Tourism in India

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Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, Every year more than three million tourists visit it.

City Palace in Udaipur (also known as the Venice of the East).

The Howrah Bridge in Kolkatailluminated.

The tourism industry of India is economically important and grows rapidly. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated INR6.4 trillion or 6.6% of the nation's GDP in 2012. It supported 39.5 million jobs, 7.7% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% from 2013 to 2023.^[1] This gives India the third rank among countries with the fastest growing tourism industries over the next decade.^[2] India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about ₹ 95 billion by 2015.

According to provisional statistics 6.29 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011, an increase of 8.9% from 5.78 million in 2010. This ranks India as the 38th country in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territoriesnumbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011.^[3] The most represented countries are the United States (16%) and the United Kingdom (12.6%). In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists. Domestic tourists visited the states Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu most frequently.^[4] Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 41 by the number of foreign tourists, while Delhi is ranked at 50, Mumbai at 57 and Agra at 65 and Kolkata at 99.^[5]

The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013 ranks India 65th out of 144 countries overall. The report ranks the price competitiveness of India's tourism sector 20th out of 144 countries. It mentions that India has quite good air transport (ranked 39th), particularly given the country’s stage of development, and reasonable ground transport infrastructure (ranked 42nd). Some other aspects of its tourism infrastructure remain somewhat underdeveloped however. The nation has very few hotel rooms per capita by international comparison and low ATM penetration.^[6] The World Tourism Organization reported that India's receipts from tourism during 2012 ranked 16th in the world, and 7th among Asian and Pacific countries.^[7]

The Ministry of Tourism designs national policies for the development and promotion of tourism. In the process, the Ministry consults and collaborates with other stakeholders in the sector including various Central Ministries/agencies, state governments, Union Territories and the representatives of the private sector. Concerted efforts are being made to promote new forms of tourism such as rural, cruise, medical and eco-tourism.^[8] The Ministry also maintains the Incredible India campaign.

India's rich history and its cultural and geographical diversity make its international tourism appeal large and diverse. It presents heritage and cultural tourism along with medical, business, educational and sports tourism.

Contents

• 1 Tourism by state
  • 1.1 Andhra Pradesh
  • 1.2 Arunachal Pradesh
  • 1.3 Assam
  • 1.4 Bihar
  • 1.5 Chhattisgarh
  • 1.6 Delhi
  • 1.7 Goa
  • 1.8 Gujarat
  • 1.9 Haryana
  • 1.10 Himachal Pradesh
  • 1.11 Jammu and Kashmir
  • 1.12 Karnataka
  • 1.13 Kerala
  • 1.14 Madhya Pradesh
  • 1.15 Maharashtra
  • 1.16 Manipur
  • 1.17 Meghalaya
  • 1.18 Mizoram
  • 1.19 Odisha
  • 1.20 Pondicherry
  • 1.21 Punjab
  • 1.22 Rajasthan
  • 1.23 Sikkim
  • 1.24 Tamil Nadu
  • 1.25 Telangana
  • 1.26 Tripura
  • 1.27 Uttarakhand
  • 1.28 Uttar Pradesh
  • 1.29 West Bengal
• 2 Top 10 States of India in Tourism
• 3 Historic monuments
• 4 Nature tourism
  • 4.1 Wildlife in India
  • 4.2 Hill stations
  • 4.3 Lakes
  • 4.4 Beaches
  • 4.5 Adventure tourism
• 5 World Heritage Sites
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading
• 9 See also
• 10 External links

Tourism by state[edit]

Andhra Pradesh[edit]

Main article: Tourism in Andhra Pradesh

Amaravati Stupa, an important Buddhist site in South India, the antiquity of Amaravati dates back to 500 BCE. The stupa was then adorned with limestone reliefs and free standing Buddha figures

A View of Tirumala Venkateswara Temple

Srikalahasti Temple

Rushikonda beach, Visakhapatnam

Rock-cut Buddha Statue at Bojjanakonda, Visakhapatnam district

Ethipothala Water Falls

Palmyra palm trees barrier islands of Pulicat Lake, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh

Belum Caves, Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

Araku Valley, Eastern Ghats, Visakhapatnam

The state of Andhra Pradesh comprises like scenic hills, forests, beaches and temples. Also known as The City of Pearls, Hyderabad is today one of the most developed cities in the country and a modern hub of information technology, ITES, and biotechnology. Hyderabad is known for its rich history, culture and architecture representing its unique character as a meeting point for North and South India, and also its multilingual culture,

Andhra Pradesh is the home of many religious pilgrim centres:

• Tirupati, the abode of Lord Venkateswara, is the second richest and most visited religious centre (of any faith) in the world.Srisailam, the abode of Sri Mallikarjuna, is one of twelve Jyothiralingas in India. Amaravathi's Siva temple is one of the Pancharamams, Vemulavada temple, one of the old abodes of Lord Shiva, reputed as Dakshina Kashi – Benaras of South India.
• Kanaka Durga Temple of goddess Durga is situated on the Indrakeeladri Hill in the city of Vijayawada on the banks of Krishna River. A large number of pilgrims attend the colourful celebrations of Tepotsavam and for holy dip in the Krishna river during the festival ofDusshera.^[9]

• Mallikarjuna Swamy temple situated at Srisailam in the Nallamala Hills of Kurnool district,^[10] is the abode of lord Mallikarjuna Shiva and is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines in India. Lord Rama himself installed the Sahasralinga, while the Pandavas lodged thePanchapandava lingas in the temple courtyard. The Vijayanagara Empire built number of monuments, including the Srisailam andLepakshi temples.

• The five ancient Hindu temples of Lord Shiva, known as Pancharama Kshetras, are located at - Amararama, Draksharama, Somarama,Ksheerarama and Kumararama. Other religious places include, Srikalahasti temple in Chittoor district, Raghavendra Swami Mutt inMantralayam of Kurnool district, Lord Venkateswara temple in Dwaraka Tirumala of West Godavari District, Annavaram temple in East Godavari and Arasavalli Surya temple in Srikakulam District etc., are also religious places for divine worships in the state.