Where India falls back as a Tourist Spot

 

What can we do for Tourism as a Nation and its citizens

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. I met an elderly couple in the lift of a Hotel in Paris. They were friendly and easy to talk. They were from Egypt and very proud of their cultural ethos, pyramids and hospitality. They invited me to visit Egypt. They gave me their number and asked me to make a call when I reach Cairo. If they wished, they would have taken me through the overnight flight to Egypt. I was a bit surprised to see their high level of eagerness and excitement to tell about their country. I could see the glow in their eyes while talking about their country.

France has a population of approx 70 million and it welcomes more than 100 million foreign tourists almost every year. Tourism is one of the biggest pillars of their economy. Even though it’s a non English speaking country, it is able to manage such a huge rush of tourists speaking different languages. The tourism sector opens employment in multiple sectors. Restaurants, hotels, museums, airlines, taxis, public transport etc are few of the prime sectors that get benefitted from tourism. In addition to these sectors, there are additional employments like hawkers selling food items, souvenirs etc around tourist spots.

Countries understand the importance of global tourism and they prepare themselves on war footing for that. They focus and work a lot to improve their infrastructure, branding of their country and on the overall civic sense of their citizens. Each citizen represents their countries as the host. In last one year of my stay in Paris, I can figure out why France has such a huge inflow of tourists. Government has worked a lot to improve the infrastructure like clean air, pure water, better metro connectivity and law and order. One of the striking features I noticed, was the optimum use of technologies across different sectors. Detailed information about each of the major spot is available on mobile apps and websites. There are facilities to book online tickets and plan hassle free. Real time online information is available regarding public transport. Roaming late night is also safe. Sponsors , organisers and government have worked together to give tourists an amazing and memorable experiences. That makes France as one of the favourite tourist destination though majority of French people are a bit egoistic and not overwhelming friendly.

Now I am coming to one of the most ancient civilisations of the world and currently the most populous country, India. I don’t think any country can match up to the diversity of India in terms of attire, languages, cuisines, paintings and even dance forms. Each state has its own unique list of festivities which is wrapped under interesting stories. From Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari in the south and Dwarka in the west to Itanagar in the east, there are abundant historical monuments and numerous ancient temples embellished with notable architecture signifying the rich cultural heritage. It’s not only history which makes India rich, the landscape, geography and diverse weather conditions also make it unique. Within the same country at any moment, you may need Air conditioner ( AC) at one place and a blanket at another corner of the country. From snow capped Himalayas in the north to Arabian sea at the west and the Indian ocean on the east coast to pristine islands in the south, it has too many natural spots to offer and to explore.

Being home to the highest concentration of Hindus in the world, the Western and the Arabic world comes here with lots of curiosity. It’s a completely different world to them. In addition, it is also a unique country which hosts many other religions and people coexist on the peaceful note. So India comes up with the prospect for a great destination for tourism. But unfortunately we are getting only approx one fifth of what France is getting in terms of international tourists. That’s a grave matter, we should be seriously concerned about. Despite our hat adorned with so many colourful feathers, we are not living up to our potential in the field of tourism. Adorned with such a treasure, we can not let it rut when we really need to grow as a developed nation.

So what can we do as a nation as well as a citizen to be a great host of a great and ancient nation??

I start with the government first. Government has to work on the law and order and make it a safe place for its citizens as well as guests where women can also roam around at mid night. It also has to work on clean air and pure water. Many of our big cities are highly polluted. Urban planning should not only focus on building roads and buildings but making it greener, removing dirt and dust and improving the AQI. Common people should be able to drink water from the water tap directly without any filter. I have never used water filter while residing in USA, UK and France nor on my visits to Portugal, Spain and Belgium. Why can’t we do this in India when we have so many rivers and lakes spread across the country? The whole nexus of RO companies and corrupt officials should be abolished and common citizens should be able to drink pure water from the tap directly. Infrastructure should be built keeping in mind old, visually impaired and handicapped people. Let them also explore the beautiful places of India. Tourist information centre should be many and easy to approach.

Now as a citizen of the country, responsibility of each one of us is equally important as that of the government. We should respect the freedom of our guest and make them feel home. First and formost , stare less on them , they may get scared. Of course , there is a vast cultural difference , language , color and way to dress up. We should be taught in our schools about these differences as early as possible. Don’t litter and use the nearby dustbins to trash the waste. We should be proud of our cultural legacy and respect the legacy. If that sense of pride will be inside us, we will respect our monuments , tourist spots and natural places like rivers, mountains and sea. Every city of India has its own unique taste, attire and history, We should brand them well and give it a lift up. A small beginning of few will inspire many and many will inspire the rest of the nation. Let’s make ‘Incredible India’ feasible and worthy to explore and experience for the people of the entire world. A real ‘Vashudev Kutumbakam’ will be achieved when we will practise in reality and not just words..