Impact of Tourism on Indian Economy in 21 st...

Impact of Tourism on Indian Economy in 21 st Century

Author Name : Manik Aich Sarkar

ABSTRACT Tourism plays an important role in Indian economy. It is the world’s largest and fastest growing industry. It is now considered both as a service as well as an industry. Indian economy is very much depending on service sector and Tourism is one of them. Now the growth of Tourism is remarkably developed in all region in India but, it is not attained its satisfactory level. The paper mainly tries to focus the impact of Tourism including Foreign Tourist Arrivals and Foreign Exchange inflows on Indian economy. Foreign Tourists mainly arriving from Western Europe, North America, South America and South-East Asia. There has been a continuous increasing trend of growth in terms of FTAs (Foreign Tourist Arrivals) and Foreign Exchange earnings for the last decade. Major places like Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Lal Killa, Fatehpur Sikri, Golkonda, Ajanta- Elora etc. are visited by the domestic tourists and foreign tourists. Northern India has got many places of scenic beauty and historical interest. Darjeeling is called the ‘Queen of Hills’. But after 60 years of independence, tourism in India has not yet been developed so far as it should be. The reasons behind the short falls of tourism are communication, higher cost of travel, accommodation, safety, marketing, restrictions etc. The role of I.T.D.C. (Indian Tourism Development Corporation Ltd.) for promotion of tourism in India is not remarkable. The main functions of I.T.D.C. are to construct, manage and market hotels, travel lodges, transport facilities, entertainment etc. and also to render consultancy-cum managerial services in India and abroad. Now the Govt. of India has taken effective steps for the promotion of tourism to strengthen economy including employment generation to eradicate regional disparities