THE Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has kicked off the Bollywood Tourism project, a series of tours related to the film industry.
“Bollywood is one of the biggest film industries in the world. With our maiden offer, we will take tourists to Filmcity and TV show sets, where they can see live shooting and spot film stars,” said Jagdish Patil, managing director, MTDC.
Economy package Hit comprises a three-hour guided tour through the film studio Filmcity, while the midrange Super Hit (Rs1,999, US$32) and high-end Blockbuster (Rs3,250) packages include visits to Bollywood gully, Bollywood Museum and the homes of movie stars, among others.
The tours are now available only through Travelmartindia.com for the medium- and high-end packages, and MOS Utility for the Hit tour.
Manoj Gursahani, chairman of Mumbai-based Bollywood Tourism and Travelmartindia.com, said: “We have been operating private tours for the last three years but this official tie-up between MTDC and Filmcity will create a standardised Bollywood tour product.”
Promotions at World Travel Mart in London had stirred interest as well, he added.
Ashwani Gupta, managing partner, Dove Travels, predicted that “international visitors to India will have reason to spend more time in Mumbai rather than use it as a gateway to other destinations in India”.
“Room nights in Mumbai hotels will increase, as will spin-offs to tourist attractions in and near Mumbai. It is a win-win product.”
