Tourism in India
Tourism in India is economically important and is growing rapidly. The
World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated
₹14.02 lakh crore
(US$220 billion) or 9.6% of the nation's GDP in 2016 and
supported 40.343 million jobs, 9.3% of its total employment. The sector
is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 6.8% to
₹28.49 lakh crore (US$440 billion) by 2027 (10% of GDP).
[1] In October 2015,
India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$3 billion. It is projected to grow to $7–8 billion by 2020.
[2] In 2014, 184,298 foreign patients traveled to India to seek medical treatment.
[3]
About 88.90
lakh
(8.89 million) foreign tourists arrived in India in 2016 compared to
80.27 lakh (8.027 million) in 2015, recording a growth of 10.7%.
[4][5][6] Domestic tourist visits to all states and
Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011.
[7] In 2014,
Tamil Nadu,
Maharashtra and
Uttar Pradesh were the most popular states for tourists.
[8] Delhi,
Mumbai,
Chennai,
Agra and
Jaipur
have been the five most visited cities of India by foreign tourists
during the year 2015. Worldwide, Delhi is ranked at 28 by the number of
foreign tourist arrivals, while Mumbai is ranked at 30, Chennai at 43,
Agra at 45, Jaipur at 52 and
Kolkata at 90.
[9]
The
Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 ranks
India 40th out of 136 countries overall. The report ranks the price
competitiveness of India's tourism sector 10th out of 136 countries. It
mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 32nd),
particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable
ground transport infrastructure (ranked 29th). The country also scores
high on natural and cultural resources (ranked 9th).
[10]
Some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat
underdeveloped however. The nation has very few hotel rooms per capita
by international comparison and low
ATM penetration.
[11] The
World Tourism Organization reported that India's receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th among Asian and Pacific countries.
[12]
The
Ministry of Tourism
designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism.
In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other
stakeholders in the sector including various Central
Ministries/agencies, state governments, Union Territories and the
representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being made
to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, cruise, medical and
eco-tourism.
[13] The Ministry also maintains the
Incredible India campaign.
Despite the rich cultural and natural heritage which India possesses,
the security issues and crime — especially against female visitors,
form a persisting trouble that has plagued the Indian tourism industry.
[14][15][16]