TOURISM IN INDIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
- Relevant for Sociology Syllabus: Paper 1- Social Change in Modern Society; PAPER-2 – Challenges of Social Transformation)
- (Relevant for GS Syllabus: Paper 1– poverty and developmental issues)
- India is very diverse and has been a culturally rich country. Many invaders came to India, and they not only left the magnificent monuments but also left their culture here. Nowadays every state has its own culture, and every state celebrates its festivals.
- Many people from all over the country are attracted to India because of its scenic beauty which spreads from Kashmir in the North to Kanyakumari in the South and Arunachal Pradesh in the East to Gujrat in the West, and multiculturalism. For e.g. besides Imambara is the not only monument in Lucknow but also, there are many restaurants where Nawabi cuisine is well – served, and it is also famous for its Chikan Embroidery work.
- 10% of the national income comes from the tourism sector. But because of some reasons, the tourism sector lags behind the other major sectors due to which our country is only “developing” and others are “developed”.
Some Reasons are:
- Lack of Infrastructure – It is a major challenge for the Indian tourism sector. This includes hotels, connectivity with other cities, health facilities, and transportation etc. The major reason for this unconcern is a poor allocation of money in the budget.
- Safety and Security – Safety & security of tourists is the most important factor which governs whether people will come to that destination or not. Attacks on foreign tourists, especially on the woman tourists have raised this question. India is placed at 114th position in terms of safety. The tourism sector should become strict and should pass laws against those criminals who cheat the innocent tourists.
- Inaccessibility – There are many tourist destinations in the country, which are not accessible to poor, women and elderly because of the high cost of transportation, poor connectivity with cities and around 2% of the tourist cannot access many of the tourist spots in the country.
- Tourism is the only sector which not only creates jobs but also provides jobs in the tertiary sector. It is now high time for us to work for the betterment of this sector so that from the upcoming years the number of foreign tourists may increase, and more people will be able to know about our culture.