Like the rest of the world, the Indian economy too received a huge blow as the world hunkered down at home to prevent the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus in 2020. Although restrictions began to be eased from 2021, it became essentail to find ways and means to revitalise the world economy.
Various studies have shown that the tourism sector is one of the sectors best equipped to boost the economy, especially for a country like India. But for that governments and stakeholders need to boost the sector itself.
Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), a policy federation of all the national associations representing the India tourism, travel and hospitality industries, has published a vision document called India Tourism Vision 2035. It aims to position tourism as a &lsquoSocial Economic Job and Infrastructure creator for India&rsquo as well as &lsquoto be a role model for creating Sustainable and Inclusive Ecosystem&rsquo.
The India Tourism Vision 2035 was released on February 16, 2022, by Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH and Executive Director, ITC.
According to the document, the global tourism industry has posted a CAGR of over 6 per cent in the last 50 years. Besides, it has been the main source of foreign exchange earnings for one-third of developing countries and accounts for upto 40% of GDP in nearly 50% of the least developed countries.
Tourism is the single largest employer in the world with 334 million direct and indirect employment unique potential to fuel employment (both skilled and unskilled workforce) due to low barriers to entry contributing to all strata of society.
Women account for 54% of employment in the sector, compared to 39% for the global economy.
Here is an excerpt from the document which shows why tourism matters for India
- Tourism provided 87.5 million direct & indirect jobs and accounted for 12.75% of the total jobs created in the country in 2019
- 10.93 million Foreign Tourist Arrivals and US$30 billion Foreign Exchange Earnings in 2019
- 2.32 billion domestic tourist visits to states and union territories in 2019 represent a resilient domestic base
- Stimulates the need for critical national and state core and specialized infrastructure and capital expenditure
- The Labour Capital Ratio per million rupee of investment reveals that while manufacturing and agriculture creates 18 jobs in Manufacturing and 45 jobs in Agriculture but 78 jobs in Tourism
According to the statement, the Tourism Vision &lsquowill lead to employment of almost 15 crore Indians. From the 5 crore Indians employed along the tourism value chain may multiply up to 3 times to 15 crores. Directly almost 7.5 crores Indians may get employed by tourism in the public and private sector in hotels, travel agencies & tour operations, tourism transportation , food services, destination management & services which are looking after tourists. Indirectly another 7.5 crores may get employed across the country in ancillary and supporting services in the unorganised sector which are catering to the main tourist service providers&rsquo.
India is also uniquely positioned to boost its tourism industry owing to its natural, historical and cultural heritage as well as progress in various fields, especially educational and medical facilities. According to the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, India ranked 8th in Cultural Resources and Business Travel.
The report has identified four strategic pillars to achieving the India Tourism Vision 2035, which includes
Shared National Tourism Vision - Concurrent Status, Export Status, National Tourism Council, Unique National Tourism ID, and Sustainable Tourism
Value Accretive Regulation - Competitive GST, Domestic Travel Credit, Single Window E-clearance, Seamless Tourism Transportation, and Credits based skilling
Investment Driver - States Centres of Excellence, Industry Status across all States, Mega Tourism Zones, Tourism land banks, Infrastructure Sector, and Last Mile Connectivity
Market Excellence - Segments of Excellence, Global Tourism Brand Ambassadors, Branding as an Investment, Short Haul International Tourism, and 12 Months Country.
Gauging the international trend, the report has also suggested various focus segments in which India has the potential to fuel growth in tourism, including adventure tourism, Buddhist circuit, cruise tourism, heritage tourism, MICE, medical tourism, and rural tourism.
According to FAITH, the main idea behind India Tourism Vision 2035 is to &lsquomake Indian tourism a mainstream engine of socio-economic growth&rsquo and &lsquocreate a shared vision of tourism&rsquo between all stakeholders - centre, state and industry.