Does the Indian mindset really perceive tourism as a hard-core economic activity?
Unfortunately not. Most people think that gems and jewellery are the highest foreign exchange earner for the country. While this is technically correct, the fact remains that the largest net foreign exchange earner is tourism. In case of gems and jewellery, out of every 100 dollars earned, 90 dollars go out towards import of gold, precious stones etc. Whereas in tourism, out of every 100 dollars that we earn, 90 remainwithin the country. Tourism is also the largest employment generator in the world. One out of every nine new jobs that are created, are created in this industry. In the next 10 years, we can create another 100 million jobs if we really use tourism as an instrument for economic change… India is the greatest show on planet earth. But we have not been able to exploit our tourism potential. Thailand, China and many other countries started much after us but have raced far ahead. • So what should be done to give Indian tourism its due? IATO supported the Explore India Millenn
