The meeting was successfully organised under the leadership of Hon’ble Managing Director, MTDC, Shri Neelesh R. Gatne, IAS, and under the guidance of General Manager, MTDC, Shri Chandrashekhar Jaiswal.
Ms. Manasi Kothare, HoD – Business Development, delivered a presentation on the initiative, outlining the agenda of the meeting and the proposed way forward for the Mumbai Tourism Experiences initiative.
Representatives from key tourism stakeholders and organisations including IATO, ATOAI, ADTOI, TAFI, MTOA, Thomas Cook, Elysium Travels, Odati Adventures, Camp & Joy, Mercury Travels, Olive Green Ventures, Savarkar Pratishthan, Khaki Tours, The Rumours Club, Naturalist Explorers, Mischief Treks, Shivshakti Enterprises and others were present at the meeting. The stakeholders shared valuable inputs and expressed strong support towards the initiative.
The initiative seeks to bring together tour operators, institutions, cultural organisations, experts, local communities, and tourism stakeholders under a unified tourism platform to curate immersive, professionally managed, and sustainable tourism experiences across Mumbai.
Speaking on the occasion, MTDC highlighted that Mumbai is not merely a city, but an emotion and experience that reflects resilience, creativity, diversity, and constant energy. The initiative intends to create a refreshed tourism narrative that captures Mumbai’s evolving identity while enhancing visitor experiences and increasing tourism visibility.
Mumbai possesses immense tourism potential as India’s commercial and financial capital, the primary gateway for international tourists, home to Bollywood, and one of the few cities in the world with a national park within city limits. The city also offers exceptional connectivity, world-class infrastructure, UNESCO-recognised heritage, vibrant cultural experiences, and immense opportunities for cruise, convention, and experiential tourism.
Under the Mumbai Tourism Experiences initiative, MTDC proposes the development of curated thematic tourism circuits including Mumbai Darshan, Heritage Tourism, Eco Tourism, Spiritual Tourism, Community Tourism, Festival Tourism, Educational Tourism, Cultural Tourism, Museum & Special Interest Tours, and Sensitization Tours.
As part of the initiative, more than 90 heritage and cultural institutions have already been approached for collaboration. Proposed tourism experiences include guided heritage walks, mangrove and biodiversity tours, festival-based immersive experiences, culinary trails, Japanese and Jewish heritage tours, wellness and spiritual circuits, educational study tours, theatre and arts experiences, and expert-led ecological and architectural explorations.
The initiative also emphasises community participation and sustainable tourism practices, aiming to create livelihood opportunities for local communities while promoting responsible tourism and heritage conservation.
To facilitate structured tourism operations, MTDC proposed empanelment opportunities for tour operators, enabling them to design, curate, and operate thematic experiences under the Mumbai Tourism Experiences banner. Various operational models including fixed fee, revenue sharing, and independent operator models were presented, with MTDC offering promotional and facilitation support.
The initiative will be supported through integrated promotions across websites, mobile applications, social media campaigns, brochures, tourism events, and strategic platform integrations including BookMyShow, MakeMyTrip, IRCTC, and M-Indicator.
Expected outcomes of the initiative include stronger tourism branding for Mumbai, increased tourist engagement and stay duration, higher tourism spending, greater employment opportunities, sustainable tourism practices, and stronger public-private-community partnerships.
Building upon the Mumbai model, MTDC also announced plans to expand similar experiential tourism initiatives to other iconic destinations in Maharashtra including Nashik, Pune, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, with curated tourism circuits focused on heritage, spirituality, vineyards, culture, forts, wellness, and UNESCO World Heritage attractions.
The initiative draws inspiration from the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of “Jan Bhagidari”, encouraging collaborative participation from government agencies, tourism stakeholders, local communities, institutions, and citizens to collectively build a structured, sustainable, and globally visible tourism ecosystem for Mumbai and Maharashtra.
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