Tourism growth must reach beyond popular destinations and create opportunities for local communities: Union Minister of Tourism & Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

The Ministry of Tourism celebrated World Tourism Day 2026 by launching the National Digital Tourism Stack and the National Mission for Alternative Destinations under the Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0. The National Digital Tourism Stack is a shared open digital public infrastructure layer developed in collaboration with ONDC and ICDIA to improve discoverability, accessibility, and trust across tourism offerings, with a pilot planned for January 2027. The Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0 seeks to redistribute tourism demand by promoting tourism-ready, lesser-known destinations across hill, coastal, cultural, and pilgrimage categories to alleviate pressure on established hubs. Additionally, the Ministry exchanged five non-commercial MoUs with industry partners—Airbnb, FlixBus, Glance, Eicher Group Foundation, and MakeMyTrip—to boost destination promotion, local community participation, and responsible travel.