India has not exploited its tourism potential fully

To do so, the State must ensure better connectivity, hospitality and security

It is well known that the Indian tourism industry has enormous potential. It is equally well known that it has nowhere near realised this. But the sector seems to be on the right track: A World Travel & Tourism Council report has said the nation is expected to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028 in terms of direct and total GDP and that the total number of jobs dependent on the industry will increase from 42.9 million in 2018 to 52.3 million in 2028. Calling India the seventh largest travel and tourism economy, Gloria Guevara, president of WTTC, said India should be working on improving its tourist infrastructure.

Ms Guevara is spot on. India’s tourism infrastructure — connectivity, hospitality, accessibility and security — has to improve substantially. Take for example, Aurangabad in Maharashtra, a city that has so much for tourists (a huge number of Asians visit the city known for its Buddhist archeological treasures), but such poor flight connectivity. When it comes to the hospitality sector, the sector needs to do much better by investing not just in brick-and-mortar infrastructure, but also in human resources.

In the last few years, India has seen several attacks on tourists, especially women. This situation must be addressed. There is another area in which India needs to improve to increase revenue: merchandising. It is nearly impossible for anyone to leave a tourist site in the West without buying a souvenir. And in India, even getting a nice replica of the Taj Mahal is a task.Unlike many other tourism behemoths, India has so much to offer. Yet we have not been able to exploit it. We need to up our game to ensure better revenue and employment generation opportunities.