A hotel room television is usually used for entertainment. But what if it could also inspire a guest's next holiday?
An initiative shared with hotels in November 2026 could give these screens a different purpose: introducing travellers to India's destinations, attractions and local experiences.
The Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), in a communication dated 6 November, informed its members about a request from the Ministry of Tourism. Hotels have been encouraged to use their existing in-room entertainment systems, wherever feasible, to show short promotional films and videos about tourism destinations across India.
This is an encouragement to participating hotels, not a compulsory requirement. The Ministry is also making promotional material available to interested hotels.
A new way to introduce guests to India
Travellers often arrive at a hotel with a fixed itinerary. They may know the city they are visiting but have little information about other places worth exploring.
A short film about a wildlife destination, a heritage town, a Himalayan retreat or a coastal experience could introduce guests to somewhere they had not considered visiting.
For hotels, this creates an opportunity to make in-room entertainment more useful. Instead of limiting the screen to television channels and property information, hotels could offer carefully selected travel content that guests can explore in their own time.
Hotels could become partners in destination promotion
The idea also creates opportunities for tourism boards, hotels and local travel businesses to work together.
Hotels could feature regional attractions, local food experiences, cultural events and nearby destinations. Tourism organisations could provide verified promotional material, while hotels could help travellers discover experiences beyond the usual tourist circuit.
This direction also fits with the Ministry of Tourism's wider efforts to promote alternative destinations through its Dekho Apna Desh 2.0 initiative, which includes hill destinations, coastal areas, heritage towns and regional pilgrimage centres.
The experience will matter as much as the content
For this idea to work, the videos need to be interesting, short and relevant to the guest. A screen filled with advertisements is unlikely to encourage exploration.
Hotels could make the experience more useful by organising videos by region or interest, adding QR codes for further information and connecting guests with reliable destination resources.
The real opportunity is to make travel discovery part of the hotel stay itself.
A hotel may be where a journey begins, but it could also be where a traveller finds inspiration for the next one.
Explore hotels, resorts and destinations across India on Venue.Events.
