The mountains or the backwaters? The placid oceans or the raging waterfalls? Pristine snow or the mesmerising mirages of the deserts? The vast rolling plains or the quaint hillocks? Whatever be your choice of terrain, you’ll find it here – in India. Unforgettable times. Unending fun. Lasting memories. Small wonder they call the country - Incredible India.

Monuments: Forts, palaces, monuments and mausoleums alike make India a pot-pourri of cultures and architectural styles. Travel in any of the four directions and you are likely to spot a marvel that’s likely to take your breath away.

Cities: If you are looking for places that have successfully blended the latest trends from the West with the local ethnicity, you are in the right country. Agra to Ahmedabad, from Chandigarh to Chennai, India’s major cities offer you days of unending romance.

Pilgrimage Sites: It is unlikely that you will ever find a more tolerant country than India, where multiple sects and varied religions coexist. For centuries several famed pilgrimage sites have served as the firm foundations for millions of followers of each of these religions.

Adventure Sports: For those of you who want a heady mix of exotic locales and the rush of adrenalin, come to India. Mountaineering, trekking, skiing, white-water rafting, paragliding -

Great Journeys: Be it the Palace on Wheels, a journey across the deserts on camelback or through the wilderness on elephants, India is one country where your travel is bound to be as good as the destination itself.

Hill Resorts: Be it Shimla, Mussorie, Nainital, Dalhousie or Darjeeling along the lower Himalayas or Ootacamund and Kodaikanal down South, your penchant for the mountain air is likely to be met with a deluge of attractive options.

Beaches: Some of the world’s most impressive beaches are found in India. Get ready to soak in the sun, the golden sands and the blue waters.

Wildlife: Tigers, elephants, the one-horned rhinoceros, the Asiatic lion… India would certainly be a haven for wildlife lovers, with wildlife sanctuaries, reserves and national parks for animals and birds alike.

Promoting economic growth

Tourism is also playing a major role in adding to the economic growth of the country. Innovation has always been a hallmark of the tourism industry and has inspired several offers, packages and policies that have opened doors to several strata of society, thus ensuring that vacation was not the sole domain of the affluent class.

The world over, several countries have projected themselves as the ultimate tourist destination, thereby making tourism the mainstay of the country’s economy.

The number of leisure travelers in India has been on the increase over the years. The year 2003 saw over 300 million domestic travelers, with 8 million outbound and 2.8 million inbound travelers. This marks a considerable increase over the previous year during which 273.8 million Indians traveled within the country (domestic), 7.5 out of the country (outbound) and 2.4 million non-Indians traveled to the country (inbound).