Tag Archives: Madhya Pradesh

In a bid to boost film tourism into the state, Madhya Pradesh is offering a seamless one-window application policy. The state has earmarked a budget of ₹225 crore for various tourism-related activities in 2021-22. As many as 45 shows, movies, and documentaries have been shot in the state in calendar year 2021 with an investment of about ₹200 crore by various film-makers, reveals Sheo Shekhar Shukla, principal secretary, tourism, and managing director, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board.

The Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) Madhya Pradesh Chapter conducted a physical meeting for its members in Pune recently over two days. It was led by Chapter Chairman TK Jose along with the National Committee team led by President Ajay Prakash. The team met in Pune in order to promote the destination along with nearby places like Lonavala and Mahabaleshwar after IndiGo started a direct Indore-Pune-Indore flight.

Gujarat Tourism recently conducted a physical roadshow for the travel agents and tour operators of Madhya Pradesh. The event was held in Indore as well as Bhopal and was attended by RK Misha, Assistant Director, Director of Tourism, Deepika Roy Choudhary, Deputy Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism, along with Hemendra Singh Jadon, Chapter Chairman (MP-CG) of TAAI. Gujarat showcased its new and popular tourism products including the Statue of Unity and Champaner. Dholavira in Gujarat has also been recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, has announced that four new Indigo Flights will start operating in Madhya Pradesh from September 1, 2021 with everyday frequency. In his tweets, he said, “Four new flights of Indigo are going to start from Madhya Pradesh from 1st September: Delhi-Gwalior-Delhi; Gwalior-Indore-Gwalior; Indore-Gwalior-Indore; Gwalior-Delhi-Gwalior. Under the guidance of our visionary Prime Minister the Ministry of Civil Aviation is committed to facilitate the movement of citizens across the country and give wings to their development.”

Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, the new Cabinet Minister for Civil Aviation, has shared that starting July 16, eight new flights will connect the state of Madhya Pradesh to other destinations in India via SpiceJet. The planned routes are Gwalior-Mumbai-Gwalior, Gwalior-Pune-Gwalior, Jabalpur-Surat-Jabalpur and Ahmedabad-Gwalior-Ahmedabad. Scindia says that his Ministry and the aviation industry are committed to taking UDAN to greater heights with these routes.

TK Jose, CEO of Jose Travels, has been re-elected as Chairman for the Madhya Pradesh chapter of TAFI for the term 2021-2023. The election was conducted through an electronic voting process owing to the pandemic. “We will collectively work for the betterment of our chapter and will take up various issues faced by our travel fraternity with the concerned department or airline,” Jose said.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is set to run a deluxe AC tourist train for Jyotirlinga and Statue of Unity tour on February 27. A spokesperson of IRCTC said, “In continuation of several tours, IRCTC has decided to run a deluxe AC tourist train on Jyotirlinga and Statue of Unity tour. The Jyotirlinga and Statue of Unity tour will start from Delhi’s Safdarjung on February 27 and will cover two prominent Jyotirling temples – Mahakaleshwar in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain and Omkareshwar along with the tallest statue of world – Statue of Unity – in Gujarat’s Kevadia.”

India’s first hot air balloon wildlife safari in a tiger reserve has been launched in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve by Madhya Pradesh forest minister Vijay Shah. The balloon wildlife safari will be restricted to the buffer area and people can watch tigers, leopards, Indian sloth bear and other wild animals from a height,” revealed Shah. “One more adventure has been added for tourists coming to Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve with the launch of the hot air balloon wildlife safari. It is the first in any tiger reserve in the country. Now like Africa’s forests, tourists in India will also enjoy hot air balloon wildlife safari,” he added. The plan is to introduce this service in Pench, Kanha and Panna tiger reserves as well. The service will be operated by Jaipur-based Sky Waltz, whose official Jai Thakur said that they are hoping for a good response from tourists.

Ministry of Culture has constituted new ASI circles in six states. Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of Tourism & Culture, announced, “In MP, Jabalpur has a new circle; for Bundelkhand (UP), Jhansi will be a separate circle and for South UP, Meerut; in Gujarat, Rajkot will be the second circle; Hampi and Delhi will be full circles; in Tamil Nadu, Trichy and in West Bengal, Raiganj will be separate circles.”

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board has launched a social media campaign called #BufferMeinSafar to promote wildlife tourism in the state. The campaign aims to attract tourists to its national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. While the core area of the forests are closed during monsoon until September, the buffer areas remain open for visitors. Activities in its buffer areas include safaris and bird watching besides spotting various species in the buffer zones. MP Tourism is offering packages for tourists that are specially designed keeping in mind safe travel, stay, and excursion during pandemic. The board has come up with short road itineraries mainly for two to three nights for weekend travel from neighbouring states.