India dovetails its inbound & domestic

Travel has been a part of the Indian culture for centuries… for pilgrimage yatras or sightseeing, the average Indian traveller will go thousands of miles to see different environments, weather notwithstanding! The summer holiday months see the largest movements within India, which is the lean period for inbound traffic.

Until a few years ago, domestic tourism was confined to the lower income group and so did not figure in hotel and restaurant receipts. With the growing income and expanding middle class, the domestic tourist demands are shifting to good hotels and resorts. They travel to beaches along the coast, nature parks and sanctuaries, take desert safaris and visit archeological monuments. It is now upto the central and state governments, while doing their development planning, to provide clean and affordable accommodation, good roads and convenient flight and train connections at and to these places. And, it is for the travel industry to work out exciting packages that fit within their budgets.

Once we can gratify the needs of the evolving domestic traveller, it will become much easier to satisfy the inbound foreign tourist, who have the finances to look after themselves. The affluent travel to hill resorts in the summer, these towns are well equipped with accommodation and ground transportation. But, even the capacity of these is being tested to the maximum, as we saw recently in Uttarakhand.

International tourism depends upon many external factors such as international economic projections, international political conditions, air accessibility, and seasonal changes. Domestic tourism is more stable.

Local infrastructure and standards are far more acceptable to domestic than to international tourists. Despite its significance in national integration and development, domestic tourism has not received adequate attention in the process of development planning. Regardless, this niche continues to grow, giving sustainability and livelihood to many that come within its gambit.

The number of domestic tourist visits registered an increase of almost 20 per cent in 2012 as compared to an increase of about 16 per cent in 2011, and it is only growing…