Mumbai, Apr 7 (PTI) A festival organised to showcase tourism potential and cultural heritage of Maharashtra’s Satara district attracted more than 1.5 lakh visitors in just five days, prompting the state government to extend the event by three days.
The five-day ‘Koyna Daulat Dongri Festival 2026’, which began on April 2, was organised at Patan in Satara district by Maharashtra Tourism in collaboration with the local administration and the Regional Tourism Directorate, Pune, to boost tourism in the region, an official said on Tuesday.
The festival in the western Maharashtra district witnessed impressive footfalls and drew more than 1.5 lakh visitors. This prompted the state government to extend the festival by three more days (till April 9), he said.
Encouraged by the popularity of the festival, Maharashtra Tourism plans to launch another event on similar lines, the Koyna Backwater Festival, in December-January.
“Festivals like the Koyna Daulat Dongri Festival play a very important part in developing the tourism infrastructure in Maharashtra as they combine cultural heritage with emerging tourism offerings in one package. Apart from promoting lesser-known tourist destinations such as Patan, events of this kind help establish Maharashtra as a tourist destination with wide appeal across the country and beyond,” said Dr B N Patil, Director, Directorate of Maharashtra Tourism.
The success witnessed at the Koyna Daulat Dongri Festival shows increasing popularity of tourism of multiple kinds like rural, cultural and adventure in the state, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation Managing Director Neelesh Gatne said.
“Such festivals serve to recognise talents present in a region and offer sustainable economic growth opportunities to the local community. Moving forward, we aim to replicate and launch similar initiatives to further strengthen Maharashtra’s position as a diverse and experience-driven tourism destination,” Gatne maintained. PTI SM RSY
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