#Pune365Pulse – Why Isn’t Pune Ever Promoted As A Tourist Destination?

Pune City
Image used for representation only

From being known as a city of pensioners, Pune has metamorphosed to emerged as a metro-city, providing employment and affordable lifestyles to thousands of citizens.

Eminently considered as one of the safest cities to live in, Pune is also a ‘budget’ friendly destination for tourists.

Amply qualifying this, is a recent report by an online travel firm, the TripIndex Cities lists Pune as a comparatively cheaper destination, lower than Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai and New Delhi.

The annual report compares the cost for two people with a three-night stay at a four-star hotel, a visit to five attractions, lunch and dinner each day and the cost of a taxi to and from dinner.

Pune fared as the third most expensive for meals, coming after Delhi and scored the maximum points in terms of cost of visiting tourist attractions.The survey said that most destinations offered free or low entrance fees.

Having sad that, isn’t it about time, that serious efforts are taken to to promote the city as a tourist destination?

Commenting on this, Kavya Purohit (32), Housewife says, “I think this should have been taken up earlier, when Pune was far more peaceful. The state as a whole is promoted at a larger level, but we hardly see any glimpse of Pune in it. The city holds the rich history of Marathas, the Osho connection, 1st century old monuments, the Ashtavinayak Temples and much more. And now the fact that it has also become a budget friendly destination, its certainly time the State Tourism Board give it importance..”

“I agree that not much preference is given to Pune, when it comes to its promotion as a tourist place,” shares Parmeshwar Kulkarni (59), Businessman. “The city itself holds a lot of relevance from the old world’s charm. Every lane in the heart of the city and Peth areas have a building which is more than five decades old. Since it has now emerged as an IT-hub, people are unaware about our monuments like Shinde Chhatri, Lal Mahal and specialities like the Poona sarees, Puneri Cuisine etc. All that gets prominence is more known facets like Shaniwar Wada, Dagduseth and Joshi Vada Pao,” he adds.

Abhishek Joshi (25), Student, opines that, “Like people in the other parts of the world have preserved French colonies and promoted names like Alexander the great, Pune should also be promoted extensively and people made aware of our Maratha dynasty. Tourism will not only generate revenue, but will also help the administrators to maintain and perverse the historical monuments. Many monuments of that era have been already destroyed or collapsed and that is really unfortunate.”

“I feel that food here is fairly costly, but the weather here compensates for it,” says Surbhi (28), Freelance Writer. “The city itself is being maintained well and we have a new place to explore every weekend, that too within the city. I don’t think it as a tourist destination, yet Pune is worth the time and money one will spend here. The city itself gives a nice glimpse of the olden days, the lifestyle of the Peshwas blending in with the modern-day city that is happening and lively,” she adds.

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#All Respondent names changed to protect individual privacy. All views expressed in this article are those of the individual respondents and Pune365 does not necessarily subscribe to them. 

Loveleen Kaur