Soon, travellers in Maharashtra can visit shooting locations, meet actors, scan QR code to learnt about tourist places

In a bid to boost tourism in the state, the department on Tuesday launched a slew of initiatives with private firms

Tourists visiting Mumbai always look forward to find opportunities to meet Bollywood actors and visiting shooting locations. Now, the Maharashtra tourism department has chalked out a plan to make this a reality. The department has decided to allow tourists visit film-shooting locations and also interact with actors, if possible.

State tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday launched a service that will also provide a detour of residences of popular Bollywood actors in the city. (HT FILE)

State tourism minister Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday launched a service that will also provide a detour of residences of popular Bollywood actors in the city.

In a bid to boost tourism in the state, the department on Tuesday launched a slew of initiatives with private firms.

“In all, we have signed four MoUs in which private firms will be launching the initiatives and the state government will play the role of the facilitator. This is like creating a network of partners by lending them non-financial support,” said Valsa Nair Singh, principal secretary, tourism department.

The department has also planned to bring QR (quick response) code-enabled display boards at all major tourist destinations.

“Maharashtra and Mumbai are the epicentre of film making. To attract cinema and film-making tourism, we are launching the Mumbai film city tour bus and curating tours to witness live shooting. Tourism has got to be tech-enabled and through our MoU (memorandum of understanding) with Guide Code [the firm] we plan to bring QR code-enabled display boards at all major tourist destinations across Maharashtra,” said the tourism minister in a series of tweets.

The department has also announced to hold a digital shopping festival in Mumbai between January 25 and February 15 in collaboration with a private firm.

It has also decided to encourage home chefs who will provide local cuisines near famous tourist destinations across the state. The private firm will tie up with residents near a popular tourist destination, who will offer local cuisines to a tourist at their homes. For this, locals will be trained to match the standard of international travellers. All these facilities will be promoted on the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) website and its tourism-related events, said the official.