India May Soon Be the World’s 3rd Largest Tourist Destination!

India is expected to create 10 million new jobs and add $240 billion to the tourism industry’s revenue by 2028.

The annual Rath Yatra celebration.

(Photo Courtesy: Odisha Tourism/Twitter)

India could very well establish itself as the third-largest travel and tourism-based economy by the year 2028, a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said.

(Photo: The Quint/ Rahul Gupta)

A report by The Times of India stated that in terms of direct GDP as well as total GDP, India’s revenue-generation from the tourism industry, as well as job creation is expected to grow by a huge margin in the next 10 years.

The report released by the World Travel & Tourism Council on 22 March said that India is expected to create nearly 10 million new jobs in the tourism and travel industry by 2028, and that the number of people with jobs dependent on tourism is expected to jump from 42.9 million in 2018-2019, to 52.3 million jobs in 2028-2029.

Speaking to The Times of India, Gloria Guevara, the Chief Executive and President of the Council, said that India’s primary focus should be on improving tourism and travel infrastructure.

The single largest area for improvement in the travel and tourism industry in India is infrastructure. Tourism is a highly competitive business, and India’s neighbours to the east and the west have built tourism infrastructure in the form of airports, seaports, high-speed rail and roads that meet international standards of quality. 

Gloria Guevara, in an e-mail interview with the Times of India

However, Guevara added that the implementation of GST should be course-corrected by the Government to be more competitive, compared with other international tourist destinations.

The response by Guevara also highlighted the importance of tourism-friendly tax reforms, adding that it was a concern that India needs to address.

(With inputs from The Times of India)

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