Shimla/New Delhi: In a bid to pull itself out of a tough financial phase, the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) has stepped up efforts to widen its tourist outreach by deepening its partnership with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).
Dr Rajiv Kumar, IAS, Managing Director of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, on February 23, 2025, met Sanjay Kumar Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, at IRCTC’s corporate office in New Delhi to chalk out a roadmap for future collaboration.
The meeting followed a recently signed MoU between HPTDC and IRCTC aimed at joint utilisation of each other’s assets, strengths and resources to build a more beneficial business association.
Senior IRCTC officials present included Rahul Himalian, Director (Tourism & Marketing), Promila Gupta, Group General Manager (Tourism), and Pradeep Kumar Dhiman, General Manager (Tourism).
According to officials, the core focus of the discussions was to leverage IRCTC’s pan-India digital and physical reach to increase occupancy in HPTDC hotels, many of which are located at prime tourist destinations across Himachal Pradesh but suffer from seasonal and off-season low footfall.
One of the key proposals explored was selling HPTDC’s hospitality and tourism cards through the IRCTC portal, giving the state-run corporation visibility before millions of railway and tourism customers across the country.
Both sides also discussed packaging HPTDC properties with IRCTC’s rail-tour and holiday products to attract organised tourist traffic.
MD said the collaboration is expected to significantly strengthen HPTDC’s national presence at a time when the corporation is grappling with financial stress.
“Tapping IRCTC’s vast customer base can directly translate into higher room occupancy and improved revenue streams for HPTDC,” an official said.
HPTDC is also exploring tie-ups with various institutions and corporate houses to diversify the corporation’s customer base and improve year-round occupancy.
HPTDC seeks to revive its fortunes and bring more tourists into its hotels across the state.
