Tourism is one of the world?s biggest industries. By the year 2020, on projections, there would be 1.6 billion tourists worldwide and tourism receipts would touch $2 trillion, creating one job every 2.5 seconds. Travel & tourism, directly and indirectly, account for 11% of the world?s GDP, 9% of global employment, 12% of global exports and 12% of global investment. It is also one of the globe?s fastest growing major industries with a projected real growth rate of 4.3% per annum for the next 10 years.

There is no other industry that has a similarly sustained and diversified multiplier effect on the economy, playing a crucial role in the overall development of a country. By creating jobs and opportunities for all sections of the society, tourism helps in bridging economic inequalities. Its contribution to the government?s coffers and also the country?s foreign exchange reserves can be substantial. Since the very essence of tourism and its future depends on protection of natural, historical and cultural resources, it plays an important part in promoting sustainable growth and environment protection, on which the future of humankind hinges.

In addition to direct jobs in hotels, with tour operators, travel agencies, airlines and transport operators, tourism generates employment across a wide spectrum of skills on account of its significant backward and forward linkages. Transport, construction, engineering, manufacturing, agriculture, food and horticulture, telecom, IT and healthcare are some of the sectors that make knock-on gains from a boom in tourist influx.

Tourism also has a positive impact on the development of rural and backward areas, helping the revival of traditional art forms, crafts and cultural traditions.

By focussing on major challenges facing the world, from climate change to global terrorism to communicable diseases, tourism also helps in pressurising various governments and civil society to confront these. It is also a key driver in ushering in revolutionary technological changes and promoting technology diffusion, whether it is in information technology, aviation or in any other field. Given all this, it is no surprise that there is not a single country in the world which does not want to promote tourism.

In India, tourism accounts for 6% of GDP and provides employment, directly and indirectly, to about 52 million people. India accounts for only 0.5% (4.5 million) of global tourists, while outbound tourism from India is estimated at 8.5 million (estimates of domestic tourists are over 450 million). The huge difference in the outbound and inbound tourists from India show on the one hand, the rising income levels and aspirations of Indians and on the other, our failure to market effectively India as a global tourist destination.

In spite of the huge potential for tourism in India, given its varied climatic zones, scenic beauty, rich historical past, fascinating and diverse cultural traditions, increasing global recognition for Indian cuisine and entertainment industry, we have not been able to exploit it. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), out of 176 countries ranked by it, even though India ranks 21st in terms of absolute size and a high third in terms of the growth forecast, it ranks a poor 159th in terms of relative contribution of travel and tourism to the national economy.

Tourism is an activity which is spread across several sectors with multiple stakeholders and under the responsibility of diverse government authorities. Therefore, it is necessary that it is viewed more holistically as only then can a significant headway be made. The overall thrust and coordination can be brought about by the government alone.

The ease of travel and availability of good infrastructure, both for domestic and foreign tourists, is a crucial determinant. The high cost of air travel and also the inadequate number of international flights allowed into the country and the poor state of facilities and services at airports is a big impediment. Within the country, the condition of our roads and highways, general unavailability and poor public transportation facilities, etc also impinge greatly. In infrastructure development and maintenance, even though public-private partnership is the way ahead, the government has an important role to play.

The availability of hotel rooms in India, especially budget ones, are woefully inadequate, with estimates running into several lakhs. Apart from supply, there is also the problem of cost. Hotel tariff in India is very high because municipal bodies auction land for building hotels, which makes it difficult for hoteliers to construct budget hotels. Taxes, such as luxury tax at the state level, also increase the cost of hotel accommodation. High taxation, differential rates of taxes in various states on tourist vehicles, entry tax and parking charges at each State push up the cost of tourist transport. To speed up the creation of additional rooms, it is necessary to increase the supply of land, relax the municipal and zone restrictions, provide single window and expeditious clearance, etc. We also need to set up quality budget hotels on a war-footing in order to maintain India?s competitiveness as a tourist destination. There are several other areas of concern like the law and order situation, general cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene, maintenance and upkeep of our historical sites and monuments, better recreational avenues, road and rail connectivity to major tourist destinations, marketing, human resource development across the spectrum, medical facilities, etc which need urgent attention. New emerging areas like rural tourism, heritage tourism, eco-tourism, health tourism and wildlife tourism should also get priority.

Given the socio-political consensus in India on promoting inclusive economic growth, so that the benefits of economic reforms spread wider, there should be renewed focus on the travel and tourism sector which can play a major part in this national endeavour. We need to position tourism as a national priority and dovetail Incredible India with Inclusive India.

?The writer is joint secretary, PHDCCI. These are his personal views