January 2025

Tourism Industry Update

The 18th CII Annual Tourism Summit
New Delhi, 18 December 2024

The 18th edition of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) Annual Tourism Summit took center stage in New Delhi on December 18, 2024. This landmark event focused on a forward-looking agenda to promote inbound tourism, enhance skill development, elevate tourist experiences, improve tourism business practices, promote niche tourism products, and harness emerging technologies.

Bringing together policymakers, government officials, industry leaders, and key stakeholders, the summit was a confluence of visionary minds outlining actionable strategies for the future. This year's theme was: “Can Tourism be the Game Changer for India?” And it set the stage for an engaging dialogue on the sector’s recent successes and pathways to next-level growth.

The summit featured an insightful inaugural address by the Honorable Minister of Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. Shri Shekhawat drew attention to the immense potential of India's tourism sector, supported by a robust domestic market.

He cited the example of post-COVID tourism in India, which has seen a significant boom as domestic tourists with rising disposable incomes drive growth in the sector. The expanding Indian middle class adds to this vast potential, unlocking a wide range of opportunities for growth and development.

Shri Shekhawat highlighted the role of infrastructure development in this growth trajectory, citing impressive milestones such as the construction of 150,000 km of roads, the doubling of operational airports, and the launch of new-generation trains. He further advocated the adoption of innovative concepts like experiential tourism, referencing recent examples.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS AND TAKEAWAYS FROM THE SUMMIT

Government Initiatives: This session focused on various government initiatives such as the Incredible India campaign, Swadesh Darshan, Dekho Apna Desh, and Vibrant Village Programme. It highlighted the efforts to boost tourism and make India a year-round destination.

Technology and Innovation in Tourism: This session discussed the role of technology and innovation in reshaping tourism. It showcased how travel tech companies add value to tourist experiences and enhance India’s digital presence.

Skill Development: A session dedicated to ensuring a future-ready, service-oriented workforce capable of navigating technological advancements and global standards.

Experiential Tourism: This session explored the changing definition of tourism and the need to embrace newer concepts like experiential tourism.

Employment Landscape: The release of the CII EY Report on the Employment Landscape in Tourism and Hospitality in India is seen as a major milestone in the industry. The report highlights the immense potential of tourism for the country’s growth, creating jobs both directly and indirectly, and promoting development through sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Tourism as a Driver of Economic Growth

The summit underscored the importance of tourism as a driver of economic growth and societal well-being in India. In line with this, the discussions and initiatives presented at the summit provided valuable insights into the future of tourism in the country. By fostering public-private partnerships and investing in skill development, India can ensure a future-ready workforce and unlock the full potential of tourism.

NOTES FOR PARTICIPANTS AT THE SUMMIT

The summit projected "Tourism as India’s Soft Power" - aiming to position tourism as a cornerstone of economic growth and employment generation.

Infrastructure Status & Concurrent List

• Tourism stakeholders urged the Government of India to include tourism in the concurrent list and provide industry status to avail the benefits associated with it.
• The infrastructure status of the tourism sector could also benefit from credit at cost-effective rates with longer repayment periods, and rationalized development norms across states (such as FSI), resulting in ease of doing business, simplifying clearances and making them time-bound.
• State governments could visualize the potential of tourism, in terms of creating employment and overall contribution to the economy. Support here could mean providing industry status to the tourism industry.

Economic Impact & Employment

• Being one of the largest employment-generating sectors, tourism contributes to regional development, infrastructure development, and other areas of the economy. It also facilitates a multiplier effect on several fronts.

New Destinations & Marketing Strategies

• There is a need to identify new tourism destinations in India and work towards making the country a popular tourism destination.
• There is a need for innovative marketing strategies to promote and showcase India as among the top travel destinations in the world. Domestic Tourism
• Domestic tourism has also made significant contributions to the Indian travel & tourism industry. Keeping that in mind we must acknowledge the contributions made over the years.

Inbound Tourism

• There is a need to focus on improving inbound tourism to India, as it will generate a high level of revenue and foreign exchange.
  • Inbound tourism is just as important as domestic tourism to generate revenue, aid sustainability, and support the development of our hospitality sector.

Connectivity Improvements

• While there have been substantial improvements in air and road connectivity, further improvements could be considered to support and boost travel and tourism in the country. This includes infrastructure focus in last-mile connectivity.

Supply and Demand in Tourism

• Keeping in mind our developing economy, rising incomes, and growing aspirations, there is a need to address supply shortages to meet demand in the tourism sector.
• Despite challenges faced in keeping up with tourist demand there is a further need to leverage supply to take advantage of newer opportunities in the sector - primarily through widening the base of hotels, resorts, and tourist infrastructure.

Policy Review & MICE Tourism

• Discussions also included the review of current policies such as CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) and other related tourism policies.
• Improving MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) tourism, leveraging world-class facilities like Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam.

National Tourism Council

• Forming an independent national tourism council for the tourism & hospitality industry in India (similar to the GST Council).
• Reviewing the current GST applicable to the tourism sector to enable discussions on lower GST rates. This is against a backdrop of higher rates in India than in other countries.

Spiritual and Niche Tourism

• Giving spiritual tourism in the country the much-needed support for growth, visibility, and tourist footfalls.
• Niche tourism is important for the overall development of tourism in the country, and this is another area that needs the leverage of support and promotion.

Skill Development

• Focusing on developing specialized skills in areas such as digital marketing, sustainable tourism, and customer service.
• Addressing skill shortages and implementing training programs to build a competent workforce.

(Some sections of this report have been quoted from CII Media Releases published online.)

Missed the event?
Watch this video on the CII Annual Tourism Summit 2024

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