The Ministry of Tourism celebrated World Tourism Day 2026 by launching two initiatives: The National Digital Tourism Stack and the National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0.
On September 27, 2026, the Ministry of Tourism marked World Tourism Day with a ceremony at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi. The event was attended by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar, and senior officials from the Ministry, along with representatives from the tourism industry.
During the ceremony, two key initiatives were launched: The National Digital Tourism Stack and the National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0.
The National Digital Tourism Stack aims to make India’s tourism offerings more discoverable, accessible, and trustworthy by creating a shared digital infrastructure in collaboration with ONDC and ICDIA. This platform will enable tourism providers to make their offerings available across participating platforms, supported by capabilities such as verified identities and supplier credentials, search and discovery, payments, ratings, and grievance redressal. The programme is envisioned as a collaborative effort involving the Ministry, States, Union Territories, and industry, with a pilot planned for January 2027.
The National Mission for Alternative Destinations – Dekho Apna Desh Campaign 2.0 seeks to distribute tourism demand more widely by promoting tourism-ready, lesser-known destinations as alternatives or complements to destinations experiencing heavy tourist footfall. The initiative will identify destinations with a distinct appeal, adequate infrastructure and accommodation, and the capacity to receive additional visitors sustainably. The initial focus will be on hill and mountain destinations, coastal and waterfront destinations, heritage and cultural towns, and regional pilgrimage destinations.
Source:
Press Information Bureau
