Tourism Trends in India in the Current and Past Scenarios

Question: What is your tourism Whakapapa? Illustrate your answer using a Series of trends and tourism Concepts? Answer: Introduction Tourism offers unique opportunity for revenue earning and growth of a country(Kant, 2009). India is a growing and developing Asian sub-continent that is currently experiencing growth related to all social and economic aspects. It is the seventh largest country in terms of area with a high amount of population and is a democratic country. India has attracted a diversified range of tourism from all over the world due to its rich cultural heritage and archeological infrastructure. India is a diversified land with developed cities on one hand and rural agricultural area on the other. There are a lot of historically important sites and places of interest in India that attracts foreign tourists from world over. Industrialization in India has affected the economy of the country tremendously and affected growth rates which have provided scope of attracting further international tourists(Turner, 2007). The country recently has developed several private aircraft carriers that connect to world major cities at affordable rates which are further providing influx of tourists. The scope of the current report deals in analysis of tourism trends in India in the current and past scenarios. Tourism Trends in India The tourism industry in India is experiencing high growth associated with development in infrastructure and tourism facilities across the country. There are variety types of tourism experience that is being offered by the country to international and domestic tourists(Raj, 2007). Due to the diversified nature of land and presence of mountains, desert, beaches, jungles and many other facilities there are a varied type of experiences offered. Currently India occupies almost 0.9% share in global tourism industry and growing at a rate of 12% CAGR. There is a sharp increase in tourism from the year 2000 from previous trends of 7% previously. This increase in tourism in recent years has depicted high earning associated with foreign exchange of 15% as well(Crooks, 2011). There has been a tremendous turnaround in international tourists arrivals since 2002 with reversing of temporary declining trends. The Government of India has recently taken initiative to promote Incredible India throughout the world. Country of Origin of Tourists India has a steady influx of tourism especially during its winter months from October to March from foreign location and during summer months of May to September for trekking and skiing destinations(Ghimire, 2013). Apart from these the jungles of Ranthambore, Sariska, Jim Corbett National Park, Sundarban National Park and many more continue to attract tourists all year long due to their heritage of Royal Bengal Tiger, which has become a rare species. The countries of origin of these tourists constitute Switzerland, USA, Australia, Brazil, China and other countries. Figure 1 : International Tourists India Source: (lucknowobserver.com, Retrieved on 2nd April 2017) Most of the international well known television channels constitutes the prime tourists for India as Discovery channel, Animal Planet, National Geographic and so on(Jamal, 2009). Duration of Stay Earlier trends of tourists depicted shorter stays in India as there was relatively lower insights regarding various places of travel. Now with steady promotion of various trekking expeditions on the Himalayas, Packaged tours across Thar desert in Charriot on Wheels, Ayurvedic tour in Kerala has attracted longer stays(Pan, 2008). There is a predominance tourists for medical purpose in India as well from neighboring countries. India has a developed infrastructural medical facility at affordable rates which leads to many from neighboring nations visit the country. Tourists especially from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal and other countries often come to India to cure any type of disease or obtain advanced medical facility in the country(De Arellano, 2007). With India relaxing the norms and issuing of visas on arrivals, there is a greater influx of tourists in the country. Demand of International Tourists In the past international tourists had sought to primarily visit the cultural heritage and Wonder of the World Taj Mahal situated in India. There are several palaces in Rajasthan which had attracted attention from international as well as domestic tourists. But recent development in infrastructural and tourism facilities with major international players coming into being has changed India as a tourism destination altogether(Balmford, 2009). India is now a country which has a presence of large hotel and luxury group chains as JW Marriott, Taj Group of Hotels, Radisson and Oberoi Grand. These hoteliers are offering luxury stays accompanied with guided and packaged tours at affordable rates. There is also development of Himalayan trekking, mountaineering, para-gliding and river rafting adventure that has led to arousing international tourists attention. Hence, against earlier trends it has been noted that international trekking experiences as Kanchenjunga, Gochela and other peaks gets a steady influx of international tourists who seek adventure. Further there is a recent development of scuba diving and snorkeling in Andaman and Nicobar Island which is getting a steady flow of tourist from domestic as well as international players(Moutinho, 2011). India also offers a paradise for food lovers with a variety of culinary experiences from various parts of the country. Various food travellers visit the country in order to taste and experience the variety of cuisines offered by the country. Demand of Domestic Tourists The domestic travellers within India are also particularly high with majority people travelling for leisure as well as for religion. With growth and development of Indian service sector and booming IT sector there is a high number of domestic traveller who are exploring new destinations and traveling across the country. This recent trend has led to emergence of a number of aircraft carriers in the country and home stays and local hotel growth. From the past trend of domestic travellers traveling for religious purposes and recent trend has increased due to inclusion of helicopter rides to provide access to various inaccessible places as Vaishna Devi, Kedarnath Dham, Badrinath Dham and so on. Mind Map The below depicted mind map is a reflection of the various types of tourists in international and domestic sector that travels across India. This mind-map provides a minor insight into the various tourism activities that is taken place in the country. Figure 2: Mind Map for Tourism in India Source: Author Conclusion While India receives a steady influx of tourism it needs to design sustainable tourism within its country. Low environmental standards, high incidence of crime and low promotion in international markets have led to various tourist from diverting away from Indian tourism. As Indian Rupee rate is comparatively lower, it offers an attractive destination for foreign tourists and travellers as well as for domestic travellers to travel at affordable rates. Hence, the government of the country needs to devise ways and means such that it is able to develop a sustainable tourism model for India. References Balmford, A. B. (2009). A global perspective on trends in nature-based tourism. PLoS Biol, e1000144. Crooks, V. A. (2011). Promoting medical tourism to India: Messages, images, and the marketing of international patient travel. . Social Science Medicine, 726-732. De Arellano, A. B. (2007). Patients without borders: the emergence of medical tourism. International Journal of Health Services, 193-198. Ghimire, K. B. (2013). The native tourist: Mass tourism within developing countries. Routledge. Jamal, T. . (2009). The SAGE handbook of tourism studies. Sage. Kant, A. (2009). Branding India: an incredible story. 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