Jharkhand tourism to get boost with logo, brand promotion: Official

In a bid to provide a fillip to the tourism sector in the state, the Jharkhand government is working on a slew of plans, including promotion of sites and a study on the inflow of travellers, an official said on Saturday.

The government has selected a brand partner for publicising places of tourists' interest and preparing a logo, state tourism secretary Manoj Kumar said.

Jharkhand has many places of tourists' interest but branding has been an issue. There is no proper promotional programme on television or other platforms. There should be a message about why visitors must come and explore Jharkhand. So, we have hired a Goa-based branding partner for publicising spots of tourists' interest, Kumar told PTI.

He said that the partner will prepare a logo and souvenir for Jharkhand tourism.

The agency has prepared a logo for Jharkhand tourism. It is being fine-tuned and the final approval has not been given yet, he said.

The department has also given a work order to study the tourists' inflow, pattern and their feedback through an agency, the official said.

It is a centrally sponsored scheme and the Centre has empanelled around a dozen agencies for this. We have hired one. It will study various aspects, including how many tourists come to Jharkhand and hotels they prefer to stay in. The agency will collect data from airports, hotels and railway stations, Kumar said.

Jharkhand is blessed with nature's gifts, such as forests and wildlife, waterfalls, hills and a rich cultural heritage.

The annual tourist inflow has increased from 4.53 lakh in 2000, when Jharkhand came into being, to over 3.50 crore in 2019-20, including 1.75 lakh foreign visitors.

In a bid to make the state a more attractive destination for tourists, the government is working on setting up skywalk and ropeway facilities in different places. The process of hiring a consultant is underway for the two projects, Kumar said.

A tender was floated for the projects in November.

No bidder turned up for the skywalk project, while three submitted bids for the ropeway scheme and one of them was found eligible. So, we decided to go for second bidding for both the projects, he said.

Initially, one skywalk and one ropeway will be set up. For these, five sites have been identified. An expert agency will be hired for a feasibility study, preparing a detailed project report, cost estimation and supervision for the identified sites, the official said.

"Of the five proposed sites, one will be selected for the skywalk and one for the ropeway project. If the agency does not find any of the identified sites suitable for the projects, it can suggest alternative locations," he said.

The sites that the department identified for these projects are Patratu in Ramgarh district, Netarhat in Latehar, Hundru, Jonha and Dassam falls in Ranchi district, the official added.