World Tourism Day 2023 – Key Highlights

• Origin: World Tourism Day was announced in 1979 by the World Tourism Organization. The official celebration began in 1980.
  • The day is celebrated on September 27 to mark the anniversary of the adoption of statutes by the World Tourism Organisation.
• Theme: The theme for World Tourism Day 2023 was “Tourism and Green Investments”. 
• Significance of Tourism Day
  • Expand Knowledge: Broadening our experiences helps us better understand different cultures, heritages, traditions, and people of various countries. 
  • Obtain Investments in Tourism: The World Tourism Day will seek to promote investments as one of the key priorities for tourism’s recovery and future growth and development.
  • Innovative Solutions in Tourism: The day also looks to bring in new innovative solutions that will promote and underpin economic growth and productivity. 
  • Unity for Tourism Strategy: World Tourism Day will bring together the international community, governments, multilateral financial institutions, development partners, and private sector investors for a unified tourism strategy.
  • Role of Tourism in Human Development: The World Tourism Day will underline the importance of tourism in various aspects of human development.
  • Sustainable Tourism: The World Tourism Day creates awareness about the importance of sustainable tourism for the protection of Earth’s resources.

Tourism across the World

• Definition: Tourism can be defined as when people leave their homes and live outside for less than a year for the purpose of leisure, business, health, or other reasons.
• Contribution to Global Economy: According to available data, tourism’s contribution to global GDP was 7.7 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022.  This is about 7.6 per cent of global GDP value.
• Leading Tourist Destinations: France has emerged as the country with the highest number of inbound tourists worldwide.
  • On the market front, the United States and China are the leading travel markets worldwide.
• Significance of Tourism Industry
  • Revenue Boost: Tourism has the potential to generate revenue for the economy, create lakhs of jobs, and develop the infrastructure of the country.
  • Cultural Exchange: Tourism provides an opportunity for cultural exchange between inhabitants of a region and incoming tourists.
  • Foreign Exchange: Foreigners visiting a country bring in foreign exchange, helping the country tide over the import burden.
  • Trickle-Down Effect: The revenues generated from tourism will directly benefit local communities. Benefits from tourism will reach lower sections of society faster than government support.
  • Preserving Local Culture and Heritage: Tourism acts as a reason for local communities to preserve and protect the local culture and heritage.
  • Local Infrastructure Creation: Infrastructure created by the government to serve the purpose of tourism will also be available for locals, ensuring access to quality of life.
• Criticism of Tourism Industry
  • Environmental Burden: Tourism puts an additional burden on the pristine environment, especially involving coastlines and marine environments. Pollution is the most visible effect of tourism.
  • Population Burden: Tourism brings outsiders into the area. This increases population density and affects the quality of life of locals.
  • Illegal Activities: Tourist spots have become a hub for illegal activities such as narcotics business, human trafficking as well and artifact smuggling.
  • Carbon Footprint Rise: The tourism industry is a major contributor to carbon emissions due to frequent air and ground travel as well as the destruction of forest habitats to facilitate tourists.
  • Spread of Diseases: Tourism has been the main reason for the spread of diseases such as AIDS, COVID-19, SARS, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases etc.

Tourism in India

• Economic Contribution: According to available numbers, tourism contributes to 4.6% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). 
• Future Prediction: The tourism sector is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 7.8% to Rs 33.8 lakh crore by 2031 (7.2% of GDP).
• Medical Tourism: India is a popular destination for medical tourism. It is the 5th largest global travel healthcare destination with an estimated market size of around $9 billion.
• Foreign Tourists: According to the numbers of the Ministry of Tourism, about 6.19 Million tourists arrived in India in 2022.
• Measures to Promote Tourism in India
  • e-Visa Policy: The Government of India has launched a tourist e-Visa for citizens of 44 countries, facilitating easy visits for foreign tourists.
  • Advertisement Campaign: The Incredible India portal has been launched to promote India as a popular tourist destination.
    • The Indian government has also participated in tourism fairs across the world to promote India’s tourism potential.
  • Swadesh Darshan Scheme: The scheme looks to develop theme-based tourist circuits across the country on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness, and sustainability in an integrated manner.
  • PRASHAD Scheme: The scheme focuses on identifying and developing pilgrim sites across India to enhance the religious tourism experience.
    • Apart from that, the scheme also seeks to promote local art, culture, handicraft, cuisine, etc.
  • Indian Railway Tourist Circuit: Indian Railways has launched various theme-based tourist circuit trains to promote tourism potential in the country.
    • Some of these tourist circuit trains include the Ramayan Express, Buddhist Circuit Train, Ambedkar Circuit tourist train, etc.
  • Adopt a Heritage Project: It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Tourism in close collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).
    • Under the project, heritage sites/monuments and other tourist sites are entrusted to private sector companies, public sector companies, and individuals for the development of tourist amenities.
    • Successful bidders for adopting heritage sites/monuments by the Oversight and Vision Committee shall be termed Monument Mitras.
• Issues Affecting Tourism in India
  • Safety Issues: Safety concerns, especially for female travelers, are said to be a significant issue in India. In addition, the mugging and cheating of tourists continue to thrive.
  • Lack of Quality Facilities: Many potential tourism spots in India do not have quality facilities to host foreign tourists visiting the area.
  • Lengthy Visa Process: Despite the recent measures to simplify, the visa process in India continues to discourage potential visitors to the country.
  • Connectivity: Adequate connectivity hampers the tourism potential of new upcoming tourist destinations in the country.
  • Sanitation: Many tourist places popular with foreigners do not have proper sanitation facilities, which affects their popularity among the tourist community.