Inbound through films

According to PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Indian film tourism industry has the potential to generate US$3 billion by 2022. It had recently organised a conclave on film tourism in Mumbai.

The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) recently organised the third edition of Global Film Tourism Conclave on the theme ‘Transforming Location into Vacation’ at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu. The programme was supported by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, and was attended by over 150 delegates. There was also an exhibition for destinations to showcase locations, tax incentives and subsidies on the sidelines of this conclave. It is time to create a uniform single-window system across India to get the permissions for - tions like PHDCCI can play an important role in encouraging these possibilities. Satyajeet

Rajan (IAS), Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, spoke about the initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism and various state governments said that the Government of India has also approved execution of MoUs with countries like Romania and Bulgaria to foster tourism for promoting the two countries as attractive tourism destinations. PHDCCI and its knowledge partner, Ernst & Young (E&Y) have jointly released a report ‘Building brand India through suggested avenues for collaboration and policy initiatives that the industry can undertake to investment medium to enable destination tourism in India. According to the report, there is a potential for up to India by 2022 which could result in revenues of up to industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country today and has grown from

` 122 billion in 2016 to ` 156 billion in 2017, representing a growth rate of 28 per cent. It is also one of the largest producers of cinematographic projected size of the industry is estimated to reach ` 204 billion by 2019. Leading Indian film director and producer, Ramesh Sippy and Satish Kaushik were also present at the event. They unanimously requested to curb the lengthy process of approvals and permissions to shoot in India and urged the state tourism boards to come out with film industry- friendly policy. Films are a great source of showcasing any country’s culture, heritage and vast economic potentials. The Indian film industry achieved exponential growth of 27 per cent in 2017 – both domestic and international. Two panel discussions were tourism hub. Abhijeet Patil, Chairman, Raja Rani Travels moderated the session that was chaired by Vinod Zutshi, (IAS), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India;

Sudhir Sobti, Chief Manager, Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation; Vikramjit Roy, Head–Film Film Development Corporation; Aashish Singh, CEO–Motion The second session was titled ‘Importance of Bollywood movies in increasing Indian tourists overseas’ and had Kulmeet

Makkar, CEO, Producers Guild of India moderating the session. The panelists included HE Radu

Octavian Dobre, Ambassador, Embassy of Romania in the Republic of India; Iliya Dekov, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria to India;

Ferenc Jari, Consul General, Consulate General of Hungary;

Zaal Choksi, Executive–Marketing & PR, Macao Govern Marijke

Desouza, Executive Producer, Dharma Productions. The panelists highlighted that inadequate basic infrastructure such as roads, inland water transport, air connectivity acts are the biggest hindrance. There is an urgent need for investment in infrastructure linking roads, railways and airports to curtail such hindrances and provide basic infrastructure support

The Indian film industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the country today and has grown from ` 122 bn in 2016 to ` 156 bn in 2017, representing a growth rate of 28%