India slips 10 spots since 2019 on WEF's travel & tourism ranking despite growth
Also read | For international travellers, India remains a distant destination
According to the report, a big dampener for India has been the steady reduction in government funding for overseas tourism promotions over the years, from ₹524 crore in 2021-22 to ₹341 crore in FY23, and further down to ₹167 crore for FY24. In contrast, substantial funds have been directed towards the development of pilgrimage destinations, with an increase of 66%, from ₹150 crore in FY23 to ₹250 crore in FY24. Despite these shifts, the overall budget for the tourism sector remains unchanged at ₹2,400 crore, the same as in FY23.
However, only ₹1,343 crore of this allocation was spent on promoting tourism in FY23, with a mere ₹60 crore of the ₹341 crore budgeted for overseas promotions actually utilized. An equal amount was spent on domestic campaigns, falling short of the allocated ₹75 crore. "Over the years, there has been a reduction in spending on promoting India as a destination overseas, which is how most countries get high-spending in-bound tourists.
Small policy changes could potentially have a big impact on the tourism landscape of the country. For instance, we don't want them to give out free visas but they can incentivise transiting travellers to come spend a day or two travelling here and bring in a 48-hour free transit visa facility. Right now the focus of the government is primarily on domestic and spiritual tourism.
Read more on livemint.com
