The Importance Of Tourism For India
World tourism is considered as a significant factor in the economy of many nations. Today tourism related infrastructure in various parts of the country has improved the quality of life of the local people and helped to promote local arts and crafts. Tourism has contributed to increase awareness about conservation of the environment and the cultural heritage. Tourism is the fastest growing industry in modern world. People have always travelled to distant parts of the world to see monuments, arts and culture, taste new cuisine etc. The term tourist was firstly used as official term in 1937 by the League of Nations. Tourism was defined as people travelling abroad for period of over 24 hours.
As per the International Union of Official Travel Organization (IUOTO), now called as World Tourism Organization (WTO), has defined tourist as a temporary visitor staying for at least 24 hours in a country visited when the purpose of the journey can be classified under one of the following headings –a) Leisure: - recreation, holiday, health, study of religion and sports orb) Business, family, mission meetings.WTO has taken the concept of „tourism‟ beyond a stereo type image of „holiday making‟. The official accepted definition in the report is: “Tourism comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment not for leisure, business and other purposes”.
WTO has classified three types of tourism:
- Domestic Tourism. It consists of residents visiting within their own country. No formalities are required in this kind of travel.
- Inbound Tourism. Comprises non- residents travelling into a country of their choice.
- Outbound Tourism. Comprises residents of a nation travelling out to foreign country.
Due to growing economic significance of tourism, it has a spectacular increase in tourism worldwide and increase in tourist earning. That money is absorbed by the local economies of the nation, and helps to increase jobs as well as opportunities. Tourism mostly depends on the range and types of accommodation available at the destination. Accommodation is a core of the tourist industry, and plays a distinctive role in the development of this ever - expanding industry. Tourism also tends to give support to local handicrafts and cultural activities; both in urban and rural areas. Expenditure by tourists has a multiplier effect and also generates considerable tax revenue for local economy.
Tourism in India
India’s glorious traditions and rich cultural heritage are closely related with the development of tourism. Its magnificent monuments attract a large number of tourists from all over the world. The natural surroundings, the architectural masterpieces, the music, dance, paintings, customs and languages all these go to make India as tourist paradise. India, a land of geographical diversity, blessed with a long history of rich civilization and culture. It is a potential tourism paradise with a wide variety of attractions ranging from beautiful beaches, hill stations, scenery, forts, monuments, fairs, festivals, art, crafts, culture, forest, wildlife, and religious centers etc. India has one of the world‟s richest natural heritage.
The tourist organization of India had its beginning from the year 1945. A committee was appointed in 1945 under the Chairmanship of Sir John Sargent, Educational Advisor, and Government of India. The Sargent Committee submitted their interim report in October 1946, but implication of the suggestions given by this committee was implemented after independence. As per the report of Sargent Committee, Tourist Traffic Committee was appointed in 1948. On the recommendation a Tourist Traffic Branch was setup in 1949 with regional offices at Kolkata and Chennai. The tourist traffic branch was further expanded in 1955-56 from one branch to four branches and hand over a function to them viz
- Tourist Traffic
- Tourist Administration
- Tourist Advertisements
- Distribution Section
The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2010 increased to 5.78 million as compared to 5.17 million in 2009. The growth rate in FTAs during 2010 over 2009 was 11.8 per cent as compared to (-) 2.2 per cent during 2009 over 2008. The growth rate of 11.8 per cent in 2010 for India was better than UNWTO‟s projected growth rate of 5 per cent to 6 per cent for the world in 2010. The share of India in international tourist arrivals in 2010 was 0.61per cent, which is 0.02 per cent improvement over 2009. However, India’s rank improved to 40th in 2010, from 41st in 2009. India accounted for 2.83 per cent of tourist arrivals in Asia Pacific Region in 2010, with the rank of 11.
Tourism continues to play an important role as a foreign exchange earner for the country. In 2010, foreign exchange earnings (FEE) from tourism were ` 64889 crore as compared to ` 54960 in 2009, registering a growth of 18.1 per cent. Number of domestic tourist visits in India during 2010 was 740.21 million as compared to 668.80 million in 2009, with a growth rate of 18.8 per cent. With its backward and forward linkages with other sectors of the economy like transport, constriction, handicrafts, manufacturing, horticulture, agriculture etc., tourism has the potential to not only be the economy driver, but also become an effective tool for poverty alleviation and ensuring growth with equity.
