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Centre to promote 4 destinations as 'shopping hotspots'

Joy Roy Choudhury - Kolkata

Taking a cue from international shopping hotspots like Dubai and Bangkok, the Union Tourism Ministry has now decided to promote shopping tourism in the country. It has identified four places for this - Noida in Uttar Pradesh, Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Orissa's capital Bhubaneswar and Shilpagram near Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh.

Ambika Soni, Union Minister for Tourism & Culture, said on the sidelines of an international tourism exposition held in Kolkata recently, "We are going to promote shopping tourism on an international scale through the Incredible India campaign. We will begin with four such destinations and will later look at West Bengal as a possible inclusion."

While Noida will be the hub of shopping malls, Shilpagram will be showcased before the international tourists as the centre of handcrafted products by rural artisans. "We are looking at Bhubaneswar for the arts and crafts mela to attract foreign tourists. Aurangabad in Maharashtra will be promoted as a shopping destination as it has the famous Ajanta and Ellora caves, which draw thousands of foreign tourists every year," she added.

The infrastructure at these four destinations will be developed on a public-private partnership model and partner with the artisans. The Union Cabinet has reportedly cleared a scheme to this effect recently. She said the Centre has also proposed to provide a grant of up to 25 per cent of the project cost for developing these destinations.