Indian Tourism

Tourism and hospitality have had a dynamic role in different countries and became the mainstay of the economy. Tourism, if proliferated appropriately, supports countries to accrue the benefits of the industry. Considered to have multiplier effects, tourism banks on visitors who come to a host country from other countries or are domestic visitors who move around the country. Countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, India and the Maldives have depended on Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) for several years. More the FTAs, the higher the benefits. India too had the facet of promoting the country as a tourist destination to the world and inviting them to be part of the tourism juggernaut. Unfortunately, the metrics are not in line with the quality of destinations in India compared to the FTAs in Thailand, the Maldives or even in Singapore. With a black swan event like the twenty-first century COVID-19 pandemic, many countries focus on domestic travellers, so does India. Just before the pandemic, several plans and policies encouraging domestic travel made their way along with the promotion of quality tourism globally with a lesser number of Overseas Tourism Offices (OTO). The Federal Government in India, in a strategic manner, ensured that domestic travel and FTAs would happen in tandem. It was done through robust global tourism promotion through the India Missions and OTOs that ensured a positive growth trajectory and the metrics that provided the ammunition for economic growth. The research team also got to interview former officers of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and players from the private sector that have played a role in the sectoral business operations.

In many situations, India is positioned as one of the world's most economically active countries, with richer touristic acquisitions. India dominates touristic values and development in many scenarios. India shapes and reshapes tourism in a comparatively different manner than the rest of the tourist-generating regions, riding the waves of Asian domination in tourism development. This chapter examines the transformative features of Indian tourism in terms of resources, social development, tourist mechanisms inside the country and various types of tourism industry modelling. Domestic, inbound and outbound tourism perspectives have been taken from both insiders' and outsiders' perspectives. The chapter also highlights the comparative similarities and differences between Indian tourism and some of the selected tourist-generating regions in the world.

This chapter aims to analyse the evolution of research in the Indian tourism and hospitality domain from 1976 to 2021. By employing the bibliometric and systematic literature review, the chapter highlights the prominent authors, institutions, methods, emerging and explored research themes in the tourism and hospitality field. Accordingly, the authors collected 458 articles from core tourism and hospitality related journals using PRISMA and evaluated them using VOSViewer. The findings revealed an emic perspective of research contribution in Indian tourism and hospitality. While some topics such as religious tourism, sustainability, cultural and heritage tourism products have attained more attention, topics such as tourism entrepreneurship, technology and human resource development failed to seek attention in the eyes of journals and researchers. Although the literature has expanded significantly, there is a need to build global academic networks to examine the state of Indian tourism and hospitality. The chapters suggest that future research should critically evaluate the schemes and initiatives undertaken by the government to promote Indian tourism, expand research to western and eastern parts of the country, and follow the mixed-method research to contribute holistically to the topic.

The chapter aims to empirically explore trends and issues concerning Indian wellness services being taken internationally for commercial use by wellness service providers and tourists. The text also highlights how their authenticity gets compromised in place of profitability. The enquiry is approached through a conceptual framework of wellness tourism and subsequent tourism concerns. While scholars have recently turned their attention to tourism challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, the perspective of digitalization within tourism can help to nuance this area of concern. Some recommendations for the Indian wellness tourism sector include digital solutions, screen-induced tourism, measures towards tourists' safety, regulations concerning certifications and targeting new client segments. Furthermore, raising greater awareness about the philosophical backdrop of Indian wellness services amongst international tourists would contribute to practice and theory while resurrecting the wellness tourism industry in India.

The purpose of this chapter is to present an economic perspective of how understanding individual decision-making can be impacted by transactional costs, and benefits in the context of gastronomic tourism. This chapter broadly discusses observable and perceived information search, bargaining and decision, policing and enforcement costs, and benefits in the context of gastronomic tourism in India. The proposed framework incorporates elements of Indian gastronomic offerings for tourists. Implications are discussed for future research and in the backdrop of the post-COVID-19 crisis.

This chapter aims to assess the scope of India's gastronomic tourism post-COVID-19 and discuss the utilisation of vlogs to promote India as a gastronomic destination. First, the evolution of gastronomic tourism is reviewed. Next, opportunities and challenges associated with India's gastronomic offerings, both from international and domestic tourism perspectives, are discussed. Then, the role of vlogging to position and promote India as a gastronomic destination is established. The chapter suggests recommendations for the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India on utilising vlogging to promote gastronomic tourism.

Urban tourism in megacities is a rather recent research topic. There is a dearth of literature on urban tourism in Indian megacities, especially Mumbai. Though much research has looked into slum tourism activities, other urban tourism aspects have been kept aside. The chapter aims to present a different perspective of leisure tourism in Mumbai. After introducing some contextual background information on the city, the chapter examines critically official tourism communication and policies by tackling the spatiality of tourism and the geographical clusters in the city. It attempts to understand the consumption patterns of various tourists' groups and looks into recent tourism developments.

Since the last decade, urban heritage tourism has picked up pace in India, specifically through the proliferation of heritage walks. Diversified in their modes of exploration and themes, these walks contribute towards increased awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage. As society reels under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-political problems, heritage walks can become a tool to address issues within the restructured tourism practices. Discussions on sustainable heritage practices in Europe foreground the role that heritage walks play in promoting resilience, responsibility and a sense of shared heritage through the active engagement of various stakeholders. It follows that the digital space offers new opportunities for a more participatory cultural consumption model. Taking cues from Europe and Germany in particular, this study discusses innovative possibilities for inclusive urban heritage tourism practices that integrate urban regeneration, heritage sustainability and community well-being.

The study uses a postcolonial lens to examine the historical interest of Western tourists towards dark tourism in the east, critically assess the current status of dark tourism in India, and recommend sustainable strategies that must be considered for promoting a dark tourism market in the future. The observations and recommendations for the study are based on primary fieldwork experience at different dark tourism sites in India besides an analysis of secondary data. A critical analysis in the context of dark tourism in India demonstrates several complex issues in terms of the existence and applicability of Euro-centric frameworks and concepts. Firstly, it is revealed that the Western fascination with death-related rituals in the east is rooted in notions of colonial discourse, authenticity and counter-culture movements. Secondly, although dark tourism has not been formally acknowledged or promoted in India, it already exists in the form of fragmented and informal markets across the country. Thirdly, the application of dark tourism frameworks and concepts in India requires careful consideration of contextuality and non-Western interpretations of death, disaster, heritage and processes of memorialisation to ensure that the marketing rhetoric does not reinforce colonial or neocolonial structures of power. Lastly, promoting responsible dark tourism in India entails minimising dissonance and decolonising the dark tourism narrative considering the larger goals of social sustainability and ethics.

This chapter challenges the urban bias in studies on the middle class in India and underlines the need to focus on the significant role rural middle class plays in economic diversification. Given that more than 23% of the upper middle class are located in rural India, it is surprising to note that their contribution in supporting experience economy remains under-researched. Thus, this chapter fills a key gap in existing studies on rural tourism in India by underlining how rural middle-class has triggered a huge demand for travel within the country itself for rural cultural programmes and different schemes to promote rural heritage sights.

The chapter explores the perils of the unbridled growth of tourism and offers some approaches to optimise the benefits of tourism for the stakeholders. It also discusses the catalysing role of the COVID-19 pandemic in reorienting consumer preferences and thereby government policies towards a more responsible paradigm. India's fast-growing economy and rapid build-up of infrastructure would unleash a commensurate growth in its tourism sector and hence call for a need to approach it from the perspective of responsible tourism. It assesses the model of the Responsible Tourism initiative of Kerala based on the three pillars of environmental, economic and social responsibility. The chapter also proposes pilot initiatives at select destinations across the nation with primacy placed upon carrying capacity. It calls for reorienting the approach to the destination level instead of state-level and preparing a framework of administrative structures and financing. It also proposes a responsible tourism classification for tourism enterprises to which incentives and subsidies could be aligned to encourage onboarding.

Recalibrating tourism in India translates to much more than merely pumping in government resources or investing in overnight technology-led solutions that will put urban landscapes on the global map. The nationally led ‘Smart City’ movement needs to be a participatory process that models a collaborative approach as seen in international cases that have truly taken the concept from paper to practice and beyond. This chapter considers basic definitions of Smart City and Smart Tourism and presents what it takes for the seamless orchestration of smart experiences. This article first traces the evolution of Smart City practice with a sampling of global intelligent destinations that have exhibited successful intersections of urban development with tourism, whilst considering a brief overview of Indian initiatives, efforts and successes.

Motivating factors to become smart and sustain the effort are also discussed to highlight hurdles faced and opportunities that await potential Smart Cities, given the growing appetite for such innovation. The chapter concludes with recommendations arising out of this analysis and reiterates how stakeholder inclusion and co-creation play an indispensable role in making this concept a responsible, sustainable and feasible reality for Indian destinations.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, India's tourism industry has the opportunity to further grow and expand through the development and implementation of sustainable policies. The diversity of India's geography is observed in its weather which is variable both spatially and temporally throughout the year. Seasonal changes in weather influence the number of foreign tourists arrivals in India. Consequently, significant reductions in visitor numbers are observed during the monsoon season. In future decades, the changing climate has the potential to shape tourism patterns. Warmer temperatures and an increased frequency of high-intensity rainfall are the two most common predictions concerning future climate in India. It will result in a shorter winter tourism season in the northern states where the cold weather enables winter sports activities such as skiing and snowboarding. Coastal tourism along India's stretched coastline may become less attractive to tourists due to damage and disruption to coral reefs and marine wildlife. Sea-level rise and coastal erosion may push beach tourists to more desirable and scenic destinations. India's transport infrastructure is key to enabling the safe and efficient movement of tourists around the country. The current weather is already impacting the air, road and rail networks and, further challenges are highly likely due to a changing climate. There is still an opportunity for India's tourism industry to adapt through physical and policy developments. It would make India a more competitive and sustainable tourism destination.

COVID-19 has resulted in unprecedented changes in the tourism industry and brought tourists' safety and security issues more important. The travel and tourism competitiveness of India as a tourist destination ranked remarkably high in natural and cultural resources, and price competitiveness but relatively low in safety and security. The research aims to evaluate safe tourism in India with an objective view and suggest directions to restore confidence and restart tourism in India after the pandemic. The research studies on safe tourism are assessed, and the importance of safety and security issues in tourism is addressed. It also analyses India as a safe destination and suggests more focus should be on safety to consolidate the tourist destination image of India. A tourist safety framework composed of safety education, safety technology, safety system and safety regulation is suggested with a case study of South Korea. Focus on domestic tourism, a phased approach for safe tourism, 3S Indian campaign, and networks between public and private sectors are suggested for safe tourism in COVID-19. The research would provide a rationale for safe tourism in India and help government and tourism marketers develop policies, set standards or guidelines for tourists and plan coordination with other bodies or industries.

COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered and shaped the world in the past two years. Almost every aspect of life has been affected by the pandemic including World Tourism and Travel. One of the major strategies of the national governments across the world to contain the pandemic was to restrict the movement of people thus directly affecting the tourism industry. As the industry slowly emerges from the shadows of the pandemic, this chapter gives an overview of the impact on the travel industry, measures adopted by some countries and broad strategies to make the sector resilient for the times to come. This chapter provides a timely summary of global strategies to fight the impact of the pandemic with a focus on the tourism sector. In doing so, we also provide insights into the Indian travel industry.

COVID-19 has had a massive impact on the world's economy. Only a handful of economic sectors benefited from COVID-19 (e.g. streaming and videoconferencing). Other sectors recuperated relatively well after the strongest part of the crisis passed (e.g. textile and automotive). The tourism sector, instead, will still take some time to recuperate. It is because many different parts need to be in place for tourism as we knew it before the crisis goes back to normal. In 2019, the projections were 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals per year. The comparison between Europe and India would help in developing measures to reignite and re-launch tourism in India. In fact, before the crisis, India was getting less than 20 million foreign tourists per year. The number seems relatively low when compared to countries like China (more than 60 million foreign tourists), Spain, France and the USA (all three above 80 million arrivals), Malaysia (26 million), Thailand (38) and Japan (29). This research analyses the relatively low number of international arrivals in India using a multi-perspective approach. The analysis will allow us to make a series of suggestions that will help boost the tourism sector in India as the COVID-19 crisis fades away.