Travel and tourism have been at the centre stage of socio-economic, cultural and political development of a nation. It has been portrayed as a panacea for many evils such as underdevelopment, unemployment, poverty, regional imbalances, social discrimination and environmental degradation. Its huge potential in contributing to income generation, job creation, infrastructure development, foreign exchange earnings, export promotion, and poverty reduction has been well recognized across the globe. In India, tourism has been identified as one of the drivers for promoting faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. India’s travel and tourism industry ranked seventh in terms of its total contribution to the country’s gross domestic product and second in terms of total employment support in the world in 2016. The sector is predicted to contribute to 10 percent of gross domestic product and 9.6 percent of total employment by 2027. Indian tourism, though, historically famous for pilgrimage and heritage tourism, has recently been marching ahead with eco-tourism, medical tourism, adventure tourism, rural tourism, cruise tourism, argi-tourism, and MICE tourism. The presence of socio-cultural diversity, large variety of flora and fauna, majestic forts, religious monuments, and urban and rural sites has been catalysts in the rapid growth of tourism in India. Complementary to this, the appropriate government strategies and polices are also adding to the strengths of tourism in India. Tourism is an important social phenomenon in almost every society due to the basic human tendency of acquiring new and memorable experiences concerning adventurous activities, learning, and amusement. The basic human urge to know about unreached parts of the globe/region has been an important driving force that is fostering tourism. It has been aptly remarked ‘travelling unveils new dimensions of thisworld not known to the naked eye’. In recent decades, improvements in knowledge domain, advances in technology, reduction in communication barriers, progress in transportation and development of tourist-friendly facilities, have all contributed to the significant growth of tourism. It has been rightly said that ‘tourism is having the ability to generate socio-economic opportunities, and help reducing the gap between the rich and the poor which is more important than ever’. Tourism has been widely acknowledged for its contribution to national income, foreign exchange reserves, employment creation, expansion of local business, poverty alleviation, infrastructure development, improving balanced regional development, augmenting cultural exchanges, and maintaining international relations and world peace. Tourism is complementary and supplementary to the progress of other sectors including agriculture, handicrafts, healthcare, education, transport and communication, construction etc. On the social front, expansion of tourism brings about positive changes in the population structure, occupational patterns, value system, individual behaviour, family relationships, collective lifestyles, moral conduct, creative expressions, traditional ceremonies and community organizations. From the environment point of view, tourism is critical in reducing environmental degradation and making available a clean environment for the use of future generations. In toto, the sector is pivotal in bringing about a more equitable distribution of national income and wealth thereby making the growth process more inclusive and sustainable. Tourism in India has got its existence since a long time when it was recognised as travel by people in search of knowledge and peace. The Vedic period termed tourism in the form of pilgrimage or dham yatra. The Arthashastra of Kautilya also recognised tourism in the form of travel across the country. India has always been a country of spiritual integrity and nationalism with unity in diversity. The diversity is seen in people of India in terms of language and culture.food and festivals, dresses and costumes, caste and religions, flora and fauna, and also in varying landscapes. India’s rich cultural heritage, historically significant places, long coastal belts, and hillocks are so beautiful and serene that all these attract the tourists from each and every corner of the world. The bounteous heritage, beautiful architecture, glorious traditions, rich and diverse cultures, languages, magnificent music, dance and paintings, mesmerizing and scenic landscapes, snow-clad peaks of the Himalayas, alluring beaches, and the ornate temples have all made India a tourist paradise. India has succeeded in becoming the most preferred destination amongst domestic and overseas travellers. Tourism in India has been instrumental in generating foreign exchange, creating employment opportunities, and generating household income over the years. It has brought the opportunity of infrastructure development and has helped in regional and economic development. Moreover, it has been a significant growth driver and a means of poverty alleviation. In spite of such growth performances, tourism in India faces a number of problems which retards its full potential. The principle issues and challenges include poor transportation facilities to places of natural beauty and places having the potential of being a part of eco-tourism, lack of availability of basic hygienic amenities at halting points for tourists, lack of adequate tourism and hospitality infrastructure, poor maintenance of small but significant heritages, lack of safety and security at many tourism sites, lack of adequate information about many tourism sites, and lack of proper promotional strategies for innovative tourism products. The timely address of these problems calls for due attention of both public and private stakeholders of travel and tourism in India. It is in this backdrop that this volume compiles 14 scholarly writings of experts in the field which evaluate the present state of tourism in India and identify opportunities for its promotion and expansion, and suggest ways out for the possible threats in its growth path.
on the basis of the presence of high degrees of correlations, suggests focusing on exchange rate stability and foreign tourist arrivals in India. Prashant H. Bhagat in his paper Incredible India Campaign: Opportunities and Challenges for Tourism tries to identify the opportunities and challenges associated with the Incredible India campaign, and makes suggestions for making this campaign an effective means of promoting tourism in the country. Manpreet Kaur and Naresh Singla in their paper Global Emergence of Agri-tourism: Implications for India attempt to assess the worldwide spread of agri-tourism, particularly by reviewing country-specific case studies globally, thereby drawing ways and adequate policy options to develop agrarian economy in the light of agri-tourism in India. Sarba N. Mishra and Nirakar Pattanaik in their paper Medical Tourism in India: An Emerging Market evaluate the emerging medical tourism sector in India, and make suggestions for the
improvement of medical tourism in the country. Aditya Kumar Tripathi and Rakesh Kumar in their paper Role of Social Media in the Promotion of Tourism reflect on the role that social media play sin promoting tourism in India. Particularly, it focuses on the roles played by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Linkedin. Veenu Mehra in her paper Electronic Tourism (E-tourism) and Sustainable Development highlights the vision of etourism and also points out the challenges of e-tourism in the sustainable growth of tourism in India. Biswajit Behera in his paper Sustainable Tourism: A Pedagogical Approach attempts to develop an approach towards sustainability in tourism education, and recommends a guiding prototype for sustainable tourism pedagogy to set a direction for further research and practical implementation. Naseer Ahmad and Puneeta Pandey in their paper Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir: Economic and Environmental Consequences emphasize on the economic contributions of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir while focusing on its environmental consequences. Harpreet Kaur in her paper Promotion of Tourism in Punjab: Problems and Prospects highlights the current status, problems and prospects of tourism promotion in Punjab. Amandeep Kaur and Jubliee Padmanabhan in their paper Social Responsibility, Tourism and Sustainable Development highlight the perspectives of social responsibility in tourism and argue that the codes of good practices in tourism needs to be respected and implemented by all the stakeholders of tourism. Sandeep and Shamshir Singh Dhillon in their paper Social Value Creation through Development of Tourism highlight both positive and negative impacts of tourism on social values and point out the means of maximizing the positive impacts and eliminating the negative impacts. Acknowledgements We take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the authors of the papers for their scholarly contributions to this volume. Their research findings and observations will surely add to the existing body of literature on the subject of tourism. This work, we hope, will certainly be instrumental for all those interested in understanding the contemporary trends, patterns, issues and challenges of tourism in India. We sincerely express our gratefulness to our patron Professor R.K. Kohli, Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda who has been a source of unceasing inspiration and unparalleled encouragement in our entire academic and research initiatives. We extend deepest gratitude to Professor P. Ramarao, Dean, Academic Affairs, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda who has constantly tendered valuable advices on all key matters concerning academics and research. We also express our heartfelt thankfulness to all our colleagues who have been constant sources of motivation, encouragement and support for bringing this volume to the limelight. We sincerely acknowledge the support received from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Finally, we express our thanks to Mr. Sandeep Sury, Chief Executive, New Century Publications, New Delhi and his team of editors for their meticulous and untiring co-operation and endeavour for timely publication of this volume. Bathinda
1 Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects S.N. Tripathy Introduction According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism is defined by “the set of activities of a person travelling to a place outside his or her usual environment for at least one night, but less than a year, and whose main purpose of travel is other than experience of an activity remunerated from the place visited”. Tourism industry means and includes all tourism products, infrastructure, facilities and services that attract tourists and make their visit and stay as comfortable and meaningful as possible. Tourists mean all people travelling into the state for the purpose of undertaking leisure, business, education, medical treatment and other relevant activities but without the objective of setting up domicile. As tourism has assumed a new dimension, it becomes essential to make an indepth study of various aspects related to it. Travel and tourism has acquired importance over a period of time next to oil industry. Realizing the importance of tourism, Government of India has started taking necessary steps to develop this vast potential area. Tourism has been recognized as a smokeless industry pertaining to people, transporting them to a designated destination, putting them comfortably as their pockets permit, entertaining them and sending them back with sweet memories. Tourism has been growing fast in encompassing manner with visible socio-economic manifestations. Its new consumer groups of distinct travel. In this backdrop, this paper briefly outlines the growth of tourism sector and its contribution in India, highlights the problems connected with the tourism industry, and finally makes suggestions for the development of tourism in the country. Keeping these objectives in view, the present study has been undertaken with the help of secondary sources of data collected from the published sources mainly books, Government reports and papers, internet etc. The publications and data available from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India have been extensively used for documenting this paper. Tourism and its Dimensions In 1988, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) defined sustainable tourism as „leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems‟. Later in 1992, the „Earth Summit‟ in Rio established the triple principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability. Since then, the principles of sustainable tourism have been adopted by the tourism industry worldwide. An important aspect of the tourism industry, which is of specific significance to India, is its contribution to national integration and preservation of natural as well as cultural environments and enrichment of the social and cultural lives of the people. India provides enormous experiential opportunities for tourists based on a wide variety of all-season attractions available throughout the country. It is imperative that these attractions get developed for the socio-economic benefit of the local communities, especially in order to strengthen inclusive economic growth. It is equally important to ensure that increased socio-economic well-being does not cause permanent or long-term damage to the country‟s physical, cultural and environmental heritage. The
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
use of existing resources, both tangible and intangible, has to be undertaken judiciously for the well-being of the present generation but not at the cost of depriving future generations of any part of our inheritance. The Planning Commission in the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) has mentioned that tourism and hospitality sector has a key role to play in promoting faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. The importance of sustainable tourism worldwide has increased significantly due to the impact of increased human activity on climate. It is necessary that the negative impact of the tourism industry is not enlarged unrealistically. Full advantage can then be drawn from the potential of tourism for inclusive growth with livelihoods support to the poor, most disadvantaged, women and youth. For conceptualizing a system of Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI), Ministry of Tourism appoints a lead consultant, who may work with a consortium, to provide a detailed operational plan for the implementation of STCI. The actual inspection and audit of applicants to the STCI system is usually entrusted to an independent professionally acknowledged third party. The funding for the implementation of the STCI system is met from ongoing schemes—market research, professional services, capacity building for service providers, and domestic promotion and publicity. A project monitoring unit (PMU) is created in the Ministry with the specific purpose of administering the STCI system. Tourism development must be sustainable environmentally, socially, economically and culturally. Sustainable tourism must ensure quality of life of the people, good experience for the tourists and maintain quality of environment alive to the requirements to protect the haphazard growth in sensitive areas. Government has enacted a number of legislations such as the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Wild Life (Protection Act), 1972, Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Coastal Regulatory Zone Act, 1991 in this regard.
Eco-tourism Eco-tourism is a form of sustainable tourism. Eco-tourism refers to tourism activities in ecologically sensitive areas in a manner that conserves the environment and improves the wellbeing of the local people. The development of eco-tourism in many areas of the world clearly indicates that this form of tourism has great potential in India because of the richness of its flora and fauna and the wide range of ecosystems including mountains, coasts, rivers, forests, deserts and grasslands. Whilst the negative impacts of tourism are well-known, there are also great examples of eco-tourism good practices. Implementation and participation in eco-tourism activities includes adherence to the following principles: 1. Minimize impact on environment. 2. Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect. 3. Provide positive experiences for both visitors and host communities. 4. Provide financial benefits for conservation as well as to local communities. 5. Implement leanings from best practices. Based on eco-system network model, a sustainable planning and marketing orientation does not just satisfy the needs and wants of an individual but it strives to attain a sustained ecosystem. The benefits are not just profits but civic energy and social unity. Competition is replaced by dynamic interaction that aims at environmental, social and economic equity within the local-global network of living and physical structures. Heritage Tourism Travellers have been going round the world since ages to experience the culture and heritage of different societies, but in the modern era such travels have increased exponentially. With UNESCO having started the process of declaring historically important sites as „World Heritage Sites‟, heritage tourism has acquired global dimensions. In India, which has a rich heritage, a significant share of all domestic and foreign
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
tourism activities have centred on its heritage sites. While tangible heritage has been in the mainstream of tourism development in India, the intangible and living heritage has not attracted much attention. There is a need to analyse this segment to see how best these assets can be utilized to provide new cultural experiences to tourists. Development of tourism activities relating to intangible heritage has to be carried out in a sensitive manner so as to ensure that socio-economic benefits accrue to the communities but at the same time the values or practices constituting the essence of intangible heritage do not get irreparably dented by over-commercialization or insensitive development. Intangible heritage, which includes folklore, cuisine, customary practices, etc., needs to be identified in all States and Union Territories of the country. While some of this information may already be available with different sources, it would have to be collated and compiled, and supplemented with primary surveys/studies. There is also a need for mapping the requirements in order to make these heritage characteristics attractive for tourists. In addition, our rich spiritual heritage attracts many international tourists as well. Our spiritual heritage also therefore needs to be mapped and user needs identified for planned development. Village and Rural Tourism India‟s 5,000 years of history, its length, breadth and the variety of geographical features make its tourism basket large and varied. It presents heritage and cultural along with medical, business and sports tourism. Tourism in India is one of the largest service industries, with a contribution of about 6 percent to the national GDP and 9.24 percent of the total employment in India. Rural tourism needs to be given an impetus by earmarking funds for pilot projects on the basis of a model plan for each State for the purpose. These villages can be taken up for priority development particularly if the projects can be linked
with the restoration of heritage properties in the area. This would provide a boost to local performing arts and help conserve the local culture apart from preventing rural-urban migration. Local people in the rural areas should be encouraged to participate in tourism related projects, which may preferably be formulated by the tourist officials in consultation with locals and NGOs. These projects could be in the nature of providing glimpse of the village ambience and the tourists can be presented with local cuisine, art and culture by persons in local costumes engaging in the daily activities of cooking, weaving, dancing etc. Moderate, but clean, accommodations for tourists should be constructed by villagers in traditional design and architecture. Bank finances should be made available at attractive terms and conditions for promotion of such projects. The diversity of wild life in India is as rich as that of its flora and fauna. The great wealth of Indian wild life can be imagined with the sight of majestic elephants, the dance of peacocks, the camel strides, the roar of tigers with unparalleled acts of beauty. Watching birds and animals in their natural habitat is an experience in itself. The vastness of wild life and wilderness is India is unparalleled in the world. All these account for the immense opportunities for wild life tourism in India. The immense heritage of wild life in India comprises of 80 national parks and another whopping 441 wild life sanctuaries including the bird sanctuaries. These reserves and forest areas are spread across the breadth and length right from the foot hills of Himalayan Jim Corbett National park to six national parks in Andaman, from Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan to Hazaribag Wild Life Sanctuary in Bihar. India also boasts of the unique ecosystem at Sunderbans which is a UNESCO world heritage site and home to the largest number of tigers in the world. The success of future tourism is intrinsically connected with the way in which the industry and the tourism system understand and incorporate the emerging critical trends that support its expansion.
improvement of medical tourism in the country. Aditya Kumar Tripathi and Rakesh Kumar in their paper Role of Social Media in the Promotion of Tourism reflect on the role that social media play sin promoting tourism in India. Particularly, it focuses on the roles played by Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Linkedin. Veenu Mehra in her paper Electronic Tourism (E-tourism) and Sustainable Development highlights the vision of etourism and also points out the challenges of e-tourism in the sustainable growth of tourism in India. Biswajit Behera in his paper Sustainable Tourism: A Pedagogical Approach attempts to develop an approach towards sustainability in tourism education, and recommends a guiding prototype for sustainable tourism pedagogy to set a direction for further research and practical implementation. Naseer Ahmad and Puneeta Pandey in their paper Tourism in Jammu and Kashmir: Economic and Environmental Consequences emphasize on the economic contributions of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir while focusing on its environmental consequences. Harpreet Kaur in her paper Promotion of Tourism in Punjab: Problems and Prospects highlights the current status, problems and prospects of tourism promotion in Punjab. Amandeep Kaur and Jubliee Padmanabhan in their paper Social Responsibility, Tourism and Sustainable Development highlight the perspectives of social responsibility in tourism and argue that the codes of good practices in tourism needs to be respected and implemented by all the stakeholders of tourism. Sandeep and Shamshir Singh Dhillon in their paper Social Value Creation through Development of Tourism highlight both positive and negative impacts of tourism on social values and point out the means of maximizing the positive impacts and eliminating the negative impacts. Acknowledgements We take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to the authors of the papers for their scholarly contributions to this volume. Their research findings and observations will surely add to the existing body of literature on the subject of tourism. This work, we hope, will certainly be instrumental for all those interested in understanding the contemporary trends, patterns, issues and challenges of tourism in India. We sincerely express our gratefulness to our patron Professor R.K. Kohli, Honourable Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda who has been a source of unceasing inspiration and unparalleled encouragement in our entire academic and research initiatives. We extend deepest gratitude to Professor P. Ramarao, Dean, Academic Affairs, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda who has constantly tendered valuable advices on all key matters concerning academics and research. We also express our heartfelt thankfulness to all our colleagues who have been constant sources of motivation, encouragement and support for bringing this volume to the limelight. We sincerely acknowledge the support received from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Finally, we express our thanks to Mr. Sandeep Sury, Chief Executive, New Century Publications, New Delhi and his team of editors for their meticulous and untiring co-operation and endeavour for timely publication of this volume. Bathinda
1 Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects S.N. Tripathy Introduction According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO), tourism is defined by “the set of activities of a person travelling to a place outside his or her usual environment for at least one night, but less than a year, and whose main purpose of travel is other than experience of an activity remunerated from the place visited”. Tourism industry means and includes all tourism products, infrastructure, facilities and services that attract tourists and make their visit and stay as comfortable and meaningful as possible. Tourists mean all people travelling into the state for the purpose of undertaking leisure, business, education, medical treatment and other relevant activities but without the objective of setting up domicile. As tourism has assumed a new dimension, it becomes essential to make an indepth study of various aspects related to it. Travel and tourism has acquired importance over a period of time next to oil industry. Realizing the importance of tourism, Government of India has started taking necessary steps to develop this vast potential area. Tourism has been recognized as a smokeless industry pertaining to people, transporting them to a designated destination, putting them comfortably as their pockets permit, entertaining them and sending them back with sweet memories. Tourism has been growing fast in encompassing manner with visible socio-economic manifestations. Its new consumer groups of distinct travel. In this backdrop, this paper briefly outlines the growth of tourism sector and its contribution in India, highlights the problems connected with the tourism industry, and finally makes suggestions for the development of tourism in the country. Keeping these objectives in view, the present study has been undertaken with the help of secondary sources of data collected from the published sources mainly books, Government reports and papers, internet etc. The publications and data available from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India have been extensively used for documenting this paper. Tourism and its Dimensions In 1988, the World Tourism Organization (WTO) defined sustainable tourism as „leading to management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems‟. Later in 1992, the „Earth Summit‟ in Rio established the triple principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability. Since then, the principles of sustainable tourism have been adopted by the tourism industry worldwide. An important aspect of the tourism industry, which is of specific significance to India, is its contribution to national integration and preservation of natural as well as cultural environments and enrichment of the social and cultural lives of the people. India provides enormous experiential opportunities for tourists based on a wide variety of all-season attractions available throughout the country. It is imperative that these attractions get developed for the socio-economic benefit of the local communities, especially in order to strengthen inclusive economic growth. It is equally important to ensure that increased socio-economic well-being does not cause permanent or long-term damage to the country‟s physical, cultural and environmental heritage. The
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
use of existing resources, both tangible and intangible, has to be undertaken judiciously for the well-being of the present generation but not at the cost of depriving future generations of any part of our inheritance. The Planning Commission in the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) has mentioned that tourism and hospitality sector has a key role to play in promoting faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. The importance of sustainable tourism worldwide has increased significantly due to the impact of increased human activity on climate. It is necessary that the negative impact of the tourism industry is not enlarged unrealistically. Full advantage can then be drawn from the potential of tourism for inclusive growth with livelihoods support to the poor, most disadvantaged, women and youth. For conceptualizing a system of Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI), Ministry of Tourism appoints a lead consultant, who may work with a consortium, to provide a detailed operational plan for the implementation of STCI. The actual inspection and audit of applicants to the STCI system is usually entrusted to an independent professionally acknowledged third party. The funding for the implementation of the STCI system is met from ongoing schemes—market research, professional services, capacity building for service providers, and domestic promotion and publicity. A project monitoring unit (PMU) is created in the Ministry with the specific purpose of administering the STCI system. Tourism development must be sustainable environmentally, socially, economically and culturally. Sustainable tourism must ensure quality of life of the people, good experience for the tourists and maintain quality of environment alive to the requirements to protect the haphazard growth in sensitive areas. Government has enacted a number of legislations such as the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, Wild Life (Protection Act), 1972, Environment Protection Act, 1986 and Coastal Regulatory Zone Act, 1991 in this regard.
Eco-tourism Eco-tourism is a form of sustainable tourism. Eco-tourism refers to tourism activities in ecologically sensitive areas in a manner that conserves the environment and improves the wellbeing of the local people. The development of eco-tourism in many areas of the world clearly indicates that this form of tourism has great potential in India because of the richness of its flora and fauna and the wide range of ecosystems including mountains, coasts, rivers, forests, deserts and grasslands. Whilst the negative impacts of tourism are well-known, there are also great examples of eco-tourism good practices. Implementation and participation in eco-tourism activities includes adherence to the following principles: 1. Minimize impact on environment. 2. Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect. 3. Provide positive experiences for both visitors and host communities. 4. Provide financial benefits for conservation as well as to local communities. 5. Implement leanings from best practices. Based on eco-system network model, a sustainable planning and marketing orientation does not just satisfy the needs and wants of an individual but it strives to attain a sustained ecosystem. The benefits are not just profits but civic energy and social unity. Competition is replaced by dynamic interaction that aims at environmental, social and economic equity within the local-global network of living and physical structures. Heritage Tourism Travellers have been going round the world since ages to experience the culture and heritage of different societies, but in the modern era such travels have increased exponentially. With UNESCO having started the process of declaring historically important sites as „World Heritage Sites‟, heritage tourism has acquired global dimensions. In India, which has a rich heritage, a significant share of all domestic and foreign
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
tourism activities have centred on its heritage sites. While tangible heritage has been in the mainstream of tourism development in India, the intangible and living heritage has not attracted much attention. There is a need to analyse this segment to see how best these assets can be utilized to provide new cultural experiences to tourists. Development of tourism activities relating to intangible heritage has to be carried out in a sensitive manner so as to ensure that socio-economic benefits accrue to the communities but at the same time the values or practices constituting the essence of intangible heritage do not get irreparably dented by over-commercialization or insensitive development. Intangible heritage, which includes folklore, cuisine, customary practices, etc., needs to be identified in all States and Union Territories of the country. While some of this information may already be available with different sources, it would have to be collated and compiled, and supplemented with primary surveys/studies. There is also a need for mapping the requirements in order to make these heritage characteristics attractive for tourists. In addition, our rich spiritual heritage attracts many international tourists as well. Our spiritual heritage also therefore needs to be mapped and user needs identified for planned development. Village and Rural Tourism India‟s 5,000 years of history, its length, breadth and the variety of geographical features make its tourism basket large and varied. It presents heritage and cultural along with medical, business and sports tourism. Tourism in India is one of the largest service industries, with a contribution of about 6 percent to the national GDP and 9.24 percent of the total employment in India. Rural tourism needs to be given an impetus by earmarking funds for pilot projects on the basis of a model plan for each State for the purpose. These villages can be taken up for priority development particularly if the projects can be linked
with the restoration of heritage properties in the area. This would provide a boost to local performing arts and help conserve the local culture apart from preventing rural-urban migration. Local people in the rural areas should be encouraged to participate in tourism related projects, which may preferably be formulated by the tourist officials in consultation with locals and NGOs. These projects could be in the nature of providing glimpse of the village ambience and the tourists can be presented with local cuisine, art and culture by persons in local costumes engaging in the daily activities of cooking, weaving, dancing etc. Moderate, but clean, accommodations for tourists should be constructed by villagers in traditional design and architecture. Bank finances should be made available at attractive terms and conditions for promotion of such projects. The diversity of wild life in India is as rich as that of its flora and fauna. The great wealth of Indian wild life can be imagined with the sight of majestic elephants, the dance of peacocks, the camel strides, the roar of tigers with unparalleled acts of beauty. Watching birds and animals in their natural habitat is an experience in itself. The vastness of wild life and wilderness is India is unparalleled in the world. All these account for the immense opportunities for wild life tourism in India. The immense heritage of wild life in India comprises of 80 national parks and another whopping 441 wild life sanctuaries including the bird sanctuaries. These reserves and forest areas are spread across the breadth and length right from the foot hills of Himalayan Jim Corbett National park to six national parks in Andaman, from Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan to Hazaribag Wild Life Sanctuary in Bihar. India also boasts of the unique ecosystem at Sunderbans which is a UNESCO world heritage site and home to the largest number of tigers in the world. The success of future tourism is intrinsically connected with the way in which the industry and the tourism system understand and incorporate the emerging critical trends that support its expansion.
Tourism is undergoing major changes: aging world population (Western countries) and active lifestyle of older travellers, the emerging markets, growing disposable income of the youth and awareness about impact of tourism on environment, will decisively influence the number of tourists, motivation, destination and product choices as well as activities of the future travellers. The rapid liberalization and deregulation of markets will bring fierce competition based on price, quality and characteristics of the tourism products. These trends will bring profound changes in the management and planning of tourism business and destination. While global trends push forward new managerial approaches, the managers and planners must be aware of the emerging tools that help to manage and market business and destinations. Future trends point towards three strategic directions: satisfying consumers, destination development and management and territory organisations. Destinations face increasing challenges in international market place where numerous stakeholders (tourists, local people, tour operators, hotels and restaurants owners etc.) with diverse values and often divergent needs compete for scarce resources. The growing population of travellers and inhabitants increasingly make impact on natural and social environment. The integrated destination management brings in destinations ecological-human communities as equitable and integrated members of planning and marketing and goal setting. The new approach integrates economic mobility, social equity and environmental responsibilities towards achieving the equality of life within the living system. India provides enormous experiential opportunities for tourists based on a wide variety of all-season attractions available throughout the country. It is imperative that these attractions get developed for the socio-economic benefit of the local communities, especially in order to strengthen inclusive economic growth. It is equally important to ensure that increased socio-economic well-being does not cause
permanent or long-term damage to the country‟s physical, cultural and environmental heritage. The use of existing resources, both tangible and intangible, has to be undertaken judiciously for the well-being of the present generation but not at the cost of depriving future generations of any part of our inheritance. The Planning Commission in the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) has mentioned that tourism and hospitality sector has a key role to play in promoting faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. The importance of sustainable tourism worldwide has increased significantly due to the impact of increased human activity on climate. It is necessary that the negative impact of the tourism industry is not enlarged unrealistically. Full advantage can then be drawn from the potential of tourism for inclusive growth with livelihoods support to the poor, most disadvantaged, women and youth. 1. The criteria and indicators of sustainable tourism for tour operators and the accommodation sector, especially rural tourism, should be finalized for implementation. 2. For conceptualizing a system of Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI), Ministry of Tourism should appoint a lead consultant, who may work with a consortium, to provide a detailed operational plan for the implementation of STCI. 3. The actual inspection and audit of applicants to the STCI system may be entrusted to an independent professionally acknowledged third party. 4. The funding for the implementation of the STCI system should be met from the ongoing schemes for market research, professional services, capacity building for service providers, and domestic promotion and publicity. 5. A project monitoring unit (PMU) is created in the Ministry with the specific purpose of administering the STCI system. 6. Financial assistance under the Ministry‟s Market
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
Development Assistance scheme should be provided for representatives of recognized national associations to participate in workshops/seminars on sustainable tourism organized by reputed organizations in India and abroad. Intangible heritage, which includes folklore, cuisine, customary practices, etc., needs to be identified in all States and Union Territories of the country. While some of this information may already be available with different sources, it would should be collated and compiled, and supplemented with primary surveys/studies. There is also a need for mapping the requirements in order to make these heritage characteristics attractive for tourists. In addition, our rich spiritual heritage attracts many international tourists as well. Our spiritual heritage also therefore needs to be mapped and user needs identified for planned development. In the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), the Ministry of Tourism provided funds to States/UTs for undertaking studies, through competent professional agencies, for identification and mapping of the intangible heritage, including spiritual heritage. A study in each State should also be undertaken to list all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with State or national level organisations. The success of tourism depends on the ability of the firms to engage in sustainable use and conservation of vital resources. Destination development is the key to sustaining the natural and cultural resources on which tourism depends. Therefore, steps have been taken up as key initiatives for the development of tourism destinations. The close interaction between the public sector, the destination tourism marketing organisations, private sector and local residents in planning is the key principle for sustainable tourism. Thus, the stakeholders can work most effectively together to manage local and global influences on their natural and cultural resources. Effective destination development is the important problem facing the tourism managers today.
Tourism in India
Contribution of Tourism to Indian Economy Tourism has the potential to stimulate other economic factors through its forward and backward linkages with a host of related sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, transport, hospitality, education, health, banking, etc. Expenditure on tourism induces a chain of transactions requiring supply of goods and services from these associated sectors. The economic benefits that flow into the economy through growth of tourism in the form of increased national and state revenues, business receipts, employment, wages and salary income, buoyancy in Central, State and local tax receipts can contribute towards overall socio-economic improvement and accelerate the growth of the economy. India needs to reap the full potential of a vibrant tourism sector. In fact, India has witnessed enormous progress in the tourism sector regards its rank in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). Rank of India in TTCI Report of 2017 was 40 as compared to 52 in 2015, 65 in 2013 and 68 in 2011. India‟s travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in the world in terms of its total contribution to the country‟s GDP, according to a report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The tourists have a better appreciation of the cultural diversity of India. Tourism also encourages preservation of monuments and heritage properties and helps in the survival of arts forms, crafts and culture. Table 1.1 reveals that with regard to the number of domestic tourist visits in 2016, Tamil Nadu‟s share was 21.3 percent followed by Uttar Pradesh at 13.1 percent whereas Andhra Pradesh occupies the third position with a 9.5 percent of the total share during the same year. In 2016, the tourism industry facilitated in generating 25,400,000 jobs which constituted about 5.8 percent of the total employment. Tourism sector has tremendous potential to increase if budgetary allocations are hiked from 0.9 percent of the total allocation to 1.5 percent in 2018-19. The aggregate contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion which constitutes 9.6 percent of the GDP in 2016 with a prospect to increase by 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
percent of the GDP by 2027 (www.assocham.org). Table 1.1: Percentage Share of Top 10 States of India in Terms of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2016 Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
State/UT Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Maharashtra Telangana West Bengal Gujarat Rajasthan Total of top 10 states Others Total Source: State/UT Tourism Development.
Percent Share 21.3 13.1 9.5 9.3 8.0 7.2 5.9 4.6 2.6 2.6 84.2 15.8 100.0
Tourism sector has immense backward and forward linkages in terms of both income and employment and can contribute significantly to the economy. A resourceful and innovative approach keeping in view the socio-demographic changes taking place world-wide and an efficient information system would yield better results. At the same time, the need for sound perspective planning with local participation is imperative. The total contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion, i.e. 9.6 percent of GDP in 2016, and is projected to rise to 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10 percent of the GDP in 2027. Further, travel and tourism investment in 2016 accounted for 5.7 percent of the total investment (US$ 34 billion). It should rise by 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years to US$ 61.8 billion in 2027. According to the data, the travel and tourism sector generated ` 14.1 trillion (US$ 208.9 billion) in 2016, which is world‟s
Tourism in India
7th largest in terms of absolute size; the sum is equivalent to 9.6 percent of India‟s GDP. Additionally, the sector created 40.3 million jobs in 2016, which ranks India 2nd in the world in terms of total employment generated. The sector accounts for 9.3 percent of the country‟s total jobs. It also noted that India witnessed 8 million foreign tourist arrivals in calendar year 2015. As per Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) [1] estimates, the number of foreign tourist arrivals is expected to rise up to 12 million by 2019, growing at a CAGR [2] of 9.2 percent. With the inclusion of non-resident Indians among international tourists, India has skipped from 16th place in the revised World Tourism Organisation (WTO) [3] rankings to settle at 24th for 2014 and 2015. The rank of India in international tourist arrivals in both 2014 and 2015 in the latest UNWTO‟s World Tourism Barometer, as of March 2017, is 24th as against the previous ranks of 41st and 40th in 2014 and 2015, respectively, as per a press release issued by the Ministry of Tourism. A study jointly conducted by ASSOCHAM and Yes Bank has proposed developmental interventions including tourism infrastructure development and the emergence of tourism themes. The National Tourism Authority (NTA) can act as a nodal agency for undertaking a wide range of activities like investment promotion, marketing, escalation resolutions, development planning and implementation, coordination etc. The travel and tourism industry has tremendous potential to rise by 2.5 percent provided the budgetary allocation is enhanced from the current 0.9 percent of the total allocation to at least 1.5 percent in 2018-19. It has proposed developmental interventions including tourism infrastructure development and the emergence of tourism themes. The total contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion i.e. 9.6 percent of GDP in 2016, and is expected to rise by 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10.0 percent of GDP in 2027. Further, travel and tourism investment in 2016
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
accounted for 5.7 percent of the total investment (US$ 34 billion). It should rise by 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years to US$ 61.8 billion in 2027. Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India The Indian slogan athithi devo bhava means that guests are like God and our courteous attitude reflects our inner self. Indians have been highly hospitable and this trend is still present in modern India. Intricate arrangements are made for a guest who comes home for a holiday. Foreigners love India as it is a storehouse of art, culture, dance and drama. The ethnic culture is present in clothing which attracts several shoppers who love to collect trinkets and serious artefacts. Responsible tourism is conducted by way of giving the tourist the right concept in tours. Their accommodation in government lodges and private hotels is always a luxury. The importance to tourism is essential as they carry the picture of our culture and hospitality. In the economic context, foreign currency in India can be gathered via tourism. Several tourist spots do well all throughout the year and special seasons do exceptionally well as the foreigners throng the place for sight-seeing trips. A trip for any visitor has to be trouble free. Taxi cabs, translation books and a dependable guide make the trip interesting. The hygiene conditions in the tourist areas are improving and well maintained hotels and tourist sports are an all-around attraction. The Ministry of Tourism is looking for new ways to encourage tourism in India. It is very much essential for a visitor to enjoy the stay and this is enhanced by facilities like road transport, guides and good hotels. Many hotels have multi-cuisine to accommodate the choices of foreigners who generally find the Indian food very spicy. Tour operators are very systematic with their plans. Complete details about weather conditions, clothes required and facilities are given to the tourists to help them prepare for a holiday.
In fact, foreign tourists from all over the world spend more in India than almost any other country worldwide, according to Economy Watch. Tourists are attracted by India‟s cultural diversity, temples, scenery and festivals. Each region of India offers something for foreign visitors, from the Taj Mahal and New Delhi in the north, to bustling Mumbai in the West to the religious centres of Varanasi in central India and number of beaches in the coastal cities. So far, as the number of foreign tourist visits in 2016 is concerned, Table 1.2 reveals that Tamil Nadu‟s share was 19.1 percent followed by Maharashtra at 18.9 percent whereas Uttar Pradesh occupies the third position with 12.8 percent of the total share during the year 2016. Table 1.2: Percentage Share of Top 10 States in Foreign Tourists Visits in 2016 Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
State/UT Percent share Tamil Nadu 19.1 Maharashtra* 18.9 Uttar Pradesh 12.8 Delhi** 10.2 West Bengal 6.2 Rajasthan 6.1 Kerala 4.2 Bihar 4.1 Goa 2.8 Punjab 2.7 Total of top 10 states 87.0 Others 13.0 Total 100.0 Source: State/UT Tourism Development. *Estimated using all-India growth rate. **Estimated using growth rate of foreign tourists‟ arrival at Delhi airport.
According to „India Tourism Statistics at a Glance, 2017‟, released by the Union Ministry of Tourism along with the Bureau
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects of Immigration, India recorded 14.57 million international tourist arrivals in 2016, a 9.6 percent increase over 2015. During the first six months of 2017, India welcomed 4.89 million foreign tourist arrivals recording a 17.2 percent growth over the same time period in 2016. WTTC opined that India‟s figures are predominantly generated by domestic travel, which accounts for 88 percent of the sector‟s contribution to GDP in 2016. Money spent by foreign travellers in India, only represents 12 percent of tourism revenues and in 2016 it totalled ` 1.5 trillion (US$ 22.8 billion). Data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that India received only 9 million international arrivals in 2016, placing it at 40th place in the world; a tenth of those received by top-ranking France. However, currently India has started compiling the data arrivals of non-resident Indians (NRIs) also. “Due to this inclusion, India‟s improved rank reflecting the true and comparable scenario has now been acknowledged by the UNWTO”, the release said. With this inclusion, the share of India in the ITAs has also increased from 0.68 percent (based on FTAs) to 1.12 percent in 2015. Table 1.3 depicts the top 10 source countries for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2016. Future Prospects of Tourism India is a favoured tourism destination in the tourism markets overseas. To promote various Indian tourism products vis-à-vis competition faced from various other destinations and to increase India‟s share of the global tourism market, an integrated marketing and promotional strategy comprising centralized media campaigns launched by the Ministry and a wide range of promotional activities undertaken by the 14 India tourism offices overseas has been undertaken. Under this scheme, the Ministry has launched a multipronged promotional campaign in key markets across the world under the banner of „Incredible India‟. The Incredible India campaigns aim to position the country as a destination for discerning travellers, focusing on the diversity of India as a holiday destination with "something for everyone‟. It includes a wide ranging advertising campaign in prime print publications, a global television campaign encompassing prominent channels and an innovative online campaign on the world‟s most popular websites. This convergence of media for promotion has brought great visibility and built awareness for the „Incredible India‟ brand. Table 1.3: Top 10 Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2016 S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Source Country Percent Share Bangladesh 15.68 United States 14.73 United Kingdom 10.70 Canada 3.60 Malaysia 3.43 Sri Lanka 3.38 Australia 3.33 Germany 3.02 China 2.85 France 2.71 Total top 10 countries 63.44 Others 36.56 Grand total 100.0 Source: Bureau of Immigration, Government of India.
The country has vast and varied potential, which is still waiting for proper use, meaning it is a scarce sensitive recourse of the sub-continent. Thus, it was indeed a trade phenomenon in the past, but now it has grown into a “trade” by itself—rather the most productive industry inducing many activities. The spatial aspects like locations, spatial interactions within close and open systems are inherent features of tourism. Tourism in the country has the potential to emerge as a key economic driver. It is estimated that tourism can generate employment next only to the construction sector.
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
As the backbone of any economy, the provision of infrastructure is a prerequisite towards attaining economic growth and also improving the country‟s tourism capacity. To add upon, the anticipated growth of the Indian economy is expected to exert more pressure on infrastructure support facilities. The infrastructural bottlenecks need to be unleashed to enhance the visitor‟s experience manifold. There are two major objectives for developing the tourism infrastructure sector: (a) to provide adequate, convenient, fast and safe facilities which are competitively priced services to meet the primary needs of the domestic and foreign tourists, and (b) to provide the multi-dimensional requirement of Indian tourism industry with support facilities and act as a catalyst to economic development of the country. In India, the tourism sector is based on exploiting its unique endowments of biodiversity, forests, rivers, and its rich culture and heritage. The challenges in this sector lie in successfully preserving these in their original form, and making them accessible to domestic and international travellers. Tourism in India has the potential to create economic interest of local communities in the protection of its natural and cultural endowments leading to a more sustainable growth. According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Oxford Economics, the demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 percent between 2016 and 2019 and will place India at the third position in the world. India‟s travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the world, employing 40,037,000 by 2019. Capital investment in India‟s travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 percent between 2016 and 2019. The report forecasts India to get capital investment worth US$ 94.5 billion in the travel and tourism sector in 2019. India is projected to become the fifth fastest growing business travel destination from 2016-2019
with an estimated real growth rate of 7.6 percent. Despite its high potential, the current scenario in the Indian tourism industry has problems like: 1. Inadequate accommodation capacity. 2. Lack of supportive infrastructure—roads, health and hygiene, communication gaps, etc. 3. Costly travel—gap between demand and supply of infrastructure. 4. Lapses in security and safety. Therefore, sustainable tourism marketing objectives are not to design product, price, place of a tourism destination or attraction, but to ensure quality of life and environment through tourism development. Achieving this will be a challenge. It involves developing an interactive product or place relationship that will give value to visitors and to diverse community stakeholders. Although the North-East region could be developed as a tourist haven by virtue of its topographic advantages, diverse cultures and its pristine areas unspoilt by pollution, tourism development has tended to elude it. The Plan expenditure incurred on the schemes operated in the North-East States has only been about 30 percent of the amount sanctioned during the first three years of the Ninth Plan. The concept of nonlapsable funds, introduced to ensure utilization of the funds, is meaningless if it does not translate into concrete development. Convergence and Integration of Efforts: A Core Issue Tourism sector is expected to grow and contribute significantly to the Indian GDP but cannot grow with the gaps in tourism infrastructural facilities. Success in a service industry and tourism in particular, depends to a large extent on better access to infrastructure, with a consumer-centric approach. Core Issue: Infrastructure such as accommodation, restaurants, built attractions; and transport are primarily developed by the private sector. Private investors require good
airport and road infrastructure and the availability of affordable basic services such as power, water, sewerage, electricity and telecommunications, making tourism investments economically viable. It is a challenge for the Indian tourism to understand the dynamic global tourism scenario and have an active role of all stakeholders in development. Human Resources Development and Capacity Building The success of any industry depends to a great extent upon the quality of human resources and tourism is no exception. We have already learnt that tourism is a labour intensive industry which provides employment to skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers directly and indirectly. The progressive labour force with a dynamic management and responsive government and responsible society are the pillars of the tourism industry. Traditionally, the employment has been seen as an area that is reactive to changes in the wide business environment. There is a widely accepted assumption that the role of people within organisations is required to change and develop in response to developments in markets, products and technology. Most of the large tourism companies recognized this assumption and have reorganised human resource functions such as training and development. This is possible only when the external labour market permits employers to adapt to these changing dimensions. Development of Infrastructure Ministry of Tourism has identified 21 circuits and 12 destinations for development. Financial assistance is provided to State/Union Territory (UT) governments for developing tourist infrastructure at these places. In the first three years of the Ninth Plan, 779 projects were taken up. It has been observed that many States, particularly in the North-Eastern region, could not avail themselves of the financial assistance
permanent or long-term damage to the country‟s physical, cultural and environmental heritage. The use of existing resources, both tangible and intangible, has to be undertaken judiciously for the well-being of the present generation but not at the cost of depriving future generations of any part of our inheritance. The Planning Commission in the Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17) has mentioned that tourism and hospitality sector has a key role to play in promoting faster, sustainable and more inclusive economic growth. The importance of sustainable tourism worldwide has increased significantly due to the impact of increased human activity on climate. It is necessary that the negative impact of the tourism industry is not enlarged unrealistically. Full advantage can then be drawn from the potential of tourism for inclusive growth with livelihoods support to the poor, most disadvantaged, women and youth. 1. The criteria and indicators of sustainable tourism for tour operators and the accommodation sector, especially rural tourism, should be finalized for implementation. 2. For conceptualizing a system of Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India (STCI), Ministry of Tourism should appoint a lead consultant, who may work with a consortium, to provide a detailed operational plan for the implementation of STCI. 3. The actual inspection and audit of applicants to the STCI system may be entrusted to an independent professionally acknowledged third party. 4. The funding for the implementation of the STCI system should be met from the ongoing schemes for market research, professional services, capacity building for service providers, and domestic promotion and publicity. 5. A project monitoring unit (PMU) is created in the Ministry with the specific purpose of administering the STCI system. 6. Financial assistance under the Ministry‟s Market
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
Development Assistance scheme should be provided for representatives of recognized national associations to participate in workshops/seminars on sustainable tourism organized by reputed organizations in India and abroad. Intangible heritage, which includes folklore, cuisine, customary practices, etc., needs to be identified in all States and Union Territories of the country. While some of this information may already be available with different sources, it would should be collated and compiled, and supplemented with primary surveys/studies. There is also a need for mapping the requirements in order to make these heritage characteristics attractive for tourists. In addition, our rich spiritual heritage attracts many international tourists as well. Our spiritual heritage also therefore needs to be mapped and user needs identified for planned development. In the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), the Ministry of Tourism provided funds to States/UTs for undertaking studies, through competent professional agencies, for identification and mapping of the intangible heritage, including spiritual heritage. A study in each State should also be undertaken to list all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with State or national level organisations. The success of tourism depends on the ability of the firms to engage in sustainable use and conservation of vital resources. Destination development is the key to sustaining the natural and cultural resources on which tourism depends. Therefore, steps have been taken up as key initiatives for the development of tourism destinations. The close interaction between the public sector, the destination tourism marketing organisations, private sector and local residents in planning is the key principle for sustainable tourism. Thus, the stakeholders can work most effectively together to manage local and global influences on their natural and cultural resources. Effective destination development is the important problem facing the tourism managers today.
Tourism in India
Contribution of Tourism to Indian Economy Tourism has the potential to stimulate other economic factors through its forward and backward linkages with a host of related sectors like agriculture, manufacturing, transport, hospitality, education, health, banking, etc. Expenditure on tourism induces a chain of transactions requiring supply of goods and services from these associated sectors. The economic benefits that flow into the economy through growth of tourism in the form of increased national and state revenues, business receipts, employment, wages and salary income, buoyancy in Central, State and local tax receipts can contribute towards overall socio-economic improvement and accelerate the growth of the economy. India needs to reap the full potential of a vibrant tourism sector. In fact, India has witnessed enormous progress in the tourism sector regards its rank in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). Rank of India in TTCI Report of 2017 was 40 as compared to 52 in 2015, 65 in 2013 and 68 in 2011. India‟s travel and tourism sector ranks 7th in the world in terms of its total contribution to the country‟s GDP, according to a report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). The tourists have a better appreciation of the cultural diversity of India. Tourism also encourages preservation of monuments and heritage properties and helps in the survival of arts forms, crafts and culture. Table 1.1 reveals that with regard to the number of domestic tourist visits in 2016, Tamil Nadu‟s share was 21.3 percent followed by Uttar Pradesh at 13.1 percent whereas Andhra Pradesh occupies the third position with a 9.5 percent of the total share during the same year. In 2016, the tourism industry facilitated in generating 25,400,000 jobs which constituted about 5.8 percent of the total employment. Tourism sector has tremendous potential to increase if budgetary allocations are hiked from 0.9 percent of the total allocation to 1.5 percent in 2018-19. The aggregate contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion which constitutes 9.6 percent of the GDP in 2016 with a prospect to increase by 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
percent of the GDP by 2027 (www.assocham.org). Table 1.1: Percentage Share of Top 10 States of India in Terms of Domestic Tourist Visits in 2016 Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
State/UT Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Karnataka Maharashtra Telangana West Bengal Gujarat Rajasthan Total of top 10 states Others Total Source: State/UT Tourism Development.
Percent Share 21.3 13.1 9.5 9.3 8.0 7.2 5.9 4.6 2.6 2.6 84.2 15.8 100.0
Tourism sector has immense backward and forward linkages in terms of both income and employment and can contribute significantly to the economy. A resourceful and innovative approach keeping in view the socio-demographic changes taking place world-wide and an efficient information system would yield better results. At the same time, the need for sound perspective planning with local participation is imperative. The total contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion, i.e. 9.6 percent of GDP in 2016, and is projected to rise to 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10 percent of the GDP in 2027. Further, travel and tourism investment in 2016 accounted for 5.7 percent of the total investment (US$ 34 billion). It should rise by 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years to US$ 61.8 billion in 2027. According to the data, the travel and tourism sector generated ` 14.1 trillion (US$ 208.9 billion) in 2016, which is world‟s
Tourism in India
7th largest in terms of absolute size; the sum is equivalent to 9.6 percent of India‟s GDP. Additionally, the sector created 40.3 million jobs in 2016, which ranks India 2nd in the world in terms of total employment generated. The sector accounts for 9.3 percent of the country‟s total jobs. It also noted that India witnessed 8 million foreign tourist arrivals in calendar year 2015. As per Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) [1] estimates, the number of foreign tourist arrivals is expected to rise up to 12 million by 2019, growing at a CAGR [2] of 9.2 percent. With the inclusion of non-resident Indians among international tourists, India has skipped from 16th place in the revised World Tourism Organisation (WTO) [3] rankings to settle at 24th for 2014 and 2015. The rank of India in international tourist arrivals in both 2014 and 2015 in the latest UNWTO‟s World Tourism Barometer, as of March 2017, is 24th as against the previous ranks of 41st and 40th in 2014 and 2015, respectively, as per a press release issued by the Ministry of Tourism. A study jointly conducted by ASSOCHAM and Yes Bank has proposed developmental interventions including tourism infrastructure development and the emergence of tourism themes. The National Tourism Authority (NTA) can act as a nodal agency for undertaking a wide range of activities like investment promotion, marketing, escalation resolutions, development planning and implementation, coordination etc. The travel and tourism industry has tremendous potential to rise by 2.5 percent provided the budgetary allocation is enhanced from the current 0.9 percent of the total allocation to at least 1.5 percent in 2018-19. It has proposed developmental interventions including tourism infrastructure development and the emergence of tourism themes. The total contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP was US$ 208.9 billion i.e. 9.6 percent of GDP in 2016, and is expected to rise by 6.7 percent in 2017 and 10.0 percent of GDP in 2027. Further, travel and tourism investment in 2016
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
accounted for 5.7 percent of the total investment (US$ 34 billion). It should rise by 4.5 percent in 2017 and 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years to US$ 61.8 billion in 2027. Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India The Indian slogan athithi devo bhava means that guests are like God and our courteous attitude reflects our inner self. Indians have been highly hospitable and this trend is still present in modern India. Intricate arrangements are made for a guest who comes home for a holiday. Foreigners love India as it is a storehouse of art, culture, dance and drama. The ethnic culture is present in clothing which attracts several shoppers who love to collect trinkets and serious artefacts. Responsible tourism is conducted by way of giving the tourist the right concept in tours. Their accommodation in government lodges and private hotels is always a luxury. The importance to tourism is essential as they carry the picture of our culture and hospitality. In the economic context, foreign currency in India can be gathered via tourism. Several tourist spots do well all throughout the year and special seasons do exceptionally well as the foreigners throng the place for sight-seeing trips. A trip for any visitor has to be trouble free. Taxi cabs, translation books and a dependable guide make the trip interesting. The hygiene conditions in the tourist areas are improving and well maintained hotels and tourist sports are an all-around attraction. The Ministry of Tourism is looking for new ways to encourage tourism in India. It is very much essential for a visitor to enjoy the stay and this is enhanced by facilities like road transport, guides and good hotels. Many hotels have multi-cuisine to accommodate the choices of foreigners who generally find the Indian food very spicy. Tour operators are very systematic with their plans. Complete details about weather conditions, clothes required and facilities are given to the tourists to help them prepare for a holiday.
In fact, foreign tourists from all over the world spend more in India than almost any other country worldwide, according to Economy Watch. Tourists are attracted by India‟s cultural diversity, temples, scenery and festivals. Each region of India offers something for foreign visitors, from the Taj Mahal and New Delhi in the north, to bustling Mumbai in the West to the religious centres of Varanasi in central India and number of beaches in the coastal cities. So far, as the number of foreign tourist visits in 2016 is concerned, Table 1.2 reveals that Tamil Nadu‟s share was 19.1 percent followed by Maharashtra at 18.9 percent whereas Uttar Pradesh occupies the third position with 12.8 percent of the total share during the year 2016. Table 1.2: Percentage Share of Top 10 States in Foreign Tourists Visits in 2016 Rank 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
State/UT Percent share Tamil Nadu 19.1 Maharashtra* 18.9 Uttar Pradesh 12.8 Delhi** 10.2 West Bengal 6.2 Rajasthan 6.1 Kerala 4.2 Bihar 4.1 Goa 2.8 Punjab 2.7 Total of top 10 states 87.0 Others 13.0 Total 100.0 Source: State/UT Tourism Development. *Estimated using all-India growth rate. **Estimated using growth rate of foreign tourists‟ arrival at Delhi airport.
According to „India Tourism Statistics at a Glance, 2017‟, released by the Union Ministry of Tourism along with the Bureau
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects of Immigration, India recorded 14.57 million international tourist arrivals in 2016, a 9.6 percent increase over 2015. During the first six months of 2017, India welcomed 4.89 million foreign tourist arrivals recording a 17.2 percent growth over the same time period in 2016. WTTC opined that India‟s figures are predominantly generated by domestic travel, which accounts for 88 percent of the sector‟s contribution to GDP in 2016. Money spent by foreign travellers in India, only represents 12 percent of tourism revenues and in 2016 it totalled ` 1.5 trillion (US$ 22.8 billion). Data from the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) shows that India received only 9 million international arrivals in 2016, placing it at 40th place in the world; a tenth of those received by top-ranking France. However, currently India has started compiling the data arrivals of non-resident Indians (NRIs) also. “Due to this inclusion, India‟s improved rank reflecting the true and comparable scenario has now been acknowledged by the UNWTO”, the release said. With this inclusion, the share of India in the ITAs has also increased from 0.68 percent (based on FTAs) to 1.12 percent in 2015. Table 1.3 depicts the top 10 source countries for foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2016. Future Prospects of Tourism India is a favoured tourism destination in the tourism markets overseas. To promote various Indian tourism products vis-à-vis competition faced from various other destinations and to increase India‟s share of the global tourism market, an integrated marketing and promotional strategy comprising centralized media campaigns launched by the Ministry and a wide range of promotional activities undertaken by the 14 India tourism offices overseas has been undertaken. Under this scheme, the Ministry has launched a multipronged promotional campaign in key markets across the world under the banner of „Incredible India‟. The Incredible India campaigns aim to position the country as a destination for discerning travellers, focusing on the diversity of India as a holiday destination with "something for everyone‟. It includes a wide ranging advertising campaign in prime print publications, a global television campaign encompassing prominent channels and an innovative online campaign on the world‟s most popular websites. This convergence of media for promotion has brought great visibility and built awareness for the „Incredible India‟ brand. Table 1.3: Top 10 Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India in 2016 S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Source Country Percent Share Bangladesh 15.68 United States 14.73 United Kingdom 10.70 Canada 3.60 Malaysia 3.43 Sri Lanka 3.38 Australia 3.33 Germany 3.02 China 2.85 France 2.71 Total top 10 countries 63.44 Others 36.56 Grand total 100.0 Source: Bureau of Immigration, Government of India.
The country has vast and varied potential, which is still waiting for proper use, meaning it is a scarce sensitive recourse of the sub-continent. Thus, it was indeed a trade phenomenon in the past, but now it has grown into a “trade” by itself—rather the most productive industry inducing many activities. The spatial aspects like locations, spatial interactions within close and open systems are inherent features of tourism. Tourism in the country has the potential to emerge as a key economic driver. It is estimated that tourism can generate employment next only to the construction sector.
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
As the backbone of any economy, the provision of infrastructure is a prerequisite towards attaining economic growth and also improving the country‟s tourism capacity. To add upon, the anticipated growth of the Indian economy is expected to exert more pressure on infrastructure support facilities. The infrastructural bottlenecks need to be unleashed to enhance the visitor‟s experience manifold. There are two major objectives for developing the tourism infrastructure sector: (a) to provide adequate, convenient, fast and safe facilities which are competitively priced services to meet the primary needs of the domestic and foreign tourists, and (b) to provide the multi-dimensional requirement of Indian tourism industry with support facilities and act as a catalyst to economic development of the country. In India, the tourism sector is based on exploiting its unique endowments of biodiversity, forests, rivers, and its rich culture and heritage. The challenges in this sector lie in successfully preserving these in their original form, and making them accessible to domestic and international travellers. Tourism in India has the potential to create economic interest of local communities in the protection of its natural and cultural endowments leading to a more sustainable growth. According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Oxford Economics, the demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 percent between 2016 and 2019 and will place India at the third position in the world. India‟s travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the world, employing 40,037,000 by 2019. Capital investment in India‟s travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 percent between 2016 and 2019. The report forecasts India to get capital investment worth US$ 94.5 billion in the travel and tourism sector in 2019. India is projected to become the fifth fastest growing business travel destination from 2016-2019
with an estimated real growth rate of 7.6 percent. Despite its high potential, the current scenario in the Indian tourism industry has problems like: 1. Inadequate accommodation capacity. 2. Lack of supportive infrastructure—roads, health and hygiene, communication gaps, etc. 3. Costly travel—gap between demand and supply of infrastructure. 4. Lapses in security and safety. Therefore, sustainable tourism marketing objectives are not to design product, price, place of a tourism destination or attraction, but to ensure quality of life and environment through tourism development. Achieving this will be a challenge. It involves developing an interactive product or place relationship that will give value to visitors and to diverse community stakeholders. Although the North-East region could be developed as a tourist haven by virtue of its topographic advantages, diverse cultures and its pristine areas unspoilt by pollution, tourism development has tended to elude it. The Plan expenditure incurred on the schemes operated in the North-East States has only been about 30 percent of the amount sanctioned during the first three years of the Ninth Plan. The concept of nonlapsable funds, introduced to ensure utilization of the funds, is meaningless if it does not translate into concrete development. Convergence and Integration of Efforts: A Core Issue Tourism sector is expected to grow and contribute significantly to the Indian GDP but cannot grow with the gaps in tourism infrastructural facilities. Success in a service industry and tourism in particular, depends to a large extent on better access to infrastructure, with a consumer-centric approach. Core Issue: Infrastructure such as accommodation, restaurants, built attractions; and transport are primarily developed by the private sector. Private investors require good
airport and road infrastructure and the availability of affordable basic services such as power, water, sewerage, electricity and telecommunications, making tourism investments economically viable. It is a challenge for the Indian tourism to understand the dynamic global tourism scenario and have an active role of all stakeholders in development. Human Resources Development and Capacity Building The success of any industry depends to a great extent upon the quality of human resources and tourism is no exception. We have already learnt that tourism is a labour intensive industry which provides employment to skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers directly and indirectly. The progressive labour force with a dynamic management and responsive government and responsible society are the pillars of the tourism industry. Traditionally, the employment has been seen as an area that is reactive to changes in the wide business environment. There is a widely accepted assumption that the role of people within organisations is required to change and develop in response to developments in markets, products and technology. Most of the large tourism companies recognized this assumption and have reorganised human resource functions such as training and development. This is possible only when the external labour market permits employers to adapt to these changing dimensions. Development of Infrastructure Ministry of Tourism has identified 21 circuits and 12 destinations for development. Financial assistance is provided to State/Union Territory (UT) governments for developing tourist infrastructure at these places. In the first three years of the Ninth Plan, 779 projects were taken up. It has been observed that many States, particularly in the North-Eastern region, could not avail themselves of the financial assistance
provided under the scheme because they could not find the required matching contribution for projects prioritized under the scheme. There is a need for modifying the pattern of funding under the scheme to enable all such States to benefit from it. The scheme stipulates transfer of land ownership in respect of those projects in the name of the Central Government. The stipulation is acting as a deterrent in the operation of the scheme as the States face legal difficulties in transferring the land ownership. Ministry of Tourism needs to take urgent action to waive the condition. The Ministry has envisaged an equity scheme for attracting funds from financial institutions but the scheme has not made much headway because the State governments have not been able to put up financially viable projects. There is a need to evaluate the scheme. Destination Development In tourism, destination region is perhaps one of the most important elements. Without the richness and variety of tourism environments around the world we would not have the same quality of tourist experience. In order to understand the essence of tourism, consideration has to be given to the different environmental, social and economic contexts around the world within which tourism destinations are located. It is important for a destination to deliver quality experience and product, and in this regard, careful planning and management is essential to ensure a tourism industry based on sustainable development. Thus, the stage is set for a range of new tourist destinations to be developed and effective management of the existing destinations. There is no doubt that these new and existing destinations need to be better planned and managed and show more concern for the environment and the host community. Accordingly, the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has given a major thrust in this direction and is promoting tourism as a means for economic growth and
social integration of the country. The role of government in tourism development has been redefined from that of a regulator to that of a catalyst. Apart from marketing and promotion, tourism development plan has to focus on an integrated development of enabling infrastructure through effective partnership with various stakeholders. Suggestions for Development of Tourism 1. The success of tourism depends on the ability of the firms and destination to engage in sustainable use and conservation of vital resources. Destination development is the key to sustaining natural and cultural resources on which tourism depends. Therefore, steps have been taken up for the development of tourism destinations. The close interaction between the public sector, the destination‟s tourism marketing organisations, private sector and local residents in planning is the key principle of sustainable tourism. Thus, the stakeholders can work most effectively together to manage local-global influences on their natural and cultural resources. Effective destination development is an intricate problem faced by the tourism managers. 2. Although the North-East could be developed as a tourist haven by virtue of its topographic advantages, diverse cultures and its pristine areas unspoilt by pollution, tourism development has tended to elude it. The Plan expenditure incurred on the schemes operated in these States has been only about 30 percent of the amount sanctioned during the first three years of the Ninth Plan. The concept of non-lapsable funds, introduced to ensure utilization of the funds, is meaningless if it does not translate into concrete development. 3. The Approach Paper to the Twelfth Five Year Plan (201217), prepared by Planning Commission, highlights the need to adopt a „pro-poor tourism‟ approach aimed at increasing the net benefits to the poor from tourism and ensure that tourism growth contributes to povertyreduction.
The approach paper also underpins the need to develop a comprehensive set of strategies for a diversity of actions, from macro to micro level, including product and infrastructure development, marketing, branding and promotion, planning, policy and investment. 4. The annual number of tourists should be regulated according to the carrying capacity of parks/hill resorts and other eco-sensitive zones after proper assessment of the carrying capacity of each region. Few world class carrying capacity studies in diverse areas should be carried out in each of the five years of the Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17). Tourism impact assessment must be made mandatory for any tourism project proposed to be undertaken in an eco-tourism zone with financial assistance from the Centre. State governments should be encouraged to evolve eco-tourism policies and set up ecotourism boards to act as vehicles of eco-tourism policy deliverance. Gate receipts should flow back to the respective national parks and reserves in order to improve their protection and to facilitate their upkeep. 5. Some reasonable portion of revenue from tourism should be shared with local communities for common benefits. Local communities should also benefit directly from tourism through employment, promotion of local crafts, cuisine, home-stays, etc. Commercial activities permitted in eco-zones for facilitating tourists should preferably be entrusted to members of local communities. A fixed percentage, say 40 percent, of the employment in tourism establishments in eco-tourism zones should be reserved for the local communities. 6. National and international travel associations like TAAI, IATO, Eco Tourism Society of India, PATA, ASTA need to champion the cause of eco-tourism. Seminars, workshops and conferences should be undertaken for the stakeholders and NGOs to be involved in the process of local community/host community education/sensitisation.
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
For each eco-tourism site, a site specific association, which acts as watchdog for the welfare of wildlife and conservation, with tourism forest officials, NGOs and representatives of local communities should be set up. 8. For the development of heritage tourism: Surveys/studies should be undertaken in all States and Union Territories for: (a) collecting and compiling information on intangible heritage, (b) mapping the requirements of these heritages for planned development, and (c) preparing a list of all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with state or national level organizations. A strategy should be evolved, in consultation with Ministry of Culture, NGOs and experts working for the protection and preservation of heritage sites, for inclusion of India‟s monuments and other heritage sites in the list of „World Heritage Sites‟. For all tourism projects undertaken at heritage sites with Central financial assistance, regulation of activities, like food and beverage services, light and sound shows, shopping, entertainment etc. in and around the sites must be made mandatory. Part of the funds generated at a site through these activities should be earmarked for maintenance and development of that site. Central and State Government offices in urban areas located in heritage buildings should be shifted and the buildings should be used for tourism related activities. All schools in the country should introduce a daily interactive session for students from class 5 onwards on waste management, basic hygiene, cleanliness, garbage disposal, energy and water conservation, discipline, first aid, road rules, etc. to inculcate civic sense and social responsibility among the young and impressionable children. Introduction of value addition services, including audio/ video shows, automated audio guides, etc., at heritage sites
by States should be encouraged and financially supported by the Ministry. Capacity building programmes for guides at heritage sites should be intensified to increase the availability of qualified guides. At prominent heritage sites, part of gate receipts should go towards maintenance of the respective sites, as has been done in Rajasthan. 9. Tourism development should focus on developing tourism from people‟s perspective by involving local panchayats and local communities at various stages. This will help in understanding the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism projects on local communities enabling the development of tourism in a sustainable manner. In addition, to realize the potential of the sector, the Ministry of Tourism should adopt a pro-poor approach aimed at increasing the net benefits to the poor from tourism and ensure that tourism growth contributes to poverty reduction. A wide range of actions are needed to increase the spread of benefits from tourism to weaker sections. 10. The Ministry of Tourism should provide funds to States/UTs for undertaking studies, through competent professional agencies, for identification and mapping of intangible heritage, including spiritual heritage. A study in each State should also be undertaken to list all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with state or national level organisations. 11. The consumption demand, emanating from tourist expenditure, also induces more employment and generates a multiplier effect on the economy. As a result, additional income and employment opportunities are generated through such linkages. Thus, the expansion of the tourism sector can lead to large scale employment generation and poverty alleviation. The economic benefits that flow into the economy through growth of tourism in shape of increased national and State revenues, business receipts,
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects employment, wages and salary income, buoyancy in Central, State and local tax receipts can contribute towards overall socio-economic improvement and accelerated growth in the economy. Conclusion A perusal of the study has brought to light that tourism is one economic sector in India that has the potential to grow at an exponential rate and can ensure consequential development of the infrastructure of the destinations. It has the capacity to capitalize on the country‟s success in the services sector and provide sustainable models of growth. It has the potential to stimulate other economic sectors through its backward and forward linkages and cross-sectoral synergies with sectors like agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, transport, construction, etc. Expenditure on tourism induces a chain of transactions requiring supply of goods and services from these related sectors. Therefore, the Government of India should continue to adopt policies that encourage travellers including a new visa regime, enabling investment in vital infrastructure, and developing a facilitating business environment. India is a beautiful and diverse tourism destination; with the right policies in place, it will no doubt continue to grow towards ranking even higher in terms of its tourism economy. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is a British business within the Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. World Tourism Organisation (WTO) is the United Nation‟s agency managing promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and its barometer ranks countries in terms of their international tourist arrivals (ITAs), comprising
Tourism in India both foreign tourist arrivals as well as non-resident arrivals.
References Report of the Working Group on Tourism, Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi. www.assocham.org. www.incredibleindia.org.
2 Growth and Performance of Indian Tourism Industry Chidanand Patil and Chaitra G.B. Introduction United Nations has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in its 70th General Assembly Meeting recalling the potential of tourism to advance the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The year 2017 is aimed to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute effectively to the SDGs. The World Tourism Organization‟s Secretary General, Taleb Rifai opined, “This is a unique opportunity to build a more responsible and committed tourism sector that can capitalize its immense potential in terms of economic prosperity, social inclusion, peace and understanding, cultural and environmental preservation”. Tourism sector accounts for 7 percent of worldwide exports, 10 percent of the world‟s GDP and one in eleven jobs, and if the tourism sector is managed well, it can foster inclusive economic growth, social inclusiveness and protection of natural and cultural assets. The International Year 2017 is aimed at promoting tourism‟s role in the five key areas namely, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction; resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change; cultural values, diversity and heritage; and mutual understanding, peace and security.
This paper examines the growth and performance of tourism industry in India while evaluating its contribution to employment generation in the country. Tourism Industry in India Among the services sector in India, tourism has emerged as one of the key driver of growth. Besides being an important source of foreign exchange for India, tourism is also a potentially large employment generator in India. Due to the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, places of natural beauty which are spread across the nation, tourism sector has a significant potential in India. Market Size: Rising middle class population and increasing disposable incomes in India have continued to support the growth of domestic as well as outbound tourism. As per the report of Ministry of Tourism, the domestic tourist visits to the States/Union Territories (UTs) grew by 15.5 percent year-on-year to 1.65 billion during 2016 and the top ten States/UTs contributed about 84.2 percent to the total number of domestic tourist visits. During May 2017, the foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India increased 19.5 percent year-on-year to 6,30,000 and FTAs on e-tourist visa increased to 68,000 with year-on-year increase of 55.3 percent. According to the data of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) of India through tourism increased by 32 percent year-on-year to reach US$ 2.278 billion in April 2017. By 2030, India is expected to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five business travel markets globally and the business travel spending in the country is expected to treble from US$ 30 billion in 2015. Investments: The tourism and hospitality sector is one of the sectors in India which attracts the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) among the top 10 sectors. According to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 10.14 billion of foreign direct investment during the period April 2000 to March 2017. Many companies have invested in tourism and hospitality sector in India due to the increased demand of global tourists towards tourism in India. In the year 2016, travel and tourism sector attracted a capital investment of ` 2,284.9 billion and it is anticipated to rise by 4.5 percent in 2017, and is expected to rise by 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years. Foreign Tourist Arrivals into India Table 2.1 presents the foreign tourist arrivals into India for the period 2000 to 2017. The quantum leap of foreign tourist arrivals in India has increased from 2.65 million in 2000 to 8.80 million in 2016 and this has registered a positive significant compounded annual growth rate of 8.67 percent. Between the years 2000 and 2016, the tourist arrivals into India barring the years 2001, 2002 and 2009 showed an increasing trend in absolute terms, but in relative terms, the percentage change in tourist arrivals showed an increasing annual growth rate of 8.67 percent. The decrease in foreign tourist arrivals to India during 2001, 2002 and 2009 may be attributed to political disturbances, global and domestic financial crisis and terrorism. FTAs in India during the year 2010 were 5.78 million with a growth rate of 11.8 percent as compared to the FTAs of 5.17 million and growth rate of -2.2 percent during the year 2009. The major reason for growth rate in foreign tourists‟ arrival in the year 2010 can be attributed to Commonwealth Games organized by India. During the last three years, the new government has launched several key projects as well as continued some old projects of the previous government to boost the travel and tourism sector. Among its top initiatives are Swachh Bharat, electronic visa, digital application, and Udan among others. The variation in arrivals of tourists in India during the study
period was registered at 39.49 percent. Table 2.1: Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India, 2000-2017 Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 CAGR CV
FTA in India (in million) 2.65 2.54 2.38 2.73 3.46 3.92 4.45 5.08 5.28 5.17 5.78 6.31 6.58 6.97 7.68 8.03 8.80 8.67 % 39.49 %
Percentage change over the previous year -4.20 -6.00 14.30 26.80 13.30 13.50 14.30 4.00 -2.20 11.80 9.20 4.30 5.90 10.20 4.50 9.70
Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism in India Tourism sector is one of the important sectors of the Indian economy which contributes substantially towards country‟s foreign exchange earnings (FEEs). Table 2.2 depicts the FEEs from tourism in India during the period 2000 to 2016 along with the percentage change over the previous year. It is crystal clear that the foreign earnings have increased from US$ 3,460 million in 2000 to US$ 22,923 million in 2016 representing a positive and spectacular compounded annual growth rate of 14.24 percent. It indicates that the tourism industry in India has given continuous foreign exchange earnings to India. Higher instability was noticed in the quantum of FEEs from tourism in India. Table 2.2: Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from Tourism in India, 2000-2016 (US$ million) Year FEE from Tourism in Percentage change over India the previous year 2000 3,460 2001 3,198 -7.60 2002 3,103 -3.00 2003 4,463 43.80 2004 6,170 38.20 2005 7,493 21.40 2006 8,634 15.20 2007 10,729 24.30 2008 11,832 10.30 2009 11,136 -5.90 2010 14,193 27.50 2011 16,564 16.70 2012 17,737 7.10 2013 18,445 4.00 2014 20,236 9.70 2015 21,071 4.10 2016 22,923 8.80 CAGR 14.24 % CV 56.76 %
The “Incredible India” campaign which was launched in 2002 was one of the successful campaigns and its results were reflected in increase in the FEEs. International tourism receipts were stagnated at US$ 3103 million before the launch of Incredible India campaign and after its launch in 2002, FEEs increased to US$ 4,463 million in 2003 and during 2016 the FEEs from tourism stood at US$ 22,923 million. World Travel and Tourism Council says the travel and tourism contributes to 9.6 percent of the GDP and is expected to rise by 10 percent of the GDP in 2027.
Share of India vis-à-vis World and Asia-Pacific Region in International Tourist Arrivals Table 2.3 denotes India‟s share of world tourist arrivals and Asia-Pacific Region for the period 2000 to 2016. Table 2.3: Share of India in International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) in World and Asia-Pacific Region, 2000-2016 Year
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects
For each eco-tourism site, a site specific association, which acts as watchdog for the welfare of wildlife and conservation, with tourism forest officials, NGOs and representatives of local communities should be set up. 8. For the development of heritage tourism: Surveys/studies should be undertaken in all States and Union Territories for: (a) collecting and compiling information on intangible heritage, (b) mapping the requirements of these heritages for planned development, and (c) preparing a list of all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with state or national level organizations. A strategy should be evolved, in consultation with Ministry of Culture, NGOs and experts working for the protection and preservation of heritage sites, for inclusion of India‟s monuments and other heritage sites in the list of „World Heritage Sites‟. For all tourism projects undertaken at heritage sites with Central financial assistance, regulation of activities, like food and beverage services, light and sound shows, shopping, entertainment etc. in and around the sites must be made mandatory. Part of the funds generated at a site through these activities should be earmarked for maintenance and development of that site. Central and State Government offices in urban areas located in heritage buildings should be shifted and the buildings should be used for tourism related activities. All schools in the country should introduce a daily interactive session for students from class 5 onwards on waste management, basic hygiene, cleanliness, garbage disposal, energy and water conservation, discipline, first aid, road rules, etc. to inculcate civic sense and social responsibility among the young and impressionable children. Introduction of value addition services, including audio/ video shows, automated audio guides, etc., at heritage sites
by States should be encouraged and financially supported by the Ministry. Capacity building programmes for guides at heritage sites should be intensified to increase the availability of qualified guides. At prominent heritage sites, part of gate receipts should go towards maintenance of the respective sites, as has been done in Rajasthan. 9. Tourism development should focus on developing tourism from people‟s perspective by involving local panchayats and local communities at various stages. This will help in understanding the social, cultural, and environmental impacts of tourism projects on local communities enabling the development of tourism in a sustainable manner. In addition, to realize the potential of the sector, the Ministry of Tourism should adopt a pro-poor approach aimed at increasing the net benefits to the poor from tourism and ensure that tourism growth contributes to poverty reduction. A wide range of actions are needed to increase the spread of benefits from tourism to weaker sections. 10. The Ministry of Tourism should provide funds to States/UTs for undertaking studies, through competent professional agencies, for identification and mapping of intangible heritage, including spiritual heritage. A study in each State should also be undertaken to list all heritage sites and heritage buildings in association with state or national level organisations. 11. The consumption demand, emanating from tourist expenditure, also induces more employment and generates a multiplier effect on the economy. As a result, additional income and employment opportunities are generated through such linkages. Thus, the expansion of the tourism sector can lead to large scale employment generation and poverty alleviation. The economic benefits that flow into the economy through growth of tourism in shape of increased national and State revenues, business receipts,
Growth of Tourism in India: Problems and Prospects employment, wages and salary income, buoyancy in Central, State and local tax receipts can contribute towards overall socio-economic improvement and accelerated growth in the economy. Conclusion A perusal of the study has brought to light that tourism is one economic sector in India that has the potential to grow at an exponential rate and can ensure consequential development of the infrastructure of the destinations. It has the capacity to capitalize on the country‟s success in the services sector and provide sustainable models of growth. It has the potential to stimulate other economic sectors through its backward and forward linkages and cross-sectoral synergies with sectors like agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, transport, construction, etc. Expenditure on tourism induces a chain of transactions requiring supply of goods and services from these related sectors. Therefore, the Government of India should continue to adopt policies that encourage travellers including a new visa regime, enabling investment in vital infrastructure, and developing a facilitating business environment. India is a beautiful and diverse tourism destination; with the right policies in place, it will no doubt continue to grow towards ranking even higher in terms of its tourism economy. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is a British business within the Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports. Compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is a business and investing specific term for the geometric progression ratio that provides a constant rate of return over the time period. World Tourism Organisation (WTO) is the United Nation‟s agency managing promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism and its barometer ranks countries in terms of their international tourist arrivals (ITAs), comprising
Tourism in India both foreign tourist arrivals as well as non-resident arrivals.
References Report of the Working Group on Tourism, Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-17), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, New Delhi. www.assocham.org. www.incredibleindia.org.
2 Growth and Performance of Indian Tourism Industry Chidanand Patil and Chaitra G.B. Introduction United Nations has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in its 70th General Assembly Meeting recalling the potential of tourism to advance the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The year 2017 is aimed to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards a more sustainable tourism sector that can contribute effectively to the SDGs. The World Tourism Organization‟s Secretary General, Taleb Rifai opined, “This is a unique opportunity to build a more responsible and committed tourism sector that can capitalize its immense potential in terms of economic prosperity, social inclusion, peace and understanding, cultural and environmental preservation”. Tourism sector accounts for 7 percent of worldwide exports, 10 percent of the world‟s GDP and one in eleven jobs, and if the tourism sector is managed well, it can foster inclusive economic growth, social inclusiveness and protection of natural and cultural assets. The International Year 2017 is aimed at promoting tourism‟s role in the five key areas namely, inclusive and sustainable economic growth; social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction; resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change; cultural values, diversity and heritage; and mutual understanding, peace and security.
This paper examines the growth and performance of tourism industry in India while evaluating its contribution to employment generation in the country. Tourism Industry in India Among the services sector in India, tourism has emerged as one of the key driver of growth. Besides being an important source of foreign exchange for India, tourism is also a potentially large employment generator in India. Due to the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, places of natural beauty which are spread across the nation, tourism sector has a significant potential in India. Market Size: Rising middle class population and increasing disposable incomes in India have continued to support the growth of domestic as well as outbound tourism. As per the report of Ministry of Tourism, the domestic tourist visits to the States/Union Territories (UTs) grew by 15.5 percent year-on-year to 1.65 billion during 2016 and the top ten States/UTs contributed about 84.2 percent to the total number of domestic tourist visits. During May 2017, the foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India increased 19.5 percent year-on-year to 6,30,000 and FTAs on e-tourist visa increased to 68,000 with year-on-year increase of 55.3 percent. According to the data of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, the foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) of India through tourism increased by 32 percent year-on-year to reach US$ 2.278 billion in April 2017. By 2030, India is expected to move up five spots to be ranked among the top five business travel markets globally and the business travel spending in the country is expected to treble from US$ 30 billion in 2015. Investments: The tourism and hospitality sector is one of the sectors in India which attracts the highest foreign direct investment (FDI) among the top 10 sectors. According to the data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and
Promotion (DIPP), the hotel and tourism sector attracted around US$ 10.14 billion of foreign direct investment during the period April 2000 to March 2017. Many companies have invested in tourism and hospitality sector in India due to the increased demand of global tourists towards tourism in India. In the year 2016, travel and tourism sector attracted a capital investment of ` 2,284.9 billion and it is anticipated to rise by 4.5 percent in 2017, and is expected to rise by 5.7 percent per annum over the next ten years. Foreign Tourist Arrivals into India Table 2.1 presents the foreign tourist arrivals into India for the period 2000 to 2017. The quantum leap of foreign tourist arrivals in India has increased from 2.65 million in 2000 to 8.80 million in 2016 and this has registered a positive significant compounded annual growth rate of 8.67 percent. Between the years 2000 and 2016, the tourist arrivals into India barring the years 2001, 2002 and 2009 showed an increasing trend in absolute terms, but in relative terms, the percentage change in tourist arrivals showed an increasing annual growth rate of 8.67 percent. The decrease in foreign tourist arrivals to India during 2001, 2002 and 2009 may be attributed to political disturbances, global and domestic financial crisis and terrorism. FTAs in India during the year 2010 were 5.78 million with a growth rate of 11.8 percent as compared to the FTAs of 5.17 million and growth rate of -2.2 percent during the year 2009. The major reason for growth rate in foreign tourists‟ arrival in the year 2010 can be attributed to Commonwealth Games organized by India. During the last three years, the new government has launched several key projects as well as continued some old projects of the previous government to boost the travel and tourism sector. Among its top initiatives are Swachh Bharat, electronic visa, digital application, and Udan among others. The variation in arrivals of tourists in India during the study
period was registered at 39.49 percent. Table 2.1: Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India, 2000-2017 Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 CAGR CV
FTA in India (in million) 2.65 2.54 2.38 2.73 3.46 3.92 4.45 5.08 5.28 5.17 5.78 6.31 6.58 6.97 7.68 8.03 8.80 8.67 % 39.49 %
Percentage change over the previous year -4.20 -6.00 14.30 26.80 13.30 13.50 14.30 4.00 -2.20 11.80 9.20 4.30 5.90 10.20 4.50 9.70
Foreign Exchange Earnings from Tourism in India Tourism sector is one of the important sectors of the Indian economy which contributes substantially towards country‟s foreign exchange earnings (FEEs). Table 2.2 depicts the FEEs from tourism in India during the period 2000 to 2016 along with the percentage change over the previous year. It is crystal clear that the foreign earnings have increased from US$ 3,460 million in 2000 to US$ 22,923 million in 2016 representing a positive and spectacular compounded annual growth rate of 14.24 percent. It indicates that the tourism industry in India has given continuous foreign exchange earnings to India. Higher instability was noticed in the quantum of FEEs from tourism in India. Table 2.2: Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) from Tourism in India, 2000-2016 (US$ million) Year FEE from Tourism in Percentage change over India the previous year 2000 3,460 2001 3,198 -7.60 2002 3,103 -3.00 2003 4,463 43.80 2004 6,170 38.20 2005 7,493 21.40 2006 8,634 15.20 2007 10,729 24.30 2008 11,832 10.30 2009 11,136 -5.90 2010 14,193 27.50 2011 16,564 16.70 2012 17,737 7.10 2013 18,445 4.00 2014 20,236 9.70 2015 21,071 4.10 2016 22,923 8.80 CAGR 14.24 % CV 56.76 %
The “Incredible India” campaign which was launched in 2002 was one of the successful campaigns and its results were reflected in increase in the FEEs. International tourism receipts were stagnated at US$ 3103 million before the launch of Incredible India campaign and after its launch in 2002, FEEs increased to US$ 4,463 million in 2003 and during 2016 the FEEs from tourism stood at US$ 22,923 million. World Travel and Tourism Council says the travel and tourism contributes to 9.6 percent of the GDP and is expected to rise by 10 percent of the GDP in 2027.
Share of India vis-à-vis World and Asia-Pacific Region in International Tourist Arrivals Table 2.3 denotes India‟s share of world tourist arrivals and Asia-Pacific Region for the period 2000 to 2016. Table 2.3: Share of India in International Tourist Arrivals (ITAs) in World and Asia-Pacific Region, 2000-2016 Year
International tourist arrivals in the World and Asia-Pacific region has reached 1.8 and 2.8 times respectively but for India the number has increased to 5.5 times during the study period. The number of tourist arrivals in the world has increased from 683.3 million in 2000 to 1,235 million in 2016, registering a compounded annual growth rate of 3.95 percent. Fascinatingly, the number of international tourist arrivals in Asia-Pacific Region also increased from 109.3 million in 2000 to 308.7 million in 2016 with a positive and significant growth rate of 6.72 percent. Meanwhile, the number of international tourist arrivals into India increased from 2.65 million in 2000 to 14.57 million in 2016 recording a positive and remarkable growth rate of 11.57 percent. Though India‟s share in international tourist arrivals was meagre compared to the Asia-Pacific Region, its share in the world tourist arrivals increased from 0.39 percent in 2000 to 1.18 percent in 2016 accounting for an impressive share of 4.72 percent of foreign tourist arrivals in the Asia-Pacific Region in 2016. India‟s rank in international tourist arrivals which was 50 and 11 in World and Asia Pacific Region in 2000 has improved to 25 and 8 respectively in 2016. The World Travel and Tourism Council state that India is one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the world and by 2027, is expected to support 4,98,68,000 jobs (9.6 percent of total employment), an increase of 2 percent per annum over the period. It is clear from Table 2.3 that the share of India in international tourist arrivals is continuously increasing in World and also in Asia-Pacific Region. Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrival Table 2.4 reveals that the majority of tourist arrivals are from Bangladesh followed by United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Share of Bangladesh, United States and United Kingdom in foreign tourist arrivals in India in 2016 was 15.68 percent, 14.73 percent and 10.70 percent respectively. The share of top ten countries in FTAs in India was 63.44 percent in 2016. The results indicate that the tourism industry in India is vibrant and considerably substantial and country is becoming a major global destination for tourism. Contribution of Tourism Industry to Employment Tourism sector plays a significant role both directly and indirectly in creating the job opportunities. The Indian government makes efforts to improve the employment opportunities in the tourism sector through international
collaborations and by setting development plans. Total and direct contribution of travel and tourism industry to employment is represented in Table 2.5. Direct contribution to employment refers to the number of direct jobs within the travel and tourism industry whereas, total contribution to employment refers to the number of jobs generated directly in the travel and tourism industry plus the indirect and induced contributions. Table 2.4: Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India in 2016 S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Source Country Bangladesh United States United Kingdom Canada Malaysia Sri Lanka Australia Germany China France Total Top 10 Countries Others Total
FTAs 13,80,409 12,96,939 9,41,883 3,17,239 3,01,961 2,97,418 2,93,625 2,65,928 2,51,313 2,38,707 55,85,422 32,18,989 88,04,411
Percent Share 15.68 14.73 10.70 3.60 3.43 3.38 3.33 3.02 2.85 2.71 63.44 36.56 100.00
Tourism Infrastructure Availability of good infrastructure is one of the essential requirements at selected tourist destinations. The infrastructure for tourism includes as under: 1. Travel infrastructure networks like airports, railways, roads, waterways, and telecommunications. 2. Amenities like electricity, water supply, drainage, sewerage, solid waste disposal systems. 3. Tourism facilities like accommodation, restaurants, recreational facilities, shopping malls, cable cars etc.
amenities. Based on this, a comprehensive integrated physical and financial plan should be prepared through a community participatory process. The plan should identify, inter alia, the winners and losers, agencies responsible for executing the subcomponents of the plan and the timelines for achieving the milestones. The integrated plan should be approved and monitored by the Ministry of Tourism. Easy access to tourism destinations in terms of international transport and facilities for easy movement within the destinations are prerequisites for the development of tourism. India‟s ability to open up new areas and properly service emerging tourism resorts, while also providing access to natural tourism attractions and circuits for tours will significantly depend upon its ability to quickly improve the airport density and quality of rail and roads. In terms of investment, especially private investment, tourist accommodation represents the most expensive facility in tourist resorts. In the past few decades, the character and composition of tourist accommodation has undergone considerable changes. New types of accommodation, such as self-catering units, home stay, budget hotel accommodation and camping sites, have evolved to meet market demands for increased levels of independence, self-sufficiency, informality, economy and convenience. Such changes have been influenced by the emergence of the new types of travellers and the tourists who invest in a holiday home or unit in a preferred tourism destination. As the spectrum of travellers has undergone transformation, there have also been changes in the requirements for traditional hotel accommodation. The availability of hotel rooms in India is extremely limited. Further, there is an acute shortage of land in urban areas particularly in cities due to land market distortions. Therefore, the prospect of large-scale new traditional hotel accommodation is extremely limited. It is imperative to expand the number of registrations under the home stay scheme in various stays so as to significantly augment hotel room capacity in India. This will open up new livelihood opportunities for the local people. Conclusion Travel and tourism industry is one of the key sectors of the Indian economy leading the international trade in services and denoting the leading income activity for many parts of the country. Indian tourism industry is attracting many foreigners and showing a good growth, and has a vast potential for employment generation and earning large amount of foreign exchange as well as giving a boost to the country‟s overall economic and social development. Tourism sector in India should be improved in such a way that it entertains visitors in a way which is minimally destructive to the nature. All wings of the Central as well as the State governments, voluntary organizations and private sector players must become active partners in the endeavour for attaining sustainable growth in tourism because tourism itself is a basically a service industry. Various events Cricket World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Kumbh Mela have contributed a lot to promote tourism in India. A policy implication which may be drawn from this study is that adequate measures must be initiated for maintaining the growth patterns of the Indian tourism industry. Through good forward and backward linkages between a host of sectors like hospitality, transport, health, agriculture, banking, education, etc., India can reap the full potential of this vibrant sector. References Kakkar, L. and Sapna (2012), “Impact of Tourism on Indian Economy”, International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services and Management Research, 1 (4), pp. 70-75. Kaur, M. and Sharma, N. (2012), “Growth and Development of Indian Tourism Industry”, Journal of Hospitality Application and Research, 7 (2), pp. 14-24. Padmasree, K. and Devi, B. (2011), “The Performance of the Indian Tourism Industry in the Era of Globalization: A Conventional Study‟, African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 1 (4), pp. 1-5. Patel, R. (2012), “India‟s Tourism Industry: Progress and Emerging Issues”, Arth Prabhand: A Journal of Economics and Management, 1 (5), pp. 1-10. “Three Years of Modi Government: Tourism Sector”, (2017, May 26), available at: http://businessworld.in/article/Three-Years-Of-Modi-GovtTourism-Sector/26-05-2017-119002. “Tourism and Hospitality Industry in India”, (n.d.), available at: https://www.ibef.org/industry/tourism-hospitality-india.aspx World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (n.d.), available at: http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2017-01-03/2017international-year-sustainable-tourism-development.
3 Services Trade of India and Tourism Parmjeet Kaur and Manpreet Kaur Introduction In global economy, tourism has appeared as a key sector and it has developed into a main labour force in world trade. In present economic scenario, it has been making an innovative and momentous impact on the whole economy of the world. Tourism has been identified as a major export industry in the world. The comprehensive nature of this business makes it a mechanism for economic progress and assists in balanced regional growth. It has provided big opportunity to earn foreign exchange at low social cost and because of this reason it is a low capital, labour intensive industry. Tourism trade plays a vital role for both economic and social change and it encourages employment and investment, change fiscal formation and makes positive contribution towards balance of payments. When tourists go to another country and spend the money in this process, the total income earned from tourism is number of times more than the real payments. Regarding this process, the multiplier effect of tourism receipts is totally familiar as dispersal to secondary and tertiary areas of the economic actions of a country. In the context of tourism, marketing and promotion both are important because of the aggressive environment of the industry both within and between the countries. It creates direct, indirect and induced employment and creates a huge variety of employment from highly capable and skilled managers of five-star hotels to room boys, sales girls, and artisans. With the growth of this trade, new prospects of employment have opened up for the unemployed and underemployed youth of the developing countries.
Literature Review Deardorff (2000) examined the special role that trade liberalization in service industries can play in stimulating not only trade in services itself, but also in enhancing gains from trade in goods. International trade in goods requires inputs from several services industries such as transportation, insurance, and finance in order to complete and facilitate international transactions. As a result, trade liberalization in services can yield benefits, by facilitating trade in goods, which are larger than one might expect from analysis of the services trade alone. The study also shows that, trade liberalization in services can also stimulate fragmentation of production of both goods and services, thus increasing international trade and the gains from trade even further. Matto et al. (2001) in their study analysed measuring of services and trade liberalization and its impact on economic growth. Cross-country regression for a sample of 60 countries for the period 1990-99, concluded that services liberalization is different from trade in goods because the former involves factor mobility and leads to scale effects that are distinctive though not unique. Second, it is possible to construct policybased rather than outcome-based measures of openness for the services sectors that capture these differences. Third, there is some econometric evidence relatively strong for the financial sector and less strong but nevertheless statistically significant for the telecommunications sector that openness in services influences long-run growth performance. Their estimates suggested that countries with fully open telecom and financial services sectors grow up to 1.5 percentage points faster than other countries. The authors suggested that the above results, however, need to be refined by incorporating more information in the construction of indices of openness and testing whether they hold for other services sectors too. Mitra (2009) examined the impact of trade on services sector employment in India. These exercises have been pursued separately for four broad groups of services: trade and
hotels, finance and business services, transport, storage and communication and community, social and personal services. Since there is no time series information on the informal service sector employment, NSS surveys on the informal sector employment for the years 1999-2000 and 2004-05 were considered and the cross-sectional information was used to examine the relationship between the formal and informal sectors. He suggested about the possibility of close links between growth and employment. He concludes that in the recent past, the acceleration in economic growth is able to translate itself into employment growth as well. Chadda et al. (2010) assessed the growth, composition and comparative advantage of India‟s service trade for 27 years period from 1980 to 2007. Results suggest that services exports in the post-reform period have witnessed tremendous growth in transportation, travel and other commercial services. But it is the other commercial category which has led India‟s success story. Hence, these are the service categories where India needs to focus its attention. The change in the global scene and other economic and political factors are responsible for propelling the growth of India‟s service sector. India definitely has the right elements for becoming the preferred service provider as discussed in the present paper. This growth has helped India gain economic stability, confidence and respect at the international level. Now it is crucial to develop a long-term perspective. Mukherjee (2012) recognized main number of obstacles faced by the services sector and suggests policy measures, which if implemented will lead to inclusive growth, increased productivity, generating quality employment, and increasing trade and investment. The methodology which is used in this study is based upon the RCA method. This study reveals that services sector is the fastest growing sector in India, contributing significantly to GDP, trade and FDI inflows. The share of services sector in India‟s total trade is higher than the global average and India is among the top 10 WTO member
countries in services exports and imports. He concludes that India‟s export competitiveness is in a few services sector and there are wide variations in growth across different sub-sectors of services. Services sector faces a number of barriers, which makes it difficult for the sector to reach its full potential and contribute to inclusive growth. He suggested reform measures that will enable the services sector to not only grow at a fast pace but also create quality employment and attract investment. Economic Growth and Global Tourism In every society, tourism has been considered as a social phenomenon and it is influenced by the natural support of every human being for new experience, adventure, education and entertainment. The incentive for tourism also includes social, religious and business interests and it raises the knowledge to know more about different parts of the world. The essential human desire for new experience and education has grown to be stronger, as communication obstacles are getting overcome by technological advances. Due to progress of air transport and development of tourist services, it provides an optimistic vision for people to roam around the world. For the development and growth of undeveloped and backward areas, tourism plays an important and significant role in the global economy. In terms of gross revenue and foreign exchange earnings, tourism also has an important concept. It can play a significant and successful role in attaining the growth with justice—goals which India has set for itself. In Indian economy, tourism trade is one economic sector that has the potential to produce at a high rate and can facilitate major development of the infrastructure sector for sustainable purposes. It also has the potential for growth of the sector through its backward and forward linkages and crosssectoral synergies with sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, transport, construction etc. In the case of tourism, direct employment multiplier is not
Services Trade of India and Tourism
fairly high and direct employment of one person is estimated at 2.36 and in case of other sectors it is 1.36 due to linkages with tourism. These connections are in the following sectors, namely, agriculture horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, construction, sports etc. Regarding labour/capital ratio, it is very favourable in the tourism sector compared to various other industries with 47.5 jobs for a million rupee investment as has been seen in the survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India. Tourism sector encompasses private sector service in a substantial way, while the public sector has a considerable role to play in infrastructure areas either directly or through public-privatepartnership (PPP) approach. The other related sectors include airlines, surface transport, hotels, basic infrastructure and facilitation systems, etc. Consequently, the growth of tourism cannot be attained unless the issues related to all the above sectors are addressed simultaneously. Tourism also encourages maintenance of monuments and heritage properties and helps in the survival of arts forms, crafts and culture. It is also important to note that tourism has become an instrument for sustainable human development because it helps in creating jobs, reducing poverty, preserving the environment, and contributing to women empowerment. Tourism in India Tourism is a fairly large industry in India from various angles and contributes substantially to foreign exchange earnings and acts as a facilitator of employment opportunities. As we know, at the global level, India is the biggest democratic republic with enormous potential of expansion in the tourism sector. With its vast cultural and religious heritage and varied natural attractions, the country has an insufficient share in world tourism. It is a land of natural beauty having tropical weather to snowy mountains and depicts a diversity of rare natural and cultural endowments. It has plenty of natural beauty ranging from the towering Himalayas in the north to the
collaborations and by setting development plans. Total and direct contribution of travel and tourism industry to employment is represented in Table 2.5. Direct contribution to employment refers to the number of direct jobs within the travel and tourism industry whereas, total contribution to employment refers to the number of jobs generated directly in the travel and tourism industry plus the indirect and induced contributions. Table 2.4: Source Countries for Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India in 2016 S. No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Source Country Bangladesh United States United Kingdom Canada Malaysia Sri Lanka Australia Germany China France Total Top 10 Countries Others Total
FTAs 13,80,409 12,96,939 9,41,883 3,17,239 3,01,961 2,97,418 2,93,625 2,65,928 2,51,313 2,38,707 55,85,422 32,18,989 88,04,411
Percent Share 15.68 14.73 10.70 3.60 3.43 3.38 3.33 3.02 2.85 2.71 63.44 36.56 100.00
Tourism Infrastructure Availability of good infrastructure is one of the essential requirements at selected tourist destinations. The infrastructure for tourism includes as under: 1. Travel infrastructure networks like airports, railways, roads, waterways, and telecommunications. 2. Amenities like electricity, water supply, drainage, sewerage, solid waste disposal systems. 3. Tourism facilities like accommodation, restaurants, recreational facilities, shopping malls, cable cars etc.
The operation of tourism facilities, services and amenities are often dependent on a number of travel infrastructure networks. The most usual case in tourism development is for infrastructure development to precede the completion of the tourism facilities. This means that the installation of the infrastructure becomes a public sector responsibility. The case for infrastructure services being a public sector responsibility is based on the consideration that the network of services is available to both tourists and residents of the area and the construction of an integrated system would also facilitate nontourism development within the region. The strategy for development of tourism infrastructure should essentially focus on identifying clusters of habitations/destinations having unique craft, ethnic art form, culture and heritage, natural spots for development as tourism products and development of tourist circuits/destinations around them with the active participation of local communities. As part of this strategy, State Governments should be expected to identify at least one integrated tourist circuit, map all the tangible and intangible natural and cultural assets along the circuit, estimate the sustainable destination carrying capacity and undertake a gap analysis of the travel infrastructure network and tourism facilities, services and
amenities. Based on this, a comprehensive integrated physical and financial plan should be prepared through a community participatory process. The plan should identify, inter alia, the winners and losers, agencies responsible for executing the subcomponents of the plan and the timelines for achieving the milestones. The integrated plan should be approved and monitored by the Ministry of Tourism. Easy access to tourism destinations in terms of international transport and facilities for easy movement within the destinations are prerequisites for the development of tourism. India‟s ability to open up new areas and properly service emerging tourism resorts, while also providing access to natural tourism attractions and circuits for tours will significantly depend upon its ability to quickly improve the airport density and quality of rail and roads. In terms of investment, especially private investment, tourist accommodation represents the most expensive facility in tourist resorts. In the past few decades, the character and composition of tourist accommodation has undergone considerable changes. New types of accommodation, such as self-catering units, home stay, budget hotel accommodation and camping sites, have evolved to meet market demands for increased levels of independence, self-sufficiency, informality, economy and convenience. Such changes have been influenced by the emergence of the new types of travellers and the tourists who invest in a holiday home or unit in a preferred tourism destination. As the spectrum of travellers has undergone transformation, there have also been changes in the requirements for traditional hotel accommodation. The availability of hotel rooms in India is extremely limited. Further, there is an acute shortage of land in urban areas particularly in cities due to land market distortions. Therefore, the prospect of large-scale new traditional hotel accommodation is extremely limited. It is imperative to expand the number of registrations under the home stay scheme in various stays so as to significantly augment hotel room capacity in India. This will open up new livelihood opportunities for the local people. Conclusion Travel and tourism industry is one of the key sectors of the Indian economy leading the international trade in services and denoting the leading income activity for many parts of the country. Indian tourism industry is attracting many foreigners and showing a good growth, and has a vast potential for employment generation and earning large amount of foreign exchange as well as giving a boost to the country‟s overall economic and social development. Tourism sector in India should be improved in such a way that it entertains visitors in a way which is minimally destructive to the nature. All wings of the Central as well as the State governments, voluntary organizations and private sector players must become active partners in the endeavour for attaining sustainable growth in tourism because tourism itself is a basically a service industry. Various events Cricket World Cup, Commonwealth Games and Kumbh Mela have contributed a lot to promote tourism in India. A policy implication which may be drawn from this study is that adequate measures must be initiated for maintaining the growth patterns of the Indian tourism industry. Through good forward and backward linkages between a host of sectors like hospitality, transport, health, agriculture, banking, education, etc., India can reap the full potential of this vibrant sector. References Kakkar, L. and Sapna (2012), “Impact of Tourism on Indian Economy”, International Journal of Marketing, Financial Services and Management Research, 1 (4), pp. 70-75. Kaur, M. and Sharma, N. (2012), “Growth and Development of Indian Tourism Industry”, Journal of Hospitality Application and Research, 7 (2), pp. 14-24. Padmasree, K. and Devi, B. (2011), “The Performance of the Indian Tourism Industry in the Era of Globalization: A Conventional Study‟, African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 1 (4), pp. 1-5. Patel, R. (2012), “India‟s Tourism Industry: Progress and Emerging Issues”, Arth Prabhand: A Journal of Economics and Management, 1 (5), pp. 1-10. “Three Years of Modi Government: Tourism Sector”, (2017, May 26), available at: http://businessworld.in/article/Three-Years-Of-Modi-GovtTourism-Sector/26-05-2017-119002. “Tourism and Hospitality Industry in India”, (n.d.), available at: https://www.ibef.org/industry/tourism-hospitality-india.aspx World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (n.d.), available at: http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2017-01-03/2017international-year-sustainable-tourism-development.
3 Services Trade of India and Tourism Parmjeet Kaur and Manpreet Kaur Introduction In global economy, tourism has appeared as a key sector and it has developed into a main labour force in world trade. In present economic scenario, it has been making an innovative and momentous impact on the whole economy of the world. Tourism has been identified as a major export industry in the world. The comprehensive nature of this business makes it a mechanism for economic progress and assists in balanced regional growth. It has provided big opportunity to earn foreign exchange at low social cost and because of this reason it is a low capital, labour intensive industry. Tourism trade plays a vital role for both economic and social change and it encourages employment and investment, change fiscal formation and makes positive contribution towards balance of payments. When tourists go to another country and spend the money in this process, the total income earned from tourism is number of times more than the real payments. Regarding this process, the multiplier effect of tourism receipts is totally familiar as dispersal to secondary and tertiary areas of the economic actions of a country. In the context of tourism, marketing and promotion both are important because of the aggressive environment of the industry both within and between the countries. It creates direct, indirect and induced employment and creates a huge variety of employment from highly capable and skilled managers of five-star hotels to room boys, sales girls, and artisans. With the growth of this trade, new prospects of employment have opened up for the unemployed and underemployed youth of the developing countries.
Literature Review Deardorff (2000) examined the special role that trade liberalization in service industries can play in stimulating not only trade in services itself, but also in enhancing gains from trade in goods. International trade in goods requires inputs from several services industries such as transportation, insurance, and finance in order to complete and facilitate international transactions. As a result, trade liberalization in services can yield benefits, by facilitating trade in goods, which are larger than one might expect from analysis of the services trade alone. The study also shows that, trade liberalization in services can also stimulate fragmentation of production of both goods and services, thus increasing international trade and the gains from trade even further. Matto et al. (2001) in their study analysed measuring of services and trade liberalization and its impact on economic growth. Cross-country regression for a sample of 60 countries for the period 1990-99, concluded that services liberalization is different from trade in goods because the former involves factor mobility and leads to scale effects that are distinctive though not unique. Second, it is possible to construct policybased rather than outcome-based measures of openness for the services sectors that capture these differences. Third, there is some econometric evidence relatively strong for the financial sector and less strong but nevertheless statistically significant for the telecommunications sector that openness in services influences long-run growth performance. Their estimates suggested that countries with fully open telecom and financial services sectors grow up to 1.5 percentage points faster than other countries. The authors suggested that the above results, however, need to be refined by incorporating more information in the construction of indices of openness and testing whether they hold for other services sectors too. Mitra (2009) examined the impact of trade on services sector employment in India. These exercises have been pursued separately for four broad groups of services: trade and
hotels, finance and business services, transport, storage and communication and community, social and personal services. Since there is no time series information on the informal service sector employment, NSS surveys on the informal sector employment for the years 1999-2000 and 2004-05 were considered and the cross-sectional information was used to examine the relationship between the formal and informal sectors. He suggested about the possibility of close links between growth and employment. He concludes that in the recent past, the acceleration in economic growth is able to translate itself into employment growth as well. Chadda et al. (2010) assessed the growth, composition and comparative advantage of India‟s service trade for 27 years period from 1980 to 2007. Results suggest that services exports in the post-reform period have witnessed tremendous growth in transportation, travel and other commercial services. But it is the other commercial category which has led India‟s success story. Hence, these are the service categories where India needs to focus its attention. The change in the global scene and other economic and political factors are responsible for propelling the growth of India‟s service sector. India definitely has the right elements for becoming the preferred service provider as discussed in the present paper. This growth has helped India gain economic stability, confidence and respect at the international level. Now it is crucial to develop a long-term perspective. Mukherjee (2012) recognized main number of obstacles faced by the services sector and suggests policy measures, which if implemented will lead to inclusive growth, increased productivity, generating quality employment, and increasing trade and investment. The methodology which is used in this study is based upon the RCA method. This study reveals that services sector is the fastest growing sector in India, contributing significantly to GDP, trade and FDI inflows. The share of services sector in India‟s total trade is higher than the global average and India is among the top 10 WTO member
countries in services exports and imports. He concludes that India‟s export competitiveness is in a few services sector and there are wide variations in growth across different sub-sectors of services. Services sector faces a number of barriers, which makes it difficult for the sector to reach its full potential and contribute to inclusive growth. He suggested reform measures that will enable the services sector to not only grow at a fast pace but also create quality employment and attract investment. Economic Growth and Global Tourism In every society, tourism has been considered as a social phenomenon and it is influenced by the natural support of every human being for new experience, adventure, education and entertainment. The incentive for tourism also includes social, religious and business interests and it raises the knowledge to know more about different parts of the world. The essential human desire for new experience and education has grown to be stronger, as communication obstacles are getting overcome by technological advances. Due to progress of air transport and development of tourist services, it provides an optimistic vision for people to roam around the world. For the development and growth of undeveloped and backward areas, tourism plays an important and significant role in the global economy. In terms of gross revenue and foreign exchange earnings, tourism also has an important concept. It can play a significant and successful role in attaining the growth with justice—goals which India has set for itself. In Indian economy, tourism trade is one economic sector that has the potential to produce at a high rate and can facilitate major development of the infrastructure sector for sustainable purposes. It also has the potential for growth of the sector through its backward and forward linkages and crosssectoral synergies with sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, transport, construction etc. In the case of tourism, direct employment multiplier is not
Services Trade of India and Tourism
fairly high and direct employment of one person is estimated at 2.36 and in case of other sectors it is 1.36 due to linkages with tourism. These connections are in the following sectors, namely, agriculture horticulture, poultry, handicrafts, construction, sports etc. Regarding labour/capital ratio, it is very favourable in the tourism sector compared to various other industries with 47.5 jobs for a million rupee investment as has been seen in the survey conducted by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India. Tourism sector encompasses private sector service in a substantial way, while the public sector has a considerable role to play in infrastructure areas either directly or through public-privatepartnership (PPP) approach. The other related sectors include airlines, surface transport, hotels, basic infrastructure and facilitation systems, etc. Consequently, the growth of tourism cannot be attained unless the issues related to all the above sectors are addressed simultaneously. Tourism also encourages maintenance of monuments and heritage properties and helps in the survival of arts forms, crafts and culture. It is also important to note that tourism has become an instrument for sustainable human development because it helps in creating jobs, reducing poverty, preserving the environment, and contributing to women empowerment. Tourism in India Tourism is a fairly large industry in India from various angles and contributes substantially to foreign exchange earnings and acts as a facilitator of employment opportunities. As we know, at the global level, India is the biggest democratic republic with enormous potential of expansion in the tourism sector. With its vast cultural and religious heritage and varied natural attractions, the country has an insufficient share in world tourism. It is a land of natural beauty having tropical weather to snowy mountains and depicts a diversity of rare natural and cultural endowments. It has plenty of natural beauty ranging from the towering Himalayas in the north to the
sun-kissed beaches of the east and the breathtaking beauty of the west. India has its own particular festivals, culinary culture and glorious tradition which are interlinked with the development of tourism in the country. According to great German scholar Max Muller, if we see the whole world scenario to find out the country most richly capable with all the wealth, power and beauty that nature can bestow it is India. The best tourist states in India include Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana. Although India‟s share in international tourism is less than 0.4 percent, the tourism sector alone accounts for 5.8 percent of the total employment created in India. This sector contributes almost 5.6 percent of the national income. Data and Methodology The present study is entirely based on secondary data and covers the time-period from 2000 to 2013. The study mainly covers the period of second decade of globalization, i.e. 2000 to 2013. Limitation of the study is that data of India‟s services trade has been collected from 2000 to 2013. The study includes the secondary data from the following different sources. Data related to service trade is also obtained from the followingsources: Data for India‟s services trade has been collected from World Trade Organization (WTO). Data for India‟s trade in services performance,composition and direction have been compiled from World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Service Trade and International Trade Center (ITC). Data for calculation of different indices like revealed comparative advantage (RCA) and indicative export potential have been collected from World Trade Organization (WTO), United Nations Service Trade and International Trade Center (ITC). Table 3.1 presents classification of major services in trade.
Services Trade of India and Tourism
Tourism in India
specialization of India with selected countries is calculated using the Balassa‟s revealed comparative advantage (RCA) for the average of years for the period 2000-2013 for particular services. Revealed Comparative Advantage Index Balassa‟s index (1965) of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) has been used to assess a country‟s export potential. A variation of his formula was further interpreted by Donges and Riedel (1977); Browen (1983) and Vollrath (1991). It is also more critically reviewed by Lapadre (2001). The index has been calculated at sector and services level using the SITC digit level classification. The RCA indicates whether a country is in the process of extending the services in which it has the export potential, as opposed to situation in which the number of services that can be traded with the new partners. Export competitiveness of individual service category will be calculated by revealed comparative advantage index given by Balassa (1965). RCAij= (XiJ/XWJ)/ (Xi/XW) Where, RCAij= revealed comparative advantage of the ith country‟s jth service. Xij= exports of the jth service by the ith country. Xi= total service exports of the ith country. Xwj= world exports of the jth service. Xj= total world exports of services. RCAij ranges from (0) to (+∞). A value of less than unity implies that the country has a less revealed comparative advantage in that service. Similarly, if the index exceeds unity, the country is said to have a stronger revealed comparative advantage in that service. If the value is equal to one, the country‟s specialization in a service is identical with the world specialization in that commodity (Balassa, 1977). Overview of Performance of India’s Tourism Table 3.2 shows India‟s service trade with world
Services Trade of India and Tourism
Tourism in India
specialization of India with selected countries is calculated using the Balassa‟s revealed comparative advantage (RCA) for the average of years for the period 2000-2013 for particular services. Revealed Comparative Advantage Index Balassa‟s index (1965) of revealed comparative advantage (RCA) has been used to assess a country‟s export potential. A variation of his formula was further interpreted by Donges and Riedel (1977); Browen (1983) and Vollrath (1991). It is also more critically reviewed by Lapadre (2001). The index has been calculated at sector and services level using the SITC digit level classification. The RCA indicates whether a country is in the process of extending the services in which it has the export potential, as opposed to situation in which the number of services that can be traded with the new partners. Export competitiveness of individual service category will be calculated by revealed comparative advantage index given by Balassa (1965). RCAij= (XiJ/XWJ)/ (Xi/XW) Where, RCAij= revealed comparative advantage of the ith country‟s jth service. Xij= exports of the jth service by the ith country. Xi= total service exports of the ith country. Xwj= world exports of the jth service. Xj= total world exports of services. RCAij ranges from (0) to (+∞). A value of less than unity implies that the country has a less revealed comparative advantage in that service. Similarly, if the index exceeds unity, the country is said to have a stronger revealed comparative advantage in that service. If the value is equal to one, the country‟s specialization in a service is identical with the world specialization in that commodity (Balassa, 1977). Overview of Performance of India’s Tourism Table 3.2 shows India‟s service trade with world
Tourism Industry in India: Gears and Glows V. Palanisingh, V. Abdul Salahudeen and T.R. Gurumoorthy Introduction The Indian tourism and hospitality industry has emerged as one of the key drivers of economic growth and development of Indian economy among the services sectors in India. Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, and terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the country. The Indian tourism industry is a large employment generator, besides being a significant source of foreign exchange earnings for the country. Tourism is a major engine of economic growth and an important source of foreign exchange earnings in many countries including India. It has a great capacity to create large-scale employment of diverse kind— from the most specialized to the unskilled and hence can play a major role in the creation of additional employment opportunities. It can also play an important role in achieving growth with equity. The Ministry of Tourism has the main objective of increasing and facilitating tourism in India. The Government of India has identified niche products, to promote India as a 365 days destination, attract tourists with specific interest, and to ensure repeat visits for the unique products in which India has a comparative advantage. The niche products identified by the Ministry of Tourism include cruise, adventure, medical, wellness, golf, polo, meetings, incentiveS,
Rural tourism. Undoubtedly tourism in India has a remarkable variety and contributes substantially to the economy, particularly in providing jobs—full time or part time. Growth in international tourist arrivals during the recent years has been significant. International tourism has also provided sustenance to the Indian handicrafts industry (carpets and other handcrafted textile products, brassware, inlaid marble and rosewood, bidri, paper mache etc). Beaches are one of the most important destinations for the affluent tourists. India has a coastline of 6,000 kilometres but beach tourism is not well developed; Goa being the only international beach tourism destination in the country. One factor, which affects the competitiveness of beach tourism in India, is the stringent coastal regulations zone (CRZ) requirements, under which a hotel cannot be built within 200 metres of the coast. Such a restriction does not exist in any successful beach destination in the world. Meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) is another area of tourism in which India lacks in competitiveness because of lack of world class conference centre apart from Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan, which is normally reserved for government conferences. Whether it is heritage tourism or beach tourism, the foreign tourists as well as domestic leisure travellers want some form of entertainment, particularly in the evening
Conclusion
Tourism in India has emerged as one of the most significant sectors contributing to economic growth, employment generation, foreign exchange earnings, infrastructure development, and socio-cultural integration. The study highlights that India possesses immense tourism potential because of its rich cultural heritage, historical monuments, natural diversity, spiritual traditions, wildlife resources, and varied forms of tourism such as eco-tourism, medical tourism, rural tourism, heritage tourism, and adventure tourism. The sector has shown remarkable growth in terms of domestic and foreign tourist arrivals, contribution to GDP, employment creation, and international recognition.
The analysis also reveals that tourism creates strong forward and backward linkages with several sectors including transport, hospitality, handicrafts, agriculture, healthcare, communication, and construction, thereby generating multiplier effects in the economy. Government initiatives such as the “Incredible India” campaign, e-tourist visas, tourism infrastructure development, and sustainable tourism policies have played an important role in promoting India as a global tourism destination.
However, despite its rapid growth, the tourism industry continues to face several challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of hygiene and sanitation facilities, transportation issues, safety and security concerns, poor maintenance of heritage sites, environmental degradation, and uneven regional development. Sustainable tourism development therefore becomes essential to preserve natural and cultural resources while ensuring long-term socio-economic benefits for local communities.
Overall, the tourism industry has the capability to become a major driver of inclusive and sustainable development in India. With effective planning, improved infrastructure, community participation, environmental conservation, technological advancement, and strong government support, India can further strengthen its position as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations.
