Hospitality and its importance to tourism industry in India
India’s travel and tourism industry is considered as one of the most profitable industries,
and also credited with contributing a substantial amount of foreign exchange.
2006 it was noted that at about 4 million tourists visited and spent US $8.9 billion.Several reasons behind the development of India’s travel and tourism industry growth.
Foreign tourists spend more on tourism in India than any other country worldwide.The Ministry of Tourism has played an important keyrole in the development of travel and tourism industry, with lot of initiating and boosting up promotion campaigns such name as the ‘Incredible India’ campaign, which promoted India’s culture and travel and tourism.
With the tourism industry there has been a Excellent growth in other sectors as Hospitality sector, horticulture sector, handicrafts sector , agriculture and construction sector and even on poultry sector also.Indian Hospitality is one of the key factors for the growth of Tourism in India which is important to fulfil the needs and desires of the visitors.
Characteristics of the Indian hospitality industry include the following:
• High seasonality
• Quality manpower and labour
• Classification of hotels: Star category hotels, Heritage hotels and licensed units
Furthermore, there are number of factors which relate to the growth of Hospitality. Increased FTAs and tourist movement within the country improved the economic growth in India Emergence of credit culture and easier availability of personal loans is also responsible for the growth of tourism in India.
Measures undertaken by the government for the growth of Hospitality and Tourism
• Medical Visa for tourists who visit our country for medical treatment. The number of medical tourist arrivals in India is expected to increase at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2009 to 2013.
• Allowance of 100% FDI in the hotel industry
• Promotion of rural tourism
• LTA provided to the employees among others
Road ahead
It has been observed that there is a strong growth in the field of Tourism and Hospitality for the past few years and it has led to the high corporate spending for Tourism. It is also because of the increasing rate of income and affordability which played a major role for the enhancement of the domestic travel in the country along with the foreign visitors alongside offering well-equipped infrastructure at low cost, when compared to other countries.
During 2011 house bill, the Indian government has approved Gov. Snyder’s plan to replace selective corporate tax breaks and subsidies with fewer hand-outs totalling around $75 million (including “Pure Michigan” tourism industry subsidies.
Furthermore, the Indian outbound tourist departure is expected to reach 20.5 Million by 2015 and an international tourist arrival in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% during 2010-2015. India has paved a way to be the nation of fast growing and gained the status as one of the most preferred tourist destinations in the world.
