Jaipur, April 28: Backed by strong infrastructure growth, ever-expanding aviation and rail networks, and rising demand, the Government is confident of increasing the tourism sector’s contribution to GDP to 10% in the next years from 5.22% currently, said Mr. Suman Billa, Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, while addressing the inaugural session of the 15th Edition of The Great Indian Travel Bazaar (GITB).
“A few months ago, the honorable Prime Minister laid out the ambition for India’s tourism very clearly—the sector’s contribution to the GDP must double from 5.22% to 10% within the next 10 years. For us, that is the target, that is the goal, and we need to ensure that we achieve that goal,” said Mr. Suman Billa while adding that India is witnessing rapid infrastructure development.
“Since 2014, the number of airports in the country has doubled from 75 to 150. Our rail network has also increased tremendously. Trains like Vande Bharat are fast, convenient, safe, and secure and are great enablers for tourism. Our road network has expanded many times, and our aircraft capacity is growing rapidly, and the fleet is likely to reach about 1600 aircraft by the year 2030 from about 800. These are strong enablers for tourism,” the Additional Secretary said.
Throwing light on the progress the tourism sector has made in the last few years, Mr. Suman Billa said, “Our domestic market has been exploding. In 2019, we had 1.5 billion domestic tourist visits. That number, ladies and gentlemen, in 2025 has crossed the 4 billion mark. That’s almost a threefold increase in a decade. Our international tourist arrivals were about 10 million in 2014 and have grown to 20 million today. The foreign exchange that we earn through tourism stands at $32 billion today, which reflects what India is doing, but considering the potential that tourism holds for a country like India with astonishing cultural depth, diversity, and length & breadth of the country, I think we are still hugely under-leveraged, and hence, a 10% target is reasonable.”
Mr. Billa, who is the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism, also called up various stakeholders to double the hotel capacity and build destinations at scale and with exceptional standards so that we are able to compete with the best global destinations. By doing so, he maintained that the country will be able to retain its outbound travelers and will be able to attract the high-paying and the conscious travelers.
