Union Tourism Ministry seeks association of travel bloggers

In order to bring the offbeat destinations of the country to the limelight, the ministry of tourism is seeking association from travel bloggers.

It is reported that the ministry has selected 8 bloggers, to write about eight destinations, which will be selected by next week.

As per an official from the tourism department, the write-ups will be published in the blogger’s personal blogs, and promoted on other social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram. Later, they will also be published on tourism ministry’s website incredibleindia.com.

“We had a meeting with around 17 travel bloggers a few days back. We have selected eight bloggers. We are open to suggestions and new thinking, and recognize the power of social media,” said KJ Alphons, Union Tourism Minister.

The bloggers are supposed to visit the destinations in February and March.

Travel bloggers with Union Minister KJ Alphons

The ministry plans to bring more bloggers on board in the coming months. Among other things, the articles would include the bloggers’ travel routes and the challenges faced by them. The focus of the write-ups would be on wellness and sustainable tourism.

The minister said there was an urgent need to put some new areas on the tourism map. Ministry officials said though the bloggers will also write about popular getaways like Hampi and Khajuraho, most of their stories will be about lesser-known places, which would include wildlife parks in different parts of the country besides some places in the north-east.

“This is a really good initiative. Social media has a huge reach. When I wrote about the Chola temples, I was impressed to see the interest of the readers,” said J Meenakshi, one of the eight bloggers identified for the initiative.