The Finance Minister said, "I propose to set up a National Institute of Hospitality by upgrading the existing National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology. It will function as a bridge between academia, industry and the Government.”
Sitharaman proposed a pilot scheme for upskilling 10,000 guides in 20 iconic tourist sites through a standardized, high-quality 12-week training course in hybrid mode, in collaboration with an Indian Institute of Management.
She also stated, “A National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid will be established to digitally document all places of significance—cultural, spiritual and heritage. This initiative will create a new ecosystem of jobs for local researchers, historians, content creators and technology partners.”
The Finance Minister said, "India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experience. We will develop ecologically sustainable (i) Mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir; Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats and Podhigai Malai in the Western Ghats. (ii) Turtle Trails along key nesting sites in the coastal areas 14 of Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala; and (iii) Bird watching trails along the Pulikat lake in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu."
She further said, “Under the visionary leadership of Honorable Prime Minister, we established the International Big Cat Alliance in 2024. This year, India is hosting the first ever Global Big Cat Summit, where heads of governments and ministers from 95 range countries will deliberate on collective strategies for conservation.”
Speaking on the theme of Heritage and Culture Tourism, Sitharaman proposed to develop 15 archaeological sites including Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Adichanallur, Sarnath, Hastinapur, and Leh Palace into vibrant, experiential cultural destinations.
She further said "Excavated landscapes will be opened to the public through curated walkways. Immersive storytelling skills and technologies will be introduced to help conservation labs, interpretation centres, and guides."
Following the announcements, tourism stocks rallied sharply: Easy Trip Planners surged 11.15%, Lemon Tree Hotels rose 3.13%, Yatra Online gained 3.05%, EIH advanced 2.06%, IRCTC added 0.36%, Mahindra Holidays 1%, TBO Tek 0.64%, and BLS International Services 1.65%.