Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.
Credit: DH File Photo
In a bid to boost tourism in the financial capital of India, and make it an international destination, the Maharashtra Government has decided to host the Mumbai International Festival annually.
The first-ever Mumbai International Festival will be held from 20-28 January 2024.
The proposal was cleared at the Cabinet meeting presided by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and attended by Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
The Mumbai International Festival Foundation, chaired by veteran industrialist Anand Mahindra, will plan and conduct the festival.
The members of the foundation include Sachin Tendulkar, Harsh Jain, Amitabh Chaudhry, Ronnie Screwvala, Parth Sinha, and Neerja Birla.
Top officials of the Maharashtra government, Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai police would be part of the committee.
"Mumbai is visited by thousands of tourists every day. The state is ranked 12th in the nation for foreign tourist visits. 14% of these tourists travel to Mumbai. To attract maximum number of tourists through the development of various tourist places and tourism festivals in Mumbai and the state, a decision has been taken to organise the festival,” official sources said.
State Tourism Minister Girish Mahajan has held meetings with Principal Secretary Radhika Rastogi, who heads the Tourism Department, Tourism Director Dr B N Patil and Managing Director of MTDC Shraddha Joshi-Sharma.
The Directorate of Tourism (DoT) is contemplating conducting all popular festivals such as Kala Ghoda, Bandra Fair, Banganga, Worli Mahotsav and Mumbai Marathon during the same period.