Tourism in India poised to take off after G20’s word of mouth publicity: Director General of tourism

New Delhi, Sep 12 (PTI) Tourism in India is poised to take off thanks to the the word of mouth publicity during the G20 presidency which showcased the length and breadth of the country to the world in one year, said director general of tourism Manisha Saxena here on Tuesday.

Saxena, who was speaking here at the launch of Mastercard’s flagship lifestyle program ‘Priceless India’, said the ministry of tourism will try to “capitalise on gains and the experiences” built up during the G20 presidency of India.

“The entire design of G20 events in India was very ambitious in having 60-plus venues for more than 200 events. I think it is one of the most vibrant presidencies ever in those terms. And at all these 60 venues, assets have been created, experiences have been curated, cultural programmes have been held, entire teams of people have now come up as resource persons to deliver more such events.

“And now that we have benefit of the word of the mouth publicity as well, I think we are just poised to take off,” Saxena told PTI.

Saxena also talked about the ministry of tourism’s recently launched ‘I do’ campaign promoting India as premier wedding destination globally, and the ‘Meet in India’ campaign about conference tourism: Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE).

According to the senior bureaucrat, this is the opportune time for India to use the MICE facilities created at these 60 venues and organise conventions and conferences across India rather than in some tier-1 city alone.

“It is a win-win for everybody because you will have the choice for many cities, many areas, many regions, and their diverse weather. So, if it is hot in Delhi you can do it in Srinagar, and vice versa when it is very cold in Srinagar you can do it down South. So I think the choice is immense and this is the time to make this a regular part of all work that we are doing in India,” she added.

Talking about ‘Priceless India’, Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer of Mastercard, said the programme is aimed towards promoting tourism as a key growth driver to India’s flourishing economy.

It aims to redefine experiential travel in India and provide an immersive cultural odyssey to international and domestic travellers through compelling experiences across 10 dynamically evolving passion points, including culinary, sports, entertainment, and wellness.

“This could be our small contribution to drive people into the country, foreigners into the country to experience the magic of India and we have got, presence as Mastercard, in about 210 countries and territories around the world,” said Rajamannar.