HICSA 2007

Presentation

Incredible India!

Amitabh Kant, Joint Secretary, Department of Tourism, Govt. of India

Giving a glimpse into the meteoric growth India has witnessed over the past decade, Amitabh Kant points out that India is the fastest growing tourist economy where tourism has grown at a whopping 13 per cent per annum in the past four years. "Tourism has to be a key driver," he emphasises, with the Indian economy growing at eight per cent plus in the last nine quarters.

In the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) ranking, India occupies the 43rd position in the global competitiveness index. "The share of services in the economy has gone up to 40-55 per cent, and coupled with rising consumer demand, India offers a stable economic platform," he said. The critical issue is favourable demographics with India touted to have an urban population of 40 million, which is predominantly young.

Pointing out the shortage in hotel demand and supply, Kant said that the demand for additional rooms in five years will be between 1,40,000-1,50,000 room, but the additional supply will be between 60,000- 70,000 only. To bridge this gap, a number of measures have been thought out by the government, including creation of land banks and freeing land supply. This includes 100 sites under the railway scheme, 202 at DTC bus depots and 36 sites being made available by Delhi Development Authority. Also, creation of accommodation hubs at airports is another avenue to increase room supply. With business travel growing at a rapid pace, it was important to create a better experience from the point of arrival to the point of departure. Elucidating on the challenges facing the government, he said, "Opening new destinations (Russia, East Europe, Japan and Korea and China) with quality experience, new products (chasing the monsoons, medical tourism and eco-tourism) are of prime importance."

In conclusion, he listed the 5 Cs that the government is taking cognisance of to provide effective solutions for growth and to attract investment - Civil aviation, Civic governance, Capital building, Communication strategy and Convergence (with particular stress on private-public partnership). Taking these into consideration, he said India will surely develop into an incredible tourist destination and tourism-centric economy.