Rural India has much to offer to the world. Rich in the
traditions of arts, crafts and culture, rural India can
emerge as an important tourist destination. Those in the
developed world, who have a craze for knowledge about traditional
ways of life, will be attracted to visit rural India if
the concept of rural tourism is marketed well. Even in the
absence of much promotional activity for rural tourism,
thousands of foreign tourists visit rural areas in Rajasthan,
Gujarat and South India every year. This by itself is proof
enough about the viability of rural tourism.
Tourism in India has grown at the rate of 13% in 2006-07,
which is way above the international growth rate of 5.7%.
In terms of absolute numbers, foreign tourist arrivals into
India were 4.63 million in 2006-07. Foreign exchange earnings
from tourism reached $9.69 bn in 2006-07 registering a growth
rate of 23.5% over that during 2005-06.
According to World Tourism Organization's estimates, the
total number of international tourist arrivals in 2006 moved
upward reaching about 846 million, registering a growth
rate of 5.7% over that in 2005. International tourism revenues
amounted to around $735 bn in 2006 registering a growth
of 8.4% over the previous year.
A recent research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism
Council and Oxford Economics reports that travel and tourism
recorded another solid performance in 2007. International
tourist arrivals increased during the year by almost 6%,
totaling to nearly 900 million tourists and the growth rate
has far surpassed the long-term trend of 4%.
|
