BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
NEW DELHI | 9 MARCH 2026
Under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister, Mr. Bhajanlal Sharma along with Deputy Chief Minister and Tourism Minister , Ms. Diya Kumari , Commissioner of Tourism, Ms. Rukmani Riar, etc the Incredible State of India, Rajasthan has witnessed overwhelming domestic tourism growth since the first two months of this year and the introduction of new Rajasthan Tourism Policy, Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy, Film Tourism Policy and Paying Guest House Scheme have further boosted the tourism in the state, said Mr. Daleep Singh Rathore, Joint Director ( Marketing) of Rajasthan Tourism.
He has come to New Delhi to participate in SATTE 2026 at Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, which is widely regarded as the biggest trade and travel expo of South East Asia leading a strong delegation team of 65 members Exploring the Uniqueness of the Land of the Maharajas to the world.
Sitting on the sidelines of the event and in a freewheeling chat with Consulting Editor of www.thetravelandtourismtimes.com, he spoke candidly on various new developments and current scenario of tourism in the state.
“ We have brought out 65 private stakeholders and all of whom have been showcasing their unique products in the beautifully decorated Rajasthan Tourism Stall, which also includes the world famous Palace On Wheels and FSTR. Together all of us have been able to get several leads during the three day event and I can say that these series of discussions will provide us good business in the coming days. Every year we take part in SATTE to showcase our tourism potential to the outside world,”he added.
Tourism is good now. Domestic tourism has been good for the last two months, though Foreign tourists arrivals are decreasing. The latest geo-political scenario in the world is taking its toll in FTAs, but still, Rajasthan is doing well, he said.
Last year, we had about 19.5 lakh foreign tourists visiting Rajasthan, that is a good number compared to other states, the Joint Director ( Marketing) of Rajasthan Tourism added.
Recently, the chief minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Bhajan Lal Sharma has announced the much talked about Rajasthan Tourism Policy.
“ Rajasthan Tourism Policy has been announced, Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy has been announced, Film Tourism Policy has also been announced. We have implemented a new Paying Guest House Scheme. Earlier, there used
to be five rooms but now after implementation of the scheme there will be eight rooms,” which will further boost tourism in the state, stated Mr. Daleep Singh Rathore. The state is also one of the pioneers in the country in granting tourism an industry status already.
“The state government has thought about the ease of doing business. They have asked us to increase the number of inspectors. The people who have houses in Rajasthan, and also who have mansions in Rajasthan, if they want to run eight rooms under the Paying House Scheme, they just need to inform our nearest office,” added Mr. Daleep Singh Rathore.
They will get the registration number in a week, and we will give the approval within three months. If the state government is not able to give approval within three months, we will tell them the reason, otherwise, the approval will be accepted, this is a work that has no doubts. As soon as you get the registration number, you can start your work. You
will get the approval in three months,”he stated .
These new series of tourism department’s initiatives will also benefit the local employment opportunities right from infrastructure development to maintenance and operations of the refurbished mansions and paying guest houses and will be a game changer in the local economy in the days to come, feels Jt. Director ( Tourism) of Rajasthan .
And these tourism projects will be beneficial even to the villages. In SATTE 2026 only , Rajasthan’s own daughter – Dr. Shruti Nada Poddar received the SHAKTI Woman achievers award for her exemplary works on restoration and revival of tourism and transforming of once neglected Havelis in Ramgarh- Shekhawati region into living legacies. She has scripted a success story on her own the heritage Havelis in Ramgarh – Shekhawati region where every wall tells a new story, besides organising several local cultural events.
She is working on her own mansions and these are her own efforts. The state government has also invested heavily in the restoration of the mansions now.
The state government has announced a subsidy of Rs. 600 crores for the people who will do their maintenance . The owners of the mansion should come and renovate their mansion . And open it for tourism . For them Shekhawati can become a glaring example.
Rajasthan is also one of the largest states of the country and has a vast international border. Border tourism is booming . Earlier the border was closed due to security reasons. Everyone wanted no one to go there . But for the past few years, the army has opened the border There are many historical places on the border . Like Longewala, Tanot Mata Temple . Those are places that have been recorded in history . Tannot is a place where the Pakistani army surrounded the Tanot Mata Temple and about 1,080 bombs were dropped in one night and miraculously none of them exploded,It is still on display.It is a place where I spent my childhood . My father was in charge of it . and it still remains very close to my heart . And whenever you go to Tannot, you can visit the Goddess And you can also visit the Indo – Pak
border .
You have to get a separate pass for the visit . Get the pass, take the permission and you can go for the visit .Tourism on the border is very good in Rajasthan .
There are many highlighted destinations in Rajasthan . But right now we are highlighting Kota .The area is called Haroti (4:58). Kota Haroti Travel Mart or KTM was also organised there. Apart from this, there is Dungarpur Baswada , Which is a natural place. There is a lot of water there and also there is a lot of wildlife . We are currently promoting these two places So that people shift a little to different destinations.
Because Udaipur , Jodhpur have become very famous and [popular destinations already ,a lot of tourists are coming to Jaipur . There are other places that you can see in Rajasthan . And in the desert area, there was Sam ,now there is a place called Khudi . It is also being developed .
“Sam Dhani was the hotel of Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation Limited, earlier it used to be 8 , but today there are 300 camps there. More than 3000 people can get accommodation. So that was the promotion of one place (5:58) Now we are going back to Khudi . Which is about 50 km away in the south and are going to develop it further,”concluded Mr. Daleep Singh Rathore.
Mr. Shiv Ram Jatolia, Director of Operations , Palace on Wheels was also present for promotion of the world’s luxurious train ride during the three days event in SATTE 2026.
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