An Incredible India

India - one of the oldest civilization, rich in history and heritage, abode of sadhus and yogis, country of numerous sects, faiths and languages. She is one of the most diverse country in terms of culture and traditions, yet epitomizes unity in diversity. There is a common thread running across different cultures weaving all into one composite culture. Her culture is reflected in historical monuments and heritages across the subcontinent. If places like Badrinath, Kedarnath, Rishikesh, Ajmer, Gaya, Varanasi, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Puri, Dwarka etc. are significant from pilgrimage point of view, Tajmahal, Fatehpur Sikri, Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala and Himalayas have put India on world's tourist map. Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata are metropolitan towns which are visited by people for different reasons like touristic, political and social. India is loved for her rich cuisine, music, dances, architecture, art, and customs and last but not the least Indian hospitality which is filled with ideals of "Athithi Devo Bhava" (Guest is God). However, there is a darker side too, to be dealt in the later part of this blog.

Tourism is next big thing here, indeed. Government of India realising the same have taken a series of measures to boost tourism in the country, most important being the easing of Visa Process. Two government schemes HRIDAY and PRASAD are to better some select destinations which will make them more tourist friendly. Incredible! India campaign has already given fillip to tourist inflow in India, about 22.57 million tourists arrived in India in 2014, compared to 19.95 million in 2013. Moreover, domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated ₹6.4 trillion (US$94 billion) or 6.6% of the nation's GDP in 2012. It supported 39.5 million jobs, 7.7% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% till 2023 making India the third fastest growing tourism destination over the next decade.

India Tourism Map

India has huge untapped potential to offer. Destinations like Singapore, Mauritius, Indonesia, Thailand are doing much better than India in spite of being not so resource abundant nation as India. These countries do well due to their far better tourism infrastructure, easy Visa-on-arrival policy, marketing and better connectivity to international transport network. India, on the other hand, lagged behind because India realised tourism as big business opportunity very late. There are other reasons too for such miss on tourism which are as follows,

• Lack of cleanliness and associated fear of Dengue and Malaria
• Pollution whether air, water or land is another deterrent
• Lack of world class tourism infrastructure
• Less international flight connectivity to airports in India and absence of open sky policy for commercial passenger flights due to the fear of quota sharing by big international airlines. It is also the reason that India has bilateral seat sharing agreements with very few nations.
• India has not been able to develop the concept of "Air-Taxi" connecting several domestic airports.
• Law & order issues - Delhi Rape Incident 2012 hurt India's reputation
• Marketing of India's tourist destinations has not been up to the mark.
• Some Touts, shopkeepers, hawkers and auto-rickshaw wallahs do not leave any stone unturned in cheating the tourists.

However, India despite all the odds, is gearing up for a change. A change that will make India a must visit country. Government has announced many schemes including electronic tourist Visa to bring about such change. People across the globe know about spiritual learning of India for which they come and stay in Ashrams. Yoga is no more an Indian exercise only, it has become truly global. Ideal like "Vasudhev Kutumbkamb" express that Indian treat world as one family and welcome people from all over the world with arms wide open. 

India is on its way to emerge as one of the most attractive tourist destination in the world. People of this nation needs to compliment the efforts of government with all the energy at their disposal.

Cheers !!!