The Hindu Business Line : Tap tourism potential with Brand India

TOURISM is an important sector, though it accounts for just about one per cent of GDP. It has immense potential and can reach 5 per cent of GDP if proper policy support and related infrastructure are put in place.

It is an employment-intensive sector and provides direct and indirect employment to 8-10 persons both in white collar and non-white collar categories per foreign tourist arriving in India.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, India is the second fastest growing travel and tourism economy in the world. The industry is poised for a robust recovery after three years of economic uncertainty and reluctance of tourists to travel due to terrorist threat, war and health concerns.

Tourist arrivals in 2003 were 2.8 million, a 14 per cent increase over the previous year. Kerala, Goa and Karnataka were the preferred destinations; these States did a good job of marketing themselves.

The tourism sector has been significant foreign exchange earner, collecting the equivalent of Rs 17,049 crore in 2003. In the first two months of 2004 the amount generated was about Rs 3,912 crore, up 29 per cent over the corresponding previous period.

According to a WTO report, "The year 2003 was the bad period for the tourism industry due various factors like SARS in South-East Asia, conflict in Iraq, and weak global economy."

This led to the drop of tourism inflows by 1.2 per cent. But there has been a change in the trend. The US and Europe became expensive destinations, according to the report.

Herein lies a chance for India, which must mount a special effort to attract tourists who may be looking for alternative destinations. Countries like Malaysia are attracting annual tourist traffic of 15 million while India is yet to touch 4-5 million.

For sheer diversity, India is unmatched — from mountains to rivers, beaches and forests, heritage and historic sites, to temples and shrines, India has them all. India can be a unique package for every tourist if it is marketed properly.

New and innovative methods to encourage inbound tourism need to be devised. Joint packages to India and one or a set of SAARC countries can also be thought of — for instance, the Buddhist shrines of South Asia.

Happily, there is interest in India as prospective tourist destination. What is needed is a strategy to market India. Marketing of tourism is a specialised skill and Indian tourist operators and the government alike must take this up with the assistance of well-known international tourism marketing agencies.

A brand image of India needs to be created. Also, at tourist places clean and cheap hotels must set up to cater to budget tourists. Other support infrastructure, such as information booths, and reservation counters for rail, air and road transport need to be made available.

The latest attraction that India offers is not a remote forest or a heritage site, but a modern, well-equipped urban facility — the hospital. With India's acknowledged medical expertise, and advantages of costs, medical tourism is emerging a major area, with a potential of Rs 5,000-10,000 crore by 2012.

The government should take advantage of the opportunity and improve the medical and general infrastructure for encouraging medical tourism.

The tourism industry is impacted by a variety of factors, and one is currency movements. With the dollar falling against the rupee, it was feared that visitors bound for India would put on hold their programmes on hold. The hospitality industry, which transacts in US dollars, will certainly feel the pinch. According to industry sources, arrivals are expected to only grow by 3-4 per cent the coming year.

While the fall came at the end of the tourist season, the bookings for the next season, beginning October, will see falling revenues for major tour operators after a 27 per cent increase in inbound traffic this year. "Most of the bookings for the October-March season next year are made during this season. With volumes not expected to sustain this season's growth, we will have to negotiate new rates with our partners on confirmed bookings,'' says an industry source.

Among the sectors, making the so-called invisible earnings, tourism occupies a central place. Compared to other Asian countries, India has to do much to improve its tourism related infrastructure aggressively. Creating an India brand image is essential. With a proper policy framework, good infrastructure and professional marketing, there is no reason why India cannot be among the world's favourite destinations.

(The author is a Delhi-based freelance writer.)