BMC to develop more tourist spots across city

If all goes according to plan, the city could soon get new tourist attractions, including aquariums and theme parks.

If all goes according to plan, the city could soon get new tourist attractions, including aquariums and theme parks.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is in the process of setting up a mechanism to create new tourist attractions in the city and refurbish and promote the existing ones. A resolution will be placed during the civic general body meeting on Monday.

The constitution of a committee of experts in tourism is also on the cards, to oversee the maintenance and development of tourist spots.

Even though the city receives a horde of tourists from across the country and the world, the tourist spots in Mumbai are either poorly maintained or inadequately promoted. Moreover, hardly any new spots have been added to the list in the past few decades.

"Tourist attractions in the city are limited to the Gateway of India, Marine Drive and beaches. We need to create more spots such as theme parks, gardens and aquariums. A

master plan of all existing attractions will be created and the feasibility of developing news ones will be looked into," said Rahul Shewale, civic standing committee chairman, who will place a notice of motion at the meeting. Tourism would boost the global image of the city as well and increase revenue, he said.

If the motion is passed and if it materialises, the BMC will actively contribute to developing tourism in Mumbai, which has been the domain of the state under the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). “It is definitely a good step. The world over, local civic bodies play a proactive role in marketing their cities internationally as tourist destinations,” said Avinash Dhakne, former managing director, MTDC.

Experts, however, feel that the formation of a body to oversee spots is unnecessary. "The focus should be on reviving the heritage committee, over which there has been much delay by the state," said Pankaj Joshi, executive director, Urban Design Research Institute.