FTCCI, Tourism Dep, Govt of Telangana, GHMC, NITHM, Police join hands to promote local Tourism and Weekend Tourism

Hyderabad, October 24, 2025: The Tourism Committee of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FTCCI), one of the 23 expert committees of the 108-year-old apex trade body, today announced that iTourism Dep, Govt of Telangana, GHMC, NITHM consented to join hands with FTCCI to promote local Tourism and Weekend Tourism by way of two novel contests called FTCCI Tourism Hyderabad Junction Jewels – Photo Contest & FTCCI Tourism Weekend Getaways of Hyderabad – Reel Contest. These two first-of-their-kind initiatives are curated by the Tourism Committee to promote and celebrate the tourism potential of Hyderabad and Telangana.

The contests—“FTCCI Tourism Hyderabad Junction Jewels: Photo Contest on Traffic Junction Attractions” and “FTCCI Tourism Weekend Getaways of Hyderabad: Reel Contest”—aim to highlight the unseen, everyday beauty of Hyderabad’s urban icons and the vibrant weekend getaways in and around Hyderabad city, within approximately a 150 km radius.

These initiatives were launched to mark and celebrate World Tourism Day

Mr R. Ravi Kumar, President, KK Maheshwari, Sr. Vice President, FTCCI; Mr Srinivas Garimella, Vice President, FTCCI; Prof Venkatramana, Director, NITHM, who is also the Tourism Committee Member; Mr Prakash Ammanbolu, and D. Ramchandram, Chair and Co-Chair of Tourism Committee; Ms Sangeeta, Director, FTCCI; Ms Vishala, Officer, FTCCI, participated and spoke at the press conference

Speaking on the occasion, Mr R. Ravi Kumar, President, FTCCI, said: “Hyderabad is not just a historic city; it is a modern hub with vibrant attractions. These contests will encourage citizens to rediscover and showcase our city’s beauty.”

“Both initiatives reaffirm our commitment to doing things differently — not for novelty’s sake, but to create meaningful impact that others can build upon.” Prof Vekatramana, Director NITHM.

Prof Venkat Ramana further added that NITHM entered an MoU with Raoido to train 10,000 of its captains. He appreciated the FTCCI Tourism Committee for undertaking these two valuable initiatives.

The objective of Hyderabad Junction Jewels – Photo Contest is to showcase Hyderabad’s creative traffic junction attractions—from the Pearl installation near Charminar to fountains, sculptures, statues, and beautification projects that have transformed traffic junctions into cultural landmarks. The contest encourages citizens to pause, capture, and celebrate Hyderabad’s crossroads of art and identity. Every citizen of the city must explore the city before venturing out to explore the state, country, and foreign countries, said Prakash Ammanbolu, Chairman of the Tourism Committee.

The objective of the FTCCI Tourism Weekend Getaways of Hyderabad – Reel Contest says D. Ramchandram, Co Chairman of Tourism Committee is to inspire travellers and storytellers to explore weekend attractions within approximately 150 km of Hyderabad—including lakes, heritage sites, trekking trails, food streets, cultural hubs, dhabas and resorts—and present them in engaging 60 second reels of maximum duration. This contest aims to position Hyderabad as a hub for quick getaways, family outings, and cultural experiences.

Why a Reel Contest for Weekend Getaways?

Many of us living in Hyderabad are not fully aware of the numerous weekend attractions available to us. At the same time, destination promoters—resorts, heritage sites, trekking spots, food and cultural hubs—often struggle to reach the very people who are searching for such getaways.

The Weekend Getaways of Hyderabad – Reel Contest is designed to bridge this gap. By encouraging citizens, travellers, and content creators to capture these experiences in short, engaging reels, the contest will: Showcase lesser-known destinations within 150 to 200 km of Hyderabad. Create authentic, people-driven content that inspires travel and provides visibility to weekend getaway promoters.; Help citizens discover new options for leisure, culture, and adventure. In short, it will open up new avenues for both travellers and destination promoters—making it a true win-win for everyone. We also request destination owners to cooperate with their visitors to take the reels. The destination owners can also send in their own entries,

The contest highlights are that both contests are open to all age groups, have no entry fee, and unlimited entries are allowed. There is no entry fee. One can send any number of entries. The last date for entries is November 22, 2025. The winners will be given away cash prizes in a function to be held on November 26, 20205.

Special instructions for participants for Hyderabad Junction Jewels (Photo Contest): The entries must be JPEG format, ≤10 MB, with a short write-up on the attraction’s name, location, and speciality, your contact details, such as email, mobile, WhatsApp number, etc The participants may share their stock pics or pics taken freshly. No plagiarism photos accepted.

Special instruction for Weekend Getaways Reel Contest: Instagram Reels/MP4, up to 60 seconds. Showcase any tourism spot within 150 km of Hyderabad. The top three each contest will be awarded Rs 10,000/-; Rs 7500/-, and Rs 5000/- in each contest respectively. Five consolation prizes of Rs 1000/- will be given in each of the two contests.

The additional guidelines:

• Eligibility: Open to all age groups; no entry fee; unlimited entries allowed.
• Ownership: All submitted photos become the property of FTCCI (with credits given when published/exhibited).
• Exclusions: FTCCI employees and members of the Tourism Committee are not eligible to participate.
• Authenticity: Only original photographs. No pirated or heavily AI-manipulated content. Minimal editing for brightness/contrast allowed.

Winners will be felicitated on November 26, 2025, on the eve of Father of Tourism Day to be celebrated on Nov 22.

The Winning entries may be showcased in a Photo Exhibition, a Coffee Table Book / Calendar, and on FTCCI & partners’ social media channels with full credits. All the entries submitted in both contests will have the sole ownership rights of the FTCCI Tourism Committee.

A distinguished jury of eminent photographers, filmmakers, tourism experts, and cultural leaders will evaluate entries based on originality, creativity, technical quality, storytelling, and impact.

Organised by FTCCI Tourism Committee, in association with contest partners GHMC, Department of Tourism, Government of Telangana; Police, Creatorverse Studio; Hotels and Restaurants Association of Telangana State (HRATS), Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI)

FTCCI also invites corporates, civic bodies, and tourism associations to partner and associate with these initiatives, thereby contributing to strengthening Telangana’s image as a dynamic tourism destination.