In recent years, the tourism and hospitality industry in India has emerged as one of the key drivers of overall growth in the country. Currently, India is the largest tourism market in South Asia and the 8^th largest nation worldwide in terms of contribution to the tourism GDP. It is expected that by 2029, the tourism sector in India will grow at 6.7 percent yearly to reach INR 35 trillion with almost 9.6 percent of GDP.

India’s ancient culture and beautiful cultural sites have on the minds of tourists since time immemorial. Travellers from various parts of the world have been attracted to India for its mysterious cultural element. The tourism sector in India is strongly relevant to cultural growth, national integration and economic development. Owing to the rich historical and cultural heritage, terrains and numerous places of unrivalled natural beauty spread all over the country, travel and tourism has great potential.

Advantage Of Tourism In India

Employment

Tourism provides great employment opportunities for local people. With the tourism industry in India growing rapidly, millions of people are getting employed every year.

Recreation

More and more people go on trips to get relief from the monotonous of their daily routine through travel based recreation. A change in climate and place helps travellers to recharge their mind, body and spirit.

Growth Of Service Sector

Service sectors related to the tourism industry get the most of this rapid growth. Numerous businesses like hotels, airlines, restaurants and cruises engaged in the service sector grow with the growth of the travel and tourism industry.

Cultural Exchange

Tourism provides a great opportunity to people of different cultural background to learn together. People from various culture meet and understand each other. This way, they get an opportunity to build respect for each other, thus fostering cultural harmony.

Tourism In India

The rapid growth of ttravel and tourism sector in India has largely been driven by the domestic travellers. In comparison to the top-ranking countries, foreign tourists account for a limited share only.

The conventional and emerging themes of tourism, including heritage, nature, religious, adventure, cultural and wellness have been a major attraction for both foreign and domestic tourists. Great infrastructure development, strong domestic demand, great economic growth and emergence of niche tourism products will continue driving the growth of the tourism industry.

Hotel Accommodation

The hotel sector forms an integral segment of the travel and tourism industry. Most of the foreign exchange earned by tourists is accounted for by the hotel sector. Realising the importance of the hotel industry, the government is taking initiatives to encourage the hotel industry. Pursuing a recognised course from the best Hotel Management College in Kolkata can thus be the key to a lucrative career owing to the attractive employment opportunities.

Road Ahead

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), India is likely to establish itself as the third largest tourism economy by the year 2029 in terms of total GDP. The tourism sector, being a key source of employment in the country, directly accounted for almost 26.7 million jobs in 2018. Though the total jobs from induced and indirect activity were 42.7 million in 2018, the sector is expected to provide employment to almost 53 million by the year 2029.