Tourism task force

The success ratio of Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassadors suggests a great synergy between tourism and Bollywood. In highly competitive times,politicising such associations may only prove detrimental to domestic tourism.

Star sends land prices shooting was the headline for an India Today report that said that Brand Bachchan had resulted in increased tourist traffic 45 per cent as also a spike in real-estate prices from 2.50 lakh to 20 lakh per bigha in Gir! Ecstatic tourist operators were quoted saying how Bachchans endorsement had created an interest within the domestic sector about tourist spots like Gir in Gujarat. Considering the flak his decision of playing brand ambassador to Gujarat had received,this must be welcome relief. For one,it validates the stars claims of spreading awareness about the culture and natural bounties of the state as opposed to viewing it as a political alignment.

Aamir Khan has been the face of the tourism ministrys Incredible India campaign with incredible success. Director Santosh Sivan had lent his expertise to showcasing Kerala to international tourists that eventually tipped the scales in its favour as opposed to the regal exotica that Rajasthan offered. It is perhaps important to allow celebrities to use their popular appeal to contribute to the greater good without pinning them down with political alignments.

Tourism and Bollywood due to different factors have great synergy. Yash Chopra with his songs-in-Switzerland routine was among the first to effectively establish movies as a platform for promoting tourism. Yash Raj Films,his production company,has since moved to different lands including Australia,Brazil,Afghanistan,Italy and Finland in addition to the oft- visited United Kingdom. Dev Anands Hare Rama Hare Krishna did wonders for Nepal and earned him a steadfast following. These days,of course,there are myriad showbiz personalities who have become a part of the tourism initiative. Celina Jaitly is brand ambassador for Egypt,Akshay Kumar an honorary citizen of Canada,Malaika Arora-Khan had endorsed Mauritius and then of course,there are the honorary degrees bestowed by countless universities on Bollywood stars in a bid to increase awareness. But better still,because film shoots offer opportunities to the hospitality and service sectors,countries are now aggressively pitching themselves as destinations for Bollywood film shoots. The results are there for everyone to seeDon 2 is being shot in Berlin,Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara was shot in Spain,the Rock Star crew just returned from a stint in Prague,Dum Maro Dum came in from Greece,Robot shot in Brazil,Ra.1 in London and so on.

Among those with notable travel footprints around the globe are producers Sajid Nadiadwala and Karan Johar,making them a favourite with tourism and commerce ministries around the world looking at growing their businesses. While Johar is partial to London and New York as settings for his films,producer Nadiadwala has traversed the world with quite a few initiatives in Australia and Italy.

This is an important step towards creating awareness about the Bollywood brand of cinema. King Khan has his followers in Berlin,the Boss Rajinikant in Japan,Big B in Cairo,Egypt and pretty much everywhere and with producers pulling in their weight,the world may soon be their oyster.