We know spiritual tourism is big in India. But the world’s biggest democracy also cashes in on what it does best: elections.
If the 2019 general elections attracted around 25,000 visitors in ‘election tourism’, this year already over 7,000 foreign tourists have arrived to witness the country going to polls, as per a private player.
Not restricted to Lok Sabha elections alone, the Indian electoral process as a spectacle has been increasingly in demand in the last decade during assembly elections as well. “We are the biggest democracy and Indian elections are like festive colourful events,” founder of Election Tourism India and chairman of Gujarat Tourism Corporation Society Manish Sharma told FE. During elections, each state, district, taluka, village and colony encounter rallies, jan sabhas, and cultural events, an ambience that is appropriate for tourism, he added.
Sharma said Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka have been highlighted this time as these are “tourism-friendly states”, and visitors can be “easily facilitated to experience the process” here. He said having facilities like airports and good internet and mobile networks are factors in choosing locations.
Sharma, who is also the founder of Akshar Travels that works with more than 4,000 tour operators in the country, said when the travel company initially tested this kind of tourism in 2012, some 300 tourists had signed up. As per the Election Tourism India website, the 2014 general elections saw about 5,200 tourists that included students, journalists, researchers, women’s wings, heritage and history enthusiasts, and participants of cultural exchanges from countries like China, Nepal, US, UAE, Australia, Ukraine, Japan, Germany, France, etc.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections are set to be historically significant with at least 960 million voters casting the ballot for 62 political parties contesting 543 seats. Travel companies are already exploring the scope of commercialising the electoral process as an exhibition.
“While in the 2019 general elections the interest among foreign tourists was high, this year the interest is much more. A lot of tourists are coming in, especially from Western countries, to experience how 1.4 billion people vote,” said Abbas Moiz, national general secretary, The Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI), a not-for-profit organisation based in Mumbai.
There are different tour packages in which local sightseeing, attending political rallies, interacting with local leaders, having dinner with them, and visiting party offices are offered. One private player’s website shows tour packages of three nights and four days ranging from Rs 33,000 to Rs 45,000 per person in respective states. Sharma said the guides provided to each group are trained and have knowledge of heritage sites as well as of Indian politics, adding that packages this time range from $500 to $900, with hotel chains also providing discounts. Tourists are coming from the US, France, Germany, Austria, London, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Japan and also from African countries, he said.
“We have schedules, good hotels people can stay in, and apart from electioneering, visitors can also sightsee,” said Moiz of TAFI.
If the government takes this initiative (of promoting election tourism), the tourism industry can contribute significantly to GDP growth, claimed Sharma, adding that with good marketing, a minimum 5-7 lakh tourists can be brought to India for elections alone.