How India Can Realise its Huge Tourism Potential Beyond 2020

AS WE enter a new decade, India’s tourism industry is standing at a crossroads: in one direction we can see, on the not-too-distant horizon, the many benefits associated with being one of the world’s most popular international visitor destinations. In the other direction a tourist economy which has already started paying dividends and is primarily focused on domestic growth.

Let us be clear; India has all the ingredients to become one of the world’s premier tourism destinations. We have so many positive assets that other countries can only dream of. Geographically, we are perfectly positioned between the emerging east and wealthy west. We have a large, friendly and largely English-speaking population. We have a deep and diverse heritage with almost 40 UNESCO-listed sites, an attractive climate, rich and unique wildlife, and a famously popular national cuisine. We have jungles, mountains, beaches, deserts and vibrant mega-cities. Being one of the world’s growing economies we have immense possibilities including huge domestic tourism. I feel that besides the dependence on existing segments one needs to focus more on economy segment.

In the first 11 months of 2019, India welcomed close to ten million international visitors. That is less than one-third the number that visited Thailand, and far fewer even than Vietnam in the same period. Something is not right. It has been forecast that India will become the world’s third largest economy by 2025, but our status as a tourism destination does not reflect this.

As we move forward in the 2020s, we must take the right path and move in the right direction. The exciting news for India, is that it is tuned into many of the world’s big millennial travel trends. Sectors of the industry that were previously considered niche are now becoming more mainstream. For example, wellness and mindfulness is one of the biggest emerging sectors of the industry; according to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness tourism economy is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of 7.5% by 2022, to reach US$919 billion³, and India is perfectly positioned to meet this demand. Likewise, culinary tourism – including vegetarian and vegan dietary trends – is becoming big business, and India can cater to it effectively.

India also has the potential to become a world leader in sustainable tourism; we have swathes of stunning natural scenery and national parks; this needs to be capitalised upon to ensure that we are viewed internationally as a responsible and forward-thinking destination. I agree with Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog, who recently stated that India needs to adopt sustainable management practices for heritage sites. I feel we should also expand this to all areas of the national tourism infrastructure. Emphasis should be there to create and maintain “Basics”. Unfortunately, we can’t even ensure ample and clean toilets at our tourist sites and many highways. We must also provide hygienic good food along with basic facilities on all highways.

The biggest single factor influencing tourism in the 2020s however, will be technology and the continued rise of smart solutions. Once again, India has an excellent chance to capitalise on this. Tourism operators, including hoteliers, have unprecedented opportunities to target customers directly and deliver personalised services. Enabled by tech giants like Google and Amazon, visitors will be able to plan, coordinate and tailor every aspect of their trip, from air and land transport reservations to hotel bookings, excursions, attractions and more. These services all need to be available online and, wherever possible integrated, to create a seamless online ecosystem. And of course, we need to embrace social media in every part of our promotional activities.

It could be argued that the hospitality sector is leading the way, in terms of modernising India’s tourism economy. In the last 10 years, India has seen a wave of major international hotel groups enter and expand across the country. This has helped to modernise and diversify our hotel supply, introducing more high-quality midscale and upscale products to the market. The result is that the sector is now much more competitive, which helps to drive innovation. The next five years will see this influx continue and accelerate, as the world’s biggest hotel groups compete for market share and move into new, as-yet-untapped destinations. The availability of international hotel products will help to create fresh tourism demand, giving a boost to the overall tourism economy.

India is making progress, but sometimes it seems like we take two steps forward and one step back. Our global travel and tourism competitiveness rank has risen from 65th position in 2013 to 34th in 2019, but we are still lagging behind some of our neighboring countries. Small countries like Belgium, Croatia and Luxembourg attract more visitors than India. We need to introspect!
Our e-visa scheme has been expanded and its fees have been reduced, but we still charge visitors at least US$10 and make them apply in advance, rather than offering free visa-on-arrival to friendly feeder markets, like many other countries do. 

However, we must appreciate Government’s efforts in this direction but we need to improve on what has been done and cater to the market requirements and changing dynamics.

I believe in the Incredible India brand; it is strong, internationally renowned and has credibility. We can use this as the foundation for the continued development of Indian tourism industry on the global stage. But it needs to be supported by decisive, tourism-friendly policies and effective marketing. We must leverage our strengths and address our weaknesses. We must reassure international visitors that India is secure; that the air is clean and that the streets are safe, especially for solo female travellers. We must tell people that we are accessible, efficient and open for business.
 
Our INDIA marketing plan needs a rethink besides a clear focus on consistent promotion in the target markets. As far as domestic market is concerned, state governments should promote regional circuits. Collaboration is of utmost importance for these states. Economy and mid-market hotel investors should be incentivised. Land conversion and FSI laws need to be examined and consistent if infrastructure is to be developed!

If we achieve these things, there is no reason that India cannot become one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. We also have an opportunity to promote national integration by encouraging domestic tourism. Our Government and the Travel & Tourism industry has to accept that the foundation of Tourism is always based on Domestic travel.