Pune district tourism plan features paragliding, hot air balloon fest
The plan presented on Monday also includes the promotion of the district's forts, ancient temples, scenic ghats, and cultural events such as music, theatre, storytelling, poetry readings, and folk-art festivals. Adventure activities like motorboating and zip-lining have been proposed to provide tourists with immersive and thrilling experiences. The initiatives are part of a sustainable tourism push that aims to unlock the untapped tourism potential of the Pune district.
Ajit Pawar stressed the need to put Pune firmly on the country's tourism map by leveraging its heritage sites, temples, and folk traditions. He directed Pune district collector Jitendra Dudi to ensure that a comprehensive tourism development plan is prepared.
During the meeting, Pawar pointed out that while 79% of foreign tourists in Maharashtra visit Mumbai, only 14% make their way to Pune.
'With consistent implementation of this plan, we aim to increase annual tourist footfall in Pune district to 40 lakh in the next three years and one crore in the next five. This will add ₹10,000–15,000 crore to the district's GDP and create over 50,000 direct jobs and 5 lakh indirect employment opportunities,' he said.
Pawar added that events such as paragliding competitions, cycling challenges, balloon festivals, and cultural fairs will be held annually on fixed dates to ensure consistency and build brand identity.
'These initiatives will give Pune a new tourism identity,' he said.
Officials developing Pune's tourism blueprint have studied successful models from other states, such as Gujarat's Rann Utsav, Arunachal Pradesh's Ziro Festival, Rajasthan's Jaipur Literature Festival, and Nagaland's Hornbill Festival.
Ajit Pawar emphasised the need to collaborate with tourism experts, institutions, and private organisations to execute the plan effectively.
Focus on Bhimashankar, Sinhagad fort
The meeting also reviewed development plans for the Bhimashankar temple area and the historic Sinhagad Fort. Pawar instructed officials to undertake new projects that enhance the pilgrimage and heritage value of both sites while preserving their architectural and cultural essence.
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Last year's traveller numbers more than doubled those recorded in FY22 — 3,50,000. Bhavik Sheth, chief operating officer of Evoke Experiences, the operator and organiser of Rann Utsav, which works as a public-private partnership model with Gujarat Tourism, says visitor footfalls could cross one million this year, based on advance booking trends.'Tent occupancy, particularly in premium categories, has improved year-on-year, with most high-demand dates like full-moon nights and festive weekends getting fully booked well in advance — up to four weeks earlier than in previous years,' said said international and group bookings have also shown upward trends, with international guests increasing by 15%, and group bookings now accounting for 35% of total reservations. To meet this growing demand, tent city capacity has been expanded to over 50 tents this Gaur, CEO of WanderOn, a D2C travel-tech company, said the Ziro Music Festival in Arunachal Pradesh is growing in popularity, having seen a 60% growth in interest for the company, with trip slots filling up well in said the appeal lies not just in the music, but in the destination as well, which is remote, scenic, and deeply rooted in tribal festival promotes indigenous tribes and artists from Indias Northeast, besides showcasing Indian and global independent as an eco-friendly, outdoor festival, it was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Bobby Hano and Menwhopause guitarist Anup Kutty, and has featured a mix of artists ranging from Indus Creed to Rewben the annual beer festival in Munich, Germany, touted as the world's largest folk festival, has also transformed from attracting niche curiosity for Indian travellers to being a major draw for per the official Oktoberfest website, most of the international guests last year came from the US, UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, and 'for the first time, increasingly from India'."We have observed a 25% year-on-year increase in bookings for this event, especially among solo travellers,' Gaur added. founder and CEO Vikas Katoch also confirmed that Oktoberfest is one of the most demanded international festive tours. The popularity of Oktoberfest may also be topped up by the annual offers and promotions launched around the festival dates by beer chains such as The Beer Café, which hosted an OktoBEERfest party throughout October last year, featuring special German beers and year, revellers in Spain turn the small town of Buñol into a tomato-splattered playground. Gaur said WanderOn has recently launched a package specifically focused on the La Tomatina festival, which is in 'significant' demand, and that it is driven by newly married couples and helps that travellers can also explore Valencia's culinary scene and sample local dishes like paella and tapas. Meanwhile Adotrip also flew a 15-member group to Hyderabad for the Toma Terra event on May 11, dubbed as India's first tomato the upcoming Rio de Janeiro Carnival in 2026, has already received over 500 queries, said Katoch. The Rio Carnival is scheduled from February 13- 18 next year and is expected to draw large top Samba schools would perform the Samba on the streets of Rio. But, in the 1980s, Rio officials and organisers realised a change was in order, and in 1984, they constructed the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai — a purposebuilt parade area for the comfort of tourists and to generate greater revenue through tickets. The Sambadrome was renovated in 2012. The stadium can seat over 80,000 visitors and accommodate 5,000 participants through the wide Marques de Sapucai organised a package for close to 30 travellers for the Bir Music Festival in Himachal Pradesh this year. The 13th season of the festival will be held from December 26-27 this year. As per the official website, the festival features 48 hours of non-stop music, has hosted 13,000 guests, and has seen performances by 500 foreign tourists are also coming to India to check out the local scene. Goa Tourism said this year's Goa Carnival in March attracted a 'significant' number of international tourists. The Carnival included 'familyfriendly' events, street plays, and children's parades. The festival's signature float parade set off from Panjim, continuing through Mapusa, Morjim, Margao and Vasco. Elaborately decorated floats showcased Goa's folklore, traditions and modern artistic companies said travellers are also taking a fancy to Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans, US, which has jazz, masquerades and Creole flavours on offer. French for 'Fat Tuesday', Mardi Gras is celebrated globally, but the most extensive celebrations take place in New Orleans. The festival is popular for its elaborate parades, costumes and food feasts, symbolising indulgence before the fasting period 2024, Vietnam welcomed about 5,00,000 Indian tourists, a 297% jump compared to pre-pandemic levels. The lantern festival in Hoi An is a major draw and lights up the ancient town. The festival is held on the 14th day of the lunar month when the moon is at its fullest and brings with it water fights, temple visits and lots of Thai street food. Akin to Holi, Sonkran, marking the Thai new year, is celebrated with families and locals engaging in playful water fights, symbolising the washing away of past year's troubles. To be held next year from April 13- 15, the festival will also include cultural performances, beauty contests, sand sculpture contests, concerts and colourful processions. Companies are expecting numbers to go up further next year considering Thailand's growing popularity, budget friendly airfares, and easy entry requirements.
