India Tourism

Tourism in India has shown a phenomenal growth in the past decade. One of the reasons is that the
Ministry of tourism, India has realized the immense potential of tourism in India during vacations. India
travel tourism has grown rapidly with a great influx of tourists from all across the globe who have been
irresistibly attracted to the rich culture, heritage, and incredible natural beauty of India.
India tourism with its foggy hill stations, captivating beaches, historical monuments, golden deserts, serene
backwaters, pilgrimage sites, rich wildlife, and colourful fairs capture the heart of every tourist. In addition, a
variety of festivals, lively markets, vibrant lifestyle, and traditional Indian hospitality, will make your
experience
as
an india
tourist truly
unforgettable
and
fantastic.
Travel through the lovely Indian states and discover closely the resplendent colors and rich cultural locales
of this incredible land. Our India tourism guide provides you a glimpse of travel and tourism in india
,india tourism informationabout south india tourism, north India tourism, and all the major tourist
destinations, and tourism services of India.

Tourism in India is a large industry. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated
that tourism generated $121 billion or 6.4% of the nation's GDP in 2011. It was
responsible for 39,3 million jobs, 7.9% of its total employment. The GDP of the tourism
sector has expanded 229% between 1990 and 2011. The sector is predicted to grow at
[1]
an average annual rate of 7,7% in the next decade. In a 2011 forecast the World Travel
and Tourism Council predicted the annual growth to be 8,8% between 2011 and 2021.
This gave India the fifth rank among countries with the fastest growing tourism
[2]
industry. India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an
[3]
estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about 9,500 crore by 2015.

In the year 2011, there were nearly 6.29 million foreign tourist arrivals in India, up by over
8% from the year 2010 when 5.78 million foreign tourists arrived in India. Domestic tourist
visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 747.70 million. The majority of foreign
tourists come from the United States (16%) and the United Kingdom (12,6%). In
2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign
tourists. Domestic tourists visited the states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
[4]
Nadu most frequently. Chennai, Delhi, Mumbaiand Agra have been the four most
visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. Worldwide, Chennai is
ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57
[5]
and Agra at 65.

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011 ranked the price competitiveness of
India's tourism sector 28th out of 139 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air
transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the countrys stage of development, and
reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 43rd). Some other aspects of its
tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped however. The nation has very
few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison and low ATM penetration. The
Indian government has identified a shortage of 150,000 hotel rooms, with most of the
[6]
undersupply in the budget sector.

The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of
tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in
the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, state governments, Union

Territories and the representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being
made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, cruise, medical and eco[7]
tourism. The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India campaign.

India's rich history and its cultural and geographical diversity make its international
tourism appeal large and diverse. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with
medical, business and sports tourism.

India offers myriad flavours mingling in the steam of a country coming of age.Teeming with
over a billion people who voice over a million concerns in fifteen hundred different
languages, India is where people live with variety, thrive on diversity and are too familiar with
largeness
to
let
it
boggle
them.
Travellers and tourists to India may however not find it so undaunting. Mud huts and
mansions face off across city streets and lurid luxury and limp living are inhabitants of the
same lane. Just like in the 'masala' box in every Indian kitchen, measures of Calm and
"Kaam" (work)craft the people of India. In this beautiful and bountiful land that is India,
events, experiences and sensations heap themselves on the tourist at every step. India will
be one of the most stimulating places youll ever visit, so you must visit.
Come savour the flavours of India - the spice in life beckons!

Some

interesting

The
India

game
as

country

facts

about

of

'chess'

has

the

largest

India

you

was
number

of

probably

didn't

invented

in

post

in

offices

know:
India.

the

world!

The Indian Railways is one of the largest employer in the world - 1.6 million employees at the
last count and the first train to run in India was between Mumbai (then Bombay) and Thane
in
1853.
Zero in the number system was invented in India by the renowned mathematician
Aryabhatta!
India is the only country that has 300,000 active mosques.

Medical tourism in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Medical tourism is a growing sector in India. Indias medical tourism sector is expected to experience
an annual growth rate of 30%, making it a $2 billion industry by 2015.[1][2] As medical treatment costs in
the developed world balloon - with the United States leading the way - more and more Westerners are
finding the prospect of international travel for medical care increasingly appealing. An estimated
150,000 of these travel to India for low-priced healthcare procedures every year.[3]

[edit]Attractions
Advantages for medical treatment in India[4] include reduced costs, the availability of latest medical
technologies,[5] and a growing compliance on international quality standards, as well as the fact that
foreigners are less likely to face a language barrier in India. The Indian government is taking steps to
address infrastructure issues that hinder the country's growth in medical tourism. The government has
removed visa restrictions on tourist visas that required a two-month gap between consecutive visits for
people from Gulf countries which is likely to boost medical tourism.[6] A visa-on-arrival scheme for
tourists from select countries has been instituted which allows foreign nationals to stay in India for 30
days for medical reasons.[7] In Noida, which is fast emerging as a hotspot for medical tourism, a
number of hospitals have hired language translators to make patients from Balkan and African
countries feel more comfortable while at the same time helping in the facilitation of their treatment.[8]
Confederation of Indian Industry reported that 150,000 medical tourists came to India in 2005, based
on feedback from the organization's member hospitals. The number grew to 200,000 by 2008. A
separate study by ASSOCHAM reported that the year 2011 saw 850,000 medical tourists in India and
projected that by 2015 this number would rise to 3,200,000.[9]
Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable
treatment in America or Britain.[10][11] The most popular treatments sought in India by medical tourists
are alternative medicine, bone-marrow transplant, cardiac bypass, eye surgery and hip replacement.
India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine.
The city of Chennai has been termed India's health capital.[2][12][13][14] Multi- and super-specialty
hospitals across the city bring in an estimated 150 international patients every day.[2] Chennaiattracts
about 45 percent of health tourists from abroad arriving in the country and 30 to 40 percent of domestic
health tourists.[12] Factors behind the tourists inflow in the city include low costs, little to no waiting
period,[15] and facilities offered at the specialty hospitals in the city.[2] The city has an estimated 12,500
hospital beds, of which only half is used by the city's population with the rest being shared by patients
from other states of the country and foreigners.[16] Dental Clinics like Dr. Smilez Dental Clinics have
attracted dental care tourism to Chennai .[17]

Opening tourism in India to Indian Travellers The

HolidayIQ.com Story
Raghu Mohan | April 12, 2013 10:30 am

It is said creativity is food for the soul, and thats why we have hobbies something that gives an
outlet to our creative side. We pursue them passionately and often wish we could do that for a living.
This wish comes true for a select few and Hari Nair, founder, HolidayIQ is one such lucky person.
Hari identified that his hobby could fill a gap in the tourism industry in India and thus began his
journey with HolidayIQ. Today three rounds of institutional funding later, HolidayIQ has seen
enormous growth and touched many lives.
Ive always wondered what it is like to live such a dream and I got some answers when I met Hari
Nair a week back. We spoke about the opportunities in the Indian tourism industry and also got a
sneak peek into the inner workings of the mind of an entrepreneurworking on what he loves to do,
with a sculptor like obsession.
Read on for the HolidayIQ and Hari Nairs story.
Genesis of HolidayIQ

Hari Nair, Founder, HolidayIQ.com

Back in 2006, Hari moved to Mumbai from Bangalore for work: I was looking for places to go to
near Mumbai and people suggested a list of places. I exhausted that list in a weeks time and soon I
was going out on road trips with my wife and kids discovering new places in the vicinity. These trips
became famous in his work place, as he became the go to guy for most people to get advice for a
weekend getaway. Hari says, Even the guys who were born and brought up in Mumbai used to come
to me for advice!
This gave Hari one of the first insights which was to be the foundation of HolidayIQ.com. He says,
Even today, tourism in India means to cater to foreigners coming to India. There really is no
information about these weekend getaways in India.
Hari foresaw the increase in requirement for such information on weekend getaways and started a
small blog called India Resort Survey; a portal that allowed users to log information about the
accommodation they stayed at, in a location they had visited. This endeavor would later become what
we know today as HolidayIQ.com.
Ahead of the curve and the great Indian opportunity
As with any startup, Hari too had his fair share of adversity. According to him, HolidayIQ.com was
ahead of the curve. He says, The adoption of travel among the average Indian is still growing. So
back in 2006 using the internet, it was very difficult to tap into the small segment of people who
traveled. The whole VC scene was very new in India, so raising money to sustain the project was also
a challenge.
Most of the content on HolidayIQ.com is user-generated, which added to the heady concoction of
challenges. But with some initial seed funding and an institutional round from Accel Partners, Hari
and his team pulled through, and today, HolidayIQ.com reports over 50,000 reviews a month.
When asked about why he persisted with the idea, he gave us some numbers to put the Indian tourism
industry in perspective. Last year, about 3 million foreigners came to India as tourists. The number of
Indians who went abroad was about 15 million. The number of travelers in India is increasing at 15%
per annum. As of last year, there was 400 million trips in India alone. Whichever way you slice it, the
Indian opportunity is absolutely huge.
Opportunities in the future
HolidayIQ.com recently raised their third round of funding. Quiz him about any plans to exit and Hari
reiterates his intentions of running HolidayIQ.com for a long time. He says, Today, we have about 5
million visitors a month. I think that number can definitely go up to 30 million and that will be our
main focus in the coming years.
Hari still has ideas, which are somewhat futuristic, which he has drawn from his comprehensive
understanding of the Indian market and observation of international trends. He says, The number of

pilgrimage trips that Indians make is unprecedented and with increasing income levels, I dont see
why a hotel chain in important pilgrimage areas wont work.
Hari is presently focused on finding a partner who can help him understand the consumers better. He
says, Because content on HolidayIQ.com is user-

generated, our site has a listing of 32000

hotels, much more that what hotel listing sites would have. The rich bank of data has some unique
insights to offer, which he thinks can help HolidayIQ.com do some cutting-edge work.
Change lives with simple things
As we neared the end of our conversation, Hari shared a very interesting story. There was a small tea
plantation in Coorg, which wasnt doing too well. To earn an extra buck, he opened up his home as a
small bed and breakfast for tourists. This worked out very well for him and he has written a
testimonial for us thanking us profusely. What worked for him, which I later found out, was that all
his residents were treated to his mothers biryani, which was very popular among anyone who went
there!
Hari says its these little things that make running HolidayIQ.com really enriching. There are
numerous stories like this and I believe reaching a wider audience will benefit a lot more people like
our friend in Coorg.
Ask him if he was satisfied with his work with HolidayIQ.com and Hari says: so far, yes. The growth
has been great. But as an entrepreneur youre never satisfied. Its like being a sculptor. To me, the
perfect sculpture that I can build with HolidayIQ.com is to scale massively, bring more people into
travel and make a bigger difference in peoples lives.
Do plan your next weekend getaway with HolidayIQ.com.