WVR Murthy, Secretary Tourism, Puducherry tells APARNA SENGUPTA, that the government is investing Rs500 crore through public private partnership to develop more interesting places for travelers
How do you plan to attract young touristsIJ
This year we have decided to organise a series of events. We started with a food festival and added Pondy Marathon and Pondy Cyclothon to lure sports enthusiasts. We followed it up with wine festival, world music festival and an EDM concert. On New Year’s eve, we have decided to organise a 8-10 day programme. A lot of adventure activities focussing on water sports are also being lined up.
While Puducherry is a hit among French travellers, do you also witness footfall from other countriesIJ
We get maximum footfall from UK and France. However, there has been an increase in the number of travellers from USA, Germany and Canada. A lot of tourists from new countries like Russia, China and Japan are opting for this city. Tour operators encourage foreigners visiting south India, especially Chennai, to traverse Puducherry due to its close proximity and breathtaking views. Though they are here for a short period of time, like half a day, we wish to increase their stay for at least a day. We have the best hotels, sight-seeing destinations and good entertainment options. We are investing Rs500 crore through public private partnership to develop more interesting places for travellers.
Please tell us about your International Yoga festival.
Every year we organise the festival between January 4 and 7. looking at its response, last year, we hired an event management agency to organise it. A Puducherry government initiative, the yoga festival had a humble beginning in 1993. Initially, it was a platform to encourage people to practise yoga, later we started a competition. This year, the competition attracted more than 1,100 participants from across India as well as abroad, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, South Korea and Spain. last year, we conducted a three-day workshop to teach different styles of yoga like the dance yoga, power yoga, music yoga. We organised mass surya namaskaar on beach with 1,000 students.
How many tourists arrived during 2013IJ
It was around 10 lakh domestic tourists and 70,000 foreign. We improved upon it with 15-20 per cent growth to make it around 11 lakh and are targetting 12-13 lakh this year. This figure does not include pilgrim tourists.
Puducherry also hosts important but little-known pilgrim spots like Shani temple at Karaikal and Navgraha temple. We are promoting these two places among devotees. Puducherry is a destination which has got everything — from Kerala’s backwater, Goa’s beaches to Tamil Nadu’s temples. It’s a spiritual destination.
What are the main attractions for shoppersIJ
Puducherry is basically famous for paper mache and antique furniture. Also terracotta products, incense candles and various spices are our speciality. Gold ornaments, especially temple jewellery are a recommended buy.
There are small markets that will surprise you with its collection. Even the food is amazing and you’ll find authentic French and south Indian cuisine at a decent price.