India is no doubt a beautiful place and the unlimited options available for tourists there make the country a favorite destination worldwide. In the last 10 years, in particular, India has seen a phenomenal increase in the number of tourists coming in from every perceivable corner of the world. Not surprisingly, the boom in the travel and tourism industry has made it one of the biggest worldwide.
The tourism sector, being an organized one, has received encouragement from all successive governments, and this has attributed to its unprecedented growth. India is a vast country with a history that goes back to 5,000 years. Its geographical diversity, heritage and culture, fairs and festivals, and monumental attractions are many and varied.
It is hard to find a country with as much variation, contrast and contradictions as India. A wealth of culture, art and history, stunning scenery and wildlife, adventure, spirituality, hot cuisine and a multitude of traditions. The country has something for every taste. India to the visitor is an everlasting journey of discovery. It is a land with cultural variety where many civilizations flourished, kingdoms rose and fell, living behind an array of splendid historic attractions with unique destinations. In India, one can discover the luxury of modern cities, experience the calm of its villages, explore the splendid of its exotic historic wonders, wildlife conserves, handicrafts, etc. It is also described as a great center for intellectual enlightenment, spiritual awakening, and self-discovery and meditation.
Tourists come to India for its wealth of sights, cultural exuberance and diversity of terrain. Teeming with over a billion people who voice over a million concerns in 1,500 different languages, India is where people live with variety, thrive on diversity and are too familiar with its largeness.
From the smoky mangroves of the Sunderbans to the steaming Thar Desert, sizzling cities like Bombay and Delhi to the scintillating villages of Khajuraho and Hampi, from the heights of the Himalayas to the deep blue waters around the Andamans, India is a travel haven.
Among the most favored tourist destinations in India are Kerala for its scenic beauty, Agra for its Taj Mahal, Khajuraho for its sculptures and temples and Goa for its beaches.
India’s jungles, rivers and streams are simply bursting with wildlife; much of it protected in her 80 national parks and 441 sanctuaries. Popular ones are Corbett, Rajaji and Dudhwa (Uttar Pradesh), Kanha, Pench (Madhya Pradesh) and Sasan Gir (Gujarat). Sariska and Ranthambor (Rajasthan), Kaziranga, Manas (Assam), Mudumalai, Bandipore and Wyanad (Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala) are the other well-known game sanctuaries. Keoladeo Ghana, Bharatpur (Rajasthan) is a famous bird sanctuary, according to India Tourism Development Corporation. Catch the trail as it runs through Ajmer, Delhi, Fatehpur Sikri, Varanasi, Madurai, Sarnath, Gaya, Orchha, Tanjore, Trichy, Tirupati, Mathura, Ayodhya, Jammu, Badrinath, Haridwara and Rishikesh.
Explore the same along turquoise blue and breezy beaches along the coast. India’s beaches are peculiarly Indian. Crowded and cheery, sometimes dirty, always delightful, you’ll find them in Kerala’s Kovalam, and in the Andamans and Lakshadweep, Goa, Kanyakumari and Mahabalipuram.
Ruins of forts, palaces, picturesque ‘havelis’ (large private houses) and mausoleums pepper the landscape. In and around Delhi, Agra, Rajasthan, all over the country actually, historical sites intrigue the history enthusiast.
Important sites are Hampi, Khajuraho, Mandu, Aurangabad, Bikaner, Goa, Gwalior, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Mahabalipuram, Tanjore and Mysore. Museums, business centers, nightlife, large markets, embassies and consulates are all there in the bigger cities of India. Bustling with activity, are New Delhi, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. The world’s highest mountains form a tall 2,500 km long wall along India’s northeast frontier and are a prime climbing territory for the outdoor types. The mountainous regions of Sikkim, Himachal Pradesh and Leh are high altitude trekking options. The “blue mountains” of the Nilgiri Hills in the Deccan, and the lower reaches of the Himalayas in Garhwal, Kumaon and Darjeeling are ideal for a leisurely hike.
From stark white mountains framed against sheer clear blue to forested hills that enclose rushing streams, there is endless variety for the hiker. In the hills, in tiny towns with winding ‘mall roads’ survive the British legacy of “hill stations.” These cool getaways from the simmering plains continue to entertain weekend tourists in the summers. Simla, Manali, Kasauli and Mussoorie in the north, Shillong, Darjeeling and Kalimpong in the northeast, Ooty and Munnar in the south are the most popular.
According to Word Travel and Tourism Council estimates, by 2015, tourism in India could contribute $121.4 billion in economic activity and 26 million jobs. The Travel and Tourism industry holds tremendous potential for India’s economy. That is why tourism has been included in the core sectors of the Indian Economy.
The year 2004-05 saw tourism emerging as one of the major sectors for growth of the Indian economy and the foreign exchange earning increased from Rs.16,429 crore to Rs.21,828 crore up to December. Similarly in 2005-06, the tourism industry registered a growth rate of 17.3 percent in foreign tourist arrivals, the highest in 10 years. Foreign exchange earnings grew at 30.2 percent.
Conde Nast ranked India amongst the top 10 tourist destinations. JBIC ranked the country as the fifth most attractive investment destination. The World Social Forum, AdAsia, World Bamboo Congress, Commonwealth Games, Laureus World Sports Academy Global Submit, F1 along with some of the biggest expos and conferences of the world chose it to play host. All this because of the country’s varied tourist attractions. “There are a hundred Indias,” Foster wrote in his “Passage to India” book. “And if you go out to discover each of these, you can count on spending at least a year in this stupendous country with its phenomenal repertoire of surprises and delights. Blessed with probably the widest array of topographical and cultural diversity that was ever packed into one time zone, there’s an India for everyone.”