City tour operators cite lack of proper accommodation, basic infrastructure facilities and ineffective marketing campaigns as the reasons for the failure.

Mahadevan Menon, managing director, Travel Corporation Pvt Ltd, winner of Best MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) tour operator, said, “Maharsahtra, including Mumbai, does not feature in top MICE destinations. In Mumbai, there is utter lack of hotel accommodation. Besides, we have not been able to tap the state's full potential. Maharashtra has so much to offer but there is lack of developed infrastructure.” He admitted, however, that MTDC was gradually working towards developing the state.

Iqbal Mulla, managing committee member, Travel Agents of India and chairman, Treasure Holidays, agreed, “The most popular states remain Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle (Delhi, Agra, Jaipur) for cultural tourism, Kerala for health tourism and Goa for the beaches. Maharashtra has everything — beaches, forts, mountains, caves, but it is not popular. This is primarily due to lack of infrastructure development, hotel rooms, and escalating room rates.”

It is because of these factors that Maharashtra falls way behind when it comes to attracting foreign clientele.

PP Singh, deputy manager, Asiad Holidays (National Tourism Award 2008 second prize winner, travel agents with forex earnings between Rs 10-25 crore category) which has branches in Delhi and Mumbai, said, “We have almost hundred per cent foreign clientele. Maximum number of tourists head to Rajasthan where tourism infrastructure is up to the mark, followed by Uttar Pradesh. Most foreign tourists prefer visiting cultural sites.”

According to Singh, when it came to MTDC hotels as in several other state government hotels, there was lack of quality service and shortage of staff. He also said that most foreigners preferred to stay in five-star hotels.

Abhay Yawalkar, joint managing director, MTDC argued that it was still the beginning phase for MTDC. “It is only now that it has started marketing itself aggressively. The other states that have won the awards are old players in the market. They have promoted their states on a much bigger scale. I think we need to give Maharashtra some time.”

Ajay Prakash, chief executive, Nomad Travels, opined, “Maharashtra needs to step up its awareness campaigns, promote itself more aggressively, it also needs to develop exclusive infrastructure.” He also said that in spite of MTDC campaigns to promote destinations like Tarkarli and Sindhudurg, tourists continued to flock to Goa. According to his estimates, new states like Chattisgarh too were ahead of Maharashtra in terms of tourism. At the National Toursim Awards 2006-07 which was held on February 27 in New Delhi, Andhra Pradesh won Best State for Infrastructure Development for Promotion of Tourism award.

Lina Nandan, joint secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, explained, “The tourism infrastructure by state governments should go beyond project implementation, follow target deadlines. Also, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) is a profitable venture, and is a vibrant example of public-private partnership. It has the best convention centre at Hyderabad. The best package tours are provided by this state.” The state also lapped up the award for the most innovative tourist project for its ‘River Cruise on Godavari’.