Assam eyes Bollywood to push film tourism and for shooting films

In a bid to invite film-makers to choose Assam as their shooting destination and promote film tourism, the state tourism department on Monday organised a road show in Mumbai projecting the state's film tourism potentialities and the facilities.

The road show and the B2B meet was organised at Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, highlighting the state's potential for leisure, adventure, wildlife and film shooting destination.

An MoU was signed between Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation for cross promotion of tourism in both the states. In his welcome speech, Rituparna Baruah, Chairman of ATDC, invited tourists to visit Assam and promised it to be an experience of a lifetime.

Jayanta Malla Baruah, Minister, Public Health Engineering, Skill Development Employment and Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Assam said, “We are putting a lot of efforts for promoting film tourism in the state and making it the most film tourism-friendly state by facilitating shooting permissions with single-window clearances for film projects and providing necessary support to attract filmmakers. Assam is now well-connected with any part of the country, with excellent road infrastructure and peaceful conditions and is known for spiritual, wildlife, river and adventure tourism.”

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Secretary of the state tourism department and MD, ATDC, Kumar Padmapani Bora said, “Assam’s tourism sector has recorded 511 per cent and 763 per cent growth in domestic and foreign tourists’ inflow, respectively in 2022 compared to 2021. In our new Tourism Policy, special focus has been given on EoDB and facilitating single window clearance for film tourism. We are going to implement the policy aggressively and promote Assam as the ultimate film tourism destination in consultation with the film fraternity and tourism stakeholders."

Bora said the new Tourism Policy 2022 was prepared in consultation with the World Bank and the state government is constantly trying to promote private investments in the tourism sector. "The government has signed mega hospitality projects by renowned groups like Tata, Hyatt near places like Kaziranga and Manas National Park. The state government has recently granted Industry status to the tourism sector which would certainly be a major boost for private investments into the state.”

Renowned actor Adil Hussain, who hails from Assam, hoped that the Hindi film industry and the OTT platforms would be keen to explore the untouched natural beauty and the rich culture of Assam in their upcoming productions.

The roadshow began with a video presentation providing an overview of tourism in Assam. It showcased some of the most iconic destinations and how they can be enjoyed by visitors from all over India, said a statement issued by Assam tourism department on Monday evening.