As we all know, during COVID, travelling was limited and almost impossible. In India, this is particularly reflected in the tourism sector which produced around 100 million jobs in 2019. Now, all that is changing, and India is becoming a go-to country for tourists and investors.
India has always been an attractive destination for travellers. It’s due to its history, nature, contrast between heritage and modernity and so much more. But because of COVID, the industry suffered immensely and it’s only now showing significant signs of improvement. Though the influx of tourists from outside of India is nowhere near pre-COVID standards, domestic tourism is flourishing. Now, people are trying to make up for the time they couldn’t travel because of restrictions and their destination is India. They appreciate and are trying to explore their own country and make up for the time lost. As the BBC put it, “Indians are now travelling with a vengeance”.
Must Read: Top 10 Best Club Mahindra Beach & River Side Resorts in India
Another reason why India is so popular is its growing economy. In July 2022, KPMG and HSBC released a study about emerging giants in the Asia Pacific. They have included 6,472 start-ups with a focus on technology, counting values up to $500million. This encompassed 12 key markets: Mainland China, India, Japan, Australia, Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong (SAR), Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Thailand. According to data, they identified that 30.1% of companies originate from India.
Among them, some big names popped up on the list:
– BrightChamps and Teachmint – e-learning companies
– fintech JusPay, MSwipe, Niyo and Airtel Payments Bank
– Interglobe Technology Quotient – offers reservations for the hospitality and travel sector
– Ki Mobility Solutions – online automobile retailer
– Ixigo – travel app
– WinZo – online gaming platform
Must Read: Top 13 Best Places to Visit in India in 2022 by Expertateverything
There were also predictions that India will rise as the strongest economy with a 7% growth rate in FY23. However, the numbers have slightly changed recently as the IMF cut the growth rate prognosis for FY 2022 – 2023 to 6.8%. The World Bank has also lowered its forecast from 7.5% to 6.5% for this period.
It seems that even if it’s a big target for foreign investments, India still has work to do. This primely relates to the further development of infrastructure and reforms. The reason why this is necessary is to make the country more attractive to investors. To achieve set goals and expand the economy, more reforms have to be enacted.
In some sectors, there are more challenges than in others. For example, real estate, the utility and the industrial sector are difficult to invest in due to institutional instability and lacking infrastructure. Rising sectors face other difficulties. As one of the industries that boomed during pandemics, online gaming is facing many obstacles. These problems are occurring in the absence of a proper regulatory body which would supervise the activities. There have been attempts by government members to amend this, but nothing concrete so far. To keep the companies inside the country, allowing them to attract investments, some progressive steps by the government are a must.
Progressive steps are needed in tourism as well since little has been done to promote India to the world. Domestic tourism has been doing great, but still, it hasn’t been sufficient compared to pre-COVID numbers. Experts believe that a marketing strategy is necessary to set things on the right track. And to attract 60 million people that used to visit China but aren’t anymore.
