India’s Tourism industry

In 2024, India's outbound tourism will exceed USD 42 billion, according to a report recently published under the title "Outbound Travel and Tourism - An Opportunity Untapped.", released by Nangia Andersen LLP in association with FICCI.

Image Source - Sbnri

Travelling "outside" of one's native country for tourism purposes is known as outbound tourism.

Finding of the report

The paper examines the rapidly developing Indian tourism industry and presents a plan for giving visitors and travellers from India more for their money.

Potential:

• By 2024, Indian outbound travel will exceed 42 billion USD.
• Twenty per cent of Indian travellers who travel abroad visit Europe.
• 10% of travellers go to Australia and New Zealand; the remainder goes to Southeast Asia.

For government:

The government might take the following actions to streamline business operations and advance the interests of Indian travel companies:

• Increasing direct connections to well-known and up-and-coming locations,

• Granting permission for foreign cruise ships to operate in Indian waters,
• To advance the outbound tourism sector, etc., strong and coordinated efforts are being made on a number of fronts.
• Our government can definitely create bilateral ties with tourist-friendly nations for both inbound and outgoing tourists if foreign delegations respond favourably to its initiatives.
• International cruise ships, according to the analysis, allowing international cruise ships to call at Indian locations will promote both inbound and outbound travel and boost earnings for Indian ports.

Significance

• India will soon overtake China as the world's most populated nation and have the fastest growing economy.
• India is well-positioned to become one of the most lucrative outbound tourism markets in the world thanks to its expanding economy, young population, and expanding middle class.
• With over 80 million passports and levels of purchasing power, particularly among the middle class, the Indian outbound travel sector is one of the fastest expanding marketplaces internationally.

What is the Scenario of Tourism in India?

• Due to its storied wealth, India used to draw a lot of tourists. An illustration of this is the visit of devoted Chinese Buddhist Hieun-Tsang.
• Emperors like Ashoka and Harsha began constructing rest houses for pilgrims, which gave pilgrim travel a boost.
• The Arthashastra stresses the value of the state's transportation system, which was crucial in the past.
• Following independence, tourism has always been included in the Five Year Plans (FYP).
• After the sixth FYP, various types of tourism, including business tourism, health tourism, and wildlife tourism, were introduced in India.
• The Indian economy and the global economy both benefit greatly from the tourism industry.
• A key tenet of the Make in India initiative is tourism.
• One of the greatest employers in India is the travel and tourism industry, which employed roughly 12.75% of all employment in 2018–19 (direct and indirect employment combined).
• The creation of infrastructure with multiple uses is frequently encouraged by tourism.

Status

• The World Travel and Tourism Council's 2019 report places India's tourism in 10th place for its contribution to global GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
• Travel and tourism contributed 6.8% of the economy's total GDP or Rs. 13,68,100 crore, in 2019. (USD 194.30 billion).
• India currently ranks sixth in the world in terms of the number of sites on the "World Heritage List," with 40 (32 cultural, 7 natural, and 1 mixed site).
• The most recent ones are in Dholavira and Ramappa Temple (Telangana).
• 39 million jobs, or 8.0% of all employment in India in FY20, were related to the tourist industry. It is anticipated to generate roughly 53 million jobs by 2029.

Significance Of Tourism

Service Sector:

• The service sector is given a boost. With the expansion of the tourism industry, a significant number of enterprises engaged in the service sector—such as airlines, hotels, surface transportation, etc.—grow.
• Travellers from other countries assist India in obtaining foreign exchange.
• The foreign exchange earnings increased at a CAGR of 7% from 2016 to 2019, however they decreased in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Preservation of National Heritage:

• By highlighting the significance of sites and the need to conserve them, tourism contributes to the preservation of National Heritage and the environment.

Renewal of Cultural Pride:

• Indian citizens feel proud when their country's tourist attractions are recognised on a worldwide scale.

Infrastructure Development:

• Multiple-use infrastructures are being built in several tourist destinations today to ensure that travellers do not encounter any issues.

Recognization:

• It promotes cross-cultural interchange and assists in putting India on the tourist map of the world.

Promotes Cultural Diplomacy:

• Tourism, a soft power strategy, fosters intercultural understanding and human connections, fostering friendship and international cooperation between India and other nations.

Opportunity

• Over 200 beaches, 38 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and 668 Protected Areas in India have the potential to draw a sizable amount of tourists.
• The Travel and Tourism Competitive Index (TTCI) for 2021 places India at number 54.
• TTCI is a World Economic Forum publication (WEF).
• As visitor exports, tourism and hospitality are expected to generate $50.9 billion by 2028, up from $28.9 billion in 2018.
• Compared to the 43 million jobs directly associated with travel and tourism in 2018, there will be over 53 million jobs in this sector by 2029 (8.1% of all employment).
• India is anticipated to rank among the top 5 markets for business travel by 2030.

Additionally, speciality industries including religious tourism, medical tourism, eco-tourism, and gem and jewellery business may experience growth.

Boost the handicraft sector

• The gems, jewellery, and handicrafts of India are very well-liked by tourists.
• India is quickly becoming the most popular location for medical tourism.

the accessibility of top-notch medical facilities with elite physicians, individualized nursing care, and giving specialist treatments for a cost of one-fourth that of wealthy nations.

Landscape:

• Whether a traveller is looking for adventure, wellness, culture and heritage, or cuisines, the national landscape possesses a gracious natural beauty and can accommodate practically every sort of traveller.
• Due to the service-based nature of the tourism business, the availability of a sizable labour force, both skilled and unskilled, can function as a catalyst.

Challenges

Lack of Infrastructure:

India still has several infrastructure-related issues, including bad roads, bad water, bad sewage, bad hotels, and bad telecoms.

Safety and Security:

A key barrier to the growth of the tourism industry is the safety and security of visitors, particularly foreign visitors. Attacks on foreign nationals cast doubt on India's ability to receive visitors from distant nations.

Lack of Skilled Manpower:

Another issue facing India's tourism sector is a lack of skilled labour.

Lack of essential Amenities:

Lack of essential services like clean, well-maintained restrooms, first aid stations, cafeterias, etc. at popular tourist destinations.

Government scheme to promote tourism

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme: Launched by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), is a Central Sector Program. The goal is to build integrated theme-based tourist circuits around the nation in 2014–15.

• National Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) launched in 2015, Scheme focuses on locating and developing pilgrim sites throughout the nation to encourage religious travel.
• 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat': Declared in 2015 to commemorate Sardar Patel's 140th birthday.

The objective is to improve the ties between the states and India's unity and integrity.

It highlights the states' varied histories, cultures, traditions, and customs.

People can better comprehend and appreciate the diversity of the country through student exchange programs.

• Dekho Apna Desh programme hosts webinars, quizzes, pledge drives, and conversations to keep people in touch with stakeholders and promote domestic travel.
• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), State/UT Governments, and the Ministry of Tourism jointly launched the Adopt Heritage Project in 2017.

It envisions creating and maintaining tourist amenities at historical locations and making them accessible to visitors.

• The North East in 2020

The North Eastern Region's Ministry of Development hosts it every year. The festival emphasises the North East Region's many potentials, including ecotourism, culture, heritage, and business.

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