The decision of the State to make Indian cricketer Virat Kohli the brand ambassador to attract tourists, especially the youth to Uttarakhand has been termed as unnecessary by Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay. Tourism professionals have also questioned the expected result of making Kohli the brand ambassador to attract tourists.
Earlier, State Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai had said that he had not been kept in the loop by departmental officials who were in the process of finalising Kohli’s role in marketing the State’s tourism. Talking to The Pioneer, the PCC chief said that Uttarakhand — with its Himalayas, Ganga river and a rich natural and cultural heritage does not need a brand ambassador.
“What was the result of making veteran actress Hema Malini or India cricket team captain MS Dhoni the State’s ambassadors in the pastIJ They did little for Uttarakhand as the State’s ambassadors. It would have been good had they opened some training academy or facilitated some assistance to the State post the 2013 disaster. Our tall personalities like Chipko Movement leader Gaura Devi, the hero of Peshawar incident Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali and GB Pant could be better ambassadors of Uttarakhand,” he added.