Explain how tourism is responsible for generating employment
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India’s exuberance about itself, irrational though it did not appear, is abating. From the fastest-growing economy in the world a year ago, we are now lagging behind many. What’s worse, the formal economy is not creating enough jobs.
The annual job growth in the organised sector jobs has slumped to 0.1million. Not enough for the 8-10 million young adults that join the workforce every year and aspire to get a job in the organised sector. At that pace, it would take 100 years to get the10 millions new jobs for the youth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised.
We need to focus on policies that create well-paying jobs, increase exports and put India back on a high GDP growth track. Promoting tourism, in particular international tourism, could get us all three: more jobs, foreign exchange, and GDP growth. It will also improve India’s global image. There may be some other positive side effects such as improved hygiene, cleanliness and a more gender-equal society.To see the scope of increasing India’s share of international tourism, here are a few numbers from the recent Economic Survey: in 2016, India received as many international tourists as the city of Singapore. Turkey received three times as many international tourists as India, even though India has more than double the number of Unesco world heritage sites. Taj Mahal had half-a-million foreign tourists, the Statue of Liberty in NY received four times as many, and the Great Wall of China received six times as many.
Why, despite India’s rich heritage, diversity of cultures, exotic cuisines and long history of civilisation, do we get such a small pie of global tourists and tourism revenue? The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index provides some answers. Out of a group of 136 countries, India ranked 40th in tourism competitiveness; 55th in international openness, 112th in information and communication technology readiness, 110th in tourist service infrastructure, 114th in safety and security, 104th in health and hygiene, and 89th in business environment.
Worse, tourism is not even a high priority for us. WEF ranked India 104th in prioritisation of travel and tourism. On the positive side, the potential for increasing tourism is immense. India is ranked 10th in price competitiveness, 9th in cultural resources and 24th in natural resources and sixth in Unesco’s world heritage sites. In comparison, Turkey is ranked 70th in price competitiveness, 16th in cultural resources and 70th in natural resources.
The annual job growth in the organised sector jobs has slumped to 0.1million. Not enough for the 8-10 million young adults that join the workforce every year and aspire to get a job in the organised sector. At that pace, it would take 100 years to get the10 millions new jobs for the youth that Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised.
We need to focus on policies that create well-paying jobs, increase exports and put India back on a high GDP growth track. Promoting tourism, in particular international tourism, could get us all three: more jobs, foreign exchange, and GDP growth. It will also improve India’s global image. There may be some other positive side effects such as improved hygiene, cleanliness and a more gender-equal society.To see the scope of increasing India’s share of international tourism, here are a few numbers from the recent Economic Survey: in 2016, India received as many international tourists as the city of Singapore. Turkey received three times as many international tourists as India, even though India has more than double the number of Unesco world heritage sites. Taj Mahal had half-a-million foreign tourists, the Statue of Liberty in NY received four times as many, and the Great Wall of China received six times as many.
Why, despite India’s rich heritage, diversity of cultures, exotic cuisines and long history of civilisation, do we get such a small pie of global tourists and tourism revenue? The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index provides some answers. Out of a group of 136 countries, India ranked 40th in tourism competitiveness; 55th in international openness, 112th in information and communication technology readiness, 110th in tourist service infrastructure, 114th in safety and security, 104th in health and hygiene, and 89th in business environment.
Worse, tourism is not even a high priority for us. WEF ranked India 104th in prioritisation of travel and tourism. On the positive side, the potential for increasing tourism is immense. India is ranked 10th in price competitiveness, 9th in cultural resources and 24th in natural resources and sixth in Unesco’s world heritage sites. In comparison, Turkey is ranked 70th in price competitiveness, 16th in cultural resources and 70th in natural resources.
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