Tourism sun shining in India
The success of tourism should not be measured in terms of number of visitors but by the impression that our international guests leave with.
With the global meltdown, all tourists are now looking to travel to India. Inbound tourism is a major generator of foreign exchange income for our country. India has it all at par with global standards: adventure, MICE, beaches, mountains, seas, lakes, rivers, wildlife, heritage, yoga, World Heritage Sites, festivals and fairs, Bollywood, and much, much more…
With eTV the prospects for enhancement of tourism to India has grown multifold. The brand ‘Incredible India’ says it all. We in India solemnly swear and treat our tourist as Athithi Devo Bhava.
Many of our states are larger and offer more experiences than some of the countries. The diversity in India is so big that tourist needs to revisit again and again. We have facilities and accommodations from homestays, farm-stays to star category spa’s hotels, resorts and places – accommodation for all budgets. With the assistance of the government, tourism circuits are being redesigned to cater to international tourist as per needs to today.
Today the members of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) promote tourism be it domestic, inbound, MICE, medical, cultural, Bollywood, etc. Their connect with the state as well as Union Ministries of Tourism and Civil Aviation is ongoing. The inbound tourism market in India is growing, but we need to improve it. India has moved out of being a third-world country and politically too, we are on the global interactive consultative group everywhere. The government too understands the need and potential of enhancing growth through tourism. Tourism is the only industry where every Indian can participate actively. If we take a look at the various aspects of tourism, we will see that India has worked hard to bring the industry on par:
Economic growth: Tourism is a multi-billion industry in India and is sure to mature faster than any other industry.
Infrastructure: This shall not only help in creating new accommodations, roads, railways, but shall also impact the affordability for every traveller.
Education: UGC has recently started degree programs in tourism and hospitality. This shall enhance our GenNext to understand and take over the reins in tourism.
Social values: Foreigners shall export the rich values and cultures we have in India to their land which shall further enhance our potential for growth in inbound tourism. Hence, let us not measure the success of tourism in terms of number of visitors but by the impact we have on our international guests. ( The views expressed are solely of the author. The publication may or may not subscribe to the same.)