An international tourism festival will be organised in Mumbai between January 20 and 28, 2024, Maharashtra tourism minister Girish Mahajan said here on Friday. The festival will be on lines of the Dubai Shopping Festival and for that a foundation will be set up under the leadership of Industrialist Anand Mahindra, Mahajan said after a meeting with Mahindra at the Sahyadri state guest house.
Mahajan also said that the plan is to involve all the stakeholders in the effort and by that take the city prominently to the global tourism map. The festival will also add to the tourism business of the state and the tourism potential in other parts of the state too will be tested because of the festival, the minister added.
The foundation, which will be formed for the Mumbai International Tourism Festival will have prominent members from both the government as well as non-government sector. The foundation will ensure sustained organization of such festivals and the involvement of luminaries related to the tourism business it will be a quick buzz across the globe, the minister added.
The festival will have several activities and various modes wherein the arti and culture of the state will be presented through cultural activities, crafts, cusins, cycling tours, harbour tourism and even the adventure activities like the beach activities and sea sports, the minister said. City tour operators will be brought under one roof and several initiatives like shopping malls, art galleries, cinema, hotels, food courts, adventure sport centres, entertainment hubs, guided city tours, heritage walks, nature walk, photography, Yoga session etc would be conducted through them. Activities like FAM tours, film festivals, fashion festivals too will be organized, Mahajan said.
The festival will boost the investment in the state and also lead to tourism development. Such festivals will also lead to better infrastructure in the city, he added.
Several aspects of the festival were discussed during the meeting with Mahindra, the minister said adding that principle secretary of the department Radhika Rastogi, Tourism Ditrector Dr B N Patil and Managing Director of MTDC Shraddha Joshi-Sharma too were present at the meeting.
