In the pipeline — dedicated tourism dept under BMC, experts & travel agents to boost related activities 

Thackeray earlier had emphasised on developing city tours, cycling activities and activities related to Mumbai’s heritage among others.

Read | BMC unveils Rs 33,441 cr budget for 2020-21; puts freeze on recruitment

Referring to the civic body’s decision to outsource tourism, Pardeshi said, “After the work was done at Byculla zoo, we have been getting more than 1.5 lakh visitors. People want to visit such places and BMC has several such spaces that can offer entertainment. Tourism is not our core duty, so it doesn’t make sense to make BMC staff manage these activities. There are good travel agencies that can offer packages at forts and guesthouses. The agencies can also organise activities in municipal gardens where they can collect fees from people and share the revenue with the BMC.”

Other plans to boost tourism include introducing eco-tourism activities around water supply reservoirs like Tansa, Vaitarna and Modak Sagar dam and up-gradation of guesthouses.

With an aim to promote the city’s heritage and sensitise citizens about the history and heritage, walking tours by experts will also be introduced. The civic body also plans to document the history and heritage behind the city streets, historical structures among others.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines