India is preparing to place its landscapes, heritage and culture in front of a global audience through a new partnership between the Ministry of Tourism and Netflix. The government confirmed in Parliament that it has signed a non commercial agreement with Netflix Entertainment Services India to promote tourism destinations through cinematic storytelling. The idea is simple and it has worked in the past. When audiences around the world watch films or series set in striking locations, interest in those places rises. With this MoU, India expects Netflix to spotlight the country’s natural beauty, cultural richness and architectural heritage through stories that intentionally make use of India’s most picturesque settings. Obviously Gujarat is among the states expected to benefit from this focused on screen representation.
The government believes this approach will complement its broader efforts to strengthen tourism, including rural and tribal areas. It highlighted the Pradhan Mantri Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan, which supports the development of one thousand homestays to improve opportunities for tribal communities. States are also creating their own initiatives, such as the Sikkim Mega Homestay Project, the Goa Homestay and Bed and Breakfast Scheme, and Tripura’s Paryatan Sahayak Prakalp.
All these steps point toward one clear strategy. India wants to use modern storytelling, digital tools and community based tourism to present itself as a complete and compelling destination for global travellers.
Despite immense potential, the global tourism is not upto the mark, let’s see how it actually gets implemented.