The Film Tourism Seminar at the recently at the recently concluded MTM & LLTM, 2018, Delhi event highlighted the importance of films in creating a tourism-friendly environment to spur the growth of tourism, with a special focus on Gujarat and its favourable cinematic landscape and policies
A significant highlight of the MTM & LLTM 2018 Delhi event included the Film Tourism Seminar organised by OptiMICE Events, an initiative to take the concept of Film Tourism to the next level. Film Tourism is a globally trending phenomenon that has been sustained by the rapid burgeoning of the entertainment industry and domestic and international travel. The impact of the moving image has always been tremendous – this is especially true in relation to the Tourism Industry, since films have been perceived to play a dominant role in tourism decision-making, besides providing revenue and a recognition-by-association to the destination. The Film Tourism Seminar organised by OptiMICE Events is an initiative to take the concept of Film Tourism to the next level.
The lively seminar was attended by prominent delegates from the Film Industry and Gujarat Tourism, like Sandeep Marwah, Owner - Marwah Studios and Founder Noida Film City; Aashish Singh, CEO - Motion Pictures, Balaji telefilms; Ronnie Lahiri, Renowned Bollywood Producer; Manoj Srivastava, Chairman & Director, Diorama International Film Festival & Market; and Khyati Nayak, PRO, Head - Film Facilitation Cell, Medical and Wellness Tourism, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd. The panel was moderated by Kamal Gill, Director, OptiMICE Events Pvt Ltd. The seminar took note of new trends in the Film Tourism space and proceeded on a successful note, promising newer business avenues for delegates. Recent trends establish the positive influence of films on people’s travel decisions, especially to the respective locations and destinations featured on the silver screen. With its glossy and larger-than-life portrayal in the films, some of these destinations have successfully captured the imagination of movie-goers and enticed them to visit the places where films are believed to be shot.
It has been observed by industry leaders that the perceptions of destinations and the purchase decisions are positively linked, indicating that the image of a destination is a key selection factor. Gujarat is a leading state in grabbing the limelight when it comes to Film Tourism. It has been blessed with beautiful landscape spanning its entire geographical contours. Its aggressive tourism policies and promotion methodologies have made it as one of the top-most, go-to destinations for filmmakers. Gujarat has won many awards and accolades for its effort in the direction of ease of doing business, with respect to facilitation of shooting films in the state. Gujarat is one of the few states in the country offering a single window clearance for permissions to shoot films in the state. Also, picturesque locations, friendly people, efficient administration and robust infrastructure make Gujarat the most encouraging state for film and its promotion.
Maintaining 100% sync with the vision and mission of its Tourism Policy 2015-2020, Gujarat Tourism puts a strong emphasis on positing the state as a captivating tourist destination while putting special focus on improving travel experience of tourists and enhancing investment opportunities, thus making tourism as one of the most important economic forces, leading to all-round development of the state and its people. Well, it’s obvious that the recent developments and new initiatives in the area of Cinematic Tourism taken by the Gujarat Tourism will help attract more and more projects and investments in the state, which will catapult the state to highlight many of its destinations to cater to this growing segment of tourism.
