PHD Chamber and Ernst & Young have released a report, which states that Film Tourism has a scope to generate $3 billion by 2022 in India as there is potential for up to 1 million film tourists to visit the country by 2022. However, to achieve this potential, there is an urgent need to simplify, incentivise and promote this segment.
Towards that objective, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organised the 4th edition of Global Film Tourism Conclave with the theme ‘Experience the potential of Cinematic Tourism’ on January 21, 2020 at Novotel Mumbai near Juhu Beach. The programme was supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Producers Guild of India was the Synergy Partner for the programme.
H.E. Eleonora Dimitrova, Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria and H.E. Radu Dobre, Ambassador of Romania gave a detailed presentation on the locations and incentive schemes for film shootings in their respective destinations.
Among the initiatives of the Ministry of Tourism and various state governments in India for promoting the film, Tourism is steps for approved execution of MoUs with various countries to foster bilateral cooperation through Film Tourism. Leading Indian Filmmakers known for blockbuster movie Gadar-Ek Prem Katha – Anil Sharma and noted Producer and Managing Director of Tips Industries –Ramesh Taurani who has produced movies like Race, Race 2, Race 3, Entertainment and many others, were felicitated during the programme for their contribution towards the Indian Cinema. They underlined the need to curb the lengthy process of approvals and permissions to shoot in India and urged the state tourism boards to come out with film industry-friendly policy.
A panel discussion on ‘Filming in India: A world of opportunities’ was organised which had Uday Singh, India Representative, Motion Picture Association as the Moderator and D. Venkatesan, Regional Director, India Tourism Mumbai, Vikramjit Roy, Head– Film Facilitation Office, National Film Development Corporation, and Rakasree Basu, Producer, Frames Per Second Films as the Panellists.
There were other discussions on ‘Impact of Destination Marketing and Promotion through Films’ in which Kulmeet Makkar,CEO, Producers Guild of India moderated the session. The panellists were Damian Irzyk, Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Mumbai, John Wilson, India Head, Czech Tourism, Mohit Batra, Country Head, Scandinavian Tourist Board, and Sanjiv Kishinchandani, Executive Producer, Rajkumar Hirani Films.
The Conclave was attended by over 150 delegates that included Production Houses, Ambassadors, Consul Generals, State and International Tourism Boards, Tour Operators, Hotels and Resorts among others.