The western world, which for long had perceived India as the land of snake charmers and elephants, is fast changing its view. With the surge of Indian IT firms on the global map and now traditional forms of therapy and yoga leading to the rising popularity of medical tourism, the one sector which is getting the biggest rub-off effect from them is the hospitality sector; the "Incredible India" campaign, which promotes Indian tourism, has also been largely responsible for attracting inbound tourists. While the inbound tourism is on the rise, the domestic tourism too is not lagging behind. A host of factors that are contributing to the surge in tourist traffic (both in the leisure and corporate traveling) include low air tariffs, growing IT, ITES and manufacturing sectors, and rising income levels. According to the latest data available, the domestic tourism grew by 19% from 309 million of 2003 to 368 million in 2004 and during 2005 it reached to 382 million.
No doubt, the sudden burst in tourist traffic has spurred hospitality industry players to get into action. A host of players, including leading ones like the Tatas, ITCs, and Oberois have announced expansion plans to cash in on the boom. Interestingly, the idea of "no-frills" or "budget" too has hit many of these players, which want to attract the growing middle-class tourists. For instance, Tata's Indian Hotel Company (IHCL), which owns and operates the Taj brand of hotel chains, has already launched its budget hotels across the country and is planning 30 more such hotels over the next three years. Even foreign hotel chains like Accor, Marriott, and Starwood are gearing up to capitalize on the boom. According to Abacus' statistics, the industry has shown tremendous growth with 24% YTD June 2006. And it is expected to grow at the rate of 25% per annum during 2005-2010.
In fact, going by the positive outlook by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), an international organization of travel industry executives, by 2020, Indian tourism is expected to contribute a hefty Rs. 8,50,000 cr to the country's GDP. |
