GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 31st Jan. The travel and tourism sector in Bharat is thriving, with a significant 44% increase in tourism this year. As more people explore the country, the tourism industry is expected to continue growing. This surge in tourism can be attributed to the increase in disposable income and the willingness of people to spend more time and money on travel.
Foundit’s survey
Foundit ran a poll, which yielded a plethora of new information. This same body conducted a survey of the country’s tourism industry.
According to this report, the tourist sector experienced a 16 percent gain in 2019. However, following that, there was a 47 percent decrease in jobs in 2020, and a 27 percent decrease in jobs in 2021, as a result of the limitations and closures on travel within and internationally. This sector was severely impacted. However, following the expiration of Covid, the industry experienced a 3% job growth in 2022.
Shekhar Garisa, CEO of Foundit, stated, “The travel and tourism industry has come back as a big successor after the pandemic; the government’s efforts have played an important role in this.” Not only that, but Bharat has opened its doors to 100% FDI for tourist construction projects, and by participating in the G20 Summit, the country has encouraged sustainable tourism. New technologies, particularly AI and AR/VR, have played a key role in fostering this. The key to this region’s development is to focus on high-growth potential areas that will propel it forward, such as health, adventure, sustainability, and cultural tourism.
Religious tourism will drive Bharat’s tourism expansion
According to Jefferies, the South Asian country with the world’s largest Hindu population may witness an increase of 50 million to 100 million tourists every year as a result of the new Ram Mandir, a temple in the northern city of Ayodhya.
The estimated traffic at the new temple will be significantly greater than the annual numbers for Bharat’s Taj Mahal (6.5 million), Rome’s Vatican City (9 million), and Saudi Arabia’s Mecca (20 million), according to the note.
Other holy sites in Bharat, such as the Tirupati Temple in Andhra Pradesh, which receives 25 million tourists per year, and the Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu and Kashmir, which receives 8 million visits per year, are similarly significant spiritually, historically, and culturally, according to the investment bank.
“Religious tourism is still the biggest segment of tourism in India … the creation of a new religious tourist centre (Ayodhya) with improved connectivity and infrastructure can create a meaningfully large economic impact,” Jefferies went on to say.
According to the Press Information Bureau, Bharat received 10.93 million international tourists prior to the pandemic in 2019, and 6.43 million between January and September of last year.
The world’s most populous country is expected to be the fourth-largest global travel spender by 2030, with travel and tourism projected to reach $410 billion, up more than 170% from $150 billion in 2019, according to Booking.com data.
“India has a lot to offer all kinds of travelers, from beaches to historical landmarks, backwaters to spiritual locations,” Santosh Kumar, Booking.com’s country manager for Bharat, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Indonesia, stated.
Travel and tourism industry are in highest demand other cities as well
According to Foundit data, some of the key sectors in the travel and tourism industry are in highest demand. These include Sales & Business Development (23% share of total demand), Engineers – Software, Electrical (12% share of total demand) and Marketing & Operations (8% share of total demand), Chefs (5% share of total demand) and Medical representations (accounting for 5% of the total demand) were also a significant part of the total demand. Tier 2 sectors have recorded a large increase in online hiring demand for travel and tourism.
Among the Tier 2 cities that saw more job opportunities in the travel and tourism industry, Jaipur (34%), Ahmedabad (33%), and Chandigarh (33%) saw more growth in August 2023 as compared to August 2022. After this, Baroda (25%) and Coimbatore (25%) are included in this list. Apart from this, Delhi (34%) demonstrated maximum growth in terms of job postings, followed by Kolkata (21%), Chennai (19%), Hyderabad (8%) and Mumbai (5%).
Bharat’s improved air and road connectivity has facilitated travel and fueled sector-wide growth. The Atal Setu, Bharat’s longest sea bridge measuring 21.8 kilometers, opened earlier this month to shorten travel times between cities and boost connection between Mumbai International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport. All of this is also a blessing for the hospitality business.
