Tourism to contribute $250 billion to GDP by 2030, India to grow 7-9%: Govt
2 min read . Updated: 20 Sep 2022, 09:29 PM IST
Premium- The government said that the tourism sector in India will contribute $250 billion to GDP by 2030
The Central government said on Tuesday that the country's tourism sector will recover to the pre-pandemic level by mid-2024. The Centre also said that by 2030, the tourism sector will contribute $250 billion to the country's gross domestic product (GDP).
By 2047, the Central government said the country intends to achieve $1 trillion through the tourism sector – a sector that was worst affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
This was announced at the end of the three-day national conference of tourism here, which saw the participation of tourism ministers from various states, and governors and administrators from Union territories, besides senior Central government officials.
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy urged all states to share and adopt best practices to boost the sector.
"States must organise such conferences at the state level with district officers of different departments and stakeholders to improve and promote tourism destinations," G Kishan Reddy said.
A declaration ‘Dharamshala Declaration’ was also adopted at the end of the conference which sets out long-term and short-term goals for the country in the tourism sector. The Dharamshala Declaration highlights sustainable and responsible tourism, a ministry's secretary Arvind Singh said.
"India will play a pivotal role in contributing towards global tourism recovery. All the major tourism industries have started showing signs of recovery to the pre-pandemic level such as domestic air passenger traffic and hotel occupancy list," Arvind Singh said.
The Dharamshala Declaration mentions that India plans to become a major tourist destination as it chairs the G-20 in 2023.
The declaration said, "We plan to ensure due rigour and dedication, and showcase our cultural richness while welcoming the world to our nation. We plan to bring in necessary interventions, including visa reforms, ease of travel, traveler-friendly immigration facilities at airports and openness to international travel, and these major topics were deliberated during the meet."
Apart from positioning India as a major tourism destination, the declaration also talked about 'National Tourism Policy'. The policy has been drafted with a holistic vision and strategy to revive India's tourism and targets to contribute $1 trillion to the GDP by 2047.
The declaration said by 2024, India is estimated to contribute $150 billion to the GDP from tourism, $30 billion in Foreign Exchange earnings and get 15 million foreign arrivals.
The Dharamshala Declaration also asserted that the country is estimated to grow at seven to nine per cent Compound Annual Growth Rate.
"The goals are expected to be achieved by 2030. USD 250 billion GDP contribution from tourism, 137 million jobs in tourism sector, USD 56 billion in foreign exchange earnings, 25 million foreign arrivals," Arvind Singh said while reading the declaration.
