New Delhi: In an effort to attract more tourists, especially high-value visitors, Delhi govt will conduct an infrastructure gap analysis, develop new tourism circuits, curate city tours, cultural and heritage experiences, strengthen tourism branding, roll out festival programming, promote the concert economy and medical tourism, and step up hospitality and investment promotion. Investment in hotels, events, convention centres, tourism transport services, and food and retail experience hubs will be encouraged, while best practices from other states will be studied and adopted. The multi-pronged approach is part of the govt’s broader tourism promotion push. “Delhi, being a global heritage destination and a key gateway to India, attracts significant domestic and international tourist footfall. We are working with the vision of the govt that whenever a foreign tourist visits India, they should not return without visiting Delhi. The aim is to reposition the capital from being largely a stopover destination to a high-value, experience-led tourism hub catering to leisure, business, cultural, and medical travellers,” an official said. The govt is setting up a project management unit (PMU) at Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) which will study and prepare the details of the key activities, policies and plans that the govt wants to use to push tourism. The PMU will assist the govt in drafting, updating, and refining policies. “The PMU will help put in place clear guidelines for tourism schemes, grants, festivals, infrastructure projects, and promotional initiatives so that execution is faster and more uniform across departments. A key focus will be benchmarking Delhi’s tourism policies and incentives against successful models adopted by other leading states and global cities,” the official added. The govt also plans to identify fiscal and non-fiscal measures that work in other states — such as public space activation models, tourism branding frameworks, and tourist service standards — and adapt them to Delhi. “The names of the states from where best practices will be adopted will be finalised after the PMU studies various tourism models. For instance, Rajasthan offers a strong heritage-led tourism model; Maharashtra, particularly Mumbai, demonstrates how large cities can boost tourism through events, concerts, and MICE infrastructure; and Gujarat’s riverfront development and tourism branding offer useful lessons,” said another official. Investment promotion will be another key focus area. The govt will reach out to investors, hospitality groups, event organisers and industry bodies to attract investments in hotels, convention centres, experience zones, event venues, amusement parks, food and retail hubs, and heritage activation projects.To address coordination challenges arising from the involvement of multiple agencies, the PMU will also assist DTTDC in coordinating with departments such as MCD, DDA, ASI to facilitate approvals and clearances. The city-wide infrastructure gap analysis will be undertaken to identify deficiencies in tourist facilitation centres, signage and wayfinding, amenities, heritage interpretation facilities, experience zones, landscaping, and waterfront or riverfront recreation infrastructure. Based on the findings, new tourism infrastructure projects will be identified.
