Etihad Airways and strategic partner Jet Airways have signed an agreement with the Government of Maharashtra to promote tourism to the western Indian state. The partnership will enable both airlines to capitalise on their links with Maharashtra and further propel domestic and international arrivals into the state capital Mumbai and beyond. It is the first time an Indian state has signed a tourism collaboration agreement with the airline sector. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presided over the signing of the MoU in Mumbai. It followed months of discussions between the leadership of both airlines and the state government on exploring ways to work together to promote tourism. Under the agreement, the three entities will pool marketing resources to participate in travel-trade events in key international markets such as the UK and the UAE; jointly promote ‘Destination Maharashtra’ through advertising campaigns; and organise inbound familiarisation trips for travel agents. Collectively, the two airlines operate five flights a day between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai with domestic connections across the country. In addition, Jet Airways flies daily between Maharashtra’s second largest city of Pune and Abu Dhabi. Commenting on the association, Jaykumar Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said, “Together, we can create benefits for travellers and shareholders. Our aim is to jointly put in place the best strategies and practices to increase Maharashtra’s marketing footprint and position it as the most preferred destination.” James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Being part of one of the world’s largest economies, Maharashtra has plenty to offer business and leisure travellers. We are therefore delighted to expand our links to promote tourism to this vibrant state, which we have been …
Read More »MTDC promotes tourism in Aurangabad
A three-day International Ellora-Ajanta festival organised by MTDC in association with Divisional Commissioner Aurangabad was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at the Ellora Caves. Jaykumar Jitendrasinh Rawal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, visited the monuments, caves, Bibi ka Maqbara and Panchakki in Aurangabad and discussed about the cleanliness and preservation of the historic monuments with the ASI officials and tourism officials. To boost tourism flow of the historic city of Aurangabad, a meeting with all the stake holders like the Aurangabad hotelier, travel agents and taxi drivers’ association also took placed with Rawal, where he also proposed that work skills and development sessions will be conducted for the rickshaw and taxi driver in Aurangabad. He also discussed in length about the ideas on how to make Aurangabad the top most visited city in India. In the stakeholders meeting, Rawal, announced “Aurangabad is a historic city in Maharashtra state of India. The city is known as the tourist hub, surrounded by beautiful historic monuments, a visit to this city is truly a cultural as well as an architectural delight for the tourist; it’s a great privilege for us to have such marvelous creations around us. We are all responsible for the cleanliness and preservation of these monuments. If the city and the environment around the monuments are clean and maintained, it will boost the tourism in the city. Aurangabad will also host tourism conclave every year and will also host rediscovery of Ajanta caves centenary year 2019 very soon. The department of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra is keen on aggressive marketing in International market to amplify tourism in Maharashtra.”
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