National Digital Tourism Stack: Digital Infrastructure for Tourism

NDTS is an open Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) initiative for India’s tourism ecosystem.

It is being developed with ONDC, with support from the International Centre for DPI Innovation and Advancement (ICDIA).

It will enable tourism providers to make their services available across participating digital platforms.

Key capabilities include verified identities and supplier credentials, search and discovery, payments, ratings and grievance redressal.

It can improve visibility and market access for smaller providers such as homestays, local experiences and community enterprises.

The programme will be implemented in phases with participation from the Centre, States, Union Territories and industry, with a pilot planned for January 2027.

Alternative Destinations Mission: Diversifying Tourist Flows

The mission seeks to promote lesser-known, tourism-ready destinations as alternatives to heavily visited locations.

States and UTs will nominate destinations with distinct appeal, adequate infrastructure, accommodation capacity and willingness to share tourism data.

Selected destinations will be developed into bookable tourism products and themed itineraries combining accommodation, transport, food and local experiences.

Local artisans, self-help groups, guides, food vendors and cultural groups will be linked with tourism opportunities.

Destinations will be jointly promoted by the Centre, States, UTs and industry partners.

A data-driven framework will monitor tourist footfall, carrying capacity and visitor feedback.

Initial themes include mountain alternatives, coastal and waterfront destinations, heritage and cultural destinations, and regional pilgrimage alternatives.

Broader Tourism Significance

Digital discoverability: NDTS can make fragmented tourism services easier to find and access through interoperable digital networks.

Balanced regional growth: Alternative destinations can spread tourism demand beyond a few overcrowded centres.

Formalisation of local providers: Digital credentials, payments and ratings can bring smaller tourism enterprises into more organised markets.

Sustainable destination management: Data on footfall and carrying capacity can support better planning and reduce over-tourism.

Together, the two initiatives represent a shift towards technology-enabled, community-linked and geographically distributed tourism development.

FAQs

Q1. What is the National Digital Tourism Stack?
An open digital public infrastructure for making tourism services more discoverable, accessible and trustworthy.

Q2. Which organisation is collaborating on NDTS?
The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC).

Q3. When is the NDTS pilot planned?
January 2027.

Q4. What is the objective of the National Mission for Alternative Destinations?
To promote lesser-known tourism-ready destinations and redistribute tourist demand.

Q5. What are the mission’s four core pillars?
Destination selection, product packaging, joint promotion and data-driven management.