India must envision and develop ambitious new tourism projects

Inbound international tourist arrivals have also increased from 13.1 million in 2014 to 17 million in 2023. But it is outbound Indian travellers going abroad that have grown significantly from 18.3 million in 2014 to 27 million in 2023. This figure might seem modest compared to our domestic travel numbers, but this exceeds the population of almost three-quarters of the world’s nations. Our burgeoning outbound market has captured global attention, with many destinations offering visa-free entry and experiences tailored for Indians. Retaining a significant portion of these travellers within our country is both a challenge and an opportunity—as every dollar saved is a dollar earned.

Pivotal juncture

The tourism sector is at a pivotal juncture, with the potential to drive economic growth and create millions of jobs here. While demand for travel has surged, structural challenges like overcrowding, inadequate infrastructure, and governance gaps need to be addressed first. The robust demand for tourism has also created substantial supply-side pressures. Many popular destinations are struggling to accommodate the surge—hill stations are often overwhelmed during peak seasons. This overburdening is diminishing both the visitor experience and the quality of life for host communities.

A ‘business as usual’ approach, relying solely on private sector expansion, will not suffice. A well-thought-out policy framework is essential to address existing challenges and lay the groundwork for planned, sustainable growth. We should undertake carrying capacity studies to assess factors like vehicular traffic, room availability, waste management, and disaster resilience, etc. Thailand and Japan, for instance, have hiked tourist taxes and entrance fees to limit overcrowding. In fact, in 2024, Thailand even announced temporary closures of certain destinations for environmental recovery.

Easing pressure on hotspots

Reengineering existing destinations is unlikely to yield any significant additional capacity. To cater to growing demand and reduce stress on current hotspots, developing new destinations is imperative. Saudi Arabia, for instance, is developing seven new estinations to position tourism as a key economic pillar. We must similarly develop ambitious projects through a collaborative effort with state governments and public-private partnerships.

Enhancing experiences

Even as we cap capacities sustainably, we should endeavour to increase the quality of the experience on offer. One perennial problem is: ‘Why our world-class tourism assets like monuments, beaches, etc., offer poor tourist experiences? Our focus must shift to developing thoughtful tourist infrastructure and curated experiences at these attractions. The challenge before the country is not lack of resources but lack of inspiration. A few well-developed and successful world-class tourism assets can pioneer and serve as templates for broader replication across the country.

There is also a tourism governance gap where the framework operates primarily at the national and state levels, with local self-governing bodies largely indifferent to tourism, leaving a gap for localized destination-level management. DMOs or destination management organizations play a critical role in maintaining destination quality, enhancing the visitor experience, balancing tourism with community well-being, and creating year-round tourism products to address seasonality.

Destination management can be significantly enhanced through the deployment of technology, like Artificial Intelligence (AI), which enables predictive analytics for tourist inflows and visitor distribution, as well as resource optimization to manage infrastructure and mitigate environmental impact. Social media sentiment analysis can also help assess visitor satisfaction and identify areas for improvement. Similarly, mapping employment and entrepreneurial opportunities at the destination level, combined with targeted skilling and training initiatives, can unlock substantial economic potential for local communities, fostering inclusive and sustainable growth.

Establishing a clear DMO framework with participation from the government, industry representatives, and local stakeholders across the nation is crucial. For instance, Ekta Nagar at Kevadia, Gujarat, which is a green-field tourism destination, has established a Statue of Unity Area Development and Tourism Governance Authority (SOUADTGA) to manage its tourism ecosystem, sustainability, ticketing, and crowd control, economic avenues for local tribal communities, and develop supporting attractions. Kerala’s ‘Responsible Tourism’ model has also been very successful in creating economic opportunities for the host community.

Quality accommodation

Our tourism growth is hampered by a severe shortage of quality accommodations. The country currently has 180,000 branded hotel rooms and 1.5 million unbranded rooms. To meet latent demand, capacity must double. Three key policy measures by Centre and the states can unlock private sector investment—first, broaden the ambit of infrastructure status for hotels and convention centres; second, enable ease of doing business by rationalizing development norms, simplifying regulations, and ensuring time-bound clearances; and third, offer subsidies and incentives to attract investments. Accommodation can be augmented in the short term by expanding homestays.

Economic opportunity

Increasing global travel propensities present a unique opportunity to attract more international tourists by showcasing its diverse offerings through an engaging publicity campaign. Tourism accounts for 1 in 10 jobs globally and supports 76 million jobs here, contributing 5.04% to India’s GDP. With a purposeful strategy, we can create 124 million jobs in the sector and double its contribution to the GDP over the next decade.

Suman Billa, additional secretary, ministry of tourism