The Economic Survey 2023-24, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Monday, said that India needs to take advantage of the opportunities available in the tourism sector. The tourism sector has provided relatively easy opportunities for job creation amid a challenging environment in the service and manufacturing industries due to AI, protectionism and supply-related concerns. According to Bhasha news, the Economic Survey said that India’s tourism industry has made a comeback after the Kovid epidemic and more than 92 lakh foreign tourists arrived in the year 2023. This is an annual increase of 43.5 percent.
Highest new supply in 2023
According to the report, the hotel industry has also stepped up to meet the growing needs of tourists by adding 14,000 rooms, the highest new supply in 2023. Citing the World Economic Forum (WEF) Travel and Tourism Development Index (TTDI) 2024 report, the Economic Survey has emphasized the need to improve tourist services and infrastructure and develop a skilled workforce. The Economic Survey said that there is a challenging environment for job creation in services due to the emergence of AI and in manufacturing due to protectionism, transportation costs and supply concerns. In this, the tourism sector is a relatively easy sector for job creation. India has to take advantage of this opportunity.
Special initiative of Ministry of Tourism
To organize employment in the tourism sector, the Ministry of Tourism has launched the Incredible India Tourism Facilitator Certificate Program. It said that it aims to create a skilled cadre of tourist facilitators across the country through a digital platform that provides online learning opportunities and certification courses. The review acknowledged that India’s travel and tourism (T&T) sector has been affected by global inflationary pressures and capacity delays like other economies. It said that however, the decline in price competitiveness since 2021 has been minimal compared to its peers and has declined by only 0.7 per cent.
Foreign exchange from tourism
India earned more than Rs 2.3 lakh crore in foreign exchange from tourism last year, an increase of 65.7 per cent year-on-year. The review said that the country’s share of foreign exchange earnings in world tourism receipts has increased from 1.38 per cent in 2021 to 1.58 per cent in 2022. According to the review, similarly, the hotel industry has come forward to meet the growing needs of tourists and improve the overall guest experience. The review said that hotels are also adopting innovative operational strategies. This includes leasing or managing external restaurants, spas and lounge brands, etc. In the financial year 2023-24, the daily rent of rooms in the hotel sector increased from Rs 6,704 to Rs 7,616, which is an increase of 13.6 per cent compared to FY 2022-23.
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