Government Plans to Develop 36 More Tourist Destinations Under New Scheme

By siliconindia  |  Tuesday, 18 February 2025, 10:29 IST

Government Plans to Develop 36 More Tourist Destinations Under New Scheme
In an effort to improve India's tourism sector, the Centre is set to introduce a new scheme in April that will witness the establishment of 36 new locations in four years. This comes on the heels of the government's recent budget commitment of developing 50 tourism hubs in collaboration with states. The focus is to give a boost to India's ailing tourism sector, which has been unable to keep up with increased demand.
Government officials who are aware of the plan pointed out that destination management has been an important missing link in India's tourism policy. Even though demand has increased, the tourism infrastructure of the country has not been able to match it. Therefore, the Centre feels that it is important to open up new tourist destinations and develop the potential of existing ones for sustainable growth in the industry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also underscored the need to open new travel avenues in order to contain the increasing expense of domestic travel. Authorities highlighted that several favorite destinations have grown costlier, making it more difficult for the common Indian tourist to travel to them. The proposed scheme would address these issues by prioritizing democratization of travel and ensuring that the destination is not just accessible but sustainable as well.
The government is said to be considering a model similar to the 'Great Indian Destination Management Challenge', under which 36 destinations will be developed in multiple states. The officials added that the scheme will be on the lines of the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 and Challenge Based Destination Development schemes, which already have provisions for the establishment of destination management organizations (DMOs). These DMOs will be responsible for managing the development and promotion of these places.
Under the new scheme, the government will invite states to submit proposals for the development of these places. The chosen destinations will have to fulfill a number of conditions, such as private sector investment potential, connectivity, and employment generation. States will also have to prove their ease of doing business and offer subsidies or incentives to lure investment.
The tourism ministry is in the process of coming out with guidelines for the 50 destinations that are to be developed in cooperation with states. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made an announcement during her budget speech on February 1 that the Centre would partner with states in challenge mode to develop these destinations. States would be asked to give the land that would be used to construct key infrastructure, and hotels at these locations will be part of the harmonized master list of infrastructure.
Officials confirmed that the final list of selected destinations will be determined after a thorough evaluation process, with a committee comprising government representatives and industry stakeholders. This committee will assess the proposals based on criteria such as accessibility, job creation potential, and the ease of doing business in the region. Additionally, the industry will be consulted to ensure that the chosen destinations make sense from an investment perspective.
One of the key issues identified by the officials is the absence of governance at the destination level. While the Central and state governments have well-defined systems, there is no coordination at the local level, which in turn leads to inefficiencies. For instance, in destinations such as Khajuraho, there is no specific agency that oversees tourism activities to ensure that the expectations of the travellers are fulfilled and local communities are not negatively impacted.
Globally, successful tourism places are the culmination of solid government-private sector and destination management organization collaborations. The Indian government's new scheme hopes to facilitate the same collaborations for ensuring sustainable growth of the industry. Officially, many of the projects in the new scheme will provide provisions for the development of destination management organizations, which will be vital for long-term success in such projects.
In summary, the government's proposal to prepare 36 additional tourist spots is part of its larger vision to enhance India's tourism infrastructure, stimulate local economies, and encourage private sector investment in the industry. If proper governance arrangements are in place, this undertaking can make a big impact in the tourism landscape of India, providing new travel destinations for domestic as well as foreign tourists.

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