Lok Sabha Question No. 576 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-06
Subject: Contribution of Tourism Industry in GDP
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: D.K. Suresh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.576 ANSWERED ON 06.02.2023

## CONTRIBUTION OF TOURISM INDUSTRY IN GDP

576. SHRI D.K. SURESH:

MS. MIMI CHAKRABORTY:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) the quantum of contribution of Tourism industry to the GDP of the country during the last three years;
- (b) whether the Government has achieved its target set for the tourism industry and if so, the response of the Government in this regard;
- (c) whether the Tourism Sector has supported 40 million jobs in 2019 which has now dipped to 29 million; and
- (d) if so, the reasons therefor and the proposal of the Government to recover the country's travel and tourism sector?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM                              (SHRI G. KISHAN REDDY)

(a): As per estimation in accordance with 3 rd  Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), the contribution of tourism in GDP for 2018-19, 2019-20 and 202021 is as follows:

|                                |   2018-19 |   2019-20 |   2020-21 |
|--------------------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| Share in tourism in GDP (in %) |      5.02 |      5.19 |      1.06 |

The above estimates are updated using National Account Statistics 2022.

(b):  There  were  10.93  million  Foreign  Tourist  Arrivals  (FTAs)  in  India during pre-pandemic year 2019. Tourism Industry has shown good signs of  revival  after  Covid-19  pandemic.  According  to  latest  information received  from  Bureau  of  Immigration,  India  received  6.19  million Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) during 2022 as compare to 1.52 million during  the  same  period  of  2021.  Further,  Domestic  tourism  is  also witnessing growth in the country. India received 677.63 million

Domestic Tourist Visits (DTVs) in 2021 as compare to 610.22 million in 2020.

The Ministry of Tourism has taken several steps/initiatives to boost tourism  in  the  country  to  attract  foreign  &  domestic  tourists  as  per details given below:

- i.
- 24x7 toll free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline.
- ii. Providing facility of e-Visa for 5 sub-categories i.e. e-Tourist visa, e-Business  visa,  e-Medical  visa,  e-Medical  Attendant  visa  and  eConference visa for nationals of 165 countries.
- iii. E-Visa  has  been  further  liberalized  and  the  visa  fee  has  been substantially reduced.
- iv. Adopt  a  Heritage  Project  for  development  and  maintenance  of tourist  amenities  at  heritage  sites/monuments  and  other  tourist sites.
- v. Development and promotion of 'Niche Tourism' products to attract tourist  with  specific  interest  and  to  ensure  repeat  visits  for  the unique products in which India has a comparative advantage.
- vi. Promoting  India  as  a  holistic  tourism  destination  including  its various tourism sites and products through Ministry's social media handles and website.
- vii. Conducting  Programmes  under  the  'Capacity  Building  for  Service Providers'  (CBSP)  Scheme  to  train  and  up -grade  manpower  to provide better service standards.
- viii. New mountain peaks have been opened for Mountaineering/Trekking to give boost to adventure tourism in the country.
- ix. Lowering  of GST  on  hotels rooms  with  tariffs of ₹ 1,001 to ₹ 7,500/night to 12%, those above ₹ 7,501 to 18% to increase India's competitiveness as a tourism destination.
- x. On  the  recommendation  of  the  Ministry  of  Tourism,  59  tourism routes have been awarded to the identified airlines by the Ministry of Civil Aviation under the RCS UDAN Scheme, for which Ministry of Tourism  extends  financial  support  in  form  of  VGF  (Viability  Gap Funding). 51 of these routes have been operationalized till date.
- (c)  &  (d):  As  per  estimation  in  accordance  with  3 rd   Tourism  Satellite Account  (TSA)  and  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS),  there  were 69.44  million  jobs  in  tourism  sector  during  2019-20.  The  year  2020-21 was affected by Covid-19 pandemic. During 2020-21, the number of jobs in tourism sector were 68.07 million.

To recover from the hardship arose due to the covid-19 pandemic, Ministry  of  Tourism  is  running  the  "Loan  Guarantee  Scheme  for  Covid Affected Tourism Service Sector (LGSCATSS)", under which, loan upto Rs.10.00 lakh is extended to each Tour Operators/Travel Agents/Tourist Transport  Operators  approved/  recognized  by  the  Ministry  of  Tourism, upto Rs.1.00 lakh is extended to each Regional Tourist Guide/Incredible India Tourist Guide approved/recognized by the Ministry of Tourism and Tourist Guides approved/recognized by the State Govt./UT Administration.

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