A Must-Read Blueprint for India’s Tourism Amrit Kaal – Reviewed as Author Meets Tourism Minister Today,as part of the FAST Delegation to seek his presence at the upcoming Seminar on 21st October, 2026.
In a significant moment today, 21st September 2026, the author Shri M.P. Bezbaruah presented his book ‘Rethinking Tourism’ to Hon’ble Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi, along with the FAST delegation. The timing could not be more perfect.
What does “Rethinking Tourism” mean? It is not a coffee-table book. It is a chronicle of a stormy journey – the journey of Indian tourism itself, written by a man who steered it.
The Core Message:
Shri Bezbaruah, with decades as Tourism Secretary and as a doyen of Northeast policy, argues that India has always had tourism potential, but we have not yet achieved tourism leadership. To move from potential to leadership, we must rethink everything – from policy to product, from promotion to people.
When asked about the cover, the author himself shared that touched him about the review: “Thank you so much Mr Bawa. That’s very fast. And you have captured the spirit of the book. It was written after Covid, to reflect how tourism has changed.”
The cover – three tranquil boats on a pristine lake and an elephant joyfully in the wild – is not a random scenic picture. As Shri Bezbaruah explains, “The cover depicts two messages from Covid – Sustainability and coexistence with nature.” This is the heart of the book. Post-Covid, tourism can no longer be about mass footfall; it must be about sustainable journeys and respectful coexistence with nature.
It captures the soul of sustainable, experiential and wildlife tourism that the book advocates.
What makes this book unmissable for 2026-2047 Vision:
- An Insider’s Truth: Not a theoretical view. It is written by the insider who saw files, policies, and political will up close. He chronicles why good ideas faced storms and how we can navigate them now.
- Beyond Numbers: It questions the obsession with tourist arrivals and argues for value, sustainability, local community benefit and green tourism – exactly the theme of FAST’s upcoming INDIA@2047 Conclave on 21st Oct 2026.
- Actionable Rethinking: From Seamless Aviation Connectivity to last-mile infrastructure, from PPP models to AI in travel, from Visa simplification to preserving our culture & heritage – the book lays out a practical roadmap.
- For Viksit Bharat: In the Amrit Kaal, as India aims to be among the top global tourism economies by 2047, this 197-page crisp book is a policy bible.
