Geography Project ICSE - 2022

                                                                                                                        :CURRENT
GEOGRAPHICAL ISSUES: Development of tourism in India

1. Acknowledgement:

It will always be my pleasure to thank those who helped me in making this project an experience
for me

I would like to express my gratitude to my respected principal and my respected teacher for
giving me an opportunity to make such an interesting Project on Geography.

My parents blessings and my friend's co-operation had been my strength to complete this
project. Finally, I am grateful to those who have directly or indirectly helped me during this
project.

2. CONTENTS:

3. LIST OF ILLUSTRATION:

4. INTRODUCTION:

   Today tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to the
national GDP and providing 8.78% of the total employment. India witnesses more than 5 million
annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits. The tourism industry in
India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is expected to increase to US$275.5
billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. The Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the
development and promotion of tourism in India and maintains the "Incredible India" campaign.

According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from 2010-2020,
having the highest 10-year growth potential. As per the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness
Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and
62nd overall, moving up three places on the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked
the 14th best tourist destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with
many World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative industries
in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network. The India travel and
tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth and is expected to be the second
largest employer in the world by 2019.

Moreover, India has been ranked the "best country brand for value-for-money" in the Country
Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by Future Brand, a leading global brand consultancy. India
also claimed the second place in CBI's "best country brand for history", as well as appears
among the top 5 in the best country brand for authenticity and art & culture, and the fourth best
new country for business. India made it to the list of "rising stars" or the countries that are likely
to become major tourist destinations in the next five years, led by the United Arab Emirates,
China, and Vietnam.
5. Body:

I. Tourism definition:

Tourism is the act and process of spending time away from home in pursuit of recreation,
relaxation, and pleasure, while making use of the commercial provision of services. As such,
tourism is a product of modern social arrangements, beginning in western Europe in the 17th
century, although it has antecedents in Classical antiquity.

II. Growth and development of tourism in India:

The growth of tourism in India, although steady, is quite not up to the expectation. For a country
with a population of 1.25 billion people, that is a minimum of 1.25 billion tourist visits. India, as a
result, is doing great when it comes to domestic tourism with over 1.6 billion tourist visits to other
states. However, when it comes to international tourists, this isn’t the case. The FTAs ( Foreign
Tourist Arrival) in India is way below other developed countries. With an FTA of just over 10
million, it is almost one-eighth of what France has. Granted that this could be due to the free
travel between Schengen countries, but there are several non-Schengen European countries,
as well as other nations, such as Mexico, Turkey, Russia, etc that have FTAs more than twice
that of India. One of the main reasons for this is the stringent immigration rules in India. Apart
from this, other reasons that restricted a full flow of tourism in India were underdeveloped travel
infrastructure, poor sanitation, as well as concerns about safety. These are aspects that every
tourist look for while visiting a country.

However, thanks to several initiatives by the Govt. of India, these issues have almost completely
disappeared. Campaigns such as Incredible India, Atithi Devo Bhava, India has become a
welcoming nation to tourists from all around the world. Thanks to the e-visa facility for tourist
purposes, travelers from more than 100 countries can get into India with ease. There are even
countries who do not need a visa for India. With the government investing heavily in tourism, as
well as easing the regulations on FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) allowing for 100%, the Indian
tourism industry has started to flourish significantly.
 
III. Factors responsible for development of tourism:

 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 and hill stations also attract tourists.

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

Despite the economic slowdown, medical tourism in India is the fastest growing segment of
tourism industry, according to the market research report “Booming Medical Tourism in India”.
The report adds that India offers a great potential in the medical tourism industry. Factors such
as low cost, scale and range of treatments provided in the country add to its attractiveness as a
medical tourism destination.

IV. Economic importance of tourism and its Advantages:

India is home to some of the world’s oldest civilizations. As of 2011, the nation has 1.89 billion
residents who speak more than 15 official languages, follow a variety of religious traditions and
live in a multitude of urban and rural centers. From the humid, tropical south to the rolling plains
of the Ganges to the foothills of the Himalayas, the huge country’s geography is as varied as its
population. As a result, millions of international and domestic tourists explore India annually,
strongly influencing the national economy.

Travel and tourism play an important role in India's economy; compared with other nations, India
ranks 14th in the world in terms of its tourism sector's contribution to the GDP. At time of
publication, the World Travel and Tourism Council predicts India will sustain the fifth largest
amount of growth in the tourism sector of any country. Tourism can offer direct and indirect aid
to a nation's economy. Direct benefits include economic support for hotels, retail shops,
transportation services, entertainment venues and attractions, while indirect benefits include
government spending on related infrastructure, plus the domestic spending of Indians employed
in the tourism sector.

V. Eco-tourism in India:

In layman term, Eco-tourism is simply the form of tourism in which a tourist visits a place without
disturbing the environment and respecting the local culture and people. Eco-tourism in India is a
new approach taken to preserve the ecosystem and heritage. This type of tourism is largely
beneficial to the local people. By directly involving in this, they ensure that the environment and
natural resources are protected.

In India, the hotspots for this are common in the western and eastern ghats, Himalayan areas,
Kerala, Northeastern states, Andaman and Nicobar islands, and Lakshadweep. The importance
of eco-tourism is significantly high. To maintain the balance of the ecosystem, it is necessary to
preserve the flora and fauna, especially those of endangered species. With an increase in
tourists, these are threatened. As a result, the government has initiated eco-tourism to counter
this issue

VI. Problems affecting 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.

The first-ever Indian Tourism Day was celebrated on January 25, 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 government joined hands with leading airlines, hoteliers, holiday resorts
and tour operators, and offered them a wide range of incentives and bonuses.

The major constraint in the development of tourism in India is the 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.

VII.Future prospects in tourism in India:

 
    The future of tourism in India is golden. From earning 27 billion USD from tourism in 2017, the
earnings are expected to be around 50 billion USD by the year 2028. With a large scale
development being initiated, India aims to be at the top of the tourism economies only behind
China, US, and Germany. As per the expectations, the travel and tourism industry’s contribution
to the Indian GDP will jump from around 200 billion in 2017 to a massive 424 billion by 2027. A
large number of countries have tourism as their main source of income. This has instigated the
Indian government to give a larger focus on tourism. India’s route to be becoming the largest
world economy can only be accomplished by fully realizing the potential of tourism.

For full tourism growth in India, we need to address the different types of tourism that exists in
India to its full possibility. Tourism is a sector that has its branches in almost every other
industry. There are numerous types of tourism that exist in India.

6. Conclusion:

Tourism is a major driver of economic growth globally. India's tourism industry is experiencing a
strong period of growth, driven by the burgeoning Indian middle class, growth in high spending
foreign tourist and coordinated government campaigns to promote 'Incredible India'. For a
developing country like India which is on the path of modern economic growth through structural
transformation of the economy, tourism is the right vehicle. With its forward and backward
linkages with a host of sectors like transport, hospitality, education, health, banking etc. India is
all set to reap full potential of this vibrant sector.

Tourism sector is not only a major contributor to the growth of the economy but a generator of
employments opportunities as well. Various initiative have also been taken by the Tourism
Ministry of India, the Tourism Ministry of various states and the private players to transform India
into a lucrative tourist destination in the world. Let us hope that Indian tourism will have massive
impact and will be a global leader by the year 2020

7.Bibliography:

I. ICSE Geography X by GOYAL BROTHERS PRAKASHAN

II. linkedin.com
III. britannica.com
IV. travindinstitute.com
V. traveltips.usatoday.com
VI. slideshare.net
VII. en.wikipedia.org

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