Big B galvanises Gujarat tourism, why not our Maharaja galvanise Mysuru Tourism?
Sir, When Tourism Minister S.R. Mahesh appointed our Maharaja as the Brand Ambassador of Mysuru City, I was the first one to congratulate him for his bold initiative. But alas, his group of officials have let him down badly after this excellent move. They just do not have any clue as to how to proceed further in this matter of promoting tourism. What next? That is the reason I had mentioned in one of my articles that it is important for the Minister to have a dedicated team of officials in the Ministry who can take his vision forward. The subject of “tourism” requires some amount of creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. The first thing the officials should have ensured is that about 40 to 50 hoardings in Bengaluru and Chennai should have been put up, specially near the Airport, showing the Maharaja in his full regalia welcoming citizens to come to Mysuru for Dasara. Imagine any tourist, domestic or international, getting down from the plane and being welcomed by the Maharaja ! Secondly, since the Private Durbar of the Maharaja is on at the Palace, they should have appointed a professional photographer to take a video of the proceedings. From this video, a 30 second to one minute film, with voice over both in english and some foreign languages like French or German should be prepared. Whenever our officials and the Minister go to attend a fair or exhibition abroad, this film should be shown in the Pavilion. Imagine the visual impact of a real Maharaja’s Durbar! Last but not the least is to somehow persuade the Maharaja to be a part of the Jumboo Savari on his Silver Chariot. I do hope somebody has taken the initiative to talk to our Highness on this subject. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan galvanised Gujarat tourism after he was appointed as the Brand Ambassador. I hope the Tourism Department Officials wake up and start thinking to get the maximum benefit from this tie up.
