Gleaming white buses packed with foreign tourists come to a halt at a hotel in western India, bringing a smile to the faces of hotel staff.
They have reason to cheer.
"There was a time when our employees felt the hotel would close down," said Raghavendra Singh Rathore, sales manager of the Taj Hari Palace in the desert city of Jodhpur.
"Now I am sold out in December. Talk of peace between India and Pakistan has been a huge boost."
Jodhpur, home to one of India's largest and impressive forts, the cliff-top Mehrangarh, has been a popular stop for travellers from far off lands since it was founded in 1459.
But the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the threat of war with Pakistan last year scared off visitors.
Detente with Pakistan this year has helped persuade foreign visitors to return to the city and the rest of the country, helped by lavish government advertising campaigns overseas and India's booming economy.
"It's the mystique, the people, colours, the variety of food and culture," Michiko, from the United States, said of her reasons to visit India.
"And, of course, people who speak fluent English. I don't always get that in China. But the poverty and filth here is sometimes very unsettling," Michiko, 52, said while watching a puppet show in Jodhpur.
The boom in tourist arrivals in Jodhpur mirrors the jump in visitors across the country from the sun-soaked beaches of Goa to the placid backwaters of Kerala, and even picturesque Srinagar in Kashmir.
"The security situation has helped immensely and people are taking the plunge. India has definitely arrived as a tourist destination on the global map," Subhas Goyal, chairman of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry's tourism panel.
"The old image of India being a land of snake charmers is disappearing fast. The image is more vibrant."
India has been working hard to boost its image, running advertising campaigns promoting the snow-capped Himalayas, opulent forts and palaces, game sanctuaries and shimmering beaches.
The Taj Mahal, a centuries-old white marble monument to love, remains the biggest draw, attracting nearly 900,000 foreign tourists a year, followed by the desert state of Rajasthan with its rolling sand dunes and vibrant colours.
For stressed-out tourists, India offers yoga, meditation and ancient ayurvedic therapies.
According to government data, foreign tourist arrivals rose 15 percent in November to 281,527 over the previous year. The number of foreign visitors between January and November also rose by 15 percent to 2.39 million year-on-year.
The federal tourism ministry expects foreign tourist arrivals to top three million this year, a sharp jump from the stagnant level of between 1.5 million and two million over the past three years.
Despite the boom, analysts say India has not been able to tap its full potential because of poor infrastructure and sometimes shabby hotels.
"We need more international airports, more land banks for hotels and simplification of the complex taxation structure for the tourism sector," says tourism panel chief Goyal.
To the government's credit, it has embarked on a massive road-building campaign and promoted investment in the telecoms sector.
Rathi Vinay Jha, secretary in the Tourism Ministry, cautions against over confidence.
"We shouldn't become complacent because there is this positive trend in South Asia. Nepal and Sri Lanka are also witnessing a positive trend."
Domestic tourists are helping fuel the tourism revival. Growing disposable incomes and generous travel allowances, the results of sweeping economic reforms started over a decade ago, are encouraging more Indians to see their country.
The economy is likely to grow more than 7.0 percent in 2003/2004 and the tourism boom, in turn, is helping create jobs and improve infrastructure in the world's second-most populous nation.
"The upturn in the economy has helped because it has increased international travel as well as domestic tourism," Jha said.
She brushed aside criticism India was not attracting high-end dollar-spending tourists, despite a wide choice of places that catered mainly to budget travellers.
"I don't think we should look down on backpackers because today's backpacker is tomorrow's rich man," she said.
Comments
Comments are closed.