Government unveils plans to develop 36 more tourist sites under a new scheme

The Centre is reportedly planning to unveil a new tourism scheme in April, under which 36 destinations in several states will get developed over the course of four years. This comes immediately following the government's recent budget commitment of developing 50 tourism hubs in collaboration with states. Aiming to elevate tourism infrastructure, improve ease of travel, and strengthen connectivity to key sites.

A government source pointed out that destination management is a missing piece in Indian’s tourism sector, and added, to boost tourism, opening new destinations and managing the existing ones is important. According to the officials, Government is eyeing on ‘Great Indian Destination Management Challenge’ with the help of state government. The Swadesh darshan 2.0 and challenge Based Destination Development schemes have provisions for destination management organisation.

Under this new scheme, the government will invite states to submit proposals for the development of 36 destinations in a four-year time frame with annually destination development goals such as garbage and congestion management. Also, a live dashboard will be deployed to receive feedback from travellers in real time.

The Ministry of Tourism is preparing guidelines for 50 destinations that are to be developed in cooperation with states, as announced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Budget 2025 speech through a challenge mode, ensuring world-class facilities and connectivity. Officials confirmed that the final list of selected destinations will be determined after a thorough evaluation process, with a committee comprising government representative and industry stakeholders. As part of this development, states will have to provide land for critical infrastructure, including hotels, which will be classified under the Infrastructure Harmonized Master List (HML) to attract investments and boost hospitality services.

Additionally, 40 projects across 23 states will receive interest-free loans for 50 years under the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment, supporting the creation of globally recognized tourist destinations by facilitating their development and strategic marketing. Also, the Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0, which focuses on sustainable and responsible tourism, will continue to expand, with 34 projects already approved under this initiative. To reduce unemployment in the tourism sector, the Government has allocated Rs 60 crore for skill development in the financial year 2025-26.

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