality", as per a proposal reviewed by ET.

The idea is to promote UP as "India's most preferred tourist destination", given the variety it offers, along with "catchy tagline" and logo for the state.

One of the most visited tourist spots, Taj Mahal, which got 62 lakh visitors last year, isn't mentioned in the proposal.

As per the plan, the campaigns will focus on Ardh Kumbh and six major circuits — Ramayana, Buddhist, Varanasi & Ganga, Krishna, eco-tourism and Bundelkhand. "The Ramayana circuit consists of Ayodhya, Chitrakoot, Shringhverpur," says the proposal, adding 2.19-crore domestic and 31,000 foreign tourists visited this circuit in 2016.

The government said 23 lakh domestic and 6.28 lakh foreign tourists visited the Buddhist circuit in 2016, excluding the footfalls in Bodh Gaya. The 84 ghats and the Ganga front of Varanasi — a circuit that got 1.75 crore tourists last year — will also be publicised. The most visited circuit in UP — the Krishna circuit around Mathura — got 2.56 crore tourists last year. Only 77,000 of these tourists were foreigners, a number that the state wants to increase.

"The objective of the proposed campaigns is to increase UP's share in the Indian & global tourism market," the proposal said.