Tourism Growth Must Reach Beyond Popular Destinations And Create Opportunities For Local Communities: Union Minister Of Tourism & Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

Key Highlights:

• World Tourism Day 2026 was celebrated at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, by the Ministry of Tourism.
• Union Minister Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the National Digital Tourism Stack and the National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0.
• Five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were exchanged with industry partners for joint tourism promotion and community participation.
• A social awareness TV Campaign 2026 on Swachhta and India Tourism Statistics 2026 were also released during the event.

Detailed Insights:

• The Minister emphasized that tourism growth must extend beyond popular destinations to create opportunities for local communities, women, and youth.
• The National Digital Tourism Stack, developed with ONDC and ICDIA, aims to make India’s tourism offerings more discoverable, accessible, and trustworthy.
• This shared digital infrastructure will enable tourism providers to offer services across platforms, with a pilot planned for January 2027.
• The National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0 seeks to redistribute tourism demand by promoting lesser-known, tourism-ready destinations.
• This mission focuses on hill, coastal, heritage, and regional pilgrimage destinations, involving States/UTs and industry partners.
• MoUs were signed with Airbnb, FlixBus, Glance, Eicher Group Foundation, and MakeMyTrip for areas like homestay development, responsible travel, and digital content.
• The World Tourism Day 2026 theme highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence and digital platforms to transform the entire tourism journey.

Key Concepts Involved:

• National Digital Tourism Stack: A shared digital infrastructure designed to enhance the discoverability, accessibility, and trustworthiness of India's tourism offerings.
• National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0: An initiative to promote lesser-known destinations and redistribute tourism demand for more balanced and sustainable growth.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): Digital systems that enable public and private services, being explored to make tourism more accessible, responsive, and personalized.