Indian Tourism and Hospitality Industry Analysis

India is a large market for travel and tourism. It offers a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products - cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural and religious tourism. India has been recognized as a destination for spiritual tourism for domestic and international tourists.

Total contribution by travel and tourism sector to India’s GDP is expected to increase from Rs 15.24 trillion (US$ 234.03 billion) in 2017 to Rs 32.05 trillion (US$ 492.21 billion) in 2028. India ranked 7th among 184 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2017. Travel and tourism is the third largest foreign exchange earner for India. Foreign exchange earnings (FEEs) in March 2018 were US$ 2.66 billion. The number of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in March 2018 was 1.03 million. A sum of US$ 27.693 billion was earned under foreign exchange through tourism during calendar year 2017. Total employment in the sector is expected to rise to 52.3 million jobs by 2028. During calendar year 2017, 10.177 million foreign tourists have arrived in India. The Government of India has set a target of 20 million foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) by 2020 and double the foreign exchange earnings as well.

The launch of several branding and marketing initiatives by the Government of India such as ‘Incredible India!’ and ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’ has provided a focused impetus to growth. The Indian government has also released a fresh category of visa - the medical visa or M visa, to encourage medical tourism in the country. Incredible India 2.0 campaign was launched in September 2017. The Government of India is working to achieve 1 per cent share in world's international tourist arrivals by 2020 and 2 per cent share by 2025.

The Government has also been making serious efforts to boost investments in tourism sector. In the hotel and tourism sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed through the automatic route. A five-year tax holiday has been offered for 2, 3 and 4 star category hotels located around UNESCO World Heritage sites (except Delhi and Mumbai). Total FDI received by Indian hotel & tourism sector was US$ 10.90 billion between April 2000 and December 2017.India is a large market for travel and tourism. It offers a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products - cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural and religious tourism. India has been recognized as a destination for spiritual tourism for domestic and international tourists.