The Not So ‘Incredible India’: Understanding how and why India fails as a global tourism destination.
By Shashank Sharma
Published in Indian Journal of Social Concerns, Vol. 6(20), pp. 331-338. An International Referred Journal; ISSN No. 2231-5837
Global Tourism: An Overview
Tourism is the key to development, prosperity and well-being, states the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). An ever-increasing number of destinations worldwide have opened up to, and invested in tourism, turning it into a key driver of socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, export revenues, and infrastructure development. Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification to become one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. Tourism has boasted virtually uninterrupted growth over time, despite occasional shocks, demonstrating the sector’s strength and resilience. International tourist arrivals have increased from 25 million globally in 1950 to 1186 million in 2015. Likewise, international tourism receipts earned by destinations worldwide have surged from US$ 2 billion in 1950 to US$ 1260 billion in 2015. International tourism now represents 7% of the world’s exports in goods and services, as tourism has grown faster than world trade over the past four years. Moreover, in many developing countries, tourism ranks as the first export sector.
Tourism in India
As per the data compiled by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism generated Rs 8.31 lakh crore (US$120 billion) or roughly 6.3% of India’s GDP in 2015 and created 37.315 million jobs which accounts to 8.7% of the country’s total employment. The tourism sector in India is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5% to Rs18.36 lakh crore (US$270 billion) by 2025 (7.2% of GDP). In the year 2015 about 80.27 lakh (8.027 million) foreign tourists arrived in India compared to 76.79 lakh (7.679 million) in 2014, recording a growth of 4.5%. In 2014, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most popular states for tourists while Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism and also runs the Incredible India campaign.
How India compares to the rest of the world
According to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), India was ranked 65th out of 140 countries covered in its study conducted in the year 2013. In the 2015 report, India has moved up 13 notches to 52nd position on a global list that ranks 141 countries in terms of their travel and tourism competitiveness. However, India ranks worse than its emerging market peers like China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa. Of the large emerging markets, China (17th) and Brazil (28th) made it into the top 30, whereas Russia, South Africa and India ranked 45th, 48th and 52nd, respectively. The list has been topped by Spain, which is followed by France, Germany, US, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada in the top ten. But the diversity in the top 30 shows that a country does not have to be wealthy to have a flourishing tourism sector.
The same report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 8th out of 141 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 35th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and an average ground transport infrastructure (ranked 50th). Even though India scores high on natural and cultural resources (ranked 12th), some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain underdeveloped which drags down the overall ranking. Despite the tall claims made by the new central government and efforts made by our Prime Minister to promote India as a global tourism hub, the long-standing infrastructure gaps remain, especially in tourism-specific infrastructure (where India is ranked 109th) and the quality of roads. India also lags on health and hygiene (ranked 106th) and Information, Communications and Technology readiness (ranked 114th). The safety and security situation remains unsettling, with a perceived increase in the impact of crime and violence (97th), and India ranks poorly at 139th spot for environmental sustainability.
Factors that fail India
With good food, rich culture, beautiful historic monuments, spirituality, and diversity – India has all the right ingredients to lure travellers from all over the world. Despite having all it takes to be a tourist powerhouse, India fails to deliver. The reasons for India’s struggle to attract visitors are many, ranging from infrastructural hurdles to security concerns and the poor attitude of its citizens towards tourists, among others.
Infrastructural Hurdles
One of the primary areas of concern for the Indian tourism industry is the huge shortage of hotel rooms, especially in the budget sector. The government's report of the Working Group on Tourism, under the 12th Five Year Plan set up by the Planning Commission stated that the country requires an additional 1,90,108 hotels rooms by 2016 to meet a projected 12% growth in tourism. According to global hospitality consultancy, HVS, India is expected to bolster its hotel room capacity by 54,000 over the next three to four years.
To encourage the growth of budget hotels, the government has put in place some incentives which includes a five year tax holiday for two, three & four star category hotels located in all UNESCO World Heritage Sites (except Delhi and Mumbai), Hotel and Tourism related industry being declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100% being allowed under the automatic route. However, the hotel owners in India do not seem much interested in building budget hotels as they think they won't make any money.
Another issue is of the poor condition of Indian roads. Being the birthplace of Buddhism, India has huge potential to attract tourists from Buddhist countries like Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, etc. Unfortunately our roads and infrastructure to these places is in shambles, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that host majority of the Buddhist attractions are a perfect case in point. As a result, we have the history and culture but no proper facilities and infrastructure for tourists to visit them. The infrastructure certainly is improving but at a snail’s pace. Even the quality of tourist cars in the country isn’t great either.
Related to the issue of proper roads is the issue of connectivity. The connectivity even between popular destinations such as the Khajuraho-Varanasi sector, leaves a lot to be desired. There are very few flights on the Khajuraho-Varanasi stretch and if one decides to travel by surface then it consumes 10-12 hours due to the bad condition of roads on that stretch. Other facilities such as number of feeder stations needs to be increased. Moreover, buses don't have enough stops for pick up or for people to use the washroom or grab a cup of tea or coffee. The harassment of passengers by bus staff is another matter of grave concern.
Train travel in India brings with it its own set of troubles, and the hassles begin right from the first step of getting a train ticket booking done. The only trains on which tourists can travel comfortably are the upmarket tourist special trains such as the Maharaja’s Express or the Golden Chariot, but as these trains are amongst the costliest in the world, they are out of reach of the budget traveller.
Domestic air transport has drastically improved in the recent years, providing easy and cheap air connectivity between different Indian cities and towns. But airfares have to be moderated to prevent fares from skyrocketing during the peak tourist seasons.
Safety Concerns
The crimes against women and the general security situation in India act as deterrent and discourages travellers from planning a visit to our country. Foreign women are stalked and harassed relentlessly, and unfortunate incidents of rapes and robberies are also not rare at tourist sites across the country. The horrific Delhi gang rape case that made international headlines in 2012, followed by other cases where foreign female tourists were sexually assaulted has made a severe dent in India’s image as a safe tourist destination. The infamous incident brought to Delhi the notorious title of being the rape capital of the world and led to a 25% dip in the country’s foreign tourist inflow in the following tourist season. Moreover, it also resulted in women foreign tourist arrivals in India dipping by as much as 35%.
Last year, International Women’s Travel Centre, a popular travel website ranked India as the worst country in the world for solo female travellers and went on to call India, dangerous & obnoxious. In the past few years, travel advisories and warnings have been issued by several international governments warning there citizens against travelling in India. Some of these nations include the governments of USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and China among others. The United States categorically states that women should not travel alone in India due to the likelihood of sexual assault and harassment but also lists many other hazards in India (including infectious disease, interreligious violence, terrorism etc.) Australia (Aussie Travel Advisory) warns women to be careful in all parts of India even when traveling in groups and Canada (Canadian Travel Advisory), warns it’s citizens to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ for going to India in general, and suggests avoiding non-essential travel in a number of regions (Jammu, Kashmir, Manipur, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab, to list a few). The recent comments by India’s tourism minister, Mahesh Sharma recommending women vacationing in India to avoid wearing skirts and walking alone at night in order to protect themselves have elicited criticism from various quarters.
Law and order is a pre-requisite for a successful tourist destination. If tourists do not feel safe, no fancy Incredible India campaign can change their minds about visiting the country. As things stand, the only thing that seems incredible about India is that people are still willing to consider India as their possible holiday destination. This is not to demean India’s tremendous tourism potential, but the poor tourism infrastructure and unscrupulous touts overshadows all the good that India has to offer.
The Not So Incredible Indians:
Imagine yourself as a tourist who lands in a new country with lot of expectations and the first people you meet end up conning you! Everyone around you, be it the taxi guy or hotel guy or travel agent or even the supposedly govt. run help-desk is trying to snatch your hard-earned money! How would you feel? Would you ever be able to form a positive image of such a country no matter how rich its history is or how grand its monuments are or how scenic the mountains are? Would you feel safe or ever trust anyone in such an environment despite the fact that the majority of the people are still very generous and helpful?
Following is an excerpt from a blog on the famous Wall Street Journal website, which gives a real life example of how people from the tourism fraternity itself are bringing shame to the nation. “… Last week, Indian newspapers carried a story about two German tourists who were subjected to an extreme version of one of these seven scams that visitors to Delhi are apparently likely to experience. Their pre-paid taxi driver told them their Paharganj hotel could not be found, and they were then driven to Rajasthan, for which they were charged around $2,300, according to the story in the Indian Express.”
There is something seriously wrong with the people involved in India’s tourism trade who probably have shredded their values and conscience. Athithi Devo Bhav seems to be just a stupid, irritating phrase with no real-life meaning and significance these days albeit it’s occasional use in government campaigns and glossy tourism brochures. It seems that they don't care for anything except how to get the maximum out of other person - by hook or crook! Upon carefully analysing how tourism works in India one finds that ‘Incredible India’ is just a tourism slogan, and that’s where it ends. At the grass roots level, and at its very core, India continues to be a regressive, intolerant and a stagnant society. No wonder we are ranked at paltry 38th in terms of foreign tourist arrival with countries a fraction of our size beating us by humongous margins. Thailand, for example, roughly gets four times the number of visitors than India does; a clear suggestion that India’s tourism sector is badly underperforming.
Case of Agra – The city of Taj
Nikhil Inamdar in an article to Business Standard has highlighted the woes of travelling in India’s premier tourist city – Agra. “Narendra Modi is right about Agra. As he said, it is unlikely to get a sizeable share of the world’s $3 trillion tourism business. Unlikely, despite being home to the iconic Taj Mahal, the stunning garden tomb of Akbar – the Maqbara and the imposing Agra fort – all zeniths of Mogul creativity and engineering.”
Driving down from Delhi on the ritzy Yamuna expressway, one simply gets flabbergasted upon finding how dirty and smelly the historical town of Agra is. The roads are chaotic and traffic is in a mess even by our awful Indian standards. All your hopes of being transported back into Mogul era grandeur gets dashed to the ground, and you are in for an all rounded assault on your senses – harrying travel agents, filthy budget hotels, relentless power cuts and the shocking lack of facilities considered bare minimum at a tourist destination to provide for a decent holiday experience.
Despite being on top of the list of every foreign tourist coming to India, the city has no tourist oriented market to meet the shopping and culinary needs of a tourist, such as the Dilli Haat in Delhi. As a result, the tourists are left with no option but to ask for suggestions from auto/taxi drivers who seem to have mastered the art of misleading and fooling the tourists. These greedy drivers takes the tourists only to those shop/restaurant that offers them a commission.
Moreover, there are no easy connections available for day trips from Agra to popular tourist attractions nearby, like the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur which is every bird lovers paradise, or the heritage complex of Fatehpur Sikri which once served as the capital of emperor Akbar. There is no way that a foreign tourist can reach these places without either being ripped off, or to bear the huge inconvenience of taking a trip in one of the poorly managed intercity buses. For foreign tourists who are not used to the mess and madness of an Indian city, it becomes quite a daunting task to get going on any activity in Agra. Once in Agra, all you want to do is to get out as quickly as possible, after doing the obligatory Taj ritual.
It is indeed a wonder how the Taj has survived in India. A huge credit goes to Shah Jahan for not only making it extraordinarily beautiful but also stand to the destructive tourism policies of the country. Agra has much to offer in terms of tourism but people do not want to waste time beyond Taj. It is beyond reasoning why a city which brings India so much fame is left in such a bad shape? The answer to this can be found in a conspiracy theory relating to the underdevelopment of Agra. It is believed that it’s in the interest of Delhi hotels and tourism industry that Agra remains under-developed. As a result, people would just come to Agra in the morning, see the Taj Mahal (probably Agra Fort and Sikandra as well) and return to Delhi in the night. How credible is this theory, is a matter of another research. But with the opening of the new Yamuna Expressway it has become easier than ever to return to Delhi on the same day.
People who go abroad for their holiday come back refreshed, compared to ours which is so tiring. No surprise that many upper-middle class Indians now prefer overseas destinations over domestic options and flee to places such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur or Dubai and Singapore, to escape the travails of travel in India.
Government Efforts:
In Nov. 2014, the Government of India decided to give visas on arrival to tourists from 43 countries, up from 12 earlier. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism, hailed the move as “a dream come true for the entire tourism industry of India” and added that it was “bound to positively impact the economy.” But the decision hasn’t exactly resulted in a deluge of international travelers. India saw just a modest growth of 6.8% in the total number of foreign tourists in Dec. 2014 over Dec. 2013. In contrast, the number of international travelers increased by 9% in Dec. 2013 over Dec. 2012.
The government wants to make India an attractive tourist destination so that the country’s share in world tourist arrivals rises to 2% by 2025 from the present 0.68% and is all set to launch a new tourism policy which will replace the one in place since 2002. This is in line with the NDA government’s aim and PM Modi’s vision to make tourism a major driver of economic growth. The policy aims to project India’s image as a welcoming, safe, secure, clean, hygienic and sustainable destination for both foreign and domestic tourists.
The government plans to promote lesser known places and destinations rather than just focusing on gateway cities. It has also launched a new scheme called Swadesh Darshan for integrated development of tourist circuits around specific themes. These are Ramayan Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit and Rural Circuit. Tourism Ministry has already been working on launching spiritual circuits across the country which include Buddhist Circuit, Jain Circuit and Sufi Circuit. The ministry has also taken up the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD), under PRASAD, 12 cities have been identified initially for development. Swachh Bharat Swachh Smarak, a major cleanliness campaign has been launched under the Swachh Bharat movement for protecting and preserving the sanctity of monuments of national heritage. An another initiative is to set up a National Tourism Advisory Board, which will be chaired by the tourism minister and have a dedicated secretariat and a body to undertake various promotional activities, according to the proposed policy.
Conclusion:
Tourism plays a critical role in boosting a nation’s economic growth and it is the main source of foreign exchange for a third of developing countries. It is very unfortunate that our previous tourism policies were neither scientific nor can they boast of a firm strength. If things continue the way they are, we will continue to lose foreign tourists to other Asian destinations that offer exotic locales at affordable prices. But if we are to leverage tourism as a precursor to trade and investment, and to get a significant surge in our foreign exchange earnings, then we must get the basics right.
In India’s case, tourism creates 78 jobs for every million rupees invested in it as compared to 45 in the manufacturing sector and accounts for 53 million jobs in the country according to a planning commission report. The fact that despite spending only close to a percent of our GDP on it, tourism contributes to close to 7% to India’s GDP and over 10% of total employment generation shows how much of a multiplier effect it can have. The figures leaves us with little doubt that tourism is a sector which has so much promise. Now is high time that India must make tourism and the ancillary infrastructure around it, a focal point for development.
In an effort to market themselves, popular Bollywood celebrities have been roped in for featuring in tourism commercials by the central government and state government’s alike. Gujarat, for example, with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan asking people to breathe in a bit of Gujarat will not bring tourists in unless they are assured of safety, cleanliness, connectivity, infrastructure and so on.
References
Tourism is the key to development, prosperity and well-being, states the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). An ever-increasing number of destinations worldwide have opened up to, and invested in tourism, turning it into a key driver of socio-economic progress through the creation of jobs and enterprises, export revenues, and infrastructure development. Over the past six decades, tourism has experienced continued expansion and diversification to become one of the largest and fastest-growing economic sectors in the world. Tourism has boasted virtually uninterrupted growth over time, despite occasional shocks, demonstrating the sector’s strength and resilience. International tourist arrivals have increased from 25 million globally in 1950 to 1186 million in 2015. Likewise, international tourism receipts earned by destinations worldwide have surged from US$ 2 billion in 1950 to US$ 1260 billion in 2015. International tourism now represents 7% of the world’s exports in goods and services, as tourism has grown faster than world trade over the past four years. Moreover, in many developing countries, tourism ranks as the first export sector.
Tourism in India
As per the data compiled by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism generated Rs 8.31 lakh crore (US$120 billion) or roughly 6.3% of India’s GDP in 2015 and created 37.315 million jobs which accounts to 8.7% of the country’s total employment. The tourism sector in India is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5% to Rs18.36 lakh crore (US$270 billion) by 2025 (7.2% of GDP). In the year 2015 about 80.27 lakh (8.027 million) foreign tourists arrived in India compared to 76.79 lakh (7.679 million) in 2014, recording a growth of 4.5%. In 2014, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most popular states for tourists while Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism and also runs the Incredible India campaign.
How India compares to the rest of the world
According to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), India was ranked 65th out of 140 countries covered in its study conducted in the year 2013. In the 2015 report, India has moved up 13 notches to 52nd position on a global list that ranks 141 countries in terms of their travel and tourism competitiveness. However, India ranks worse than its emerging market peers like China, Brazil, Russia and South Africa. Of the large emerging markets, China (17th) and Brazil (28th) made it into the top 30, whereas Russia, South Africa and India ranked 45th, 48th and 52nd, respectively. The list has been topped by Spain, which is followed by France, Germany, US, UK, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Japan and Canada in the top ten. But the diversity in the top 30 shows that a country does not have to be wealthy to have a flourishing tourism sector.
The same report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 8th out of 141 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 35th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and an average ground transport infrastructure (ranked 50th). Even though India scores high on natural and cultural resources (ranked 12th), some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain underdeveloped which drags down the overall ranking. Despite the tall claims made by the new central government and efforts made by our Prime Minister to promote India as a global tourism hub, the long-standing infrastructure gaps remain, especially in tourism-specific infrastructure (where India is ranked 109th) and the quality of roads. India also lags on health and hygiene (ranked 106th) and Information, Communications and Technology readiness (ranked 114th). The safety and security situation remains unsettling, with a perceived increase in the impact of crime and violence (97th), and India ranks poorly at 139th spot for environmental sustainability.
Factors that fail India
With good food, rich culture, beautiful historic monuments, spirituality, and diversity – India has all the right ingredients to lure travellers from all over the world. Despite having all it takes to be a tourist powerhouse, India fails to deliver. The reasons for India’s struggle to attract visitors are many, ranging from infrastructural hurdles to security concerns and the poor attitude of its citizens towards tourists, among others.
Infrastructural Hurdles
One of the primary areas of concern for the Indian tourism industry is the huge shortage of hotel rooms, especially in the budget sector. The government's report of the Working Group on Tourism, under the 12th Five Year Plan set up by the Planning Commission stated that the country requires an additional 1,90,108 hotels rooms by 2016 to meet a projected 12% growth in tourism. According to global hospitality consultancy, HVS, India is expected to bolster its hotel room capacity by 54,000 over the next three to four years.
To encourage the growth of budget hotels, the government has put in place some incentives which includes a five year tax holiday for two, three & four star category hotels located in all UNESCO World Heritage Sites (except Delhi and Mumbai), Hotel and Tourism related industry being declared a high priority industry and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of up to 100% being allowed under the automatic route. However, the hotel owners in India do not seem much interested in building budget hotels as they think they won't make any money.
Another issue is of the poor condition of Indian roads. Being the birthplace of Buddhism, India has huge potential to attract tourists from Buddhist countries like Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka, etc. Unfortunately our roads and infrastructure to these places is in shambles, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh that host majority of the Buddhist attractions are a perfect case in point. As a result, we have the history and culture but no proper facilities and infrastructure for tourists to visit them. The infrastructure certainly is improving but at a snail’s pace. Even the quality of tourist cars in the country isn’t great either.
Related to the issue of proper roads is the issue of connectivity. The connectivity even between popular destinations such as the Khajuraho-Varanasi sector, leaves a lot to be desired. There are very few flights on the Khajuraho-Varanasi stretch and if one decides to travel by surface then it consumes 10-12 hours due to the bad condition of roads on that stretch. Other facilities such as number of feeder stations needs to be increased. Moreover, buses don't have enough stops for pick up or for people to use the washroom or grab a cup of tea or coffee. The harassment of passengers by bus staff is another matter of grave concern.
Train travel in India brings with it its own set of troubles, and the hassles begin right from the first step of getting a train ticket booking done. The only trains on which tourists can travel comfortably are the upmarket tourist special trains such as the Maharaja’s Express or the Golden Chariot, but as these trains are amongst the costliest in the world, they are out of reach of the budget traveller.
Domestic air transport has drastically improved in the recent years, providing easy and cheap air connectivity between different Indian cities and towns. But airfares have to be moderated to prevent fares from skyrocketing during the peak tourist seasons.
Safety Concerns
The crimes against women and the general security situation in India act as deterrent and discourages travellers from planning a visit to our country. Foreign women are stalked and harassed relentlessly, and unfortunate incidents of rapes and robberies are also not rare at tourist sites across the country. The horrific Delhi gang rape case that made international headlines in 2012, followed by other cases where foreign female tourists were sexually assaulted has made a severe dent in India’s image as a safe tourist destination. The infamous incident brought to Delhi the notorious title of being the rape capital of the world and led to a 25% dip in the country’s foreign tourist inflow in the following tourist season. Moreover, it also resulted in women foreign tourist arrivals in India dipping by as much as 35%.
Last year, International Women’s Travel Centre, a popular travel website ranked India as the worst country in the world for solo female travellers and went on to call India, dangerous & obnoxious. In the past few years, travel advisories and warnings have been issued by several international governments warning there citizens against travelling in India. Some of these nations include the governments of USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and China among others. The United States categorically states that women should not travel alone in India due to the likelihood of sexual assault and harassment but also lists many other hazards in India (including infectious disease, interreligious violence, terrorism etc.) Australia (Aussie Travel Advisory) warns women to be careful in all parts of India even when traveling in groups and Canada (Canadian Travel Advisory), warns it’s citizens to ‘exercise a high degree of caution’ for going to India in general, and suggests avoiding non-essential travel in a number of regions (Jammu, Kashmir, Manipur, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab, to list a few). The recent comments by India’s tourism minister, Mahesh Sharma recommending women vacationing in India to avoid wearing skirts and walking alone at night in order to protect themselves have elicited criticism from various quarters.
Law and order is a pre-requisite for a successful tourist destination. If tourists do not feel safe, no fancy Incredible India campaign can change their minds about visiting the country. As things stand, the only thing that seems incredible about India is that people are still willing to consider India as their possible holiday destination. This is not to demean India’s tremendous tourism potential, but the poor tourism infrastructure and unscrupulous touts overshadows all the good that India has to offer.
The Not So Incredible Indians:
Imagine yourself as a tourist who lands in a new country with lot of expectations and the first people you meet end up conning you! Everyone around you, be it the taxi guy or hotel guy or travel agent or even the supposedly govt. run help-desk is trying to snatch your hard-earned money! How would you feel? Would you ever be able to form a positive image of such a country no matter how rich its history is or how grand its monuments are or how scenic the mountains are? Would you feel safe or ever trust anyone in such an environment despite the fact that the majority of the people are still very generous and helpful?
Following is an excerpt from a blog on the famous Wall Street Journal website, which gives a real life example of how people from the tourism fraternity itself are bringing shame to the nation. “… Last week, Indian newspapers carried a story about two German tourists who were subjected to an extreme version of one of these seven scams that visitors to Delhi are apparently likely to experience. Their pre-paid taxi driver told them their Paharganj hotel could not be found, and they were then driven to Rajasthan, for which they were charged around $2,300, according to the story in the Indian Express.”
There is something seriously wrong with the people involved in India’s tourism trade who probably have shredded their values and conscience. Athithi Devo Bhav seems to be just a stupid, irritating phrase with no real-life meaning and significance these days albeit it’s occasional use in government campaigns and glossy tourism brochures. It seems that they don't care for anything except how to get the maximum out of other person - by hook or crook! Upon carefully analysing how tourism works in India one finds that ‘Incredible India’ is just a tourism slogan, and that’s where it ends. At the grass roots level, and at its very core, India continues to be a regressive, intolerant and a stagnant society. No wonder we are ranked at paltry 38th in terms of foreign tourist arrival with countries a fraction of our size beating us by humongous margins. Thailand, for example, roughly gets four times the number of visitors than India does; a clear suggestion that India’s tourism sector is badly underperforming.
Case of Agra – The city of Taj
Nikhil Inamdar in an article to Business Standard has highlighted the woes of travelling in India’s premier tourist city – Agra. “Narendra Modi is right about Agra. As he said, it is unlikely to get a sizeable share of the world’s $3 trillion tourism business. Unlikely, despite being home to the iconic Taj Mahal, the stunning garden tomb of Akbar – the Maqbara and the imposing Agra fort – all zeniths of Mogul creativity and engineering.”
Driving down from Delhi on the ritzy Yamuna expressway, one simply gets flabbergasted upon finding how dirty and smelly the historical town of Agra is. The roads are chaotic and traffic is in a mess even by our awful Indian standards. All your hopes of being transported back into Mogul era grandeur gets dashed to the ground, and you are in for an all rounded assault on your senses – harrying travel agents, filthy budget hotels, relentless power cuts and the shocking lack of facilities considered bare minimum at a tourist destination to provide for a decent holiday experience.
Despite being on top of the list of every foreign tourist coming to India, the city has no tourist oriented market to meet the shopping and culinary needs of a tourist, such as the Dilli Haat in Delhi. As a result, the tourists are left with no option but to ask for suggestions from auto/taxi drivers who seem to have mastered the art of misleading and fooling the tourists. These greedy drivers takes the tourists only to those shop/restaurant that offers them a commission.
Moreover, there are no easy connections available for day trips from Agra to popular tourist attractions nearby, like the Keoladeo National Park in Bharatpur which is every bird lovers paradise, or the heritage complex of Fatehpur Sikri which once served as the capital of emperor Akbar. There is no way that a foreign tourist can reach these places without either being ripped off, or to bear the huge inconvenience of taking a trip in one of the poorly managed intercity buses. For foreign tourists who are not used to the mess and madness of an Indian city, it becomes quite a daunting task to get going on any activity in Agra. Once in Agra, all you want to do is to get out as quickly as possible, after doing the obligatory Taj ritual.
It is indeed a wonder how the Taj has survived in India. A huge credit goes to Shah Jahan for not only making it extraordinarily beautiful but also stand to the destructive tourism policies of the country. Agra has much to offer in terms of tourism but people do not want to waste time beyond Taj. It is beyond reasoning why a city which brings India so much fame is left in such a bad shape? The answer to this can be found in a conspiracy theory relating to the underdevelopment of Agra. It is believed that it’s in the interest of Delhi hotels and tourism industry that Agra remains under-developed. As a result, people would just come to Agra in the morning, see the Taj Mahal (probably Agra Fort and Sikandra as well) and return to Delhi in the night. How credible is this theory, is a matter of another research. But with the opening of the new Yamuna Expressway it has become easier than ever to return to Delhi on the same day.
People who go abroad for their holiday come back refreshed, compared to ours which is so tiring. No surprise that many upper-middle class Indians now prefer overseas destinations over domestic options and flee to places such as Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur or Dubai and Singapore, to escape the travails of travel in India.
Government Efforts:
In Nov. 2014, the Government of India decided to give visas on arrival to tourists from 43 countries, up from 12 earlier. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism, hailed the move as “a dream come true for the entire tourism industry of India” and added that it was “bound to positively impact the economy.” But the decision hasn’t exactly resulted in a deluge of international travelers. India saw just a modest growth of 6.8% in the total number of foreign tourists in Dec. 2014 over Dec. 2013. In contrast, the number of international travelers increased by 9% in Dec. 2013 over Dec. 2012.
The government wants to make India an attractive tourist destination so that the country’s share in world tourist arrivals rises to 2% by 2025 from the present 0.68% and is all set to launch a new tourism policy which will replace the one in place since 2002. This is in line with the NDA government’s aim and PM Modi’s vision to make tourism a major driver of economic growth. The policy aims to project India’s image as a welcoming, safe, secure, clean, hygienic and sustainable destination for both foreign and domestic tourists.
The government plans to promote lesser known places and destinations rather than just focusing on gateway cities. It has also launched a new scheme called Swadesh Darshan for integrated development of tourist circuits around specific themes. These are Ramayan Circuit, Desert Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit and Rural Circuit. Tourism Ministry has already been working on launching spiritual circuits across the country which include Buddhist Circuit, Jain Circuit and Sufi Circuit. The ministry has also taken up the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD), under PRASAD, 12 cities have been identified initially for development. Swachh Bharat Swachh Smarak, a major cleanliness campaign has been launched under the Swachh Bharat movement for protecting and preserving the sanctity of monuments of national heritage. An another initiative is to set up a National Tourism Advisory Board, which will be chaired by the tourism minister and have a dedicated secretariat and a body to undertake various promotional activities, according to the proposed policy.
Conclusion:
Tourism plays a critical role in boosting a nation’s economic growth and it is the main source of foreign exchange for a third of developing countries. It is very unfortunate that our previous tourism policies were neither scientific nor can they boast of a firm strength. If things continue the way they are, we will continue to lose foreign tourists to other Asian destinations that offer exotic locales at affordable prices. But if we are to leverage tourism as a precursor to trade and investment, and to get a significant surge in our foreign exchange earnings, then we must get the basics right.
In India’s case, tourism creates 78 jobs for every million rupees invested in it as compared to 45 in the manufacturing sector and accounts for 53 million jobs in the country according to a planning commission report. The fact that despite spending only close to a percent of our GDP on it, tourism contributes to close to 7% to India’s GDP and over 10% of total employment generation shows how much of a multiplier effect it can have. The figures leaves us with little doubt that tourism is a sector which has so much promise. Now is high time that India must make tourism and the ancillary infrastructure around it, a focal point for development.
In an effort to market themselves, popular Bollywood celebrities have been roped in for featuring in tourism commercials by the central government and state government’s alike. Gujarat, for example, with Mr. Amitabh Bachchan asking people to breathe in a bit of Gujarat will not bring tourists in unless they are assured of safety, cleanliness, connectivity, infrastructure and so on.
References
- UNWTO Tourism Highlights, 2016 Edition, World Tourism Organisation.
- Wikipedia. (2016, December 13). Tourism in India. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_India
- Firstpost India. (2013, August 5). Why India is not so ‘incredible’ for tourists. Retrieved from http://www.firstpost.com/india/why-india-is-not-so-incredible-for-tourists-1012121.html
- Mostly Economics. (2013, November 25). Why Incredible India is simply not that incredible. Retrieved from https://mostlyeconomics.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/why-incredible-india-is-simply-not-that-incredible-case-of-taj-and-agra/
- Quora. (2015, March 13). Incredible India but not so Incredible Indians!! Retrieved from https://peaceseeker.quora.com/Incredible-India-but-not-so-Incredible-Indians
- Mint. (2015, May 1). Government aims at 2% share of global tourist arrivals by 2025 [e-paper]. Retrieved from http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Jlp4z0yCnQCC0XiFSkXM8O/Government-aims-at-2-share-of-global-tourist-arrivals-by-20.html
- Ghosh, Rudroneel. Times of India. (2013, April 3). Not so Incredible !ndia: We cannot take our tourism potential for granted. Retrieved from http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/talkingturkey/not-so-incredible-india-we-cannot-take-our-tourism-potential-for-granted/