A rich heritage with numerous proud moments in history, set amidst a colourful background, Rajasthan tour is in the bucket list for every tourism lover who experiences India. Even with dips in the travel percentage in the North-west and southern part of India, demand in Rajasthan Tourism continues to sour high. Dalip Singh Rathore, Deputy Director, Rajasthan Tourism shared his views with Satyaki Dutta, Correspondent, Netpal Travel EZINE, on its prospects and travel trends during TTF Kolkata 2019
- What are your marketing strategies regarding media management?
We had an in-house magazine previously but people nowadays prefer everything online. Hence, we have empanelled ad agencies, with a renewable contract at 2-3 years who manage our website and work on digital marketing. The agencies design the advertorial, post them and follow up as well.
We also organise roadshows in tourism fairs to connect to the people and the agents to highlight what we do and offer.
- Are you taking part in upcoming domestic or international events?Â
Yes, we are taking part in almost 40 events, seven of them are international, like WTM (London), FITUR (Madrid), ITB (Berlin) – which are all in the pipeline. In 2018, we have participated almost in 10 international and 42 domestic events. We have achieved high accolades and a number of awards for the participation too.
- What sort of feedback do you get in these events?
Feedback from these events is positive in general. People are very keen to come to Rajasthan. Basically, if we talk about Kolkata, it is like a hot cake for them. The great Nobel-laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem on the history and valour of Rajasthan, especially regarding the fort of Bundi. The amazing filmmaker Satyajit Ray shot some of his highly acclaimed movies across the great landscapes of Rajasthan. The masterpiece movie, Rudaali by Bhupen Hazarika, covered every culture and traditions. Hence,  people get really interested in visiting Rajasthan, which resonated in the events too.
- What type of tourism is more popular ?
We get all kinds of tourists starting from Film tourism to MICE to luxury and family. The highlights are of course leisure tourism, adventures and people who are interested in history along with art and culture. Then there is wedding tourism, which is gaining popularity quite fast. We have some great wedding destinations like Udaipur, Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur, the Sand dunes in Jaisalmer, even in the resorts in Pushkar.
- What is the percentage increase in business traffic from 2018 to 2019?
Approximately 15 percent or more
- Last but not the least – the capital, Jaipur is getting the prestigious UNESCO World Heritage city tag as the second city in India. So what are your special tourism plans related to Jaipur and the city tourism?
It is a beautiful city and we have our work cut out for ourselves. We have started a social media campaign for Jaipur and Udaipur both- Jaipur as a heritage city and Udaipur as a destination.