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NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY- OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES ABSTRACT Tourism is one of the most desirable human activity; which is capable of changing the socio-cultural, economic and environmental face of the World. Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world; it is one of the most important channels of cultural exchange. India is a diverse country, with over 1.3 billion people who follow various culture, tradition, languages, festivals, religion etc. Equally diverse are the category of tourism activity that India offers to her people as well as to the people across the world. Such diversity owes largely to the geographic, climatic and traditional multiplicity seen in India’s twenty-eight states and nine union territories. In India tourism sector was considered as an important sector only after the independence. In recent times travel and tourism has emerged as the largest service industry in India. The growth of tourism sector can be attributed to National Tourism Policies. The main objective of these policies is to develop and promote tourism, maintain competitiveness of India as tourist destination and improve and expand existing tourism products to ensure employment generation and economic growth.

INTRODUCTION The World Tourism Organization defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes”. Several Countries of the world, especially the developing countries including India have lately realized the importance of tourism and benefits which it brings out. The increasing significance of tourism as a source of income, employment generation, regional development, foreign exchange and major factor in balance of payment for many countries has been attracting the attention of many government as well as others with an interest in economic development . TOURISM POLICY IN INDIA Tourism emerged as the largest global industry of the 20th century and is projected to grow even faster in the 21th century. India has immense possibilities of growth in the tourism sector with vast culture and religious heritage, varied natural attractions, but a comparatively small role in the world tourism scene. Tourism policy strengthens the tourism sector and envisages new initiatives towards making tourism the catalyst in employment generation, environmental regeneration, development of remote areas and. It would lead to larger foreign exchange earnings and create conditions for more foreign direct investment. ORIGIN OF TOURISM POLICY IN INDIA Tourism planning in India was started after independence. The conscious and organized efforts to promote tourism in India were made in 1945, when a committee was set up by the Government under the leadership of Sir John Sargent, then Educational Adviser to the Government of India (Krishna.A.G. 1993). Mr. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of Independent

India, was the first person to notice the importance of tourism in the country. Thereafter systematic tourism development took place in India. The tourism planning approach has been evolved in Second and Third five year plans. The sixth five year plan emphasizes tourism as an instrument for economic development, integration and maintains social harmony. After 1980s tourism activity gained momentum as employment generator, source income, foreign exchange earnings and as a leisure industry. The government has taken several significant measures to promote tourism industry. TOURISM POLICIES UNDER FIVE YEAR PLANS(in brief) First Five Year Plan (1951-56 ) : The first five year plan had a total outlay of Rs.1960 crore, but no amount was allocated for the development of tourism. Although tourism activity had started in early fifties in India, but the planning commission did not take note of it.. Second Five Year P lan (1956-61 ) : In the second five year plan, 0.7 percent of the total plan outlay, was set aside 115 for the development of tourism for both central and state sectors. The main thrust during this plan was to develop tourism infrastructure especially accommodation and transportation facilities at the tourist destination for both domestic and foreign tourists. Third Five Year P lan (1961-66 ): The total allocation made for tourism in the 3rd plan was Rs. 8.0 crore out of a total plan outplay of Rs.7000 crore. The plan emphasized on the promotion of tourism in systematic way through ITDC and Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering. Fourth Five Year Plan (1969-74 ): The broad approach during this plan was to expand and improve tourist facilities with a view to promoting 'destination' traffic as distinct from 'transit' traffic. Emphasis was being laid on provision of accommodation, transport and recreational 117 facilities. Fifth Five Year P lan (1974-80) : The approach during the fifth plan was augmentation and betterment of tourist facilities so as to promote tourism in an effective way. The main focus was on integrated development of preferred tourist centers like Kavalam, Gulmarg, Goa, Kullu-Manali etc. Symbolizing resort tourism in India was the central focus of this plan. Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-85 ): This plan can be considered as a critical turning point in the history of Indian tourism industry, as the first ever 'Tourism Policy" of the country was written during this period. The policy specified the tourism development objectives and furnished an action plan based on "travel circuit" concept to maximize the benefits of tourism. NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY 1982 The First Tourism policy was announced by the Government of India on November 1982. The mission of First Tourism Policy was to promote sustainable tourism as means of economic growth, social integration and to promote the image of India abroad as a country with a glorious past, a vibrant present and a bright future. It recognized the importance of tourism as a tool to promote exchange of ideas and views and facilitates interaction of people and their culture. Policies to achieve this will be evolved around six broad areas such as Welcome (Swagat), Information (Suchana), Facilitation (Suvidha), Safety (Suraksha), Cooperation (Sahyog) and Infrastructure Development (Samrachana). Policy Objectives: The policy statement contained five main objectives of the tourism policy.

1.

To make it a unifying force nationally and internationally to foster better understanding through travel. 2. To preserve, retain and enrich the country’s world view and lifestyle, its cultural expression and heritage in all their manifestations. 3. To bring socio-economic benefits to the community and the state in terms of employment opportunities, income generation, revenue generation for the state, foreign exchange earnings and in general causes human habitat improvement. 4. To give a direction and opportunity to the youth of the country both through international and domestic tourism to understand the aspirations and viewpoints of others and thus to bring about a greater national integration and cohesion. 5. To provide opportunities for taking up activities of nation building character lick sports, adventure etc. Policy Outcomes: The policy acknowledged the potential for domestic tourism and emphasized on improvement and expansion of facilities for domestic tourists. As the policy recognized the importance of international tourism in earning foreign exchange, so the efforts were made on national level to improve infrastructural facilities for international tourists Tourism policy Under Seventh five year plan: Indian tourism planning increased with the seventh five year plan (1985-1989). The sector was accorded the status of an industry and, therefore, the plan turned out to be a landmark for Indian tourism. The National Committee on Tourism under Mohammad Yunus set up in 1986. Tourism policy Under Eight five year plan: National Action plan for Tourism was announced in May, 1992. The first ever Indian Tourism Day was celebrated on January 25, 1998. A gradual increase in the central plan outlay for tourism over the plan periods from Rs.3.36 crore in the second Plan to Rs.773.62 crore in the eighth plan was noticed. The main emphasis in the eighth plan for the ITDC was on consolidation rather than expansion of accomodation. Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002): The approach in the ninth plan was to concentrate on the development of selected centers and circuits through effective coordination of public and private efforts so as to achieve synergy in the development of this sector.

Source- Mitthal, 2008

NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY 2002 Mark Twain aptly remarked about India on ‘India’ [National Tourism Policy 2002] that “India is one country that is endowed with an imperishable interest for alien prince and alien peasant, for the lettered and the ignorant, the wise and the fool, the rich and the poor, the bonded and the free – one land that all men desire to see and once seen, by even a glimpse, would not give the glimpse for all the shows of all the rest of the globe combined.” The unity of India lies in its diversity – people bound together by centuries of common traditions, faith and philosophy A national policy on tourism highlighting the importance of this sector and the objective of tourism development in the country was presented in the parliament in 1982. This policy was formulated in a closed economy moreover the 1982 tourism policy lacked compassion towards environment. The possibility that tourism could endanger environmental imbalances was not included in its approach. The policy was more an aggressive statement in marketing than a perspective plan for development. These shortcomings paved the way for National Tourism Policy 2002.

National Tourism Policy 2002 The National Tourism Policy 2002 was announced by the government with an objective to position India as a global brand to take advantage of the burgeoning global travel and trade and the vast untapped tourism potential of India as a destination. With the introduction of this policy, tourism became part of the concurrent list. Main aim of National tourism policy 2002 is to position tourism as a major driver of economic growth. Government tries to achieve this aim by promoting domestic and international inbound tourism, developing tourist infrastructure, developing new destinations, promoting of agro Evolution of Tourism Policy in India. Main areas emphasized by the Government of India, in national policy 2002 are: i. Tourism product or destination development: National policy 2002 emphasized to promote existing tourism product and destination. ii. Integrated development of tourist circuits: Central Government provided funds to the state government to develop tourist circuits to international standard. iii. Assistance for large revenue generating projects: This policy emphasized private public partnership to undertake large revenue generating projects like convention centres, golf courses, cruises and tourist trains, which are used by tourists and provides large revenues to the state. iv. Support for private public partnership in infrastructure: This policy realized that private financial resource as well as technology and managerial talents are required for tourist infrastructure development. Therefore Government gives fin Policy Demands The policy was formulated to develop tourism in India in a systematic manner and to promote it in an environmentally sustainable manner.This tourism policy 2002 is based on a multi faced approach, which includes faster or speedy implementation of tourism project development of integrated tourism circuits, capacity building in the hospitality sector and new marketing strategies.

• Policy Objectives: Following are the objectives of the policy. 1. To position tourism as a major engine of economic growth; > Harness the direct and multiplier effects of tourism for employment generation, economic development and providing impetus to rural tourism. 2. To focus on domestic tourism as a major driver of tourism growth. > Position India as a global brand to take advantage of the burgeoning global travel trade and the vast untapped potential of India as a destination. 3. To acknowledge the critical role of private sector with government working as a pro-active facilitator and catalyst. 4. To create and develop integrated tourism circuits based on India’s unique civilization, heritage, and culture in partnership with States, private sector and other agencies. 5. To ensure that the tourist to India gets physically invigorated, mentally rejuvenated, culturally enriched, spiritually elevated and “feel India from within”. • Policy Outcomes: The policy took into consideration seven key areas that provide thrust to tourism development. These areas were Swagat (Welcome), Soochana (Information), Suvidha (Facility), Suraksha (Safety), Sahyog (Cooperation), Samrachana (Infrastructure), and Safai (Cleanliness). To achieve this overall goal of development goal, the Government of India embarked upon a strategy that involved a radical departure from past policies, and institutional arrangements in order to optimize and release the potential of its natural, human, financial and technical resources. It was further stated that sustainability should serve as a guiding star for the new policy. The development and management strategies should be so worked as to ensure that tourism largely acts as a smokeless industry and its ecological footprints remain as soft as possible. In this way the policy allowed the various stakeholders to fully develop the potential of tourism in India and to harness this to national development priorities (NTP, 2002). OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY NTP-2002 Tourism in India has a strong relevance to economic development and employment generation. It creates huge employment opportunities, provides equitable distribution of wealth, helps to acquire the much needed foreign exchange, brings out a speedy development and improvement of infrastructural facilities. Developing countries have given a special importance for the development of tourism, for it is the main source of earning foreign exchange, thereby the economic status of the country goes up. CONSISTENTLY INCREASING IMPORTANCE OF TOURISM Tourism is presently India’s third largest industry-after readymade garments and gem and jewellery. The international tourist traffic to the country during 1951 was just 16,829. Over a period of about 50 years, the arrivals increased to 264 million in 2000 and registered a compounded annual rate of growth of about 11 percent. POSITIONING TOURISM AS A NATIONAL PRIORITY

The policy places tourism under concurrent list which will help in constitutional recognition of this sector which in turn helps in the development of tourism in a systematic manner and enables central government to make laws pertaining to this sector. A Group of Ministers on Tourism has been constituted to provide effective linkages and coordination between various departments. ENHANCING INDIA’S COMPETITIVENESS AS A TOURIST DESTINATION The policy aims at increasing the number of domestic as well as international tourists and for this the tourism policy undertakes computerization of the system used for issuance of visas by Embassies, increasing the woefully short air capacity, improving the standard of facilities at India’s international and major domestic airports.

IMPROVING AND EXPANDING PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT In relation to the development of products that are related to the special interests of the target markets, the product development strategy should be to: India has a vast array of protected monuments spread throughout the length and breadth of the country. The conversation , preservation and integrated development of the area around these monuments provides a rare opportunity for the growth and expansion of cultural tourism in India. Beach and coastal tourism along the shoreline of India has immense potential. The development of Andaman and Nicobar island as international cruise destination is another such opportunity. Adventure tourism in Himalayas, village tourism, India’s unmatched tradition cuisine, the wildlife sanctuaries etc are other essential sectors of tourism in India. CREATION OF WORLD- CLASS INFRASTRUCTURE • The infrastructure ranges from ports of entry, to modes of transport to destinations, to urban infrastructure supporting tourism facilities such as access roads, power electricity, water supply, sewage etc. CHALLENGES- NTP 2002 NTP-2002 faces a number of challenges in the development of tourism sector in India, major challenges includesWOEFULLY SHORT ON AIR CAPACITY- The Indian's competitiveness as a tourist, destination is affected by the high cost of air travel. India airports lag behind in international standards in many respects, central excise duty and high rate of Sale Taxes i.e. average 25 percent on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) which constitutes 30 per cent of operating cost of domestic flights. India Hotel tariff is also high because municipal bodies auction lands for hotels. LACKS A CLEAR STRATEGY- The policy does not include a clear strategy, linking means and ends, assigning responsibilities and roles across government and private agencies, and setting realistic targets according to a list of prioritized goals. Rather, it seems an expression of intent to improve on everything. There is nothing like the kind of systematic approach one would normally associate with government plan and policy.

LIMITED ROLE OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT- An obvious complication in the Indian context, particularly with respect to the division of roles and responsibilities, is the federal system of government. While the central government is not powerless and does in fact determine policy and control most of the funds, for the implementation of its policy it is largely dependent on state governments, whose plans, policies and projects are often determined by concerns other than those formulated in national plans. LESSER PRIORITY TO DOMESTIC TOURISM-Domestic tourism is regarded as a kind of secondary business. Even today, seemingly random policy suggestions regarding the division of types of tourism across the domestic and international sectors, substantiate a bias favoring international tourism. The domestic sector, for example, is thought to be ideally suited for certain forms of community based tourism which could serve as vehicles for rural development. By contrast, the much desired boost of the international sector is thought to require more professional and 'worldclass' inputs. NATIONAL TOURISM POLICY 2015 (DRAFT) The Narendra Modi government has come out with a National Tourism Policy draft in 2015. Many aspects of Modi’s vision such as MAKE IN INDIA, SWACHH BHARAT, SMART CITIES etc are included in this draft. The policy aims at establishing India as a “must experience” and “must revisit” destination for global travellers and encourages Indians to explore their own nation. The S’s used in NTP-2002 are an integral part of this policy as well. CONCLUSION Tourism development and Tourism policy are closely interrelated aspects. Tourism development highly depends on tourism policy. Tourism is a very important segment of an economy particularly in the case of India with vast tourism potential. Economic development of any nation, whether developing, developed or underdeveloped country is significantly influenced by tourism sector. Therefore every country in the world has formulated number of tourism policies at national and international level for the development of tourism sector. In post independent period Government of India, Department of Tourism has introduced number of policies for the development of tourism sector in India. Tourism was recognized as an industry by the Planning commission of India and was included in the Concurrent List of Indian constitution to provide Constitutional recognition to the tourism sector and help in channelizing development of tourism in a systematic manner by enabling the Central Government to bring in legislation governing the activities of various service providers in the...