Focus on developing destinations as tourist inflows rise
14 Aug 2007
With the rising tourist arrivals in India the government is increasing its focus on development of destinations and niche tourism sectors.
Minister
for tourism and culture Ambika Soni today said that the
number of foreign tourist arrival to India during 2006
was provisionally estimated at 4.45 million, recording
an increase of 13.5 per cent, up from 3.92 million arrivals
during 2005.
The working group on tourism for the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012) has set a target of 10 million international visitors in 2011 at the end of 11th Plan.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today, she said, the steps being taken by the government for achieving its full potential in tourism and for attracting more foreign tourist to India include:
- Development
of tourist spots under its various schemes of infrastructure
development for tourist circuits and destinations
- Focusing
on growth of hotel infrastructure particularly budget
hotels
- Enhancing
connectivity through augmentation of air capacity
and improving road infrastructure to major tourist
attractions
- Direct
approach to the consumers through electronic and print
media through the ''Incredible India'' campaign
- Creation
of world class collaterals
- Direct
co-operative marketing with the airlines, tour operators
and wholesalers overseas
- According
greater focus in the emerging markets particularly
in the region of China, North East Asia and South
East Asia;
- Participation
in trade fairs and exhibitions;
- Optimizing
the PR and publicity;
- Use
of internet and web marketing;
- Generating
tourist publications; and
- Reinforced hospitality programmes including grant of air passages to invite the media personnel, tour operators on familiarization tour to India to get first hand knowledge on various tourism products.
Soni has said that during the 10th Five Year Plan, the ministry sanctioned Rs.2011.68 crore for 1160 projects for development of destinations, circuits, rural tourism, events, fairs and festivals and IT projects.
The
unique tourism products developed in the last three years
in the country include medical tourism, cruise tourism,
eco-tourism, convention tourism, among others.
She
said that as per the ''tourism satellite account'', the
total employment generated in the tourism sector during
the last three years was:
| Year | Employment generated |
| 2004-05 | 44.7 million |
| 2005-06 | 47.8 million |
| 2006-07 | 51.1 million (Estimated) |
| Year | Contribution of Tourism Sector to GDP (direct and indirect) |
| 2002-03 | 5.83% |
| 2003-04 | 5.90% |
| 2004-05 | 6.11% |
| Year | Foreign Exchange earned |
| 2004 | 4769 $ million |
| 2005 | 5731 $ million |
| 2006 | 6569 $ million |