Tourism in India: It's current and future.

Image source: The Logical India 

The tagline "Atithi Devo Bhava" meaning "Guest is God" scales India's stand to its tourists and brings in India among the most popular tourist destination in the world. A land well-known for its Art, heritage, food, and vast culture India stands apart from the rest of the world when it comes to tourism and hospitality. 

India has a variety of things to offer such as Mountains, Museums, Nature and Wildlife, Adventures sites, and world-class luxury along with this you also get to experience diverse Indian culture and spirituality. In India, each state and union territory has something to offer.

The Red Fort in Delhi,  Udaipur's City Palace, Beaches of goa, Ghats of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Backwaters of Kerala, Old Mumbai, Heritage train in Darjeeling, Radhanagar Beach on Havelock Island, Lotus Temple in Delhi, Bengal tiger in Sundarbans, The Taj Mahal in Agra, Dwaki in Meghalaya, Pangong Lake in Ladakh are amongst the most visited places in India. 

Along with most exotic places, India is also famous for its finger licking food like Dum Biryani from Hyderabad, Rosgulla from Kolkata, Patna is famous for its Litti Chokha, Idli dosa from Chennai, Meen Fry and Kerela Paratha from Kerala, Lucknow is famous for its Tunde ke Kebab, Srinagar serves you Gustafa, Prawn Gassi from Goa and Dal Bati Churma from Jaipur naming few of them. India is also known for its folk music and dance, literature, and traditional attire across the world. 

The wildlife of India amazes foreign and domestic tourists. Combine all the cultural and linguistic diversity India never fails to astonish their guests with its hospitality. 

India's tourism sector has always underlined the importance of its culture and heritage to the world.

In total India has 38 world heritage sites recognized by the United Nation Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) which ranks India on 6th amongst the most number of world heritage sites after China (55), Italy (55), Spain (48), Germany (46), and France (45). Few places which come under the world heritage sites in India by UNESCO are Sun Temple, Konarak, Hamp, Pattadakal, Elephanta Caves, Western Ghats (Sahyadri), Mahabalipuram, Chola temples, Bodh Gaya, Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, Kazirang National Park, Great Himalayan National Park, and The Architectural Work of Le Oorbusier. 

Tourism is a very important industry in India as it contributes 9.2% of countries' GDP with ₹16.91 lakh crore ($240 billion), in the year 2018. The tourism industry of India has also proven to be one of the large employment-generating industries as it supported more than 42 million jobs. The tourism sector of India is growing day by day with millions of new international and domestic tourists visiting and exploring India. In the year 2028, it is predicted that the tourism sector will contribute to India's GDP with 9.9% which is (US$450 billion) with a 6.9% annual growth rate. 

There is been exponential growth in the arrival of foreign tourists in India. Statistics show that from 1997 with 2.37 million visitors annually India has come a long way with 10.56 million tourists came to India in 2018. Statistics demonstrate that the most numbers of tourists who visited India in 2018 are from the country of Bangladesh, the United States, the United Kingdom, Sri Lanka, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, China, Germany, and Russia. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal are amongst the top 10 States/UTs of India in the number of foreign tourist visits in 2017.  

Domestic tourists also add great value to the Indian tourism sector. Over 1.85 billion domestic tourist visits were made across India, in the year 2018. Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh are amongst the top 10 States/UTs of India in the number of domestic tourist visits in 2017. 

India ranked 34th out of 140 countries overall in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019. What makes India a better tourist destination is not just numerous places and food but also better price competitiveness, better transport infrastructure, better natural resources, cultural resources, and business travel. Still some aspects of the tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped. 

To make tourists visit India memorable, The Ministry of Tourism always attempts to make the tourism industry more flexible for visitors. The Ministry of Tourism consults and collaborates with different stakeholders in the sector including several state governments and union territories and private sector representatives to enhance the experience of tourists. Ministry also maintains the "Incredible India" campaign concentrated on promoting tourism in India. 

How corona affected the tourism industry of India and what the future holds for the tourism sector? 

Due to amid coronavirus pandemic every sector is affected severely. Many people had lost their jobs. A large number of businesses got affected by the virus. The shutting of national and international flights costs billions of dollars. Hotels, beaches, wedding halls, small restaurants all of them got affected by the Covid-19. Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) sums that all hotel, aviation, and travel sector combined may face more than ₹85 billion loss due to the pandemic. There is a possible job loss of around 38 million which is 70% of its total workforce. It's been 8 months since the lockdown and now gradually everything is starting and getting on track so the tourism and hospitality sector is preparing for the future challenges which they will have to face in the coming days. 

Federation of Association in Indian Tourism and Hospitality (FAITH) seems positive about the revival of the sector after the pandemic. 

FAITH Chairman Nakul Anand Said, "We are the next growth driver for India and like the white revolution, green revolution, and the digital revolution, the time now, is for a tourism revolution- leading GDP growth, forex (Foreign exchange) earning and job creation. But, for that, we need to survive and revive." 

Some of the recent work of the Ministry of Tourism to encourage more tourism in the country is PRASAD Initiative, e-visa, Medical Visa which encourages medical tourism in the country, Tax refund for Tourist (TRT) scheme and many more initiatives have come into existence in terms of promoting tourism. 

India is seeking to create massive jobs and forex earning in the coming future with its world-class hospitality, culture, art, heritage, and welcoming nature. Many experts believe that the Indian tourism sector has enormous potential and will only boom in the future.