2024-09-25 22:09:25
New Delhi: We are talking about the country’s Travel & Tourism Sector. In the year 2019-20, i.e. just before the start of the Corona period, this sector employed 7.89 crore people directly or indirectly. But today its glory has not returned. The reason is the lack of foreign tourists. Therefore, this sector has appealed to the government for help.
Foreign tourists have not returned yet
Before the Corona period, foreign tourists used to come to India in good numbers. The years 2018 and 2019 were normal years, that is, the shadow of Corona had not fallen till then. According to government data, 1.05 crore foreign tourists came to India in the year 2018 and 1.09 crore in the year 2019. Similarly, after the Corona period was over, the year 2023 was also a normal year. But that year only 92.36 lakh foreign tourists came to India. Tourism industry experts say that the way bookings are being received, it is not expected that we will reach the level of 2019 this year too.
The number of people going abroad is increasing
Whether foreign tourists come to India or not, the number of people traveling abroad from India is constantly increasing. According to the Union Ministry of Tourism, 2.69 crore Indians traveled abroad in the year 2019. This number will increase to 2.82 crore in the year 2023. A report by the industry organization FICCI shows that given the rate at which the number of Indians traveling abroad is increasing, India’s outbound tourism market will reach $ 55.4 billion. This shows an annual growth of more than 11 percent.
need help from the government
India’s top inbound tourism body IATO has appealed to the government for help. They say that for the last few years, there has been less promotion of Indian tourist destinations abroad. In fact, the government has reduced the budgetary provision for this work. Also, the incentives that the country’s tour operators were getting have also been abolished. If the government wants, it can start this support again, which can be used for promotion in major source markets like UK, Canada, USA, Germany, Australia, France and Russia.
More than 15 percent of jobs are in the tourism sector
IATO says that India’s tourism and travel sector created 7.98 crore employment opportunities directly and indirectly during the year 2019-2020. This is 15.34 percent of the total jobs available in the country. The foreign exchange earnings from this sector during the year 2020 were around 7 billion dollars. Not only this, in terms of GDP, tourism contributed 5.19 percent (direct + indirect) during the year 2019-2020.
Why are more people traveling abroad?
IATO President Rajiv Mehra says that since the pandemic has subsided, there has been a strong revival in domestic tourism and outbound travel. This is mainly due to pent-up demand, the attractiveness of exotic locations and incentives such as visa fee waivers announced by many countries. Unless foreign tourists see a similar attraction in India, how will they come here?
What should the government do?
IATO said in a statement, “In view of this, IATO urges the government to increase the budget for overseas promotion if possible. Both electronic and print advertising abroad and road shows abroad should be resumed. In addition, PLI like the one introduced for the manufacturing sector can also be given to tour operators, as it will help in earning valuable foreign exchange and with this money they can promote their destinations abroad.” Also, the government should consider waiving visa fees, as this will increase the numbers and easily compensate for the loss of revenue in the form of visa fees.