New Delhi, April 18 -- From blazing, hotshot Dubai to remote, unsung Bastar, tourism hotspots-old and emerging-are opening their doors to social media influencers in a bid to gain footfalls from their follower base.

Tourism boards of countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Japan, as well as Indian states like Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Bihar, are offering free familiarization trips (FAM trips) to influencers-sometimes paying them, too-in an effort to convert followers to tourists.

The influencer push by state tourism boards comes in the backdrop of domestic tourism shooting up 45% to 2,509.63 million in 2023 from 1,731.01 million in 2022, according to the India Tourism Data Compendium 2024 by the minist...