Hyderabad: National Tourism Day is celebrated every year on January 25 to spread awareness on the importance of tourism, keeping in mind the country's economy. Given its rich history, culture and geographical diversity, India serves as a major tourist destination for travellers from across the globe.
India, even, moved up six places to the 34th position in the Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, 2019 published by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
But, the recent wave of nationwide protests against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR), and subsequent internet shutdowns have led to a slump in the tourist inflow since December 2019.
The government's decision to abrogate Article 370, which ensured special status for Jammu and Kashmir, and imposing a lockdown along with an internet ban on August 5, which is still in place, did not help either.
Many countries even went to the extent of issuing travel advisory asking their citizens to refrain from visiting India or exercise caution in view of the protests against the Act.
History
A Tourist Traffic Committee was set up in India in 1948 to promote tourism in the country. Its first regional office was set up in Delhi and Mumbai, followed by other two offices in Kolkata and Chennai in 1951. However, in 1958 a department for tourism was created under the then government which later came under the Ministry of Transport and Communication headed by the Deputy General in the rank Joint Secretary.
The department is now a full-fledged ministry - Ministry of Tourism - which serves as the nodal agency to form national policies for the promotion and development of tourism. It also coordinates with central, state agencies and the public sector.
Overview of India's tourism sector
The tourism sector is a major engine of economic growth that contributes significantly in terms of GDP, foreign exchange earnings and employment.
India offers several forms of tourism such as cultural, nature, heritage, educational, business, sports, rural, medical, cruise, and eco-tourism.
India is the eighth-largest country in terms of contribution to travel and tourism GDP.
The tourism industry generated 247.3 billion dollars in 2018, contributing to 9.2 per cent of the country’s GDP, according to a FICCI-YES Bank report of 2019.
India's Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during the period of January-July 2019 stood at 60,84,353 as compared to 59,57,816 in January- July 2018 registering a growth of 2.1%.
During January- July 2019, a total of 15,34,293 tourist arrived on e-Tourist Visa as compared to 12,68,077 during January-July 2018, registering a growth of 21.0%
Among the top 15 source countries, so far as FTAs in India are concerned in July 2019, Bangladesh recorded the highest percentage share at 23.67%, followed by USA (16.02%), UK (10.12%), Malaysia (3.15%), China (2.78%), Sri Lanka (2.75%), France (2.71%), Canada (2.29%), Australia (2.22%), Japan (2.15%), Germany (2.05%), Singapore (1.68%), Nepal (1.63%), Rep. Of Korea (1.52%), and UAE (1.35%).
Foreign Exchange earnings (FEEs) during the period of January- April 2019 were Rs. 69,177 crore as compared to Rs. 68,354 crore in January- April 2018.
Recognition of India's tourism potential
The New York Times Travel Show, 2019 Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ was awarded to India at the New York Times Travel Show.
India was also awarded the first prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the Golden City Gate Tourism Awards, 2019 at the “Internationale Tourisme-Bourse” (ITB) held in Berlin, Germany.
Dip in tourism
The protests against CAA - a legislation which seeks to provide citizenship to six non-Muslim minority communities namely Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan on the grounds of religious persecution - NRC, and NPR have resulted in a big blow to the tourism industry in states like Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Goa, as per reports.
As many as ten countries including the US, UAE, Canada, UK, Australia, France, Israel, Taiwan, Russia and Singapore, issued travel warnings asking their citizens to refrain from visiting India or exercise caution in view of the protests against the Act, some of which have turned violent.
Official estimates say that about 200,000 domestic and international tourists “cancelled or postponed their trip to the Taj Mahal” during the last two weeks of December, as per a Reuters report.
The north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which houses the iconic monument, reported the highest number of deaths of protesters, with more than 20 killed, mostly in police firing.
The Taj Mahal attracts over 6.5 million tourists every year, generating nearly $14 million annually from entrance fees.
So far as Assam is concerned the tourism prospects were no brighter in the wake of statewide protests against the controversial law, which the local population believes would pose a threat to the demography and culture of the state.
Assam Tourism Development Corporation Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah on December 31 said that the tourism sector in the state suffered an estimated loss of 1,000 crore between December 2019 and January 2020.
"The peak season of tourism is from December to March. Due to violence during the protests, the sector suffered badly. We estimate that the loss in December and January will be Rs 500 crore each," said Malla while addressing a presser in Guwahati.
In case of Goa, a state hugely dependent on tourism as a source of income witnessed a 50 percent drop in the inflow of tourists during Christmas in the month of December 2019.
Despite the massive protests across the country the government intends to implement all the three laws which critics believe will fast track India's transition into a "majoritarian" country.
Apart from the impact on tourism following anti-CAA, NRC, NPR protests across the country, the footfall of tourists in Kashmir also witnessed a major dip since August 5 because of the lockdown imposed by the central government in the Valley.
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As many as 9,327 tourists visited Kashmir in October 2019, followed by 12,086 in November, a far cry from 59,048 and 39,050 tourists who had visited the Valley during the same period in 2018, as reported by The New Indian Express.
The blow to the tourism sector comes at a time when the country's economy is witnessing a slowdown, with India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) dropping to 4.5 percent in the July-September quarter of 2019 -20, and the International Monetary fund pegging the country's GDP growth at 4.8 percent for 2019-20, much less than its October projection of 6.1 percent.
