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India is one of the most ancient civilizations of the world. It has a long tradition of healthy, ecologically sound and spiritually elevating tourism. It has vast bounties of nature — majestic mountains, lovely beaches, wonderful wildlife and enchanting bird sanctuaries, as also great treasures of art, architecture and philosophical thought. Its cultural and sacred space, extending from the Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari to Hampi in Karnataka, to Vaishnodevi in Jammu to Shankracharya Hill and Amarnath Cave in Kashmir, and to Buddhist Monasteries amidst the moonscape of Ladakh is virtually immeasurable. Vast opportunities also exist with regard to nature, hill, adventure, rural and wild life tourism and also in relation to our practices of Yoga, Siddha, Ayurveda and Unani systems of dealing with physical and mental ailments. “What is there that is not here”, aptly sums up its many a splendoured heritage.
Tourism is essentially an expression of natural human instinct for experience, adventure, education and entertainment. It is a major social phenomenon of the modern society with enormous economic consequences. Its importance as an instrument for economic development and employment generation, particularly in remote and backward areas, has been now well recognised the world over.
Tourism is the world’s largest export industry. According to the World Tourism Organisation, about 694 million tourists travelled internationally in 2003 and spent about US$ 514 billion. As per the estimates prepared by World Travel and Tourism Council(WTTC), it is estimated that tourism accounts for about 13 per cent of the total world exports. Further, the travel and tourism economy employment which was estimated at 207 million jobs or 8.2 per cent of global employment in 2001 is likely to grow to 260 million jobs or 9 per cent of the global work force by 2011.
India has also been able to derive substantial benefits from tourism even with comparatively low levels of international tourist traffic. In fact, tourism has already emerged as an important segment of national economy and has been recognised as an instrument for generating large-scale employment opportunities. It offers enormous potential for economically utilizing the natural attractions like landscapes, mountains, beaches and rivers, which are plenty in the country. It also applies equally to a multitude of man-made attractions like monuments, palaces, forts and others, which were constructed over the years. Tourism is presently the country’s third largest export industry after Gems and Jewellry and Readymade Garments. The foreign exchange earnings from tourism during 2003 are estimated to be about Rs16,500 crore. Further, according to estimated figures, total direct employment in the tourism sector in the country was about 20 million during 2003-04. The indirect employment multiplier in the case of tourism is fairly high and is estimated as 2.36 million. It means that the direct employment of one person in the tourism sector generates employment to 1.36 persons in other sectors of the economy due to linkages with tourism.
Apart from its direct contribution to the economy, tourism has significant linkages with several other sectors like agriculture, horticulture, poultry, handicrafts and construction. Several items of tourist expenditure induce a chain of transactions in these sectors and each such transaction calls for the supply of some kind of goods and services. Further, those directly or indirectly employed following the development of tourism may also demand more goods and services as a result of such employment than what they would have demanded otherwise. The additional consumption demand, thus emanating from tourist expenditure would not only induce more employment, but also generate a further multiplier effect through successive chain of transactions. As a result of this twin set of multiplier effects – indirect and induced – additional income and employment opportunities are generated through each successive transactions. Investment in tourism creates more jobs than in several other sectors. According to a research study, the labour/capital ratio is more favourable in the case of tourism than many other industries with 47.5 jobs for a million rupee of investment.
A desirable feature of this industry is that it employs a large number of women both educated and uneducated as well as skilled and unskilled. It has a natural affinity to the nature of women, as hospitality is an industry in which women have been participating for centuries. In fact, women have shown their presence in greater numbers than men in sectors such as hotels, airline services, travel agencies, handicrafts making and cultural activities. Tourism thus offers a large potential for the employment of women.
Yet another feature of this industry is that the tourist centres are largely located in remote and rural areas. Places like Leh, Lakshadweep, Gulmarg, Kovalam, interior parts of Madhya Pradesh are all in rural areas. Thus tourism can contribute substantially to the economic development of backward and remote areas. In fact, thousands of foreign and domestic tourists flock to such areas to experience the wilderness and the primeval beauty of such places.
Tourism has thus emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in the world, with considerable economic significance. For India, however, the benefits of tourism far transcend the immediate commercial gains, important though they are. Tourism knits individuals, communities and nations. It weaves ever-new threads in the tapestry of cultures, as individuals discover new places, meet new people, construct and de-construct impressions, and, in the best of experiences, find their lives memorably enriched. The country’s own history testifies that travel has spread far and wide the message of its civilization. The diverse culture has been getting enriched by travellers from distant lands.
Thus, the travel and tourism industry is not only the largest generation of jobs in any economy. It is also the single most important activity that binds a nation together. A country of India’s geographical size and diversity of religions, cultural, lingual, economic and such works can hardly afford to ignore the beneficial effects of tourism and travel.
True, we have not yet tapped the full potential of what tourism could do for the nation economically. In fact, we have scratched only the surface. What lies beneath is a virtual gold mine to enrich us in the new millennium and beyond. We need to drastically change our mindsets. Let us pool in all the resources and commitment at our command to build a tourism movement, launch India on a higher growth trajectory and make it a force to reckon with in the comity of nations. Sceptics and doomsayers abound; the need of the hour is to turn the challenges and threats into real opportunities. Let us hasten the process of transformation. (PIB Features)
*Secretary, Ministry of Tourism
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