Tourism industry with its multiplier effect in the economy has the same potential as other key sectors such as agriculture, real estate, infrastructure and textile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he addressed the seventh post budget webinar which was based on the theme–‘Developing Tourism in Mission Mode’.

Modi said that tourism cannot be just associated with high income group people and that people with limited resources have also resorted to “yatras”.

“Tourism is not a high fancy word representing the rich,” he said, adding that every tourist destination can develop its own revenue model.

“India has a lot to offer to high-spending tourists also,” Modi said.

As many as 50 tourist destinations across the country will be developed, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined in her fifth Union Budget. Every destination would be developed as a complete package, the minister said while presenting the Budget. A push to the tourism sector will have a multiplier effect which will boost consumption while generating jobs.

Boosting multimodal connectivity as part of the PM Gati Shakti plan will also help in promoting tourism, which will not only enhance income levels while enhancing foreign exchange levels. Earlier, the Prime Minister also noted that development of coastal India and the ports will be a game changer.

“Promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode with active participation of states, convergence of government programmes, and public-private-partnerships,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Union Budget this year.

According to the Indian Tourism Statistics 2022 report India recorded 677.63 million domestic tourist visits in 2021. This was an increase of 11.05 per cent. In 2020, the figure was 610.22.

Prior to the Covid pandemic, India’s tourism sector accounted for 39 direct million, which was 8 per cent of the total employment in the country. By 2029, it is expected to account for about 53 million direct jobs.

“Our villages are becoming centres of tourism”, the Prime Minister said as he underlined that remote villages are now coming up on the tourism map due to their improving infrastructure.

Also read: Goa’s gets second airport in big boost to tourism