Aakar Shah PP0008113 Infra Subsystem Mid-term Assignment

Tourism Infrastructure
Introduction
The word tourism encompasses all activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. These activities make demands for goods and services, and the establishments which provide such services are considered as part of the tourism industry. The tourism industry also includes establishments whose products are mainly sold to visitors, though they do not form a major share of tourist consumption. Infrastructure sectors like power, telecommunication water supply, roads and some production sectors like travel items, sports equipments, photographic materials, medicines and cosmetics are included in this category. The infrastructure for tourism thus includes basic infrastructure components like airports, railways, roads, waterways; amenities like electricity, water supply, drainage, sewerage, solid waste disposal systems and services and facilities like accommodation, restaurants, recreational facilities and shopping facilities. Planning for sustainable development of tourism, therefore, involves the integrated development of basic infrastructure and amenities along with all the tourism facilities in a balanced manner. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Tourism Highlights 2013, tourisms total contribution to worldwide GDP is estimated at 9 percent.

Tourism in India
Tourism in India is broadly classified by its regions - North, East, West and South Indian tourism. Each part of India offers identifiable differences from the rest of the nation. The creation of niche tourism products like medical tourism, wellness tourism, religious circuits, adventure tourism, cruise tourism, and caravan tourism has served to widen the net of this sector. Inbound tourism is booming and the country is going all out to lure more travelers from around the world. Contrary to perceptions across the world that tourism in India is still confined to traditions, the country is opening up with trendy tour packages and affordable air travel deals to woo inbound visitors from every segment. The Indian Tourism sector is one of the largest service industries in the country in terms of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Foreign Exchange Earnings, as well as for providing employment to millions. The sector in fact is expected to generate around US$ 42.8 billion (INR 1,897.7 billion) by 2017, according to an industry research. The amount of foreign direct investments (FDI) inflow into the hotel and tourism sector during April 2000 to April 2013 was worth US$ 6,664.20 million. Foreign tourist arrivals (FTA) during the Month of June 2013 stood at 0.44 million as compared to FTAs of 0.43 million during June 2012,

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registering a growth of 2.5 per cent and the domestic tourism is expected to increase by 15 per cent to 20 per cent over the next five years. Tourism in India is witnessing widespread growth on the back of increasing inbound tourism by the burgeoning Indian middle class, rising inflow of foreign tourists and successful government campaigns for promoting Incredible India. Infrastructure development holds the key to Indias sustained growth in the Tourism sector. Further the government has also allowed 100 per cent foreign investment under the automatic route in the Hotel and Tourism related industry. Significantly, the country has the potential to become a major global tourist destination, with the Tourism sector expected to contribute around INR 3,414.8 billion (US$ 77.0 billion) by 2021. India is currently ranked 12th in the Asia Pacific region and 68th overall in the list of the world's attractive destinations. Foreign tourist arrivals in the country have increased substantially during the past decade motivated by both, business and leisure needs and are further expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 8 per cent during 2010-2014. Visitor exports are a key component of the direct contribution of the sector.. By 2021, international tourist arrivals are forecast to total 11,149,000, an increase of 6.1 per cent pa generating expenditure of INR 1,344.7 billion (US$ 30.3 billion). The country has received 3.3 million foreign tourists during the period January to June 2013. Drivers behind increase in Tourist Traffic The main driver for increase in tourist traffic to India has been the following factors: Domestic Tourist Traffic Rapidly increasing purchasing power of the middle class Better road connectivity Evolving lifestyle

International Tourist Traffic Value for money/economical holiday destination Business cum pleasure destination Development of Kerala and Rajasthan as the most popular tourist destinations in India with their distinctive brand image Opening of the sectors of the economy to private sector/foreign investment Reform in the aviation sector such as Open Skies Policy has led to better connectivity with many countries with India Success of Incredible India campaign and other tourism promotion measures

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Forms of Tourism in India

Rural Tourism The Ministry of Tourism started the scheme of rural tourism in 2002-03 with the aim to showcase art, rural life, and culture and heritage to the tourists at various rural locations and villages. The Ministry intends to help the local community economically and socially, together with facilitating interaction between the local population and tourists, through this scheme. On 28 February 2011, 169 rural tourism sites in 28 States/Union Territories have been sanctioned by the Ministry of Tourism. This segment has also been winning accolades in the international circuits as well. For instance, the Rural Tourism Project at Hodka village in Kutch District of Gujarat won the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) award for the year 2010 under the Heritage category. Cruise Tourism Cruise tourism is emerging as one of the most dynamic segments of the leisure industry globally. India with its vast and beautiful coastline, forests and undisturbed idyllic islands, rich historical and cultural heritage, can be a fabulous tourist destination for cruise tourists. The Cruise Shipping Policy of the Ministry of Shipping was approved by the Government of India on June 28, 2008. The objectives of the policy are to make India an attractive cruise tourism destination with the state-of-theart infrastructural and other facilities at various parts in the country; to attract the right segment of the foreign tourists to cruise shipping in India; to popularize cruise shipping with Indian tourists. Adventure Tourism Adventure travel involves exploration or travel to remote, exotic areas. Adventure tourism is rapidly growing in popularity as a tourist seeks different kinds of vacations. Sustainable Tourism/Eco Tourism Sustainable Tourism growth is in the process of evolving the Sustainable Tourism Criteria for India. In recent years tourism industry in India has registered a considerable growth. A Steering Committee with representatives from all the sectors of the tourism and hospitality industry of India has been constituted to develop draft Sustainable Tourism Criteria which would eventually be adopted by the different sectors of the industry. Wellness Tourism Wellness tourism is about travelling for the primary purpose of achieving, promoting, or maintaining maximum health and a sense of well-being. Health Tourism holds immense potential for India. The Indian systems of medicine that is Ayurveda, Yoga,

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Panchakarma, Rejuvenation Therapy etc. are among the most ancient systems of medical treatment of the world. Medical Tourism India is one of the most lucrative medical tourism markets in the world. The sector is witnessing remarkable growth on the back of Government support through policies and initiatives, low cost, less waiting time and healthcare infrastructure. The growth in Indias medical tourism market will be a boon for several associated industries, including hospital industry, medical equipments industry and pharmaceutical industry. Religious Tourism This segment of tourism has been growing in popularity. Bihar, for instance, holds a very important position in such a touristic destination as it has association of five religious circuits of country. The Buddhist Circuit, a pilgrimage route including sites of significance related to the life of the Buddha, is sacred to 500 million Buddhists and also attracts non-Buddhist tourists interested in historical heritage sites. The four main sites are Bodhgaya in Bihar, Sarnath and Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh. The Shirdi-Shanishignapur circuit in Maharashtra clocked over 10 million tourists between October 2011 and March 2012. Apart from Shirdi, the most favoured destination, and Siddhivinayak temples, other places that drew the crowds were Trymbakeshwar in Nashik and Tuljadevi in Osmanabad.

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Infrastructure development
Since most infrastructure elements and the delivery systems are within the purview of the state Governments or private sector, tourism infrastructure is being developed mainly with financial assistance to state/U.T. governments and by providing various incentives to private entrepreneurs. Specific schemes for which financial assistance is provided to the States include the following: (a) Construction schemes Forest lodges Tented accommodation Tourist complexes/tourist lodges Wayside amenities Motels/cafeterias/restaurants Tourist reception centers Pilgrim sheds/dormitories, etc. at pilgrimage centers Public conveniences (b) Tourist transport Mini-buses, jeeps, elephants, etc. for wild life viewing Cruise boats, ferry launchers, etc. for water transport Tourist coaches in selected circuits Special tourist trains The most frequent pattern of funding which has continued over successive plan periods is known as "normal funding" Under this pattern, the Central Department of Tourism meets almost the entire expenditure, except the cost of land and interior decoration in the case of construction projects. A new method of funding by way of grant-in-aid towards project cost was introduced during 1992-1993. In this scheme, 28 per cent of the project cost is provided by the central government and 12 per cent is provided by the state government. The balance of 60 per cent has to be raised as a loan from financial institutions or banks. This method of funding is applicable to projects requiring large investments. It is expected that the state governments would be able to mobilize more resources from financial institutions for investment in tourism projects through this method. Key Issue in Infrastructure As per the World Economic Forums T&T Competitiveness Report 2013 for 140 world economies, Indias air transport infrastructure, ground transport infrastructure and tourism infrastructure have been ranked 39, 42 and 95 respectively indicating considerable scope for improvement. Other infrastructure requirements such as availability of good quality and reasonably priced hotel rooms, parking spaces, tourist cars etc. are also a cause of concern. Some of these have been discussed below.

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Air Transport Infrastructure: While the overall airport infrastructure in India is ranked well, quality of infrastructure, airport density per million population and number of departures along with rising airfares are a cause of concern. State wise comparison reflects wide disparity with Maharashtra and Delhi leading at more than 0.25 million aircraft movements in 2010 as compared to Punjab, Manipur and Jharkhand with less than 0.01 million aircraft movements10. Road Transport Infrastructure: While India is ranked high (30)11 in terms of road density per million population, quality of roads is unsatisfactory especially in rural areas. In addition there is a lack of feeder stations even on proper roads with not enough stops for pick up. The national and state highways account for 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively of the total roads in India12. Hence, just 6 per cent of the overall roads in India accounting for 80 per cent12 of the total traffic signify the need for improvement in the national road and highway network. Lack of parking facilities, police stations and tourist information centres in vicinity of tourist destinations is another cause of concern. Lack of public amenities such as clean toilets and clean drinking water kiosks poses health concerns for tourists. Lack of proper road signage (visibility, language etc.) causes trouble in identifying locations especially to the tourists travelling by road. Rail Transport Infrastructure: India enjoys good quality rail infrastructure, however there is scope for state wise improvement. While Northern states such as Delhi and Punjab enjoy railway route length of 12.3 km and 4.2 km per 100 sq km of area10, states in eastern part of India have negligible railway route lengths. In addition there exists a significant demand supply gap for railway tickets on major routes Hotel room availability: India ranks very low in terms of number of branded hotel rooms per 100 population (rank 136)11. With just a little more than 68,800 branded rooms10 for the country India has only two branded rooms per 100 sq km area10 which is concentrated in top cities and urban areas. In addition there is a lack of budget hotels offering good quality services at reasonable prices Government recognizes the need for upgradation of tourism infrastructure in India and has proposed an outlay of INR 152.2 billion13 for the tourism sector under the 12th five year plan. This includes creation of basic infrastructure such as improving road connectivity and wayside amenities, development of helipads, heliports and air strips, upgradation of passenger terminals and creation of tourist infrastructure in collaboration with the private sector. Efficient implementation of such plans is pertinent for achieving an overall infrastructural development in the country.

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Case study on tourism in Gujarat

The state government of Gujarat has taken multiple initiatives in order to enhance the tourism appeal of the state. Some of these are: Land bank scheme: Areas have been earmarked in the Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation estates and SEZs for development of hotels, resorts, restaurants and other tourist amenities. Concessions are provided either on lease and its tenure or on the rate to be charged for government land and on stamp duty and registration fee on land transaction for tourism projects. Tourism incentive package scheme: Special incentives are proposed to be provided over 2010-2015 including tax holidays on luxury tax on hotels, reduction in VAT charges on food and beverages and natural gas, reduction in entertainment tax, concessions such as interest subsidy, reduction of electricity duty and modifications in the lending criteria to cover wider tourism related projects like amusement parks, wayside facilities, service oriented projects like travel agencies, tour operators etc. Marketing & branding: Brand campaign Khushboo Gujarat Ki was launched with Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador to increase awareness of the states diverse tourism aspects. Several tourism information centers have been opened across India. The state website has been launched in seven different languages, especially to cater to both national and international tourists. Exhibitions, events & road shows: Gujarat tourism organizes several exhibitions and road shows especially in the southern India for marketing diverse tourism aspects of Gujarat. Several road shows for 2013 have been planned in states of Kolkata, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Bangalore, Chennai, Ludhiana and Aurangabad. Events such as kite flying festivals are organised in order to attract tourists from various countries. In addition events like Gujarat Tourism Summit and Gujarat Travel Mart help create tourism potential awareness across all stakeholders. Gujarat tourism has signed various MoUs with various states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh for collaborative tourism development. Infrastructure development: An outlay of INR 7.3 billion has been planned for development of tourism infrastructure in 22 districts across the state. PPP is being encouraged for the development of accommodation facilities, booking infrastructure, site operations and retail and development of eight tourism hubs. Government has entered into a tie up with IL&FS to develop 50 tourism sites and more than INR 20 billion of tourism related infra investments. Kids tourism, golf tourism and coastal tourism: Gujarat Tourism plans to introduce kids tourism during summer vacations in places that would be of interest to kids. Another new tourism concept on Rama trail is planned to

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make tourists experience the journey that Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman undertook as part of their 14-year exile covering locations such as Sita Van, Ram Sarovar, Unai and Shabari Dham. For promotion of golf tourism in the state, private golf courses have been planned for development. There are plans to develop cruise terminals for dolphin sighting trips etc. for boosting coastal tourism in the state for which INR 1.6 billion have been allocated across 16 identified beaches. Training & skill development: Training and skill development for employees engaged in providing tourism services through 335 Kaushalya Vardhan Kendras providing vocational skills to rural youth in various sectors including tourism.

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Bibliography
http://www.gujarattourism.com/downloads/tourism_sector_profile_new.pdf http://www.india.diplo.de/contentblob/3839178/Daten/3075252/Economics_In dia_Figures_Gujarat_VDMA_Report_DD.pdf http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/Tent avely%20Identified%20circuit%20for%20various%20states/new/Gujarat.pdf http://www.vibrantgujarat.com/images/pdf/Service-Sector-Profile.pdf India Tourism Statistics 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, Ministry of Tourism http://tourism.gov.in/writereaddata/CMSPagePicture/file/marketresearch/New/ 2012%20Data.pdf WTTC travel and tourism Economic Impact 2013- India, Data taken at Nominal Prices HVS State Ranking Survey 2011 World Economic Forums travel and tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Report of the Working Group on Tourism, 12th Five Year Plan, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

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