India’s Potential in Tourism Sector

In News 

Recently ,The National Conference of State Tourism Ministers ended with the adoption of the “Dharamshala Declaration” which affirms commitment toward developing “sustainable and responsible tourism” and positions India as a “global leader in the tourism sector by 2047”.

Potential of Tourism Sector In India

• Tourism and Hospitality sector is one of the largest employment generating sectors in India and has been contributing towards generating a major chunk of Foreign Exchange Earning (FEE).
• India is an experiential destination with its kaleidoscope of ancient culture and heritage, ancient systems of healing like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Naturopathy, natural beauty including 70% of the Himalayas and over 7500 km long coastline, rich flora and fauna, world class medical facilities and many other aspects make India the favoured destination for the discerning traveller. 

• The percentage of Foreign Tourist Arrivals visiting India for Medical Treatment has been increasing over the years and growing rapidly.

• Over the past few months, all the major tourism indices such as domestic air passenger traffic, hotel occupancy and tourist footfalls have shown signs of recovery and are going back to pre-pandemic levels.
• By 2030, India is estimated to grow at 7%-9% compounded annual growth rate and we expect the enabling policy framework to bring in $250 billion in GDP contribution from tourism, 140 million jobs in the tourism sector and $56 billion in foreign exchange earnings with more than 25 million foreign arrivals.

Challenges 

• Lack of Infrastructure – It is a major challenge for the Indian tourism sector. This includes hotels, connectivity with other cities, health facilities, and transportation etc. 
• Safety and Security – Safety & security of tourists is the most important factor which governs whether people will come to that destination or not. 
  • Attacks on foreign tourists, especially on women tourists have raised this question.
• COVID-19 pandemic: The Indian tourism and hospitality sector were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and saw substantial job loss.
• Business Hurdles, Lack of Hygiene and Comfortable accommodation
• Lack of integrated tourism promotion

Governments Initiatives 

•  Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme: The Government of India’s Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme was recently enhanced by ?50,000 crore, from ?4.5 lakh crore to ?5 lakh crore to benefit enterprises in hospitality and related sectors such as hotels and restaurants, marriage halls, travel agents, tour operators, adventure and heritage facilities. 
• National Tourism Policy 2022: The Ministry of Tourism has prepared a draft National Tourism Policy 2022, which aims at improving the framework conditions for tourism development in the country, supporting tourism industries, strengthening tourism support functions and developing tourism sub-sectors.
  • The guiding principles include promoting sustainable, responsible and inclusive tourism in line with our civilisational ethos.
  • The policy also aims to give impetus to digitalisation, innovation and technology through the National Digital Tourism Mission and skilling through the Tourism and Hospitality Sector Skill Mission
• Theme based schemes for the integrated development of circuits for improvement of infrastructure in the country have been launched by the Ministry of Tourism to enable tourists to experience the destination fully. 

• The Ministry has also been working with the Ministry of External Affairs to identify 20 Indian missions abroad with the highest tourist footfalls to India and build country-specific strategies to attract foreign tourists.

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme: Launched by the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) 
  • Central Sector Scheme 
  • Aim: Integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the country.
• National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme:
  • Focus on identifying and developing pilgrim sites across the country to promote religious tourism.
• Dekho Apna Desh initiative:
  • Organises webinars, quiz, pledge, discussions to keep people connected with the stakeholders and to encourage citizens to travel within the country.
• Adopt Heritage Project: Launched in 2017 as a collaborative effort by the Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), State/UTs Governments.
  • It envisages the development and maintenance of tourist amenities at heritage sites and making them tourist-friendly.
• Destination North East-2020: It is an annual event of the Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region.
  • The event highlights various potentials like eco-tourism, culture, heritage and business of the North East Region.
• Gati Shakti Master Plan: It is a project for developing ‘holistic infrastructure’.

• It will incorporate the infrastructure schemes of various Ministries and State Governments like Bharatmala, Sagarmala, inland waterways, dry/land ports, UDAN etc.

What Lies Ahead ?

• Tourism creates jobs and  provides jobs in the tertiary sector. It is now high time for us to work for the betterment of this sector so that from the upcoming years the number of foreign tourists may increase, and more people will be able to know about our culture.
• The Startup India initiative has boosted entrepreneurship. However, the travel and tourism startups need a bigger push. Innovative startups should be encouraged. Support from the government for ideation and access to finance are required.
• There is a need to train the workforce in India, so that workers can develop the skills to perform jobs in the travel and tourism sector. 
  • The growth in this sector has multiplier effects on income generation as it is employment-intensive with less capital investment
• There is a need to highlight the significance of public-private partnership to improve infrastructure and tackle the problem of end connectivity, which negatively affects the experiences of international travellers.
• The country has an opportunity to position itself as a major tourism destination during India’s presidency of the G20 (December 2022- November 2023).
  • India’s age-old dictum of ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ will come to the fore as it welcomes delegates from the 20 countries/European Union.