Tourism’s contribution to economy will exceed global average in next 5 years: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at ET WLF
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at The Economic Times World Leaders Forum on Saturday.
“In the global economy, the contribution of tourism is about 10.4%. Compared to that we are at 7.9%. Our 7.9% contribution to the economy is going to be more than 10%. And we will exceed the global average in the next five years,” said Shekhawat as he spoke about Destination India and driving tourism to new heights.
“By 2047, when the country will be on the cusp of being Viksit Bharat, one of the most crucial agents for driving that vision will be tourism. The world is looking at India with a new sense of curiosity,” he added.
He said the government is working on new schemes on improving the experience of tourists, engaging inbound tourists further and extending their duration of stay in the country.
“We are working on all this alongside the relevant stakeholders. We are thinking of new tourism trails and experiences and are seeking investments from private players. We are thinking of public private mix models for states,” he added.
He said under prime minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last ten years. “More than one lakh fifty thousand kilometres of highways have been developed. New train tracks have been developed. We have electrified rail routes and have operationalised trains such as Vande Bharat and other high speed trains,” he said.
“We have transformed the aviation industry. The number of airports has doubled and the number of airline passengers has gone up by leaps and
