Union Minister of Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Sunday, 27 September 2026 — World Tourism Day — launched two landmark initiatives: the National Digital Tourism Stack and the National Mission for Alternative Destinations, branded as the Dekho Apna Desh 2.0 campaign. The launches took place at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, and were accompanied by the signing of five Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with major industry partners for joint tourism promotion.

What Dekho Apna Desh 2.0 Aims to Achieve

The campaign is designed to redistribute tourist footfall away from overcrowded popular destinations toward lesser-known, tourism-ready alternatives. In collaboration with States and Union Territories, the initiative will identify destinations with distinct appeal, adequate infrastructure and accommodation, and the capacity to receive additional visitors sustainably.

The initial focus areas include hill and mountain destinations, coastal and waterfront destinations, heritage and cultural towns, and regional pilgrimage destinations. The programme explicitly targets economic opportunities for local communities, entrepreneurs, women and youth.

Addressing the event, Shekhawat said, 'The next phase of India's tourism journey must ensure that growth reaches beyond popular destinations, creating opportunities for local communities, entrepreneurs, women and youth while making tourism more balanced, inclusive and sustainable.'

The National Digital Tourism Stack

The National Digital Tourism Stack is being developed in collaboration with ONDC and with support from the International Centre for DPI Innovation and Advancement (ICDIA). The platform aims to make India's tourism offerings more discoverable, accessible and trustworthy through shared digital infrastructure.

Capabilities envisaged include verified supplier credentials, search and discovery tools, integrated payments, ratings, and a grievance redressal mechanism. The stack is planned to be rolled out in phases, with a pilot launch scheduled for January 2027.

Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Bhuvnesh Kumar, said in his welcome address: 'Artificial Intelligence, digital platforms and data-driven destination management can make tourism more accessible, responsive and personalised. India has considerable experience in Digital Public Infrastructure, and we are now looking at how these capabilities can be brought together for tourism.'

Five MoUs Signed with Industry Partners

The Ministry of Tourism formalised partnerships through MoUs with five organisations: Airbnb India Private Limited, FlixBus India Private Limited, Glance Digital Experience Private Limited (InMobi Group), Eicher Group Foundation, and MakeMyTrip (India) Limited. The agreements focus on strengthening destination promotion, community participation, and responsible tourism practices.

This brings together a cross-section of the travel ecosystem — from accommodation and intercity mobility to digital discovery and experiential platforms — under a single coordinated promotional framework.

AI and the Future of Indian Tourism

The keynote address was delivered by Vivek Raghavan, co-Founder of Sarvam AI, aligned with this year's World Tourism Day theme: 'Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism.' Raghavan said AI 'has the potential to transform every stage of the tourism journey — from discovering destinations and planning a trip to booking, experiencing and sharing it,' adding that the goal is to 'make travel more seamless, personalised and accessible, while creating a customised experience for every traveller.'

Notably, India's integration of Digital Public Infrastructure frameworks into the tourism sector marks a broader institutional trend — applying the Aadhaar-UPI-ONDC playbook to a sector that has historically relied on fragmented, private-led discovery. The January 2027 pilot will be the first real test of whether that ambition holds.