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| Coronavirus cases in India up to 30 March 2020. Image source Google.com/covid19-mapoogle |
Anyone can guess easily the
impact of Coronavirus on the Indian Tourism Industry in the current scenario.
Coronavirus affecting very badly every sector of the Indian economy either it
is tourism, hospitality, automobile, FMCG, agriculture, aviation,
transportation, gems & jewelry, apparel, pharma, and other businesses.
Here we tell you about the tourism sector of India which is very badly affected and now all tourist
activities halted after the complete lockdown from 24th March in India.
In India, the first case was
reported on 30 January 2020, which was originating from China. As per the
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India, the confirmed case of
coronavirus was1071 up to 30 March 2020.
Due to government good decisions
infection rate of Coronavirus in India is reported to be 17 that is significantly
lower than in the other affected countries. It is only 0.92 cases per 1M people
in India. Where in the United States of America it is 435.78 per 1M people and
in Italy, it is 1,546.56 per 1M people.
Coronavirus outbreak in India is
one of the worst crises ever to hit the Indian travel and tourism industry
impacting all tourism areas. The Indian tourism sector which
is about 10% of the Indian GDP is now halted and would be worse if the
coronavirus outbreak would be increased in India.
Many travel agencies and hotels
not receiving new queries and already book trips and hotels now canceled by
tourists. Coronavirus outbreak in India
raised during the peak season of Indians when they plan to go for holidays in
India and abroad. March and April are the peak month when foreign tourists also
heavily come to India.
These situations make more losses for the Indian tourism
industry. The travel and tourism industry
always creates demands in the market which helps other businesses and
industries.
As per the government's decision, all
tourist movements will be halted till April 15. The Indian tourism industry will
take more time than other sectors to recover. It will take up the whole year
2020.
As per the World Travel and
Tourism Council, Asia would be the worst affected and around 30 million jobs
cut would be in Asia.
In the current scenario
transportation, airlines, railway, cruise ships, buses are more affected.
Tourist places, shrines, historical places are now under the shutdown
condition.
Important facts about the Tourism Industry in India
The travel and tourism industry is one of the main sectors that earn foreign currency in India. Foreign tourist arrivals in India for the year 2018 was 10.56 million. The Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in India for 2018 was 194,882 crores.
As per the world travel and tourism council's annual research report of 2019, the travel & tourism industry accounts for 10.4% of the world’s GDP and jobs. The travel and tourism industry provides 1 job in 10 jobs in the world. Its annual growth is 3.9% where the global economy is 3.2% only.
In India, the contribution of travel and tourism to GDP is 9.2% of the total economy in the year 2018. The travel and tourism industry contributes to employment in India was 42.673 million jobs which are 8.1% in the year 2018 of its total employment.
As per the report of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness 2019, India Ranked 34th out of 140 countries overall.
To boost travel & tourism in India of foreign tourists, the Government of India implemented a new "e-Tourist Visa" policy in November 2014. That's results in 2019, a total of 2.93 million foreign tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa only which is a growth of 23.6%.
As per the government of India records in 2018 about 281,768 Chinese tourists come in India which are 2.67 % of total foreign tourists in India.
If we rank the states on the basis of foreign and domestic tourist visits, then Maharastra is in the first place, then Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Karnataka, and Goa.
In India, the golden triangle is a more popular destination for foreign and Indian tourists. It is a circuit of three tourist places that consists of Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur. These are almost 200-250 km far away from each other.
Importance of Tourism Industry in India
For a better understanding of the
Impact of Coronavirus in India on the Tourism industry we have to understand
the importance of the travel and tourism industry in India.
India is among the world's oldest
civilizations. India is rich in a variety of geographical areas with beautiful
Himalayan Mountains, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, sea beaches naturally. A
variety of cultures, religions, languages, history, traditions, etc. in India
makes it unique in many things. All of the above things attract foreign and
domestic tourists annually which enhances the Indian economy.
- Economic Growth: Travel and tourism industry earn foreign currency from foreign tourists. Transport, Hospitality, Recreation, Health, service, and Adventure sectors directly depend on the tourists.
- Infrastructure Development: Tourism encourages infrastructure development by making way for roads, dams, airports, trains, tourist place improvements. That helps a tourist to visit the place conveniently.
- Employment: Travel and tourism provide direct and indirect jobs to the country's manpower. Guides, shopkeepers, hotel employees, travel agents, etc. are directly linked to the travel and tourism industry.
- Global Standards: Travel and tourism motivate a country to reach global standards for providing better facilities to foreign tourists.
- Cultural Heritage: Travel and tourism help to explore countries' art, culture, history, beauty, religion, wonder and historical places.
- Social Growth: Travel and tourism helps in cultural exchange and encourage the social progress of society. Tourists and local peoples learn many things from each other.
- Handicraft Business: Foreign tourists like more local handicrafts. They purchase it more than Indians during their visits.
TouristBug Recommendations Regarding Coronavirus
Currently, there is no vaccine
for coronavirus but don't be panic. Coronavirus patients now also successfully
recover. Follow the Government of Instruction regarding coronavirus.
- Avoid going outside unnecessary.
- Protect yourself first then you help to prevent spreading.
- Regularly wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water.
- Wear a mask or cover your mouth and nose with disposable tissue.
- Don't touch your eyes, nose or mouth with your hands frequently.
- Avoid contacting the other peoples who are not well in health. Keep a minimum 1-meter distance from others.