India is expected to establish itself as the third largest travel and tourism economy by 2028 in terms of direct and total GDP, a 2018 economic impact report by World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has said.
The WTTC report, released globally on Thursday, also said India will add nearly 10 million jobs in the tourism sector by 2028 and that the total number of jobs depend directly or indirectly on the travel and tourism industry will increase from 42.9 million in 2018 to Calling India the seventh largest travel and tourism economy in the world, Gloria Guevara, president and chief executive of WTTC, said India should be working on improving tourist infrastructure.
The WTTC released its global report which envisaged the generation of 10 million jobs in the tourism sector by 2028. However, it also noted that the quantum of jobs is underpinned by the growth of travel and tourism industry. They anticipate an increase of tourism and travel industry to 52.3 million in 2028. Currently, it is 42.9 million.
India also aims at creating a new cruise port in Mumbai. With the construction of this port, Guevara said that the government’s aim of making the country a global cruise destination is not a far cry. “There are some extremely proactive steps that have been introduced by the government to increase international visitors. We recognize the introduction of e-visa for 163 countries and the launch of Incredible India 2.0 campaign with a major improvement in the marketing and PR strategy,” she said.
Guevara said that India’s neighbors have also built a tourism-centric infrastructure. “The biggest single area of improvement for travel and tourism in India is infrastructure. Tourism is a competitive business in a global context and India’s near neighbors to the east and west have built world-class tourism infrastructure in the form of airports, seaports, high-speed rail, and roads. WTTC has long welcomed the opportunity of the Regional Connectivity Scheme to open up 350 unserved and underserved airports and airstrips,” Guevara added.
India’s tourism sector is soon to witness a massive growth over the next decade. The growth of employability wouldn’t be a surprising element in the growth trajectory of the nation.