Cabinet to pick brand ambassador for tourism: Sarma

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, August 24: In order to boost tourism in the State, Dispur has prepared a panel of five renowned stars in diverse fields so as to pick one of them as the Assam tourism brand ambassador.

The panel includes Sachin Tendulkar, Deepika Padukone, Hrithik Roshan, Sai Nehwal and Priyanka Chopra. State Tourism Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma informed mediapersons of this in the city on Wednesday that the brand ambassador would be selected from among these five celebrities.

Refuting media reports that renowned Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has already been roped in by the State Government as its brand ambassador for tourism, Sarma said that the mes in the panel would be placed before the State Cabinet so as to pick one of them and give the fil call.

“The government is yet to filize the brand ambassador for Assam tourism. The fil decision will be taken by the State Cabinet. All the five celebrities have been intimated about the proposal through agencies. Sachin Tendulkar has already expressed his unwillingness to be the brand ambassador. For a Bharat Rat recipient it’s not fair to be the brand ambassador for a particular state,” Sarma said. “Deepika Padukone is keen for the job. She, however, can give dates for shooting of the promos only after two years due to her packed schedule. Priyanka Chopra too has expressed her ibility to come to Assam for shooting as she is busy with her career related works in the Unites States. She has, however, let us known that she can shoot the promos in the US where she is currently based,” Sarma said.

Citing reasons for targeting popular faces to be the brand ambassador, Sarma said that the target people are the foreign tourists, particularly from European tions, Japan, the US and a few others. “The brand ambassador will be the face of Assam tourism. Thus we are targeting celebrities who have fans following them in foreign countries,” he remarked.     

“The Tourism Department has been on the lookout for a brand ambassador for the last four years. But due to several reasons the celebrities declined to come to Assam for shooting of the promos. The geographical location of the state is one of the reasons. Gujarat has roped in Amitabh Bachan as its brand ambassador as Mumbai is close to Gujarat,” Sarma concluded.