{"id":77850,"date":"2026-06-26T18:24:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=77850"},"modified":"2026-06-26T18:28:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:58:16","slug":"tourism-led-growth-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-06-2026\/tourism-led-growth-india","title":{"rendered":"Tourism-Led Growth in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tourism has been one of the major<strong> driving forces behind India&#8217;s economic transformation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Tourism Sector in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Tourism in India is an important vehicle for economic growth, employment creation, regional development, cultural exchange and international engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It brings about<strong> wide-ranging multiplier effects <\/strong>and assumes a prominent position in India&#8217;s developmental journey and<strong> Viksit Bharat@2047 Vision<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Current Status<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India&#8217;s contribution to the economy through tourism stands at around US$ 231.6 billion and ranks among the world&#8217;s leading tourism economies <strong>(World Travel and Tourism Council).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India witnessed 181.25 million International Arrivals and 93.35 million <strong>Foreign Tourist Arrivals (2014-2025).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"cad6dc\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"579\" height=\"341\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-219.png\" alt=\"tourism in india\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-77852\" style=\"--dominant-color: #cad6dc; width:468px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-219.png 579w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-219-300x177.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 579px) 100vw, 579px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India witnessed 20.6 million <strong>International Arrivals<\/strong> and thus improved its global ranking from 25th position in 2016 to 20th in 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of Tourism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Economic Growth and Employment:<\/strong> Tourism leads to income generation, foreign exchange earning and employment in various industries such as hospitality, transport, handicrafts and food service industries.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> Tourism in Goa leads to employment in hotels, taxis and restaurants in addition to providing livelihood to local artisans.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Regional Development: <\/strong>Tourism has emerged as an important tool of balanced regional development. Government measures are aimed at:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Developing the north-east region.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing rural tourism.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Development of <strong>Purvodaya vision for Eastern India.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Culture and Heritage Promotion:<\/strong> Tourism helps in preserving and promoting the cultural traditions, monuments and heritage.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> Tourism to Khajuraho Temples and Hampi has helped in preserving these structures.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Building Soft Power:<\/strong> Tourism helps in building soft power and facilitates cultural diplomacy.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> India&#8217;s G20 Presidency showcased India&#8217;s heritage and culture before the global audience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community Empowerment and Inclusive Growth:<\/strong> It offers livelihood opportunities to local communities particularly women and rural communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"f3f2f3\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"267\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-220-267x1024.png\" alt=\"india's tourism sector challenges\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-77854\" style=\"--dominant-color: #f3f2f3; aspect-ratio:0.26074424448468275;width:172px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-220-267x1024.png 267w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-220-78x300.png 78w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-220-401x1536.png 401w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-220.png 534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Example: <\/strong>Homestay tourism in Sikkim and Kerala is an example of livelihood generation for locals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Environmental Preservation through Sustainable Tourism<\/strong>: Through responsible tourism, it helps in conservation of biodiversity and natural ecosystems.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Example:<\/strong> Ecotourism activities at Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala) help in conserving the area as well as offering livelihood opportunities to locals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mamallapuram<\/strong> has become the <strong>first UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Asia<\/strong> to be bestowed with <strong>Green Destinations Silver Certification.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Related Initiatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Swadesh Darshan Scheme (2014):<\/strong> It is a Central Sector Scheme which envisages the development of Integrated and Theme Based Tourist Circuits in India.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It gives financial assistance to State Governments and Central Authorities for developing world-class tourism infrastructure.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swadesh Darshan 1.0: <\/strong>More than 76 Projects costing in excess of \u20b95,000 crore have been sanctioned in 15 different thematic circuits.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (2022):<\/strong> It aims to develop sustainable and experiential tourism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme and Spiritual Tourism: <\/strong>It aims to improve the infrastructure at various pilgrimage centres.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Various destinations like Somnath, Srisailam and Govardhan have benefitted through improved safety, sanitation and visitor amenities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) Scheme:<\/strong> It has been announced in Union Budget 2024-25 with an outlay of \u20b93,295.76 crore.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This scheme is being implemented by the <strong>Ministry of Finance.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It provides <strong>long-term interest-free 50-year loans to the States<\/strong> to increase their capital investment, promote economic growth and incentives for reforms in various sectors like mining, urban infrastructure and road safety.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Capacity Building for Service Providers Scheme:<\/strong> More than 4.5 lakh persons have been trained till 2025.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proposed in <strong>Union Budget 2026-27<\/strong> is establishment of National Institute of Hospitality and upskilling of 10,000 tourist guides.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Technology, Connectivity and Global Competitiveness:<\/strong> India has made significant progress in facilitating travels through expansion of e-Tourist Visa facility, various digital platforms such as <strong>NIDHI and NIDHI Plus<\/strong> for tourism players and digital promotion through Incredible India campaign.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improved connectivity through expansion of highways, modernization of railway stations, <strong>Vande Bharat trains, UDAN scheme <\/strong>and upgrading of airports and last-mile connectivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sustainability Initiatives:<\/strong> Development of niche tourism such as bird watching circuits, Himalayan trekking trails and turtle tourism to spread out the tourists&#8217; inflows.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Travel for LiFE initiative<\/strong> for encouraging environmentally responsible behavior amongst tourists and industry.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD) initiative<\/strong> in ecotourism and spiritual tourism.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2277629&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: PIB<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Tourism has been one of the major driving forces behind India&#8217;s economic transformation. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Tourism Sector in India <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Tourism in India is an important vehicle for economic growth, employment creation, regional development, cultural exchange and international engagement. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> It brings about wide-ranging multiplier effects and assumes a prominent position in India&#8217;s developmental journey and Viksit Bharat@2047 Vision. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/26-06-2026\/tourism-led-growth-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-77850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77850"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77855,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77850\/revisions\/77855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}