Question

Article on travel woes in India

Answer 1

Is the dream of the fabled achchhe din finally real? The World Travel and Tourism Council would want the people to believe it is. In a recent report, the council has announced that India is all prepared to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy - it currently ranks seventh - by 2028 in terms of direct and total gross domestic product. The 10 million jobs that are expected to be created in this sector would double revenue within a decade. Adequate employment generation has been a persistent problem for the Narendra Modi-led government which had, incidentally, come to power with the promise of creating one crore jobs. With nearly 31 million people still out of work, this move by the tourism industry is opportune. A buoyant tourism sector can also help ensure that people do not miss out on the famed Indian hospitality especially at a time when the United States of America has advised extra caution to those planning to visit it. But surprisingly, for a country with as much historical and geographical diversity as India, footfall of tourists from overseas is comparatively low. The reasons are clear. Airports in the country are already choked, with many estimated to reach their maximum capacity by 2022. Poor rail and road connectivity means that several places that could have attracted tourists lie unexplored. Additionally, it does not augur well for the country - or for the ruling dispensation - that swachhta often eludes popular tourist spots. In fact, the image of an India steeped in filth and poverty has become so commonplace that it has given rise to a new form of tourism: poverty tourism, whereby foreigners are taken on tours of slums.