Arumugham Shankar on Transforming Iconic Tourist Destinations
With Public Private Partnership
Model, India’s iconic tourist spot can be utilized to enhance the
attractiveness of a region. The model can be replicated across centres
Arumugham
Shankar, COO - Strategic Consulting, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, JLL
About 10 mn
international tourists visited India in 2017, though, about, 90 percent of
tourists were domestic tourists.
Observing these trends, the World Travel & Tourism Council expects that
India will become a favoured destination and in turn become
the 4th largest travel and tourism economy lagging only to China, the
U.S and Germany, in less than a decade.
There are
enough diverse reasons for that. India offers various categories of
tourism from leisure tourism to eco-tourism, pilgrimage and cultural tourism,
to journey to historical sites, to adventure and sports, business tourism,
etc. The tourism sector has a significant role to play in the economic, commercial
and social growth and sustainability of a local area,
region and the country.
Flourishing
tourist places offer quality tourist infrastructure attracting domestic and
foreign investments, further catalysing and facilitating growth and
development in the region. Hence, tourism has a direct positive impact on
the development of the destination and local area in terms of
(a) Infrastructure gains: in terms of the development of roads and provision
for basic amenities such as water, electricity, waste treatment,
telecommunications, etc. (b) Economic gain through employment and
micro-enterprise development and (c) conservation of environment and
cultural/historic heritage resources and numerous indirect impacts such as
empowerment of local communities through direct engagement, enhanced
livelihoods and higher quality of living, and improved access and connectivity
to larger regions in the country.
The earnings
In 2017,
tourism generated about US$ 230 bn in India, which accounts for 9.4% of the Country’s
GDP in the present day. It also contributed to the creation of millions of jobs
in 2017, pushing the industry in the top 10 sectors attracting foreign
investments. The growth in the tourism industry is due to the rise in the
arrival of more and more foreign tourists and the increase in the number of
domestic tourists.
As a result,
the sector is expected to expand only from here and is projected to be in the top five business
travel markets by next decade and to double its contribution in country’s GDP
by 2030.
The launch
of a mega tourism circuit
The Government
of India has recognized the potential of India’s rich historical, religious and
natural heritage in providing unique tourism experiences, support communities,
and provide employment, launched the Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014-15. The
scheme focuses on integrated development of theme-based tourist circuits in the
country without comprising upon the environmental concerns.
13 thematic
circuits have been identified for the development. These are North-East India
Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit,
Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit,
Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
A blueprint
to sector’s success
In the first
quarter of 2018, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT) identified 17 prominent
tourist sites of international acclaim, for a development based on the
criteria of footfall, regional distribution, the potential for development and
ease of implementation. The development of iconic tourist destinations is
formulated with set objectives and aims and will be implemented under the
ongoing Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of Tourism.
To boost
tourist influx in India vis-Ã -vis implementing the master plans for the 17
sites, the Union Budget 2019-20 has allocated funds for development of tourism,
social and physical infrastructure along with an emphasis on conservation of
the natural, cultural and heritage resources at these identified
destinations.
These
destinations will serve as a model for the development of other tourist sites
in India. The Union Budget has allocated marginally more — a rise of
1.82 percent and 7 percent, respectively, to the Tourism and
Culture Ministries. While INR 1,378.53 crore has been allocated for
building tourism infrastructure, INR 575.50 crore has been allocated for
promotion and publicity2. With this, India is envisaged
to gain a prominent spot in the global tourism map, thus continuing the
growth momentum that the industry has been enjoying so far.
Some of the
locations identified as part of this initiative include prominent tourist
attractions such as Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Colva Beach, Dholavira, Somnath, Hampi, Kumarakom, Ajanta, Ellora, Mahabalipuram, Taj
Mahal, etc. These destinations are envisaged to be
developed with the aim to further enhance physical and social
infrastructure and development of state of the art tourist facilities at the
destinations to transform them into iconic tourist sites of Global
standards.
Some other
sites such as Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu, Kumarakom in Kerala and Somnath
in Gujarat present a diverse character and a unique opportunity to develop vast
and a wider knowledge base on the approach, analysis and development of tourism.
These directly connect and helps us protects the natural and cultural heritage
of the region.
The proposed
initiative in these locations will include an array of projects
proposed to achieve the set goals and objectives in each of these
sites. The project emphasis on the opportunities for development
of medium and large scale projects on Public-Private-Partnership
(PPP) model for the development of resorts, different categories of accommodation,
convention centres and other such commercial establishments.
These will not
only attract private sector investment but also have a substantial impact on
the local economy and livelihood.
So what
needs to done?
We need to
focus on projects that revolve around enhancing the image of the region. Such
projects focus on the improvement of access and connectivity, enhance drinking
water supply to the sites and the local area, and help in the development of
schools and other social infrastructure. Overall such projects become an
important element in the development of a region. These also have a long-term
impact on the dynamics of the destination.
The scheme
also paves the way for proposals that will have a direct impact on the quality
of life and livelihood of the local communities. These include the development
of skill centres, art and crafts village, exhibition spaces and markets,
etc. Involvement of social and environment focused NGOs for
certain projects ensures wider perspective and a more holistic approach to
the planning of these initiatives. The need is to replicate these models
around every part of the country.
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