In a major push to transform Mumbai into a globally competitive tourism destination, Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has unveiled an ambitious new initiative titled “Mumbai Tourism Experiences,” aimed at creating immersive, structured, and sustainable tourism circuits across the city.
The initiative was formally introduced during a high-level stakeholders’ meet organised by MTDC under the leadership of Managing Director Neelesh R. Gatne, IAS, bringing together key travel trade associations, tour operators, cultural organisations, experiential tourism companies, and hospitality stakeholders to collaboratively shape Mumbai’s future tourism landscape.
The project seeks to position Mumbai beyond its conventional image of Bollywood and business, presenting the city instead as a vibrant destination offering heritage, culture, ecology, spirituality, gastronomy, festivals, art, architecture, and community-led experiences.
Industry bodies and travel companies including Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI), Thomas Cook, Mercury Travels, Khaki Tours, Camp & Joy, Odati Adventures and several other stakeholders participated in the discussions, extending strong support to the initiative and sharing recommendations on tourism development, visitor engagement, and experiential product creation.
Under the proposed framework, MTDC plans to develop curated thematic tourism circuits covering heritage tourism, eco-tourism, spiritual tourism, cultural tourism, community tourism, educational tourism, museum tours, festival tourism, culinary experiences, and special interest tourism.
Officials highlighted that Mumbai possesses unique advantages as India’s financial capital and primary international gateway, while also being one of the few global cities with a national park within city limits. The city’s UNESCO-recognised heritage sites, thriving arts and theatre culture, coastal experiences, cruise tourism potential, and multicultural identity are expected to play a central role in the tourism strategy.
As part of the initiative, MTDC has already approached over 90 heritage and cultural institutions for collaboration. Proposed tourism experiences include guided heritage walks, biodiversity and mangrove tours, spiritual circuits, Japanese and Jewish heritage trails, immersive festival experiences, theatre and arts explorations, wellness tourism, educational study tours, and expert-led architecture and ecology programs.
A major focus of the initiative is community participation and sustainable tourism practices. MTDC said the project aims to create livelihood opportunities for local communities while promoting responsible tourism and long-term heritage conservation.
To encourage structured tourism operations, MTDC also proposed empanelment opportunities for tour operators under the “Mumbai Tourism Experiences” banner. Different operational models including revenue-sharing and independent operator frameworks were discussed, with MTDC expected to provide marketing, branding, and facilitation support.
The tourism body further plans integrated promotion of the initiative through digital campaigns, tourism events, mobile applications, brochures, and partnerships with platforms such as IRCTC, MakeMyTrip, BookMyShow, and M-Indicator.
Tourism experts believe the initiative marks one of Maharashtra’s most comprehensive experiential tourism projects in recent years and reflects a broader shift within India’s tourism sector towards curated, story-driven, and community-centric travel experiences.
Building on the Mumbai model, MTDC has also announced plans to replicate similar experiential tourism frameworks in destinations including Nashik, Pune, and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, focusing on vineyards, spirituality, forts, culture, and UNESCO World Heritage attractions.
