Heritage tourism is a niche element of the overall tourism spectrum. It is meant to gain an appreciation of the past or something we have got in legacy. It is one of the oldest forms of travel, and involves heritages of all kinds – colonial heritage, urban renewal, religious tourism, genealogy, industrial heritage, and ethnicity. Thus a visit to Cellular Jail in Port Blair, or to Haldighati and Ellora Caves constitute heritage tourism in the Indian context.
More than five million foreigners visited India in 2007, and out of these, at least, three million visited heritage sites in India. Number of domestic tourists outnumbered foreign travelers by more than 60 times in 2007. The share of cultural heritage tourism in the overall tourism figures in India, be it domestic or foreign travelers, is over 60 percent, according to various estimates.
Heritage tourism is difficult to segregate from other elements of tourism. Tourists interested in other areas, like adventure, religion and leisure also visit different Indian heritage sites; with monuments like Taj Mahal, Humayun’s Tomb, Red Fort, Sarnath, Kaziranja, Tirupati, Varanasi, Rameshwaram, and Ajanta being quite popular. UNESCO has identified 27 heritage sites in India as world heritage, and has collaborated with state government authorities to develop several themed itineraries, like linking Buddhist holy places, legends of Shiva, yoga, and ayurvedic healing.
India needs quite a lot of effort and professional touch to keep its heritage sites intact. While government authorities have been mainly responsible for this, heritage management in India has started seeing the participation of big players like Tata, Oberoi, Indian Oil Corporation, and others, on the lines of European countries and the US. Heritage hotels, another color in the spectrum of heritage tourism, are quite popular among tourists, with celebrities like Amitabh Bachchhan and Richard Gere also voicing their preference for them. Barring most of major hotel players like Taj, Oberoi, and ITC, there are several heritage hotels owned by the descendants of former rulers and aristocrats.
Not everything is, however, honky dory in the field of heritage tourism. Services at heritage sites are nowhere compared to those at similar sites in countries like Italy, UK, China and Spain. Foreign tourists often feel cheated as they pay several times more entrance fees compared to Indians. They often feel disappointed by the shabby treatment they receive at the hands of the vendors, whose only agenda seems to be to extract the maximum possible money from the tourists. Tourists are also miffed at the lower levels of services offered by several heritage hotels, tour operators, transporters and others.
| Travel Industry – Important Statistics |
| - According to the World Tour and Travel Council, India ranks number one in long term growth. |
| - Ministry of Tourism expects 10 million foreign tourists and 500 million domestic tourists in 2010 |
| - This will create 15 million additional jobs by 2010. The contribution of the Travel & Tourism economy to employment is expected to rise from 30.5 million jobs in 2008, 6.4% of total employment or one in every 15.6 jobs to 39,6 million jobs, 7.2% of total employment or one in every 13.8 jobs by 2018. |
| - Real GDP growth for Travel & Tourism economy is expected to average 7.6 percent per annum over the next ten years |
| - Export earnings from international visitors and tourism goods will grow (nominal terms) to Rs 2,750.2 bn or US$51.6 bn (4.4% of total) in 2018 |
| - The contribution of Travel & Tourism to Gross Domestic Product is expected to stay the same at 6.1% (INR 2,859.9 bn or US$73.6 bn) in 2008 to 6.1% (Rs 9,141.1 bn or US$171.5 bn) by 2018. |
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