Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Tourism Friendly Index (TFI), India’s first scientific, data-driven system to rank tourism destinations has recently been proposed. If accepted by the Government, Telangana is poised to become the first state in India to introduce the TFI to score, benchmark, and improve tourism destinations across the state. 

The suggestion was put forward recently by Viiveck Verma, startup ecosystem leader and TEDx licensee, during his presentation at India’s first-ever conference on “Building the Weekend Tourism Economy”, organized by the Tourism Committee of Federation of Telangana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) Viiveck Verma explained that TFI would assign each destination a 0–100 score, allowing the government to scientifically identify gaps, boost visitor experience, and attract targeted tourism investments.

He noted that the framework is designed using global best practices, including the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index (TTDI) and the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS Index), while remaining simple, transparent, and immediately actionable for state-level decision-making. This, he said, would position Telangana as a national pioneer in evidence-based tourism governance. 

He recommended that the Government introduce TFI in phases, beginning with the formation of an expert steering committee, followed by pilot scoring of select destinations, development of a digital dashboard for public access, and publication of annual reports to shape policy, branding, and investment priorities. The model, he emphasized, is designed to empower policymakers, investors, tourism entrepreneurs and local bodies by providing a clear understanding of strengths, weaknesses and growth opportunities across Telangana’s tourism landscape. 

Highlighting its scientific foundation, Verma shared that TFI consolidates seven key dimensions—Accessibility, Amenities, Safety, Cleanliness, Sustainability, Cultural Inclusiveness, and Economic Impact—into a unified, outcome-oriented score. Unlike global indices that rely heavily on complex data, the Telangana TFI is built to be practical, transparent, scientifically credible and directly actionable. 

Data will be sourced from credible global and national institutions, including UNWTO, WHO, World Bank, NCRB, Telangana government departments, verified traveler surveys, and geospatial environmental mapping. Once rolled out, TFI is expected to become a crucial component of Telangana’s tourism policy, branding strategy, and investment roadmap. 

Verma urged the Government to conduct stakeholder workshops, consultations, and capacity-building programs before statewide rollout to ensure buy-in and alignment from all tourism stakeholders. The formal proposal is yet to be made to the government.