Believe in Atithi Devo Bhava
Promoting tourism has been a key priority of the Indian government since former Prime Minister Rajeev Gandhi started the famous Bharat Utsav programs in various countries in mid 1980s. As per the headline numbers, India has seen some steady growth in number of tourist arrivals in past 20years. The share of India in international tourist arrivals increased over 3x from 0.37% in 2001 to 1.24% in 2018. The share of India in international tourist arrivals in Asia Pacific region has increased from 2.22% in 2001 to 5.05% in 2018. India ranked 34th in Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, improving significantly from its rank of 65 in 2013. Tourism contributed 5% share to India’s total GDP in 2018-19. From pure statistical purpose, we may seek some comfort from this data. However, if we consider the rich historical and cultural legacy, treasure of architectural marvels, and geographical diversity of our country, this data appears pathetic. It reflects on the poor tourism infrastructure, p...