Tourism sector of India...!!

Tourism sector of India...!!

 Introduction

• India is a famous tourist destination. The tourism sector of India is a fast-growing sector. The tourism sector of India has opened employment opportunities for a number of skilled and unkilled labour. It is helping us earn a handsome foreign exchange and is
  giving a much-needed boost to the economy. At the same time, the western people are getting acquainted with Indian colors, cultures, and traditions. Tourism opens the door for global integration.
  
  
  

Key points

• Indian Tourism sector has so much to offer. From mountains, deserts, rivers, and breathtaking greenery to feed the soul of nature lovers, to historical monuments and folk fairs for culture lovers, we have it all.
• We hold a rank of 40 out of 136 countries according to Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017.
• The tourism sector contributed to 9.14% to our GDP in the previous year and there were about 10 million tourists in India.
• In 2011, when London organized the World Tourism Mart, India bagged the World’s Leading Destination award.
• The Ministry of Tourism of India is responsible for the promotion of tourism in India. It is even running 14 overseas offices to make people aware of the attractive tourist destinations in India.
• The most visited cities in India are Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur, and Agra.
• We are running an ‘Incredible India’ campaign for attracting tourists. It was started by Indian Tourism development corporation (ITDC) in 2005.
• In 2008, ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ campaign endorsed by Aamir Khan was started. Presently, Narendra Modi himself promotes the ‘Incredible India’. Incredibleindia.org website for planning packages, booking tickets, applying for visa on arrival etc has been started.

Recent initiatives for Promotion of Tourism

• E-TOURIST visa that can be applied online by residents of 40 countries. No visa is required by nationals of Nepal, Bhutan, and Maldives.
• In November 2014, Visa on Arrival facility was introduced at 16 international airports. This increased the tourist traffic by 1987.9% in 2015 as compared to 2014.
• Adarsh smarak scheme for providing all tourist facilities for monuments of India. These facilities include free wifi, encroachment free areas etc.
• Organising various international tourism marts and trade fairs for extensive promotion.
• Mobile apps like Swachh Prayatan for cleanliness of tourist spots have been launched.
• 24*7 Tourist Helpline in 12 languages has been started.
• Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme, Swadesh Darshan scheme etc have been launched to cater to the needs of the tourism sector in India.

The Loopholes

• There is still a lack of proper infrastructural facilities for proper development of tourism in India. There are so many beautiful places that are still undiscovered by the tourists because there is no proper infrastructure to connect to these places.
• There are a lot of places that are not clean and need attention. Moreover, the monuments of India are losing their beauty because of pollution and other activities of residents.
• Security reasons are another issue. Tourists in India fear Naxalism, teasing, rapes etc
• There are cases of frauds with the tourists just to make few extra dollars. Such unethical practices deteriorate our image and prestige.
• We lack trained professionals who can guide the tourists well.

Conclusion

• India is unbeatable when it comes to diversity. We have geographical diversity, climatic diversity and cultural diversity which attracts people from all over the worlds.
• By 2028, it is expected that the tourism sector shall grow by an annual rate of 6.9% The tourism sector of India is thus constantly heading forward and is unstoppable!