PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized the 4th edition of Global Film Tourism Conclave with the theme ‘Experience the potential of Cinematic Tourism’ on 21 January 2020 at Novotel, Mumbai, Juhu Beach. The programme was supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Producers Guild of India was the Synergy Partner for the programme.
H.E. Eleonora Dimitrova, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria and H.E. Radu Dobre, Ambassador of Romania gave a detailed presentation on the locations and incentive schemes for film shootings in their respective destinations.
Vinod Zutshi (Retd. IAS), Former Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, spoke about the initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism and various state governments for promoting Film Tourism. He said that the Government of India has also approved execution of MoUs with various countries to foster bilateral cooperation through Film Tourism.
Leading Indian Filmmaker, Anil Sharma maker of blockbuster Gadar-Ek Prem Katha and noted Producer and Managing Director of Tips Industries, Ramesh Taurani who produced movies like Race, Race 2, Race 3, Entertainment and many others, were felicitated during the programme for their contribution towards the Indian Cinema. They requested to curb the lengthy process of approvals and permissions to shoot in India and urged the state tourism boards to come out with film industry friendly policy.
Dr. D K Aggarwal, President, PHDCCI, said, “PHD Chamber and Ernst & Young have jointly released a report, which states that Film Tourism has a scope to generate $3 billion by 2022 in India as there is potential for up to 1 million film tourists to visit the country by 2022”. However, to achieve this potential, there is an urgent need to simplify, incentivize and promote this segment. All state governments must consider setting up of online portals for single window clearance facility.”
Mr. Rajan Sehgal and Mr. Kishore Kaya too shared their perspective in promoting film tourism while having synergies between Production Houses, Film Commissions and State Tourism Boards.
Panel Discussion 1: ‘Filming in India: A world of opportunities’ had Uday Singh, India Representative, Motion Picture Association as the Moderator and D. Venkatesan, Regional Director, India Tourism Mumbai; Vikramjit Roy, Head– Film Facilitation Office, National Film Development Corporation; and Rakasree Basu, Producer, Frames Per Second Films as the Panelists.
Panel Discussion 2: ‘Impact of Destination Marketing and Promotion through Films’ had Kulmeet Makkar, CEO, Producers Guild of India moderating the session. The panelists were Damian Irzyk, Consul General, Republic of Poland in Mumbai; John Wilson, India Head, Czech Tourism; Mohit Batra, Country Head, Scandinavian Tourist Board; and Sanjiv Kishinchandani, Executive Producer, Rajkumar Hirani Films.
The Conclave was attended by over 150 delegates that included Production Houses, Ambassadors, Consul Generals, State and International Tourism Boards, Tour Operators, Hotels and Resorts among others.
