Indian Tourism has emerged as one of the key industries driving growth of service sector in India. India has witnessed a considerable growth in the tourism sector due to aggressive marketing and promotion of the tourism sector by the government of India. One must have obviously seen the television advertisement promoting "Malaysia Truly Asia" at least once.
Similarly after realising that Indian tourism needs to be promoted in order to increase growth in the sector, the government of India came up with advertisements like Go Goa, Mp ajab hai, Sabse gazab hai (Madhya Pradesh), Rajasthan Tourism and many more. Coming to Television, it seems that the mandatory Digitisation has bought in a large amount investors into the tourism sector. There has been a steep increase in the number of Travel channels particularly targeting India. Lets see which are the channels that give you a complete insight about Indian Tourism as well as other countries too !!!
1. TLC (Formerly known as Discovery Travel and Living)
Discovery Travel and Living India was launched in October 2004. On September 1' 2010, Discovery Travel & Living India became TLC. It has a mixed content showcasing Lifestyle programs, Health, Cooking and Travelling. It not only broadcasts travel shows for India but also covers International Destinations across the globe. Some of the well known shows are Amazing Vacation Homes, Fabulous Cakes, Nigella Bites by Nigella Lawson, Floyd's India showcasing Indian culinary at different locations, and Madhur Jafferey's Flavours of India.
2. NDTV Good Times
NDTV Good Times is and Indian Lifestyle channel launched on September, 2007. It also features a mix programming ranging from Travelling to cooking. Highway on My Plate is a hit show on the channel, currently in its second season. The Hosts Rocky and Mayur travel to various parts of India and try all the local delicacies. Also Royal Rajasthan on wheels is a special program which features splendid hotels of Rajasthan along with its authentic cuisine. Other shows include Luxury Holidays with Arun Thapar, Confessions of a Travel Bag, Chak le India- Kachcha Raasta where Chef.Aditya Bal takes you to India's beautiful unexplored villages in hunt of Authentic food and much more.
3. Travel XP HD
Travel XP is India's First channel to be broad casted in HD- High Definition. Though the channel is aimed at India, it has a number of shows featuring exotic foreign locales and Travel destinations. It has a very good lineup of shows divided into perfect categories for ex. Hills and Valleys features the famous hill stations of India, Great World Hotels featuring exotic hotels from across the globe, Strictly Street featuring local cuisines from various parts of India, Divine Destinations featuring various temples and shrines from India and many more. Travel XP is available on Hathway, Digicable and others possibly.
4. Explore TV
Explore TV claims to be India's First Travel Television channel. It also has a very good lineup of shows from local to International. Apart from shows, it has various informative segments like Mind It,explaining about the things not to do in a specific country, Foodistan, explaining how a vegetable, fruit or dish gained its name from. Some of its shows are World's Wonders, Baazar, Master of the Spirits, Postcards etc.
5. Travel Trendz
Travel Trendz is an International TV channel launched recently. It also claims to be India's first 24*7 tourism channel. It has various shows targeting the Indian audience like Bharat Express-From History to culture, Bihar Billboards, Colours of Gujrat, Glimpses of Uttar Pradesh, Mystique's of Maharashtra, Unforgettable Himachal, Monuments of India and many more. Travel Trendz is currently available on Hathway and Digicable.
It is great to see that these channels are doing their best to promote Indian Tourism abroad with World class Lifestyle programming, Delicious cuisines, and purely local content. Definitely this will help in boosting the Tourism sector in India and India will be one of the most preferred destinations in near Future !!!