Tourism department of Gujarat is aiming high to develop Cinematic Tourism by creating state-of-the-art infrastructure for filmmaking as well as promoting some of the exotic locations in the State.
For the purpose, the Gujarat Government is working sincerely to provide single window clearance facilities to filmmakers not only within the country but foreign film makers too.
In fact, the Gujarat Government has organised a seminar on Sunday on “Cinematic Tourism — the way forward’ at Mahatma Mandir convention hall in the State capital Gandhinagar in which high-profile personalities related to film industry are expected to remain present. A day-long event is a run-up to upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2017.
Apart from Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, people from Golliwood (Gujarati) and Bollywood (Mumbai) film industries remain present, especially from technical side.
Earlier this year, the Gujarat Government has announced a fresh policy on Tourism. Now, State Tourism Department is in the process to tell the people in different fields to take advantage of the policy.
“The idea is to promote some of the exotic locations through in the state through films. Already the State Government offers subsidy as well as financial assistance to Gujarati film makers,” said a senior official in Tourism Corporation of Gujarat limited (TCGl).
He added the State tourism department was working on making Gujarat a hub for film making which automatically promote Cinematic Tourism. The final outcome of the process would be employment generation, he added.
Somewhat Gujarat Government’s efforts started paying off as in the last one year; Gujarati film industry recorded a staggering eight-times rise in its box-office collections from meagre Rs7 crore to Rs55 crore. Besides, a report by FICCI-KPMG on Media and Entertainment Industry, attributed the sharp growth to change of subject and quality of production of Gujarati cinema.
“In the earlier days, most Gujarati movies were based on history and tradition. Now, more and more urban-centric films are being made with good success ration on box-office,” said the official, adding that earlier this year, Gujarat Tourism was conferred with the National Award for ‘Most Film Friendly State’ at the 63rd National Film Award function in New Delhi.