In wedding capital Jaipur, Centre pushes to diversify destinations

Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s calls for holding weddings in India echoed in Jaipur on Sunday as stakeholders from industry and state governments sought to draw a blueprint for the sector, which is estimated to have business of more than Rs 6 lakh crore.

At the congregation of wedding planners, event managers and hotel operators from India and abroad, Manisha Saxena, director general, ministry of tourism, unpacked the country’s progress in infrastructure development, crucial to diversify the destinations for weddings, beyond Rajasthan and Goa.

“With its unique blend of natural beauty and cultural traditions which can actually invoke magic in weddings, Rajasthan along with Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Haryana, Kerala, and Goa are favourite destination for Wed-in-India. The Northeast is also fast emerging as a preferred destination especially the tea gardens of Assam, Darjeeling, Siliguri, Mizoram, and Manipur,” said Saxena.

For Rajasthan that has become synonymous with destination wedding, holding the first-ever ‘Wed in India’ of the Union govt was an opportunity leveraged by the state’s tourism department to further solidify its reputation.

Gayatri Rathore, principal secretary (tourism), said, “Rajasthan is a natural choice for weddings because of its forts, palaces, colourful culture, world-class hospitality, traditional cuisines and vibrant entertainment as they create unforgettable experiences for the couples and their guests."

However, as the country looks to curb Indians going abroad for holding weddings overseas, the need to expand the destinations and build capacity has become imperative.

S K Pathak, secretary general, FICCI, said, “Connectivity, be it air, rail or road, has improved vastly in the country. There is also capacity to hold big events which came to fore during the G20 meetings conducted in various states. Now what we need is to increase the number of destinations. Weddings have a bigger impact on local economy and will play a key role in India’s path to reach $10 trillion economy.”

India used to be a big market for tourism boards of foreign countries who marketed their destinations for weddings. But the trend has started slowing.

Sabbas Joseph, past president of Event and Entertainment Management Association, said, “Recently, there is reduction in the number of Indians going abroad for weddings. By itself, India is huge market as 60% of our population below the age of 25. But we need international weddings also. We have 60-80 auspicious days. If we can attract foreigners in other days, it will give a big fillip to the industry.”