Military Tourism in India
Maharashtra Ex-servicemen Corporation has started the first-of-its-kind military tourism initiative in India under the ‘Veer Yatra’ brand.
For the first time in India, tourists will get a ringside view of the military life with ‘Veer Yatra’ organised by Maharashtra Ex-servicemen Corporation (MESCO) – a government of Maharashtra undertaking established in 2002 for the welfare and resettlement of ex-servicemen. It aims at strengthening the emotional bond that exists between the military establishment and the civilian population.
Col (Retd.) Suhas S Jatkar, Managing Director, MESCO, says, “While Military Tourism is a well-established concept worldwide, it has not been explored in a structured way in India so far. As ex-servicemen, we strongly feel the need to promote Military Tourism with a view to inculcate sense of patriotism among the children and youth of the country. This kind of tourism will offer an insight into the lives of military personnel. It offers civilians unique opportunities to experience the thrilling world of the defence forces from close quarters. We will associate with travel agencies and corporate companies soon.”
MESCO is still exploring the security aspects of this initiative before it approaches international DMCs to tap inbound travellers. “We will be working closely with the Ministry of Tourism as well as Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporations and tourism boards of other states for designing packages for inbound travellers. Given the security issues involved, we will have to design these packages with additional layer of security. We are discussing these issues internally right now,” he said.
MESCO is starting with nine packages that are between three to eight days. The packages are for around ` 2,150 to ` 32,000, depending on the tour. All profits will be utilised for welfare of soldiers’ widows and handicapped. MESCO plans to add more packages to include strategic military establishment locations. It also plans to start border tourism in areas like J&K, Kargil, Ladakh and North East region.