Plan to promote CW Games abroad

The Tourism Ministry has chalked out plans to intensify overseas promotion of the Commonwealth Games to be held in the Capital in the second half of this year. In April-June quarter, the Tourism Ministry will organise promotion shows in various overseas capital cities including Toronto, Sydney, Auckland, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Mr Sujit Banerjee, Tourism Secretary, told Business Line.

He also made it clear that the Tourism Ministry will not undertake domestic promotion for the Commonwealth Games 2010. “The Delhi Government will have to do the promotion of the games within India. It has agreed to do that,” sources in the Ministry said. The Tourism Ministry had a budget allocation of Rs 250 crore for promoting India in overseas markets during the current fiscal.

Till end December this fiscal, the Ministry has already spent Rs 142 crore for overseas promotion, sources said. For promotion of domestic tourism, the Ministry had budget of Rs 60 crore, of which Rs 35 crore has been spent till December 2009.