Prahlad Singh Patel, Union Minister of Tourism and Culture (I/C), held a brainstorming session on Promotion of Incredible India – Post Covid-19 with Influencers and Travel Media in New Delhi today. Around 30 influencers and travel Media representatives participated in the brainstorming session. Meenakshi Sharma, DG, Tourism; G Kamala Vardhana Rao, CMD, CMD, ITDC: Rupinder Brar, , ADG Tourism: Rakesh Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary, Tourism and other officials of Ministry of Tourism were also present during the session. It was the first physical meeting with stakeholders during Covid-19 pandemic which followed all precautions and social distancing norms of government’s SOP.
Patel opened the session and requested all to give their valuable suggestions to promote tourism in India. He said that we all represent India and it is our responsibility to think about post Covid-19 tourism opportunity in our country. He said that this is the platform where we can talk about the problem as well as solutions with reference to tourism related activities. He said that India will pick up the speed in tourism sector again once the situation gets normal. We all should be prepared for the post Covid-19 world where we can serve tourists a better and safe environment to enhance their travel experiences. He said that people are very positive and ready to explore the beauty of India with all precautions; we should create an environment where they could trust us during this pandemic.
During the session different influencers and travel media representatives shared their experiences and provided their valuable suggestions to make tourism safer, friendly, accessible, responsible and affordable for all tourists, especially for women. Some participants gave suggestion to focus on domestic tourism and less popular sites of India. They said that India is the home for hidden gems and we should promote tourism in these areas by providing information and facilities in these lesser known great tourist destinations. One participant suggested opening more sites for camping with safety measures so that we can promote adventure tourism in India. Suggestions regarding promoting experiential tourism also came from a participant; he said that it will encourage other tourists also to explore different destinations. During the discussion it was also observed that in order to promote tourism among masses information sharing mechanism should be very strong.
