On the occasion of World Tourism Day on Friday, the Ministry of Tourism has launched a national responsible tourism initiative titled Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi. The primary aim of this initiative is to elevate the overall experience for tourists in destinations, by having them meet ‘tourist-friendly’ people who are proud Ambassadors and Storytellers for their destination.

The Ministry said that under this initiative, special emphasis is being placed on the training of women and youth to enable them develop new tourism products and experiences like heritage walks, food tours, craft tours, nature treks, homestay experiences, and other innovative tourism products based on the potential of the destination.

Tourism-specific training is being followed by general training in digital literacy and digital tools to ensure that the experiences they create are discoverable and visible to tourists, nationally and globally. Since the pilot of this program on August 15th this year, around 3,000 people have been trained in the 6 pilot destinations on the importance of creating a positive experience for tourists, thereby being a Paryatan Mitra.