Question:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

(a) the specific measures and policies the Central Government has implemented to foster
the exponential growth witnessed in the tourism sector in recent years, and in what
manner these efforts have contributed to the overall development of the sector and the
economy as a whole;

(b) whether Government can provide an assessment of the impact of its initiatives and
efforts on growth of tourism including statistical data on increase in tourist arrivals,
revenue generation, and job creation in the sector; and
(c) the additional plans Government has in place to sustain and further accelerate this
growth in the future?

Answer

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a) to (c): The Ministry of Tourism has taken several steps/measures over the years to
expand tourism in different areas to give boost to tourism industry in the country as per
details given below:

i. Development of tourism related infrastructure is done through projects
sanctioned under the ‘Swadesh Darshan’, ‘National Mission on Pilgrimage
Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ and
‘Assistance to Central Agencies for Tourism Infrastructure Development’
Schemes.
ii. The Ministry of Tourism has revamped its Swadesh Darshan Scheme as
Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and
responsible destinations following a tourist & destination centric approach.
iii. Financial assistance has also been provided to the State Governments/Union
Territories for organizing fairs/festivals & tourism related events under
Domestic Promotion & Publicity including Hospitality (DPPH) Scheme.
iv. Dekho Apna Desh initiative launched with the objective to encourage citizens
to travel within the country.
v. Thematic tourism like wellness tourism, culinary tourism, rural, eco-tourism,
etc. amongst other niche subjects are promoted so as to expand the scope of
tourism into other sectors as well.
vi. Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business
visa, e-Medical visa, e-Medical Attendant visa and e-Conference visa for
nationals of 167 countries.
vii. e-Visa has been further liberalized and the visa fee has been substantially
reduced.

viii. Lowering of GST on hotels rooms with tariffs of ₹1,001 to ₹7,500/night to
12%; those above ₹7,501 to 18% to increase India’s competitiveness as a
tourism destination.
ix. On the recommendation of the Ministry of Tourism, 59 tourism routes have
been awarded to the identified airlines by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under
the RCS UDAN Scheme, for which Ministry of Tourism extends financial
support in the form of VGF (Viability Gap Funding). 53 of these routes have
been operationalized to improve air connectivity to tourist destinations.
x. Ministry of Tourism is running Pan-India Incredible India Tourist Facilitator
(IITF) Certification Program, a digital initiative that aims at creating an online
learning platform with the objective of creating a pool of well trained and
professional Tourist Facilitators/Guides across the country and generating
employment opportunities at local level.
xi. Conducting Programmes under the ‘Capacity Building for Service Providers’
(CBSP) Scheme to train and up-grade manpower to provide better service
standards.
The details of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in India during 2020 to 2022 are given
below:

#: Provisional; Source: Bureau of Immigration
Data pertaining to revenue generated through tourism is not maintained by Ministry of
Tourism. However, the Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) through tourism during 2020 to
2022 are given below:

#: Provisional Estimates
As per estimation in accordance with 3rd Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for
intervening years’ subsequent years namely, the contribution of tourism to employment of the
country for year 2019-20 to 2021-22 is given below: