Political Parties Take Notice - Tourism Is Ticking

Despite the universal recognition of India’s tourism potential, Anindita Chattopadhyay tries to comprehend why it has found no mention in the manifestoes of most political parties

The election fever is finally on and political parties are out equipped with lip services, sops and muscle power to fight it out at the ballot. Though the manifestoes of all parties put the thrust on eradication of unemployment, tourism - the biggest industry for employment generation, is not really the focus area. It does not find a place in the election manifesto of any political party except the BJP, which promises to make India a global tourism destination as part of its seven-pronged strategy to make India an economic superpower.

Industry captains give credit to tourism and culture minister Jagmohan for making his party colleagues realise the potential of the tourism sector as the biggest industry for employment generation. As a pre-election sop, first the finance minister offered tax cuts to make air travel cheaper and now the party has highlighted tourism as an industry that can put more money into most number of pockets. “Investment of one million rupees in the tourism industry as compared to manufacturing industry will generate five times more employment,” pointed out Ashok Bhatnagar, director general, PATA India chapter.

However, other parties fail to see the relevance of its job creation ability. As a matter of fact, a highly myopic view of some politicians associates tourism with foreigners and elite only - a reason why they think it will not appeal to the 70 per cent people living in rural India. What they fail to realise is that has a 300 million strong middle class who have purchasing powers, albeit not comparable to Americans or Europeans. The moment this huge number starts criss-crossing the country, money will change hands and there will be an employment boom. for those who love statistics here is some number talk to drive the point. Even if we assume only 10 per cent of the 300 million middle class have disposable income to spend on travelling, that brings the number to 30 million. In 2004, six million Indians are expected to travel abroad. These are top spenders, leaving India with 24 million who could be motivated to travel. A recent survey undertaken by CRYSIL showed one million tourists travelling to India with an average stay of 10 days would require 10 million room nights, which corresponds to 30,000 rooms in various categories of hotels. These 30,000 rooms would translate into two direct jobs and three indirect jobs meaning 150,000 jobs for every addition of one million tourists.

Besides, imagine the ripple effect as they would need transport, eat out, go shopping and sightseeing. If the cost of building a room is on an average Rs 20 lakh, then 30,000 rooms would require an investment of Rs 6,000 crore. Can politicians understand the economic implications? Samajwadi leader Amar Singh, who had participated at WTTC’s Agra Retreat, was so convinced by tourism’s multiplier effect that he proposed he would approach the prime minister (PM) to form a cabinet committee on tourism to be chaired by the PM himself. When reminded about it, he said, “I wrote a letter to the PM but whenever I enquired, I was told that the matter is being looked into. Hopefully, after the Lok Sabha election I will gain some stature and my request will be heeded and not taken lightly.”

Surprisingly, though he firmly believes tourism should be a universal agenda as it involves infrastructure development and employment generation, still he is reluctant to include it in Samajwadi Party election manifesto. “Tourism features very prominently in the UP government’s agenda. But I do not want to include tourism in the election agenda because supply of power, law and order and sugarcane is what people understand in UP.” What a candid confession! Even Congress leader Salman Khurshid went on record saying that tourism can trigger rapid economic growth with its multiplier effect. However, the Congress manifesto which promises to create one crore jobs every year talks about ‘new programmes for modernisation of the coir industry, handlooms, powerlooms, handicrafts, food processing, sericulture, agriculture’ and increase labour intensive exports to achieve the goal, but does not find tourism worth including. According to Bhatnagar, it is the mindset about tourism that needs to be changed. “We have failed to make people understand what tourism essentially means. Whenever an individual moves away from his home for more than a night - whatever may be the reason, business, work, going on a pilgrimage or wedding, visiting friends and relatives - it is tourism. Travelling that takes place involves hotel stay, commuting by train, bus or taxi, eating out, buying some locally made wares and due to such activities money changes hand and the industry gets the churning,” says Bhatnagar. His point finds endorsement in a Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) report prepared by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). It states the Indian travel industry is expected to generate Rs 1,846.3 billion of economic activity in 2004. Significantly, rural India can be a major beneficiary of this economic activity. At a time when travellers are looking for exotic experiences, romantic hideouts and relaxing holidays, village tourism can only be in the upswing.

The village community needs to be involved and shown that their daily activities, fairs and festivals, customs, craft and surrounding landscapes can be a medium to improve their quality of life. Train villagers, who are naturally warm and hospitable, to provide basic amenities and cleanliness to guests, have good roads and transport system and village tourism will take off because urbanites will have a fascinating holiday experience without a hole in their pockets. Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal have already taken a step in this direction. Politicians talk about setting up manufacturing and infrastructure industries to create jobs, but surprisingly turns a blind eye to the readymade product in hand that can be marketed off the shelf. They won’t have to spend taxpayers’ money to build a Goa beach, rain forest in Assam, the Chilka Lake or the Khajuraho temple. All they need to do is create an interest for the product and facilitate movement. Good roads, affordable airfare, clean environment and value-for-money hotels would be enough to create the spurt. If airlines operate Delhi-Goa or Bangalore-Goa weekend flights with affordable fares of say Rs 2,000/3,000, one’s sure Delhites and Bangaloreans will wait in queue with their bags packed. If USA can have 69 USD special fares why can’t India have a reasonable, affordable air fare? Yes, high ATF prices and navigation charges need to be brought down and that is the minimum policy makers can do to set the ball rolling.