The Indian government's "Incredible India" tourism campaign and the information technology growth in India have been attracting millions of foreign tourists and business tourists to India. Medical tourism has also recently mushroomed in India. Tourism industry is a big foreign exchange earner in India, yet the industry still is hampered by several problems.
Problems
India's tourism industry has a worker shortage. Insufficient accommodation, unclean rooms and food problems plague tourists who come to India. Many places in the interior of the country are not well-connected by proper roads, railways or airways. Excessive bureaucracy also delays new hotel and transportation projects.
Tourists are often exploited economically, and criminal elements in India can make visits to India unsafe for women and elderly tourists.
The tourist attractions in India are also being damaged by pollution. Oil refinery smoke is damaging the Taj Mahal, while ecosystems of the coasts, Rann of Kutch and the Himalayas are being battered by pollution.
Areas Where Problems are Acute
Tourism problems are more common in the rural interior of the country. These areas are rich in natural beauty, but they often lack basic infrastructure and accommodations for tourists. Often these regions are highly agrarian. The government is often unable to secure enough land for developing tourism infrastructure because it adversely affects local farmers. An instance of this phenomenon is Orissa.
Effect of Tourism Problems in India
These problems have contributed to India's low share of 1 percent of the world's total tourist arrival percentage. It also leads to concentration of tourist attention to certain parts of the country. For example, the transport and communication industries of Delhi-Jaipur-Agra in northern India and Bhuwaneshwar-Konark-Puri in Orissa are preferred over other equally attractive Indian destinations. These problems also shorten the tourist season in India, which then leads to unemployment in off-seasons.
Tackling Problems
To tackle worker shortages, the Indian government has set up the Indian Institute of Travel and Tourism Management. A large number of private-sector training centers are also being set up.
Single-window clearance schemes can help the government quicken the process of approval of tourism infrastructure projects.
Relaxing tax burdens on the Indian citizens will promote domestic tourism as people have more savings for vacations. More cost-effective medical treatment has made India the world's second most preferred medical-tourism destination.
Future of Tourism
Despite all the problems with tourism in India, the industry has a bright future. Tourist arrivals in 2010 are expected to rise 22 percent and foreign exchange earnings from this industry are predicted to rise 33 percent above 2004 earnings. The positive expectations have been based on the current growth rate of the industry despite various problems; this growth is being attributed to the fast-growing Indian economy for the past three to four years.
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