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Tourism is a vibrant sector in world economy. It creates jobs, both through direct employment within the tourism industry and indirectly in sectors such as retail and transportation. When tourists spend their wages on goods and services, it leads to what is known as the “multiplier effect,” creating more jobs. The tourism industry also provides opportunities for small-scale business enterprises, which is especially important in rural communities, and generates extra tax revenues, such as airport and hotel taxes, which can be used for schools, housing and hospitals.

Thus, in India, tourism takes precedence over many sectors when it comes to employment generation and Foreign Exchange Earnings. Contribution of Tourism to Indian economy: While tourism contributes 6.8% GDP and 8.7% of total GDP towards employment generation, it generates $2.1 billion Foreign Exchange earnings. Tourism as an Employment generator: An Investment of Rs. 10 lakh generates employment of 78 people if invested in Tourism and Hospitality sector while the same amount of investment generates 45 and 18 jobs in the Manufacturing and Agriculture sectors respectively. [Source: Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.] Niche Segments in Tourism

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MICE Tourism

Huge potential exists with substantial FEE.One delegate spends about $240 per day as against $120 per day spent by normal Foreign Tourist in India. Ministry of Health, AYUSH, Indian Medical Association may be roped in to attract more buyers by hosting conferences in India. This would require more convention halls.

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Medical tourism

The presence of world-class hospitals and skilled medical professionals makes India a preferred destination for medical tourism.

The cost of treatment in India is very cheap as compared to similar facilities in Europe and USA.

Specialized agencies are being set up to tap this bright market in the tourism sector.

Cruise tourism

Cruise shipping is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing segments of the global leisure industry.

“High end and low volume” tourism. Pristine beaches and coastal areas to be exploited for more FEE. A&N, Lakshadweep, etc. to be targeted as European travelers spend huge money on cruise tourism. Need to focus on civil aviation intervention to lower the high domestic air fares. Target to be fixed and priority be given.

From International perspective, from January to August 2015, Abu Dhabi has recorded 173649 overnight travelers from India.

Government of India has estimated that India would emerge with a market size of 1.2 million cruise visitors by 2030 – 31

Rural tourism

According to 2011 census of India, 70% population of India still resides in rural areas. Many travelers seek a unique experience in these untouched destinations. Thus, the potential for the development of rural tourism in India is high. It will be beneficial to the local community economically and socially.

Ecotourism

India boasts of virgin beaches in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, adventure activities in the Himalayan states, lofty peaks in Jammu & Kashmir. Thus, it is often termed as hotspot of biodiversity and this rich natural heritage is unparalleled in many ways. Each tourist arriving in India can get a taste of India’s natural culture and heritage.

Cultural Tourism

In 1972, UNESCO started inscribing the cultural heritage of the world with a view to ensure the preservation, conservation and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the world.

As on date, there are 3 types of inscriptions permissible under UNESCO benchmarking. They are cultural sites like Khajuraho group of monuments, Natural Heritage sites like Western Ghats in India and a mixture of both like Khangchendzonga National Park. Most of the inscriptions are covered under ‘Outstanding Universal Value’.

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Heritage Tourism

These kinds of heritage sites serve as an important cog in the wheel for a country’s tourism industry. They become a source of attraction for the domestic and foreign tourists. Travelers have been moving around since time immemorial and it used to be called Tirthatan/Pilgrimage at that time. Subsequently, the second phase started as Deshatan which means that travelers moving from one country to another. As on date, the tourism trend is known as Paryatan, which is inclusive in its forms like Pilgrimage, Country to country, business, medical treatment etc.

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Heritage tourism is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage that stresses on the cultural heritage of the site. According to Weiler and Hall culture, heritage and the arts have contributed as a site of attraction at tourist destination. However, in recent years, ‘culture’ has been rediscovered as an important marketing tool to attract those travelers having special interests in

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heritage and arts. It also involves visiting historical or industrial sites that may include old canals, battlegrounds, railways etc. Recently, India started Coal Tourism in the coal-rich states. There have been various initiatives such as PRASAD tourism, HRIDAY at reviving the natural and pilgrimage sites in India.

Moreover, catholics from around the world visit Vatican and other sites that they consider pious for Catholics. Large number of Jews have both visited Israel and emigrated there. Similarly, a large number of Buddhists mostly from Japan visit places like Nalanda, Sarnath, Buddha Gaya and other Buddhist places in India. Islam commands its followers to take the Hajj to Mecca. In India pilgrimage is the part and parcel of Indian ancient culture and still, therefore, contributed a lot in flourishing domestic tourism.

India’s National Heritage

India is undoubtedly, one of the oldest and most unique civilizations in the world. According to World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, India ranks 8th in natural resources, 24th in cultural resources. India holds a unique place as it is birth place of 4 major

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religions of the world. It is the nation with 147 forms of dance, 22 languages and 9000 years of heritage.

The great epics like the Ramanaya and the Mahabharata and many other ancient literatures depict that India had a glorious past even before the birth of Christ. According to M Baily, a famous French Astronomer, India occupied a dignified position in the field of Geometry and Astronomy since 300 B. C. In the western world, discussion is going on whether India was actually a forgotten superior civilization with respect to Astronomy, Geometry and other relevant subjects.

Highlights of Ancient Indian heritage related facets are:

Aryabhatta, the great astronomer and scientist, discovered zero. The number system was invented in ancient India.

The Indus valley civilization or the Harappan civilization was one of the most advance civilizations in terms of town planning uniform administrative system, sculpture etc.

Ayurveda was the earliest school of medicine known to humans. Charaka, the great Indian physician, is credited with the development of Ayurveda during ancient times. It is the only system which takes the holistic view of the person being treated.

Additionally, the time taken by the earth to orbit the sunwas calculated by Bhaskaracharya, the great astronomer and mathematician of ancient India.

Budhayanais credited with calculating the value of pie and explaining the concept of Pythagoras theorem in the 6th century.

It is intriguing and a matter of pride to note that ancient India was so advanced in science and mathematics that Algebra, trigonometry and calculus all came from India. In the 11th century Sridharacharya propounded the Quadratic equations.

During the ancient period there were many famous and important centers of learning in India- Taxila and Nalanda, where thousands of students from all over studied different subjects.

The largest democracy has a large variety of geographical features and climatic conditions that helped to flourish the civilizations from time to time. Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism- the four major world religions- having much influence on the refinement of culture were born in India. India boasts of an amalgamation of diverse cultural elements that leads to diversified heritage.

Architectural Heritage of India

During the period of Mauryan dynasty (320 BC to 185 BC), travel and tourism were popular with amazing regulatory measures like registered entries on arrival of an outsider and departure of the local resident to other countries, which we refer to as the Visa today. Present concept of Indian Waterways is nothing but copy of our old waterways system on various rivers like Shipra, Ganges, Yamuna with rich cities called KuberNagaris like Ujjain, Patliputra etc. The Mughals who came in 1526 with the advent of Babar, ruled the country and adopted as well as contributed to the tangible and intangible culture of India. Humayun’s tomb, Taj Mahal in Agra, FatehpurSikri, Jama Masjid etc. are examples of syncretic culture comprising inputs from other kingdoms like Persian etc. The Hindu architecture is mostly derived from religious and spiritual themes. Islamic architecture lays emphasis

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on setting up big mausoleums, mosques and fort. Indo-Islamic architecture that comprises of Char bagh architecture, Domes, Minar, Chhatris etc are a rage with the foreign tourists.

Similarly, as far as temple architecture is concerned, the Hindu architecture is divided in to three different styles. The nagara or Indo- Aryan style in North India, the Dravian style in South India and the vesara style in Central India are the well-known temple architectural styles in India. Some of the notable Indo –Aryan style of temple architecture include the Khajuraho group of temples, the Sun Temple at Konarak and the Jagannatha Temple at Puri. One of the outstanding examples of Dravidian style of architecture includes the shore Temple at Mahabalipuram and at Brihedeswar. Temples at Belur, Halebidu, and Somnathpura in Karnataka are the supreme examples of vesera style temple architecture.

Steps to preserve Architectural Heritage of India: 1. Awareness campaign to educate community and other stakeholders 2. Tourist police to prevent harassment of tourists at the monuments 3. Strict Government action & plan to save monuments, setting up of Archaeological

departments 4. Collecting, generation of funds & donation for their renovation 5. Taxes/donations to preserve monuments, monument fees and other related funds from

citizens and tourists. 6. Volunteering for their conservation 7. Meetings, surveys, reports, heritage clubs should be set up by schools, educational institutes

to make students and youth aware to save monuments.

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8. Devising proper Legal framework to preserve monuments at national and global level. Strict implementation of laws to save monuments.

9. Save from pollution, Keeping factories and other polluters away. 10. Corporate, Multinational corporations should take responsibility to conserve monuments.

Dance forms of India

Dance is an age-old tradition and passed down through the ages. It has went on to become a part of the present culture for the tourists. India boasts of 147 dance forms. During ancient times, classical dances were nurtured in the ancient temples and in the princely courts or villages. Popular classical dances are Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kathak, Odissi,Manipuri, Kuchipudi, Mohiniattam and Chhau.

The basic aspects of Indian classical dance are tandava and lasya which means rhythm and grace respectively. The poses given are called mudras. Every Indian classical dance form exhibits the navarasas (nine human emotions) in their own way. Bharatnatyamis the oldest classical dance form of Tamil Nadu. In the word, Bharatnatyam, ‘Bharat’ has been derived from ‘Natya Shastra’, ‘bha’ for bhava or ‘abhinaya’ or expression; ‘ra’ for raga or melody and ‘ta’ for ‘tala’ or rhythm. This form of dance is most similar to the code compiled by the sage Bharata in the Natya-Shastra. The dance follows sixty- four elaborated styles with hand, foot, face and body movements evolved and practiced in the premises of the old temples. Later on, it came to dance schools and flourished. PANDANALLUR style and TANJAVUR style are two styles of BHARATANATYAM.The famous dancers of BHARATANATYAM are DrSonalMansingh, Rukmini Devi, T. BALASARASWATHI, MRINALINI SARABHAI, ANITA RATNAM among others. Kathakdance form originated in Uttar Pradesh. It literally means story telling through dance. It was highly influenced by VAISHNAVISM and was associated with temples accompanied by kirtans. During Mughal rule, Persian style costumes were introduced into this form. It was greatly flourished in GHARANAS of different cities. Some of the famous dancers of Kathak are Sitara Devi, Uma Sharma, Manisha Gulyani etc.

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A newly emerging rural tourism was a key factor introduced in 2003 with the advent of Incredible India movement in Tourism sector. Village Raghurajpur 11 (13 kms from the holy city of Puri) with the Gotipua dance at Puri temple and outside became a run-away success under Incredible India campaign. Indian folk and tribal dance are performed to express joy and merry making, with a certain religion and community celebration. Classical Music of India Hindusthani music is a famous Indian classical musical form rooted in Northern India. Amir Khasro, a scholar poet and musicologist in the court of AllauddinKhiljihad introduced a new form and style in Hindusthani Music. Amir Khusrao is credited with the introducing Tabla, Sitar, Qawwali etc. Carnatic music that flourished in south India is considered purely indigenous, and isolated from foreign influences. As compared to Hindustani music, it gives more importance to the literary aspects of singing. Film Tourism and Infotainment in India Indian cinema has influenced lives of Indians significantly. It has contributed to unite India by the mixture of cultural and language. Two prominent music directors of Hindi cinema like Naushad and Sachin Dev Burman have showcased Hindustani music with Kathak and folk music with north and east India type dances in Indian cinema. The Oscar-winning Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, AR Rehmanlike them have contributed to the Indian culture and traditions through a rich body of work including movies, music, and dance. In India, promotion of educational tours for enhancing practical knowledge is part and parcel of Indian heritage and culture. Indian system of education has a deep-rooted existence which has been continuing since the Vedic period. As a result of globalization, the Indian universities have opened their door to the foreign students.

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Fairs and Festivals in India Fairs and festivals are the most important sources for Tourism products. If showcased properly, India may be able to tap a large number of foreign tourists to raise its rank at the global level. If Holi, Dussehra, Diwali, Ramadan, Pongal, Onam and other major festivals are celebrated in community based programs, India can become all season tourist destination.

On the other hand, fairs like Surajkundmela, Kumbha mela, Navratri mela, Khajuraho dance festival, Modhera dance festival, etc can contribute to community development. Similarly, promoting dying arts like Magic, Itr and sugandhi, Kite flying, pigeon fighting etc may also lead to employment generation and increased foreign exchange revenue for India. Converting Heritage resources into Tourism products Even though India ranks very high with respect of natural, cultural resources and round the year tourism attractions, it has failed to convert its resources into products commensurate with their worth.

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Following are a few recommendations for Heritage tourism:

1. There are large number of specialized agencies in tourism sector which can organize city-based fairs and festivals thereby helping states to increase the number of tourists as well as ensure their longer duration of stay. In PPP model, the state as a client may provide the land/space like a centrally located park where tourists can reach easily. At the venue, an evening program can be arranged on every weekend, wherein, 10 shops featuring local cuisines, 10 shops of local handicrafts, 10 shops of clothes and 10 shops selling city-based souvenirs can be setup. Additionally, there would be musical concert by a local band or a music troupe. During such an event, the state can play the role of being a facilitator to arrange various permissions required by the private partner such as licenses, NOCs and permissions for seamless traffic movement. In such an arrangement, private players will put their marketing and operation skills to optimum use, generate footfalls and earn revenue in the form of foreign exchange. A part of this revenue may be shared with the state, leading to a win-win situation for the various stakeholders. To make such an arrangement work, there is a need to create an environment of trust and credibility between the various stakeholders.

2. Tourism may be brought in Concurrent List of Constitution as advised during formulation of National Tourism Policy 2015.

3. Tourism may be declared as an industry by all the states and by Govt of India so that the benefits are accrued to it for Industrial development like Infrastructure, skill development.

4. Medical & Health sector have brought India amongst top 5 countries in world in Medical tourism with almost 28% annual growth.

5. Concept of “Right to Skill” to be adopted. All stake holders including Dhaba workers, people employed in transport & construction sector, etc. need skill / up gradation of skill, substancial financial aid and liberal approach in “Hunar se Rozgar” required with defined targets.

6. Infrastructuredevelopment as continuous process, to be given Priority. Capital expenditure of Rs. 1 million creates largest jobs in T&H sector. (i.e. 78 jobs as against 45 and 18 in Mfg and agri sector respectively).

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Infrastructure in Tourism under PPP model

Dr. GG Saxena IAS Retd

India has tremendous potential to attract foreign and domestic tourists. According to World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, India ranks 8th in natural resources, 24th in cultural resources. India holds a unique place as it is birth place of 4 major religions of the world. It is the nation with 147 forms of dance, 22 languages and 9000 years of heritage.

However, the Foreign Tourist Arrival in India is only 8 million and India accounts for only 0.68% of Foreign Tourist Arrival in the world. India is one of the few countries in the world that boasts of having all year-round places of attraction and adventure activities, be it sunny beaches in Goa or World’s highest mountain peaks to conquer in the summer season. Indian people are one of the warmest and most hospitable people in the world. This is mainly due to respect and veneration towards the tourists and treating guest as God, in line with Atithi Devo Bhava. However, Incredible India lacks in last mile connectivity, cleanliness, hygiene, tourism friendly destinations, availability of budget accommodations, and vulnerability towards safety of tourists particularly women tourists. The question arises as to what we can do to ensure safety of tourists and in turn attract more and more foreign and domestic tourists?

Today, the discerning travelers are not those who wish to stay in Five-star hotels and visit monuments with guides. Instead, most of them surf and browse the Internet to find countries to visit, accommodations to stay, local dishes in local restaurants to eat, shopping mall brands to shop from and places to see! In doing so, such travelers interact with locals, utilize wayside amenities and infrastructure available at or near tourism destinations.

Here, comes the importance of community involvement for availability of wayside amenities in and around the place of stay. Tourism sector is developing in India mainly due to private stakeholders and role of the state agency is to facilitate the stakeholders and tourism industry. Thus, the best option for developing Tourism Infrastructure is through “Public Private Partnership” or in PPP mode. Here, the state or central Government may provide land or license or permit while private developer can bring its own expertise for creating wayside amenities, including public conveniences.

PHDCCI is one of the stakeholders to facilitate the development of infrastructure in Tourism under PPP model. There is need for synergy amongst Government, Private Developers and Private Neutral facilitators. It is seen that tourists wish to visit national and state notified monuments besides World Heritage monuments. In western countries, house owners associate themselves with one or many natural or cultural icons belonging to the locality in order to save the icons.

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In India, all metropolitan cities and important towns have large number of tangible and intangible cultural heritage but they are not exploited aptly in order to attract tourists. For instance, Ghalib ki Haveli or Dargah of Nizamuddin Aulia where last mile connectivity, public convenience, restaurants etc are not upto the mark. PHDCCI is contemplating to fix this deficiency by synergizing the actions of private and state developers. Today, world class toilets can be installed in least amount of space. This service could be provided to the public either for free. Revenue can be generated either through advertisements, or on payment basis if state or monument authority compensates for user charges.

PHD Chamber is aware of the success story of “Best Public Convenience facilities” made available by Delhi Tourism free of cost through its “Street Furniture” projects. Delhi Tourism is earning around Rs. 20 million per year through this venture with service providers such as Graphisads, JC Decaux, Reliance etc. At ticketed or non-ticketed monuments that boast of high footfalls, such projects get revenues from advertisements of big companies on the walls of such pre-fabricated toilets. Large number of corporate houses are constituents of PHDCCI, which deal in creating such assets. Once PHDCCI receives requirements of such installations, PHDCCI may invite such expertise out of its own members or may go in the open market for such fabrication at reasonable costs. PHDCCI may either be directly involved or may work as a facilitator. A 10 feet x 10 feet area of land on the roadside will be required along with water connection by the developer from the client agency.

The purpose of this article is that State Tourism Boards, Municipal Corporations, Event management agencies, Development authorities, city/district administrators may utilize services of PHDCCI so that it can arrange the installation of such public conveniences or other facilities in the name of “Street Furniture” under PPP schemes.

Besides the above, it is observed that tourists of slow mobility, who form a significant part of the world population, require assistance in moving from place of deboarding from tourist buses to the gate of the monuments etc. Sometimes, this distance is half a kilometer ie. In case of Red Fort, Humayun’s tomb, etc Golf carts can be arranged on the lines of street furniture concept to facilitate while adhering to the concept of Accessible Tourism.

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About the Author:

Dr GG Saxena is an ex- IAS officer and a former MD of Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corp (DTTDC). He is an Honorary member in the Tourism committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce. He is a well-known expert in the industry and has his doctorate in the area of “Role of Bed and Breakfast” in Delhi. His expertise is in the areas of Tourism, law and infrastructure domains. He is currently empaneled with the Delhi High Court Bar Association, Indian Council of Arbitration and SAROD (NHAI). He is a visiting faculty of IITTM, Ministry of Tourism. He is also the Secretary-cum-Treasure of Delhi Heritage Foundation, Delhi and the mentor of BnBNation, a Hospitality startup (www.bnbnation.com).

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