Promotion of Lesser Known Destinations

Ministry of Tourism has undertaken various initiatives to diversify tourism and promote lesser known destinations.

The following initiatives have been undertaken to promote the lesser known destinations in the country: -

1. Dekho Apna Desh initiative was launched by the Ministry in 2020 to promote domestic tourism in India.  The objective of the initiative was to create awareness among the citizens about the rich heritage and culture of the country as well as to promote the lesser known destinations of the country.
2. Under this initiative, tourist places in the country including the lesser known destinations are extensively promoted through Webinars.
3. The various field offices of the Ministry undertake several on ground promotional activities to popularize lesser known destinations.
4. A digital booklet has been developed on the 75 Incredible sites to visit in India, including several lesser known destinations, under the ageis of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
5. Aggressive social media promotions are undertaken through the social media handles of the Ministry on the lesser known tourist sites and products to popularize these sites amongst the general public.

In order to leverage technology for the advancement of tourism, Ministry of Tourism has introduced a Pan-India Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF)/Incredible India Tourist Guide (IITG) Program w.e.f. 01.01.2020, which is a digital initiative that aims at creating an Online learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained and professional Tourist Facilitators/Guides across the country. The candidates can pursue these online courses from anywhere and at any time and at their own pace.

Further, Ministry of Tourism has taken various initiatives to leverage Social Media for destination branding and to engage tourism vloggers and content creators for the promotion of tourism.

This information was given by Union Minister for Culture, Tourism and DoNER Shri G. Kishan Reddy in Lok Sabha today.