Prospects and problems of tourism in india

The tourism ministry has proposed to create a ‘Land Bank’ by acquiring land for building hotels in public-private partnership on a built, operate and transfer basis. The Railways has also decided to utilize its land inventory for hotels. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation is planning to set up 100 budget hotels across the country. With a view to encouraging high-end tourism in the country, the government has identified five parts for developing as cruise tourism hubs. The ports identified are Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore and Kochi on the west coastline, and Tuticorin on the east coastline. The tourism ministry would also extend assistance for procurement of cruise vessels or boats for promotion of this new tourism initiative. The government is contemplating creating a tourism infrastructure fund with a corpus of $1-3 billion. It is expected to be financed by way of loans from multilateral institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL & FS) is advising the government on the concept plan. The entry of low-cost airlines has provided a fillip to the tourism industry. However, India’s tourism industry must concentrate on encouraging Indian citizens to holiday within the country too