purpose

 To promote healthy relationship among individuals who are actively engaged in tourism related business
through useful interaction, organising regular meetings and cultural and social activities.
 To set up educational institutions and other institutions which create an environment for offering various
courses in tourism and get affiliation/approval from University/Universities or other institutions for conducting
such courses.
 To institute awards, prizes and gifts for encouraging tourism.

 To promote and improve the standard and quality of tourist movement in India.

 To reward and recognise, persons and organisations working in the field of tourism.

 To provide medical insurance and other welfare schemes to tourism related persons.

 To collaborate with tourism related industries like hotels for mutual benefit.

 To establish a printing and publishing house or otherwise bring out periodicals, magazines and books.

 To engage in charitable and social service activities of every kind to help the poor, needy, aged, ill,
backward and weaker sections of the general public without discrimination of religion, caste, creed or sex.
 To purchase, construct, take on lease or otherwise acquire land, building and other movable and immovable
properties and to sell, lease, mortgage or hypothecate or otherwise dispose of all or any of the property and
assets of the society on such terms and conditions as the society may deem fit for attaining the objects.
 To accept donations in cash or in kind, grants and collect subscriptions, fees and other charges for the
services rendered by the society and take and raise funds by way of loans or otherwise and the receipts
shall be solely utilised and applied towards the promotion of aim and objectives of the society.
 To do all other lawful acts, as are necessary for and/or incidental to the attainment of the aims and
objectives of the society.

Economic Importance of Tourism in India

By Becky Salmela Haase, eHow Contributor
updated: May 29, 2010

Tourism is an increasingly vital part of the Indian economy.

Throughout the world, tourism brings money to cities and countries. Tourism also provides jobs for
the local residents, further benefiting the destination. India has realized the profits available from this
sector. Thanks to its growing economy and promoting itself as a culturally rich and diverse nation,
India's tourism industry now brings billions of dollars into the economy each year.

About India

1.

New Delhi is India's capital.

More than 60 years into its independence from British colonial rule, India has
developed into a strong player on the world economic stage. As of 2010, more than
1.1 billion people live in India, making it the second most populated country after
China. New Delhi is the political capital of India, although Mumbai is the country's
the financial center.

India's Economy

2.

Tourism is becoming more and more a vital part of the Indian economy.

Even though most of the population is rural and still works in agriculture, India's
service-based economy has rapidly brought about a thriving development, especially
in the last 20 years when India liberalized its markets. The services sector employs
about 30 percent of India's workforce, yet provides about half of its output. India
depended on its large English-speaking, well-educated workforce to develop a
burgeoning technology sector, as well. Tourism is a growing portion of India's
economy with an earnings increase of more than 17 percent from 2009.

Reasons for Growth

3.

The Indian government played an important role in promoting tourism.

India's government, through its Tourism Ministry, developed a National Action Plan
for Tourism to develop this portion of the economy. The plan sought to promote
tourism as a way to boost socio-economic development, increase employment,
preserve the nation's heritage and environment and promote international and
domestic tourists to visit India as a way to increase its share of global tourism.
Through this plan, the ministry began advertising campaigns at home and abroad.
The successful campaign has brought more tourists--and their money--to the
country and boosted employment in this sector to more than 20 million people by
2006.

Foreign Tourism to India

4.

The Taj Mahal is one of India's most famous attractions.

In 2006, more than 4 million tourists visited India and spent the equivalent of $8.9
billion U.S. dollars, and this figure rose by about 22 percent each year from 2006 to
2009. Thanks again to its technology and service sectors, foreign business travelers
are descending on India in large numbers. Many extend their trips, adding more
tourist money to the economy. In fact, foreign tourists from all over the world spend
more in India than almost any other country worldwide, according to Economy
Watch. Tourists are attracted by India's cultural diversity, temples, scenery and
festivals. Each region of India offers something for foreign visitors, from the Taj
Mahal and New Delhi in the north, bustling Mumbai in the West to the religious
center of Varanasi in central India and any number of its beaches and coastal cities.

Indian Travelers Abroad

5.

Indians are a growing part of their country's tourism sector.

Not only are foreign tourists traveling in India, its own citizens are taking more
vacations, as well. The country's economic growth increased its middle-class
population. This group is contributing the most to domestic travel thanks to an
annual 10 percent increase in disposable income between 2001 and 2006.

Read more: Economic Importance of Tourism in India | eHow.com

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india.html#ixzz1Ci8cvC8O

TOURISM

Tourism is a growing industry in India. Hoteliering as well as tourism account for the major foreign
earnings for our nation. The declining value of the rupee and a good image of India as an exotic
tourist destination have boosted the tourism and hotel industry in India during the late nineties.

It is very surprising to note that small countries like Indonesia, Mauritius, Seyshells, Malaysia, Hong
Kong and Thailand have been able to do very well on the tourism front. India is the ancient cultural
cradle of the world. It has fascinating tourist destinations like the Taj Mahal, The Khajuraho temples,
the marble mountains, The Gateway of India, the Red fort and the Qutub Minar, The Ajmer Palace,
The Bharatpur, Bird Sanctuary, The city of Canals and many more. We Indians are also not aware of
the beauty of our country. Our ancient cities, palaces, lakes, temples, gardens, minarets, mosques,
and lakes mountains delightful experiences for all the travelers as well as visitors. The foreign tourist
longs for a tryst with India and loves to visit each and every corner of this vast country.

Our tourism exchange earnings are less than $1.5 billion and account of 0.5 percent of the total
tourism traffic of the world. On the other hand, the tourism earnings of Singapore are $34 billion. The
same figures are $6.5 billion for Malaysia. The facts do not point towards a healthy trend. We have not
to depend merely upon the dollars – rupee parity but also, we have to generate enough of interest
about the Indian subcontinent in the minds of the tourists so that they continue to come here and
enjoy being here.

The problem of Kashmir has not been solved. Ten years before many tourists were kidnapped and a
few of them were killed by the Kashmiri militants. Although the situation is under control, yet the
army has to keep strict vigil over the sea. Therefore, the inflow of tourists is less. The situation is
much better now and many Indians and foreigners visited Kashmir.

Central India, The North Eastern states, Calcutta, Mumbai, New Delhi, Khajuraho, and Goa are the
most popular tourist destinations. Rajasthan is paradise for the foreigners and this state provides a
wide range of cultural and ethnic diversities to the visitors.

The foreign tourists are appalled at the state of Indian catering services, roads, guides services, hotels
motels, and transportation services and above all, the degrading environment of the Indian
subcontinent. We would have to provide four star amenities to the tourists at the prices of three state
standards. If we do not follow this norm, we would lose tourists to the United States of America,
Seychells, Mauritius, Singapore, Thailand, Hongkong, and Japan. These countries offer entertainment,
good quality rooms, and transportation, liquor, as well as food, at the most competitive prices. They
follow international tourism norms in terms of catering, hospitality, and hygiene. We do not follow any
norms and this leads to aversion on the part of the tourists from India.

It is fortunate to note that hotel management and tourism have become serious subjects as well as
vocations. The government as well as the private institutions has launched many courses in tourism as
well as hotel management. The professionals in tourism and travel are required by tour operators as
well as airlines. The sea cruisers and airlines also need hospitality staff and chefs are required around
the world. Hotel professionals are also in great demand. This would boost the hotel industry as well as
the economy.

The services of tourist guides, catering, roads, air travel, sanitation, transportation, and
telecommunications would have to be operated on professional grounds. The international agency is
doing well to promote and regulate air travel around the world. The Government of India is also doing
its best. The participation of the private firms has also increased. However, a lot needs to be done in
this crucial area. We can earn a lot through tourism as well as hotel industries. Our outlook and
approach would have to be professionalized if we want to achieve concrete results in this fastest
growing industry.

Tourism is the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more
than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity
remunerated from within the place visited.

Tourism is not the same as travel. Tourism can be measured by three different criteria’s

 It requires a displacement outside the known environment.

 The purpose for travel: The reason for travel must be any reason other than remuneration from the place
visited.
 Duration: The duration of stay can be a minimum of one day with or without an overnight stay, but there is a
cap on the maximum time period, usually it should not be more than a year.

Tourism in India
Tourism in India has seen exponential growth in the recent years. India is one of the most preferred destinations for
both overseas and domestic travelers. Tourism enables the international traveler to understand and experience
India's cultural diversity first hand. According to official estimates the Indian tourism industry has out performed the
global tourism industry in terms of growth in the volume of foreign tourists as well as in terms of revenue.

The main reason for the growth in tourism in India is the tremendous progress made by the Indian economy. Though
it must be said that infrastructure is still a constraint. To sustain the current growth the government should invest in
infrastructure like transport, accommodation, better roads, health and hygiene etc. To propel growth the industry has
invested in new technology like CRM tools and state of the art security systems.

The various segments within tourism are:

Medical Tourism
It is one of the fastest growing segments in India. India has been able to leverage on certain advantages it has over
other countries like highly skilled doctors, cost effective treatment, improved quality of private healthcare etc. Some of
the common treatments for which overseas patients to come to India are heart surgery, knee transplant, cosmetic
surgery and dental care. India's traditional rejuvenation therapy like yoga and ayurvedic therapy are also becoming
popular.

Eco Tourism
It is relatively new segment in India. It involves visiting natural areas without disturbing the fragile ecosystem. Eco
tourism generates wealth for the local people, who in turn take measures to conserve and protect the environment
and natural resources. India with its natural diversity is one of the pristine places in the world for eco tourism. The
Himalayan region, Kerala, Northeast, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep islands the Western and
Eastern Ghats are some of the hot spots for eco tourism in India. India has some of the best wildlife reserves in the
world, rich in flora and fauna.

Heritage Tourism
Heritage tourism is a very lucrative segment in India. It is widely believed it would emerge as the most important
segment within tourism in terms of revenue generation by 2010.India has a rich cultural history and reflection of its
glorious past is still visible in its numerous forts, monuments, palaces, places of worship etc. Heritage tourism itself
can be further classified as colonial heritage, urban renewal, religious tourism, industrial heritage and ethnicity. The
Indian government must show keen interest in preserving the heritage sites from a tourism perspective.

Adventure Tourism
India's varied geographical and climatic conditions offer excellent opportunity for adventure sports. In recent times the
popularity of adventure tourism has increased. Adventure sports like river rafting, rock climbing, mountaineering,
trekking, skiing, snow climbing, scuba diving and angling can be undertaken in the country and the country offers
multiple locations to choose from. The trans Himalayan region, the Garhwal and Kumaon mountains, the Western
Ghats, deserts of Rajasthan, Andaman and Lakshadweep islands are some of the most popular destination for
adventure tourism.

Future trends

 The real GDP growth for travel and tourism economy is expected to be 0.2 per cent in 2009 and is expected
to grow at an average of 7.7 per cent per annum in the coming decade.
 Earning through exports from international visitors and tourism goods are expected to generate 6.0 per cent
of total exports (nearly $16.9 billion) in 2009 and expected to increase to US$ 51.4 billion in 2019.
 According to the Ministry of Tourism, Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) for the period from January to March in
2009 was 1.461 million. For the month of March 2009 the FTAs was 472000.The reason for the decline is
attributed to the ongoing economic crisis.
 In spite of the short term and medium term impediment due to the global meltdown the revenues from
tourism is expected to increase by 42 per cent from 2007 to 2017.