Maharashtra inks deal with German state

PUNE: The state government has joined hands with the federal state of Baden-Württemberg of southwest Germany for increased cooperation in tourism development.
The formal agreement between the two states was signed during the annual international tourism fair in Berlin recently. Alexander Bonde, Baden-Württemberg's minister of tourism and Andreas Braun, managing director of Tourismus Marketing GmbH Baden-Württemberg (TMBW) met Sumit Mullik, additional chief secretary (tourism), Maharashtra, with both sides agreeing to cooperate on tourism marketing in the two regions.
This co-operation builds on the long-standing partnership between the capitals of the two regions - the cities of Stuttgart and Mumbai. The two have already been working together for the last 46 years.
A statement issued by MTDC said in the recent years, India has become the second largest Asian market (after China) for tourists from Baden-Württemberg.
In the most recent survey, the number of overnights from India rose sharply by 7.1% to 1.57 lakh in 2013. Maharashtra too expects to attract tourists from Germany.