In order to strengthen, promote, and develop cooperation in research, promotion, and tourism development in Madhya Pradesh, the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) and the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Bhopal.

Sheo Shekhar Shukla, IAS, Managing Director of the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Board (MPTB), and Rajiv Mehra, President of the Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), signed the Memorandum of Understanding. The MoU signing event was witnessed by Ravi Gosain, Vice President of the IATO, Vivek Shrotriya, IAS, Additional Managing Director of the MPTB, Yuvraj Padole, Deputy Director of the MPTB, and Mahendra Pratap Singh, Chairman of the IATO Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh Chapter.

By coordinating travel visits to Madhya Pradesh’s destinations, coordinating familiarization trips to the state, organizing marketing and awareness campaigns using every available tool, exchanging publications, reports, and other academic materials, co-ordinating travel and tourism trade events/exhibitions, and promoting travel destinations through media and PR, MPTB and IATO agreed to work together to promote tourism to the state.

The release states, “MPTB shall provide IATO with Madhya Pradesh tourism-specific brochures and publicity materials, which IATO will share with its substantial membership base and foreign tour operators through its members in order to promote Madhya Pradesh tourism destinations and rural tourism destinations. In order to encourage investment in Madhya Pradesh, IATO will also provide potential investors with information about capital investment subsidies for the establishment of tourism infrastructure and to build tourism projects, among other things, through investment and interest subsidy. The IATO will also tell foreign tour operators about the Madhya Pradesh Film Tourism Policy through its members and encourage foreign filmmakers to shoot movies there and take advantage of all the incentives.

Together, MPTB and IATO will identify some lesser-known but promising tourist destinations for promotion and development among visitors, as well as build new circuits and itineraries based on the accessibility of the destinations and the quality of the lodging there.

It was also discussed during the MoU signing that the 39th IATO Annual Convention would be held in Bhopal in September 2024.

Source- Travel biz