With eye on tourists, government awards ‘Life of Pi’
NEW DELHI: Can 'Life of Pi' help India tame the dragon? The Indian government certainly hopes so.
Tourism minister Chiranjeevi on Saturday announced that director and writer of 'Life of Pi'Ang Lee and Yann Martel, respectively, will be awarded the national tourism awards for the impact the film has had in promoting India as a tourist destination. With this and the ministry hopes to target the so far indifferent Chinese tourists to their fold. The film has been a roaring success in China, raking in $16 million in its opening weekend itself.
China is one of the largest tourism markets in the world, but India has barely received a fraction of Chinese tourists. Recent data shows that of the around 50 million Chinese who travel overseas every year spending some $40 billion, less than 1 lakh travel to India on business and tourism. Plans that are on the anvil include 'Life of Pi' tour packages for Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala), where the film has been shot, easy availability of Chinese-speaking guides, virtual tour of the two places and a website in Mandarin.
Tourism minister Chiranjeevi on Saturday announced that director and writer of 'Life of Pi'Ang Lee and Yann Martel, respectively, will be awarded the national tourism awards for the impact the film has had in promoting India as a tourist destination. With this and the ministry hopes to target the so far indifferent Chinese tourists to their fold. The film has been a roaring success in China, raking in $16 million in its opening weekend itself.
China is one of the largest tourism markets in the world, but India has barely received a fraction of Chinese tourists. Recent data shows that of the around 50 million Chinese who travel overseas every year spending some $40 billion, less than 1 lakh travel to India on business and tourism. Plans that are on the anvil include 'Life of Pi' tour packages for Puducherry and Munnar (Kerala), where the film has been shot, easy availability of Chinese-speaking guides, virtual tour of the two places and a website in Mandarin.
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