After decades of lull, Indian tourism is set going in for a major makeover. With the improvement of infrastructure and the development of tourism-friendly packages, Indian tourism is all set to grow. To discuss this issue, The Analyst has invited Somenath Mukherjee, General Manager (Operations), West Bengal Tourism Development Corp. Ltd., Kolkata; Ashwini Kakkar, CEO and MD, Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.; Sonali Sharma, Marketing Head, Club Mahindra; Tarkendra Vaishnav, Managing Director, Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Limited.

Somenath Mukherjee (SM): We are expecting a substantial growth in the number of inbound tourists to India this year. In view of the development in infrastructure and customer-friendly aviation sector, a substantial growth is expected.

Ashwini Kakkar (AK): A decade ago, India did not even figure on the global tourism map. Today, it is given positions five and six on the list of 10 most preferred destinations by Conde Nast Traveller (UK) and Lonely Planet respectively. The tourism ministry and Experience India Society have been actively promoting `Incredible India' in the overseas markets. Also, because of the booming economy and inflow of FII investments, the world's eyes are on India. All this is helping us gain mind space with the traveler, be it the businessman or the tourist. When SARS affected the Far East region last year, a lot of travelers heading there turned towards India.

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