Lots of suggestions on new face of Incredible India: Tourism Ministry

Suggestions include choosing a female personality as the mascot for the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' series

Multi-disciplinary icons, including famous sports personalities, are among the suggestions being examined by the Tourism Ministry to be the face of the 'Incredible India' campaign following the exit of Bollywood star Aamir Khan as the brand ambassador.

Other suggestions being considered include choosing a female personality as the mascot for the 'Atithi Devo Bhava' series which is part of the 'Incredible India' campaign to attract foreign tourists.

"We have received a lot of suggestions and proposals regarding inclusion of famous people, from different genres. The Ministry is examining these suggestions and once the Ministry finalises its decision in this matter, it will be announced," Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma told PTI.

The Minister was asked if the Ministry has taken any decision on who will be the face of new 'Incredible India' campaign and if it was also examining the proposal of choosing personalities from different fields like sports besides the film industry.

Khan, whose comments on perceived intolerance in the country had sparked a controversy, is no longer the ambassador for the government's 'Incredible India' tourism campaign.

Sharma had said on January 6, "Our contract was with the McCann Worldwide agency for 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign. The agency had hired Khan for the job. It was the agency which had hired him. Since the contract with the agency expired , automatically the arrangement with the actor no longer exists."

Asked whether Khan was still the Tourism Ministry's brand Ambassador, the Minister had said, "Definitely not".

The 'Atithi Devo Bhava' campaign, part of the 'Incredible India' campaign was launched during the UPA regime.

Two months ago, Khan had made controversial comments on perceived intolerance in the country that evoked criticism from many quarters.

At an event, Khan had said that his wife Kiran Rao had asked if they should move out of the country, as she feared for the safety of their child in a climate of insecurity.