Maharashtra Tourism and Things2do to launch The Mumbai Festival

The Maharashtra government is organising 'The Mumbai Festival' with the state tourism department and social platform Things2do, with an aim to kickstart consumer-driven industries that slumped in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Mumbai Festival will be held from 25 January to 14 February 2021, following Covid-19 related protocols like social distancing and sanitisation. The festival aims to support enterprises across the city that struggled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“Mumbai's diverse culture and the experiential market has received a new springboard with the signing of this MoU between Maharashtra Tourism and Things2do. It is a platform for the tourists as well as locals of the city to explore places and experience the specialties that our Mumbai has to offer,” state’s tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray said.

Things2do is one of India's largest hyperlocal communities and runs a social platform called Things2doinMumbai that reaches more than 10 million customers in Mumbai every month. The platform curates and co-creates multiple experiences across a host of local events, nightlife, food festivals, and more.

The social platform has brought on board more than 1,000 establishments including some of the best restaurants, malls, shopping centers, resorts to provide their experiences and products as a part of the festival.

In addition to this, Things2do is also working with multiple brands to support the festival with deals and offers. The event will encourage domestic tourism as well as inbound tourism from other states. It is the government's initiative to revive the experiences economy and provide the much-needed support to the various players in the retail and F&B industry, the worst hit in this pandemic.

"The Mumbai Festival is not a regular shopping festival. It is a one-of-its-kind experience where we will be celebrating the spirit of Mumbai via its diverse culture and experiences. We aim to showcase how the government can work with exciting Startups such as Things2do and support the economy in newer ways,’ said Valsa Nair-Singh, principal secretary, tourism.

Yash Rathi and Rahul Agrawal, Co-Founder & Director, Things2do said, "Our team is geared up to provide a special experience to Mumbaikars by bringing together unheard-of experiences.”

Vrutika Dawda, Director, Things2Do said that the entire team is looking forward to this opportunity. "Every sale that happens under the umbrella of The Mumbai Festival will contribute a percentage of the proceeds towards a special education cause for the underprivileged."