The Vidarbha Economic Development (VED) Council successfully hosted its flagship event, “Tourism Next - Explore | Invest | Grow,” on Sunday at the Narayani Memorial Hall, MKH Sancheti School, Nagpur. The high-impact event brought together regional entrepreneurs, travel enthusiasts, and industry leaders to explore innovative pathways for building thriving tourism ventures in Vidarbha. VED President Rina Sinha delivered the welcome address, reiterating the council’s dedicated focus on accelerating growth and investment within the regional tourism industry. Following the opening remarks, Vilas Kale, Founder of VED Council, shared inspiring insights on VED’s 32-year journey in shaping regional tourism development.

 

The event featured a keynote address by prominent guest speaker Anuradha Goyal, Founder of IndiTales, Bengaluru. She emphasized tourism as a key soft power driven by innovation and the “Medici Effect” of intersecting ideas rather than copy-paste models. As part of the programme, VED council members Aliasger Wagh and Rajeev Chand, took Goyal on a curated tour around key regional spots, during which she shared valuable inputs and actionable ideas on how to spark new tourism initiatives and business concepts in those locations. Adding special distinction to the programme, Prashant Sawai, Deputy Director, Nagpur Division, Maharashtra Tourism, graced the event as an esteemed guest, lending official support and sharing government perspectives on regional tourism promotion. The event saw active participation from key VED office-bearers and members, including Joint Secretary Dinesh Naidu, EC Member Arun Hazare, and EC Member Rajeev Chand.