At the World Travel Market London 2026, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat inked a memorandum of understanding with entertainment company Eros Universe — betting on the oldest soft-power tool in India's playbook: cinema. The partnership is designed to harness storytelling to draw global travellers to India's diverse destinations, and it lands on one of the world's biggest tourism trade stages.

Short Films, Joint Campaigns and a Global Stage

The MoU commits both sides to developing short films, joint marketing campaigns and 'innovative promotional initiatives' — the minister's phrase — to put Bharat's landscapes, heritage sites and cultural experiences in front of international audiences. Eros Universe, with its established global distribution network in film and digital content, brings reach that a government ministry alone cannot replicate. The announcement was made under India's flagship Incredible India brand, now in its third decade as the country's primary tourism identity abroad.

Cinema as a Tourism Engine — Not a New Idea, But a Bigger Bet

India has long known what a blockbuster can do for a postcard destination. The Ministry of Tourism has previously worked with the film sector to develop dedicated film-tourism circuits, and successive governments have leaned on Bollywood's global reach as a cultural export. What shifts now is the structure: a formal public-private MoU with a named entertainment partner, announced at an international trade forum, signals a move from ad-hoc collaboration to institutionalised co-production. Shekhawat framed it plainly — 'cinema has the power to inspire people to explore new destinations and experience different cultures.'

Why WTM London, Why Now

The World Travel Market London is precisely the kind of forum where such partnerships get maximum amplification — attended by tourism boards, travel trade buyers and media from across the globe. Announcing the Eros MoU here rather than domestically is a deliberate signal to inbound-tourism decision-makers: India is not just open for visitors, it is actively producing content to pull them in. The Incredible India — Beyond the Expected tagline Shekhawat used in the post captures the pitch: familiar enough to reassure, adventurous enough to intrigue.

The proof, of course, will be in the films themselves — when they release, which destinations they feature, and whether they move the needle on inbound arrivals from markets beyond South Asia. That scorecard is yet to be written.