Chhattisgarh lures travel agents
To establish the state as one of the most preferred tourism destinations in the country, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board is actively scouting for travel trade stakeholders to promote the region. Santosh K. Misra, Managing Director, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board t
How are you trying to partner with the travel agents to promote the state?
As Chhattisgarh aims to be India’s biggest eco-tourism hub, we are looking at partnering with a larger number of travel agents. Currently, we have around 15 GSAs working with us. We are targeting at least a double of this number to 30 GSAs by the end of this year. All they need to do is write to us and we will get back to them soon. We will be offering handsome commissions to agents for promoting the state along with helping them to form new itineraries. We are interested in working with agents across India. However, we will be emphasising on agents working actively in Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh as these form our main source markets. The Board is also looking for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to strengthen its tourist service sector. Our state has an abundance of natural beauty and is rich in minerals. To keep it intact, we don’t want to attract huge crowd and therefore we are targetting HNIs. Our infrastructure is in place. Now we want to strengthen our service sector, for which we are looking at pri-
We will be offering handsome commissions to agents for promoting the state along with helping them to form new itineraries. We are interested in working with agents across India
Santosh Misra Managing Director Chhattisgarh Tourism Board
vate investments or projects based on the PPP model.
Which are the projects Chhattisgarh will be working on post the funding from MOT?
CTB has recently received ` 113.5 crore-project prioritisation from MOT. Our objective will be to develop Chhattisgarh as India’s biggest ecotourism hub. We are developing a new tourism model that will focus on the infrastructure of the state to nurture the fragile eco-system. CTB is looking at eco-tourism circuits that will enable the preservation of the environment. These policies will encourage the participation of local communities in conserving the cultural heritage, while contributing to the wildlife and religious circuits that will be interconnected to create a loop of geographical circuits. For the same, the Gangrel Dam, the largest water body in Chhattisgarh will be created as a mega destination. We will promote SirpurKodar-Raipur-Tandula as a mega ecotourism circuit. CTB is also looking at creation of convention centres, developing niche segments of camping and caravan tourism at important destinations. Light and Sound shows at 6th century archaeological site of Sirpur and at Bhoramdeo, popularly known as Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh, will be facilitated. The Board will give an impetus to Rural Tourism and fairs and festivals.
What is the expected growth in tourist arrivals this year?
Our focus will be to increase the tourist footfall from 1.5 million in 2012 to nearly 3 million by 2015. We seek to create vistas of awareness for the international tourists whom we seek to attract with our engaging packages and specially designed tourism junkets. The state has witnessed a surge in tourism for the last few years, particularly in terms of domestic tourists. However, foreign tourist numbers are miniscule as we have not really been on the radar of global travellers. We are putting efforts to attract more international tourists. However, our focus will be on attracting visitors from South East Asia and Far East.