MII week: MTDC eyes signing Rs 2,000 cr worth agreements

MTDC is expecting the agreements to be mainly under the wellness, hospitality and entertainment sectors

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) is expecting to sign agreements worth Rs 2,000 crore during the Make in India week, especially in sectors like wellness, hospitality and entertainment.

"We are hoping to sign Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 2,000 crore during the Make in India Week. We expect them mainly to be under the wellness, hospitality and entertainment sectors," MTDC Joint Managing Director Satish Soni told PTI here.

Last year, 40 lakh foreign tourists and 8.4 crore domestic travellers visited the state.

He said Maharashtra is planning to focus on wooing more domestic tourists as the growth potential is huge.

"Looking at the figures, we have realised that the domestic tourists provide huge potential as the numbers are very high. We will focus on increasing their footfalls in the state. However, we will continue with our campaigns to attract foreign tourists as well," Soni said.

Maharashtra, which is expecting 6-7% growth in tourist arrivals this year, is upgrading its facilities and infrastructure in the tourism sector, he said.

Meanwhile, MTDC is also planning to sign an agreement with the Telangana government for promoting Buddhist pilgrimage sites.

"We are signing an agreement with the Telangana government to jointly promote the Buddhist circuit. The agreement is being finalised and we expect to sign them in 1-2 months," he said.

Besides, MTDC is also planning joint promotions of sites with neighbouring states.

"We are planning to sign agreements with five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Telangana and Goa -- with whom we share borders for joint promotions in the tourism sector. We expect to sign these agreements in April this year," he added.