Maharashtra’s tourism segment was badly hit during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the state tourism department, under the leadership of Minister of State Aditi Tatkare, took major steps to revive the industry, and their efforts are now bearing fruit.
Recently, the team led by the minister was able to create a “meaningful impact” in the Indian pavilion of Expo 2020 in Dubai. The tourism department’s roadshow, Maharashtra Unlimited @ Dubai, was the first of its kind that truly shed light on Maharashtra’s vast potential in the tourism sector. In an interview with THE WEEK, Taktare talks about the steps taken for the recovery of Maharashtra’s tourism sector. Excerpts:
How much impact has the pandemic had on Maharashtra’s travel and tourism industry?
Maharashtra was hit hard. The state has around 10,500 hotels and 2.1 lakh restaurants. Out of which 30 per cent of hotels and close to half the restaurants had shut down. Around 50 lakh people are directly engaged in the hospitality industry in the state. The tourism sector is responsible for about 10 per cent of Maharashtra's GDP and has the largest share in the state’s employment generation. Covid-19 affected us in the worst way.
What are the key recovery segments identified by Maharashtra tourism, and how does it intend to address these segments?
The post-Covid travel trends [suggest] that tourists want to avoid crowded places and travel in private vehicles rather than use public transport. Hence, caravan tourism is gaining a lot of demand. Similarly, tourists are interested in experiential tourism. They want to experience life in rural Maharashtra. These can now be experienced in our agro-tourism centres. There is [also] huge potential for coastal tourism. The beaches here are not only famous for their breath-taking views, but also for the temples. For instance, Ganpati temples at Ganpatipule beach and Ganeshgule beach, Lord Shiva temples at Harihareshwar beach and Kunkeshwar beach are examples. Konkan offers varied cultures of the Koli, Aagri and other communities.
The Kundalika River in Kolad offers one of the best white-water rafting experiences in the country, whereas Tarkarli Beach offers an excellent scuba-diving experience. Kamshet is popular for its paragliding. Places like Tsunami Island, Kashid, Diveagar and several others offer activities like parasailing, banana-boat rides, speed boat rides and jet-skiing. We are coming up with a homestay scheme that will especially serve people like trekkers, bird watchers, photographers and backpackers.
How do you perceive current and future policies for reviving tourism?
When Covid-19 hit us, the Maharashtra tourism department got busy with polishing its existing policies and creating new policies that would benefit people in the post-pandemic period. Hence, we came up with an agro-tourism policy, coastal tourism including the development of beach shacks, caravan tourism and adventure tourism policy. We announced industry status and ease-of-doing-business policy for the hospitality sector.
Departments like urban development, state electricity board, water supply and sanitation have helped us take the hospitality sector to a new level through industrial status policy. And, the good part is that industry and business are both picking up and are reaching pre-Covid numbers. We have proactively engaged with the industry in opening up restaurants, destinations and hotels.