On the occasion of World Tourism Day 2024, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, introduced the ‘Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi’ initiative.

The core idea behind the initiative is to make every interaction that a tourist has with locals memorable, informative, and positive.

Under ‘Paryatan Mitra’ (Tourism Friend) and ‘Paryatan Didi’ (Tourism Sister), individuals who interact with tourists at different touchpoints—such as cab drivers, hotel staff, police personnel, and shopkeepers—will receive tourism-related training.

Special emphasis is being placed on the training of women and youth to enable them to develop new tourism products & experiences like heritage walks, food 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.

The program was initially piloted in six key tourist locations across India, including:  1. Orchha  2. Gandikota  3. Bodh Gaya  4. Aizawl  5. Jodhpur  6. Sri Vijaya Puram

Due to the efforts of Paryatan Mitra and Paryatan Didi, there has been visible enthusiasm from locals to be a part of tourism training programs and become a part of the tourism ecosystem.