To push tourism, stakeholders for adventure-based activities

The travel industry has suggested the inclusion of adventure-based itineraries and incorporation of adventure activities such as trekking, river rafting, paragliding and skiing for promoting tourism in the state. These suggestions were given to the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) by travel agents and travel organisations in Outbound Travel Mart (OTM) in Mumbai. It’s a platform where travel organisations from abroad as well as from within the country come together. A delegation of HPTDC, led by its MD Rajeev Kumar, is participating in the OTM to promote tourism in general and its own hotels in particular. It may be mentioned here that most of the HPTDC hotels are bleeding losses and efforts are being made to turn these properties into profit making units.

In the discussions held with the representatives of the travel organisations, the delegation focused on promoting its hotels and facilities. Also, a detailed discussion was held on the marketing and promotional strategies for HPTDC properties.

Following the discussions, several travel partners suggested introducing a commission-based incentive structure to encourage more bookings. They also recommended that the commission be set as a fixed percentage to ensure transparency and attract more agents. The agents further suggested the introduction of well-curated tour packages to make HPTDC properties more marketable. The other demand from the agents was for curated tour circuits covering key destinations of Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla, Kullu, Manali, Dharamsala and Dalhousie. The HPTDC MD assured the agents that these suggestions would be evaluated for implementation.