Madhya Pradesh holds Travel Mart 2015

The B2B travel mart—held at the Lake View Ashok Hotel—was meant to disseminate information about the state which aims to become India’s number one state in tourism.

 

Inaugurating the MPTM, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that Ujjain Simhastha Kumbh Mela (to be held from 22 April to 21 May, 2016) is a golden opportunity to showcase Madhya Pradesh to the rest of the world.

 

Chief Minister Chouhan also highlighted several focus areas, such as creating a centralised tracking system so that immediate help can be reached to tourists in trouble, boosting tourist facilities, holding an annual tourist festival on the banks of the Narmada river to showcase the state’s art and culture, etc.

 

Also present at the inauguration was the state’s tourism minister, Surendra Patwa, who highlighted that the state has made a lot of progress in the past decade and is ready to compete with leading Indian states in the field of tourism. The state has already inaugurated its first tourist police outpost in Pachmarhi and more are being planned. Light and sound shows are being planned to create awareness about the state’s heritage—especially in places such as Indore Rajwada, Mandu, Sanchi, etc. The state is also keen to explore adventure tourism—the Indira Sagar Dam can be a probable destination.

 

On the eve of MPTM, a cultural programme was held at Bhopal’s Courtyard Marriott, where we enjoyed the folk dances of Madhya Pradesh, such as the Matki dance, the Badhai dance, etc. 

 

At the inauguration in the premises of the Lake View Ashok Hotel, many dignitaries, including  Veera Rana, IAS, Secretary Tourism, and Hari Ranjan Rao, IAS, managing director, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation, were present. 

 

Later they interacted with the media and the business participants. The exclusive pavilion on Madhya Pradesh not only showcased the leading hotels and travel operators of the state but also the various handicrafts of the state, such as Chanderi sari, Gond paintings and Bagh prints. Leading travel agents and hotels from the rest of India as well as state tourisms were also present at the mart.

 

One morning, visitors were taken on a hop-on hop-off (bus/walk) heritage through Old Bhopal. Although old buildings are falling prey to the real estate boom, one can still get a good glimpse of the city’s architectural legacy.

 

Walk coordinator Sikander Malik informed that a few of the derelict buildings are likely to be restored. After the mart was over, participants were taken on various familiarisation tours arranged by Madhya Pradesh Tourism.

 

(Images and writing by Uttara Gangopadhyay)