Tourism development in India - Acche din

Is there focus on tourism under the Modi government? Can India become a tourism hub, considering the rich heritage and natural diversity of India? What is the biggest barrier?

 

In 2021, UNESCO nominated two Indian sites as UNESCO world heritage site - Rudreshwara, popularly known as Ramappa Temple in Telengana and Dholavira city which is similar to Harappa of ancient Indus valley civilization. “Since 2014, India has added 10 new World Heritage sites - one-fourth of our total sites. This shows PM @narendramodi's steadfast commitment in promoting Indian culture, heritage and the Indian way of life,” the Union minister for culture G Kishan Reddy tweeted. Before 2014, there were only 30 such sites in India, and in last 7 years, 10 sites have been added making total count 40. This means a significantly higher focus to promote Indian culture and tourism under Modi government.

UNESCO generally nominates one site per country per year but in India, more than one site was nominated per year recently due to government proactiveness. This is despite the fact, no UNESCO world heritage site was nominated for India in 2015 (why?) and 2020 (due to Covid-19 pandemic). UNESCO world heritage sites immensely promote tourism in a country. France with 47 sites, Germany with 48, Spain with 49, China with 56, and Italy with 57 leads in UNESCO world heritage sites and enjoys large international cultural tourist traffics.

India ranks at low 25 in terms of international tourist arrivals

Tourism can generate huge employment. For example, an average hotel with 100 rooms can generate 300 direct employment in 3 shifts.

‘Blue Flag tag’ for the sea beaches is another marketing tool to promote tourism in a country. Blue Flag tag beaches is awarded to clean, safe and well-developed beaches around the world. Some of the countries with maximum Blue Flag tag beaches are Denmark (300), France (492), Greece (434), Italy (409), Portugal (323), Turkey (458), Spain (684). Most of these countries are in the Mediterranean Sea and enjoy great tourism revenue. Even our film stars and cricketers go there for getting married!

India with the coastline of more than 7000 km with tropical islands in Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep has only 13 Blue Flag tag beaches. This is because we never focused on these listings earlier. Recently in October 2020, eight Blue Flag tag beaches were added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi described certification for Blue Flag tag for eight Indian beaches as a wonderful feat, and said it showcases the importance India attaches to protecting such spots and furthering sustainable development. The recent beaches to get Blue Flag tag are these beaches are Shivrajpur (Dwarka, Gujarat), Ghoghla (Diu), Kasarkod and Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden Beach (Puri, Odisha), and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).

This means Modi government is bringing ‘Aache din’ for Indian tourism industry (despite Covid-19 pandemic brought down tourism globally in 2020-21). Some area, however, refuses to improve tourism revenue. Lakshadweep islands Union Territory administration under Praful Patel in 2021 tried to improve tropical island tourism there but conservative politicians tried all options to block tourism growth. Next door Maldives is a global destination for high-end beach and resorts tourism and Maldives economy is completely dependent on tourism. Many Indian film stars often go there and share their pictures which promotes Maldives tourism. Unfortunately, nobody goes to Lakshadweep.



Indian film stars posting their Maldives vacation pictures during Covid-19 lockdown

Bollywood film stars who visited the Maldives during Covid-19 lockdown are Hina Khan, Kajal Aggarwal and Gautam Kitchlu, Katrina Kaif, Sara Ali Khan, Tara Sutaria, Huma Qureshi, Kaira Advani, Sonakshi Sinha, Mouni Roy, Diya Mirza, Neha Dhupia and Angad Bedi, Rakul Preet Singh, Tiger Shroff and Disha Patani etc. and posted their pictures in social media as the film production was down. Maldives is not far away from India and a well developed tourist destination. But unfortunately, no efforts were made in Lakshadweep since independence to develop tourism like Maldives. But at last Modi government has taken some initiative to bring this remotest part of Indian into the mainstream by developing tourism. This will bring ‘aache din’ for Lakshadweep.

Tourism in Lakshadweep: For 70 years, no effort made to promote tourism in Lakshadweep just to play an appeasement game

New beginning for tourism in Lakshadweep

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-what-is-the-blue-flag-certification-awarded-to-eight-indian-beaches-6722252/

https://www.indiatoday.in/amp/movies/celebrities/story/maldives-the-travel-destination-2020-for-bollywood-and-beyond-1748385-2020-12-10



 



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