Development of tourism in india

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government to boost tourism include grant of export house
status to the tourism sector and incentives for promoting private investment in the form of Income Tax
exemptions, interest subsidy and reduced import duty. The hotel and tourism-related industry has been
declared a high priority industry for foreign investment which entails automatic approval of direct
investment up to 51 per cent of foreign equity and allowing 100 per cent non-resident Indian
investment and simplifying rules regarding the grant of approval to travel agents, tour operators and
tourist transport operators.

In a nutshell, Indian tourism has huge untapped potential for generating employment and ensuring a
steady flow of foreign exchange besides giving a much-needed boost to the country’s overall economic
and social development. There have been significant improvements in the spheres of increasing air seat
capacity, trains and railway connectivity to important tourist destinations, four-laning of roads connecting
important tourist centers. Accommodation facilities have been redefined for the convenience of the
visitors. Right from luxury resorts to paying guest accommodations, there is something for everybody, to
suit every pocket. Heritage hotels have been brought into the fold of the hotel industry as well.

T
    ourism development in India has passed through many phases. At Government level the
development of tourist facilities was taken up in a planned manner in 1956 coinciding with the
Second Five Year Plan. The approach has evolved from isolated planning of single unit facilities
in the Second and Third Five Year Plans. The Sixth Plan marked the beginning of a new era
when tourism began to be considered a major instrument for social integration and economic
development.

    But it was only after the 80’s that tourism activity gained momentum. The Government took
several significant steps. A National Policy on tourism was announced in 1982. Later in 1988,
the National Committee on Tourism formulated a comprehensive plan for achieving a
sustainable growth in tourism. In 1992, a National Action Plan was prepared and in 1996 the
National Strategy for Promotion of Tourism was drafted. In 1997, a draft new tourism policy in
tune with the economic policies of the Government and the trends in tourism development was
published for public debate. The draft policy is now under revision. The proposed policy
recognises the roles of Central and State governments, public sector undertakings and the private
sector in the development of tourism. The need for involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions,
local bodies, non-governmental organisations and the local youth in the creation of tourism
facilities has also been recognised.

    The other major development that took place were the setting up of the India Tourism
Development Corporation in 1966 to promote India as a tourist destination and the Tourism
Finance Corporation in 1989 to finance tourism projects. Altogether, 21 Government-run Hotel
Management and Catering Technology Institutes and 14 Food Craft Institutes were also
established for imparting specialised training in hoteliering and catering.
Tourist Attractions

    India is a country known for its lavish treatment to all visitors, no matter where they come
from. Its visitor-friendly traditions, varied life styles and cultural heritage and colourful fairs and
festivals held abiding attractions for the tourists. The other attractions include beautiful beaches,
forests and wild life and landscapes for eco-tourism, snow, river and mountain peaks for
adventure tourism, technological parks and science museums for science tourism; centres of
pilgrimage for spiritual tourism; heritage trains and hotels for heritage tourism. Yoga, ayurveda
and natural health resorts also attract tourists.

    The Indian handicrafts particularly, jewellery, carpets, leather goods, ivory and brass work are
the main shopping items of foreign tourists. The estimates available through surveys indicate that
nearly forty per cent of the tourist expenditure on shopping is spent on such items.

Growth

    Domestic tourism is as old as the Indian society. According to available statistics, domestic
tourism has grown substantially during the last one decade. It increased to 167 million in 1998
from just 64 million in 1990, thus registering a compound annual growth of 12.8 per cent.

    The growth of inbound tourism since Independence has been quite impressive. It was just
around 17 thousand in 1951. From this level it rose to 2.36 million in 1998. Tourism receipts on
the other hand have grown at a phenomenal rate of 17 per cent to Rs.11,540 crore in 1998 from
Rs.7.7 crore in 1951.

Economic Impact

    Tourism has emerged as an instrument of employment generation, poverty alleviation and
sustainable human development. During 1998-99, employment generation through tourism was
estimated at 14.79 million.

    Foreign exchange earnings from the tourism sector during 1998-99 were estimated at
Rs.12,011 crore. Tourism has thus become the second largest net foreign exchange earner for the
country.

    Tourism also contributed Rs.24,241 crore during 1998-99 towards the country’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).

Thrust Areas

    In order to speed up the development of tourism in the country several thrust areas have been
identified for accomplishment during the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002). The important ones
are development of infrastructure, products, trekking, winter sports, wildlife and beach resorts
and streamlining of facilitation procedures at airports, human resource development and
facilitating private sector participation in the growth of infrastructure.
Organisation

    The organisations involved in the development of tourism in India are the Ministry of Tourism
with its 21 field offices within the country and 18 abroad, Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel
Management, National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, India Tourism
Development Corporation, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering and the National
Institute of Water Sports.

Boosting Tourism

    Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government to boost tourism include grant of
export house status to the tourism sector and incentives for promoting private investment in the
form of Income Tax exemptions, interest subsidy and reduced import duty. The hotel and
tourism-related industry has been declared a high priority industry for foreign investment which
entails automatic approval of direct investment up to 51 per cent of foreign equity and allowing
100 per cent non-resident Indian investment and simplifying rules regarding the grant of
approval to travel agents, tour operators and tourist transport operators.

Celebrations

    During the Golden Jubilee celebrations of India as a Republic, the Ministry of Tourism made
special efforts to publicise the tourism potential of India. The first-ever Indian Tourism Day was
celebrated on January 25, 1998. Bauddha Mahotsav was organised from 24th October to
8th November 1998. The Year 1999 was celebrated as Explore India Millennium Year by
presenting a spectacular tableau on the cultural heritage of India at the Republic Day Parade and
organising India Tourism Expo in New Delhi and Khajuraho. The Wong La Millennium was
held from April 1999 to January 2001. A special calendar of events has been formulated for
highlighting contributions to Millennium events by various places in all the States. An official
website of the Ministry of Tourism has also been created for facilitating dissemination of
information on tourism.

Constraints

    The major constraint in the expansion of international tourist traffic to India is non-availability
of adequate infrastructure including adequate air seat capacity, accessibility to tourist
destinations, accommodation and trained manpower in sufficient number.

    Poor visitor experience, particularly, due to inadequate infrastructural facilities, poor hygienic
conditions and incidents of touting and harassment of tourists in some places are factors that
contribute to poor visitor experience.

    To sum up, Indian tourism has vast potential for generating employment and earning large
sums of foreign exchange besides giving a fillip to the country’s overall economic and social
development. Much has been achieved by way of increasing air seat capacity, increasing trains
and railway connectivity to important tourist destinations, four-laning of roads connecting
important tourist centres and increasing availability of accommodation by adding heritage hotels
to the hotel industry and encouraging paying guest accommodation. But much more remains to
be done. Since tourism is a multi-dimensional activity, and basically a service industry, it would
be necessary that all wings of the Central and State governments, private sector and voluntary
organisations become active partners in the endeavour to attain sustainable growth in tourism if
India is to become a world player in the tourist industry.

* Director-General, Tourism, Govt. of India.

What is the hindrance in the development of tourism of India?

[Improve]

1) Stress on resources and amenities

A) Water- There is water scarcity all over. The big hotels are provided with water on a regular basis.
Water is pumped from wells and bore wells, and water is becoming saline. The local peoples, taps go
dry, and no one cares about it.

B) Electricity-There is a big problem of electricity, and there are frequent power cuts, and people are
put in a lot of hardship. The govt. has no systematic plan for electricity. All the big establishments are
provided with lights, but not the poor. The poor cry "Give us today our daily lights."

C) Essential foodstuff- The Goan has his unique eating habit common to all, that is fish, curry, and
rice. This is their important dish, but the demand for fish is very high in the hotels, so the common
man suffers, and the prices of fish are very exorbitant, and the other commodity is much more
compared to other places.

D) Transport- The transport system is not so good especially during the tourist season. From
September to May the buses are filled to capacity and are overcrowded. There is no comfort, and the
women are targets of teasing, pinching and so on. People getting into the buses are treated worse
than animals, like herds of sheep or goats carried to the slaughter houses.

E) Land- The land prices are soaring and rising everyday. The locals are given high remuneration to
sell their land to the builder. A Goan is not able to buy land and especially near the coast. The
agricultural land is being used to put up big structures.

2)Ecological Imbalance and Environment Degradation

A) Sea Pollution- The sea is polluted and the scenic beauty is spoiled. The waste from big hotels is
dumped into the sea, which leads to sea pollution and death of fish.

B) Destruction of tree cover- Age old and beautiful trees are chopped to beautify the cities and tourist
places. The tree, which is to act as a cover for the common man, now does not find a place and
becomes a source of obstruction; and it follows that it must be removed by all means.
C) Defacement of the sea front- The coastal belt of the sea should be beautiful with trees and coconut
plantations, but one notices that there are big hotels that come close to the beaches, and sometimes
the tourist is not able to venture into the sea because of the block created by these big hotels.

3) Socio-Cultural And Moral Effects

A) Displacement of traditional occupations- The traditional occupations of the people of Goa are
farming, fishing, toddy-tapping, etc. Now, with tourism, people, and especially the young generation,
do not want to get into traditional occupations. They want fast money. They take on work in the hotels
and sometimes are not paid the minimum wages, and also work in inhuman conditions.

B) Distortion and commercialization of culture- As explained before about Indian culture, there is
respect for all, but in Goa there is distortion of culture. The folk dances and mandoes that are sung
are commercialized and performed in cheap ways especially on the cruises. There is an imitation of
the alien life of the foreigners such as be hippies, nudism and free sex.

C) Destruction of values- Women are considered to have a prominent place in family and society, but
tourists considers women as things - Tu cheez badi hay mast (you are a good thing ). There is a steep
rise in prostitution. Many girls are becoming a prey and act as call girls satisfying customers. Children
too are abused.

D) Spread of drug abuse- There is secret importation of drugs used by tourists, and slowly it has
affected the youth, who are affected by the drugs, especially those staying at the coastal belt.

F) Cheap labour- The labour classes are most affected. With the minimum wages they get, they have
to manage with regard to food, clothing, shelter and education. With the high prices of all essentials, it
is difficult for the labor classes to survive. And especially if there is off season of tourism, they have to
find alternative jobs, and some of them get involved in prostitution, robbery, murder and so on. The
other problem is that migrant workers take lower wages, so they are preferred to the locals.

4 Geographically vast area 

One of major reasons because the country is so diverse it gets difficult to unitize the entire tourism
scheme. Hence no common pass etc are possible which make traveling easier for foreign as well as
domestic tourists.

5 Disregard to local tourism

While the government may lay stress on providing amenities to foreign tourists it may simple ignore
the same foe domestic tourists. Tourism industry has not yet been fully tapped locally.If things are
made better for domestic tourists like clean and cheap hotels, lodges , pass for traveling in a specific
area etc. 

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Tourism in India has received a major boost in the past few decades. Tourism in India during holidays
has grown by leaps and bounds with a great inflow of tourists from round the world. The charm and
uniqueness of India have been irresistibly attracting travelers since ages. India has the right tourism
potential and attractions to captivate all types of tourists. Whether it is adventure tour, cultural
exploration, pilgrimages tour, beach combing tour or relaxing amidst the scenic mountains, tourism in
India has it all for you. Travel through Indian states and cities brings to light, the cultural, historical,
architectural and the geographical richness of India. A travel to India will provide you a glimpse to the
richness of tourism in India with information on all the major tourist destinations of India.