HYDERABAD: In the single biggest nation-to-nation twinning attempt in the country based on geography, cultural and historical identity, Hyderabad was twinned with Sacramento, capital of US state of California, at the inaugural of 78th Skal International World Congress. The global travel expo that will conclude on October 9 saw participation of major international players in the tourism industry from 48 different countries. In the summit, representatives from 13 US Skal clubs and nine Indian Skal clubs formally agreed to twin with each other to promote bilateral tours between the two countries.
The event was inaugurated by deputy chief minister Mohd Mahmood Ali, in the presence of David Fischer, Skal international president, B Venkatesham, secretary of Telangana tourism, and Vijay Mohan Raj, president of Skal Hyderabad chapter. The deputy CM said conferences like Skal Congress would help in promoting a state’s tourism.
Meanwhile, celebrating India-US Travel and Tourism Partnership year, in an initiative led by US Department of Commerce and Indian Ministry of Tourism, twinning of several Skal groups across both the countries was initiated. “The idea is to strengthen American and Indian tourism industry by promoting major travel destinations in both countries.
The scope for this has increased as number of Indians visiting US has doubled since 2008,” said Katherine B Hadda, US consul general in Hyderabad. Goa from India was twinned with Miami, the beach city in USA, and Mumbai was twinned with Los Angeles, which is home to Hollywood. Hyderabad competed with popular travel destinations like Bangkok and Copenhagen to host the Skal Congress where it garnered 136 votes while Bangkok got just 33.