NEW DELHI: Last year India attracted 6.8 million tourists. The same year Thailand, onesixth India’s size, received 148 million and tiny Singapore got 102.5 million tourists. This is despite the fact that India has the world’s highest mountains, has a coastline 5,700-km long with numerous beaches, forests, wildlife, diverse culture and food. Surely, it has the potential to attract twice the number of tourists that Thailand does. And if this potential is tapped, what it earned from tourism last year — $6.8 million — can grow by at least 50 times. The spin-off in terms of employment would be enormous. To invest true meaning to “Incredible India” , the top priority tasks are: Convince the world that India is safe. The Nirbhaya case and intermittent stories of tourists being waylaid or worse have wrecked the country’s image. Today it is seen to be unsafe, especially for women. This image needs to be corrected. Getting the Indian visa isn’t easy. A “visa restriction index” released by Henley Partners last year ranked India at 74 out of 93 countries, worse than Pakistan , China and Afghanistan. The visa process needs to be streamlined so that it becomes easier, and the facility of visa on-arrival should be extended to many more countries. Recently, there was a decision to extend the facility to all but six countries . Implement the decision,drastically improve tourism infrastructure — hotels, both luxury and budget, air links, road, railway connections, car rental facilities. Register all those in the tourism trade and create positive disincentives for sharks. Indian tourism has to become a pleasurable experience. Improve the upkeep of historical monuments. India has numerous monuments, but often they are vandalized and kept dirty. Bring educated guides in these monuments. Keep the toilets there clean. With a fraction of the historical heritage that India has, other countries make a killing from it. The tourism industry, particularly the travel industry, complains about high taxation. The new government needs to go into this and if the complaint is found valid, it should be addressed.
Guide visitors to a safe, incredible India
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