Szanse i ograniczenia rozwoju turystyki w Indiach

Abstract

Although India is, first of all, an agricultural country, tourism plays a significant role in its economy. In 2007 Indian tourist market gathered 0.56% of all international trips of the world. A number of foreign arrivals reached then 5.08 million placing India on 42nd position in the world ranking. Taking into consideration countries of Asia and the Pacific Rim the trips to India constituted 2.76% of arrivals in total. The increase in tourism generated income which in 2007 amounted to USD10,729 billion (India Tourism Statistics, 2007) signifies tourism development in India and its popularity among citizens of other countries. According to forecast of UNWTO the number of tourists in 2020 will reach 7% of our globe inhabitants, and their expenses are estimated at USD2 billion. As announced by the World Tourism Organisation (2009) a global condition of economy will have an significant impact on tourism development worldwide, and among these countries whose progress will have a beneficial effect on tourism India is mentioned as well. UNWTO prognosis for 2020 assumes a beneficial influence of transport development on upturn in tourism sector. As announced by India Bureau of Immigration (2008) in 2007 around 88.4% of all international tourists came by air, 11% arrived by land, and merely 0.6% by sea. The highest number of foreign arrivals in 2007 was registered at Delhi airport (31.4%) and Mumbai (23.8%). Introducing more numerous and direct flights will enable tourism development of these places which have not been easily accessible so far. The best example may be Calcutta, very attractive for tourists yet due to its low number of direct flights often passed over in offers of travel agencies. The biggest seaports in India are Mumbai, Calcutta and Madras. The most important means of communication is railway. The densest railway network can be found in the Ganges Valley and along the seaside. The least developed railway network is in Kashmir and in Dekan Upland. Road communication leaves a lot to be desired as only 1/3 of the total mileage of roads is paved. As forecast by W. Bartoszewicz and K. Łopaciński (2000) and UNWTO, intensifying urbanization processes, first of all in developing countries, will also have an impact on tourism development. According to data published by the Indian Tourist Board in 2007 accommodation base is still modest. A number of rooms in 2007 amounted to 83 thousand and differed from state to state. The highest number of rooms was recorded in Maharashtra state (approx. 16 thousand) which constitutes 20% of all accommodation available in India. Other states with a high numbers of rooms are: Tamil Nadu (approx. 10 thousand), Delhi and Kerala (approx. 9 thousand), Andhra Pradesh (approx. 6 thousand) and Rajasthan (approx. 5 thousand). In bigger towns and tourist resorts there are hotels at European standards, and also hotels classified as luxury. Three-star hotels (597) constituting 50% of all classified hotels were most frequent. One-star hotels were least numerous (53) and de lux hotels amounted to 93 (Pawłowski 2008). However, the main hindrance to tourism development is terrorism. Although India does not belong to the most dangerous countries of the world , in rankings it is often considered as the country hazardous to foreigners. The main reason of placing India on this list were terrorist attacks directed at tourists ,first of all, in hotels and various means of transport. Threat of attacks is high not only in boarding Pakistan and Bangladesh areas but even in central India. As many as 58% of respondents have stated that the risk of terrorist attacks brings about less enthusiasm of spending their holidays in Asia. About 35% of those polled give up on the trip to Asia because of threat of tsunami. However, it seems interesting that only a year after the tsunami which took place in 2004 beside those tourists who were scared of travelling to India, there were such tourists who wanted to take advantage of the situation and bought trips at much lower price. The image of India as seen by would-be and real tourists influences the tourism development. Research conducted by M. Chaudhary (2000) allows to notice disadvantages of India which are most disturbing for foreign tourists. A limited availability of night life and lower than expected hygiene level were disappointing. However, the source of nice surprise for tourists was lower than predicted problem of thefts and higher that expected standards of service provided by local tour guides. What is one of the biggest attractions of India i.e. multicultural aspect and unusual sacred assets at the same time is the main source of unrest and lack of stability which are disadvantageous to tourism. Yet, it should be remembered that both advantages and disadvantages create a unique picture of this country.