Tourism Weekend Getaways Reels Contest Extended
- Tourism Weekend Getaways drive Telangana tourism push
- Reels contest extended to boost weekend tourism economy
Hyderabad: The Tourism Committee of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry has extended the “Tourism Weekend Getaways of Hyderabad” Reels Contest up to February 15, 2026. The move aims to increase participation and strengthen efforts to promote Telangana tourism through short form digital content. The committee earlier announced the contest to tap Hyderabad’s growing weekend tourism economy and position Telangana as a short haul travel hub.
Prakash Ammanabolu and D. Ramchandram, Chair and Co chair of the FTCCI Tourism Committee, said the response so far has been encouraging. However, they said the extension will help reach more citizens and creators. They said wider and better participation can help the weekend tourism sector benefit as a whole. Meanwhile, the committee continues to focus on reels as a simple and powerful tourism marketing tool.
As a run up to the contest, the Tourism Committee organised a half day conference on building the weekend economy and a bootcamp in tourism reel making. These efforts aimed to improve the quality of entries and encourage more people to take part. The initiative is driven by the 108 year old apex trade body in collaboration with the Tourism Department of the Government of Telangana, GHMC, and NITHM. Therefore, the campaign has emerged as one of the most significant citizen driven tourism promotion efforts in the state.
The Tourism Committee said it studied tourism promotion models across government and private bodies. It also held hundreds of interactions with the industry. Based on this, it found that reels are the most honest form of tourism promotion. Earlier, governments led tourism promotion. Now, every traveller acts as a tourism ambassador. The committee also identified weekend tourism as a major opportunity that received little attention so far. It noted that within a 150 kilometre radius of Hyderabad, there are over 500 weekend tourism destinations.
An estimated five to seven lakh weekend leisure trips take place every year. These include families, corporates, students, schools, weddings, and other travellers. Based on conservative estimates, Telangana’s weekend tourism economy is valued between ₹3,000 crore and ₹8,000 crore annually. For simpler communication, the committee said the market size can be seen as ₹5,000 crore and growing, excluding destination weddings.
“Hyderabad has hundreds of incredible weekend getaway options, yet many citizens remain unaware of them, while destination owners struggle to reach their audiences,” said D. Ramchandram. “This contest bridges that gap by generating authentic, people-driven content that inspires travel. We are creating a digital movement where citizens themselves become storytellers of Telangana’s tourism potential.”
The contest invites travellers, students, influencers, and creators to submit reels of up to 60 seconds featuring destinations within 150 kilometres of Hyderabad. Submissions close on February 15, 2026.
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