Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The three-day long national convention of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) concluded on Sunday. The experts assured of promoting and encouraging international and domestic tourists to visit the Tourism capital of Maharashtra, in future.
Hundreds of participants from 17 states of India attended the convention. The local tourism stakeholders, however, were eager to know how these prospective participants will be going to market the district after its renaming from Aurangabad to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Hence, the scribe contacted the experts to know their take on the query.
The IATO president Rajiv Mehra said, “Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) has a tremendous tourism potential in the district. The annual convention provided a platform for all the participants to explore it and further market the destination aggressively. Its our motto to promote local tourism. This is the reason why the annual convention is held at a different venue (and state) every year. The tourism industry is yet come out of the recession as the international tourist is still hesitating to visit India due to the rise in the prices of air fares and hotel stays after the pandemic situation. Hereafter, we will help tourists in preparing their itinerary and ensure that they visit the city and Shirdi - Nashik and spend at least 4/5 days on this plateau.”
An IATO advisory committee member, Zia Siddiqui claimed the flow of tourists does not gets affected after renaming of the city. Mumbai (Bombay), Chennai (Madras), Bengaluru (Bangalore), etc are examples of it. The world heritage sites Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, Bibi ka Maqbara (Taj of Deccan), Daulatabad Fort etc have their own identity and are not known by the city. Moreover, the tourism industry sells the monuments, not the city. I am hopeful the Deccan plateau witnesses a huge influx of domestic and international tourists in the years to come. I am highly impressed by the cluster of heritage sites representing cultural diversity and positive spiritual vibes."