Advantage India
I ndia has the advantage of being a long-stay leisure destination, the average stay being of one week to a fortnight because of the variety of tourist destinations within the country. India is a destination that has to be planned for in advance, you can’t just pack your bags and move for a short weekend. And now, with its announcement of extending the Visa-on-Arrival (VoA) facility to all countries (except eight), India is hoping to double the number of tourists visiting the country over the next 2-3 years.
VoA and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit India should both greatly boost tourism into the country. In fact, India inbound tourism is expected to experience the biggest surge as ETA becomes operational in October this year. The government is taking major steps to be prepared for this swell.
India may not be riding high in FTAs but the average amount of money spent here on a per-capita basis by international travellers is more than anywhere else in the world. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), although India is ranked 41st in terms of inbound tourist arrivals, it is 16th in total tourism receipts. This shows that India is attracting high-spend travellers. In 2013, India tourism earned $18 billion with only 6.8 million foreign tourists. In spite of an economic slowdown, the rate of growth in tourist earnings has been higher than the global average. For instance, in 2012 when world tourism receipts grew by 3.2 per cent, India's earnings went up by 7 per cent.
Despite all these positive trends, challenges persist. Inbound tourism was slow in 2013, but with all the sops being offered by the government and the depreciated rupee value, travel companies are hoping for a better 2014.
Newer destinations are being developed, 360 degree online virtual tours of our historical sites, the Clean India Campaign being taken on strongly by corporates, improved infrastructure and better distribution network should help attract not only leisure travellers but also corporate travellers.