The government needs to clear the decks of legacy problems plaguing the tourism industry if its intention is to stay true as a global tourist destination going forward
Tourism is the surefire route to ensure employment and earnings, as attested by a recent study by the World Bank, which estimates that it generates 10 percent of global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and bolsters one in 10 jobs globally. As such, emerging economies such as India, aspiring to become a developed nation in the foreseeable future, need to give primacy to policy initiatives for developing tourism.
Stating that over the past decade the World Bank Group has marshalled over $10 billion to support tourism development across 80 countries, the just-published Bank report scans what works and what does not in the design of tourism projects. Among the six key ingredients that help tourism projects deliver real development impact on the ground, it catalogues assessing tourism demand, building strong tourism governance and coordination, and unlocking the potential of tourism Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), followed by investing strategically in tourism infrastructure, paying focused attention to tourism that restores, not destroys, and tracking what matters and partaking of the results.
Against this reality check, the 2025–26 Union Budget audaciously claims that tourism for employment growth in a labour-surplus country like ours would be gainfully tapped by developing the top 50 destination sites in the country in partnership with States through “a challenge mode”. The proviso for enlisting State cooperation on this score meant that “land for building key infrastructure will have to be provided by States”, with hotels in those destinations included in the infrastructure HML (Harmonised Master List). Alongside, it has also proposed a penta package for enabling employment-led growth that covers organising intensive skill development programmes for youths, including in Institutes of Hotel Management, providing loans for homestays, improving ease of travel and connectivity to tourist destinations, providing performance-related incentives to States for deft destination management including tourist amenities, cleanliness and marketing efforts, and introducing streamlined e-visa facilities along with visa-fee waivers for certain groups.
Even as these are salutary steps, the wholesome involvement of States is crucial, besides putting in place a friction-free land-use policy that has always been fractious. Given the desirable desiderata across the various States within the country for the development of tourism on these contemplated lines, the ground realities remain far from satisfactory, not to speak of the stray incidents of physical violence against tourists that diminish the desire of other tourists to make a foray into our hoary land.
For India, keen on leveraging its ancient heritage and modern achievements in multiple fields via tourism, the road ahead is hard and challenging unless the stakeholders in the federal system gird up their loins for glory. This is testified by how other Asian minnows such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand have scaled phenomenal progress in making abundant use of tourism to claim the veritable hotspots badge of the hospitality
industry. At a recent event organised in the national capital, Malaysia
tourism officials demonstrated how “Malaysia is truly Asia”, even as it
attracts all kinds of tourists from across the globe.
Officials of Tourism Malaysia (TM) contended that with more than 240 weekly flights operating between India and Malaysia, along with visa-free entry for Indian tourists who thronged in strong numbers of over 1.6 million last year, Malaysia recorded 42.2 million global visitors in 2025, a hefty 14.2 percent growth over 2024. Chairman of Tourism Malaysia Manoharan Periasamy said that amidst the slogan “Visit Malaysia 2026”, “we are intensifying collaborations with our Indian partners to drive sustainable and high-yield tourism growth”. In fact, officials of TM said that by way of Indian diaspora and Cultural Roots tourism, Malaysia is continuously enhancing air connectivity, strengthening collaborations with cultural and travel trade partners, and carrying out targeted promotional initiatives — especially in key South Indian markets — to foster closer people-to-people ties and encourage heritage-based travel between the two countries. In the 2026 budget, the Malaysian government allocated over RM (Malaysian Ringgit) to boost the tourism sector. Contrast this with the Rs 35 million India’s 2026 budget has set apart, focusing on infrastructure development, thematic circuits and sustainability. This allocation for global tourism marketing is a low measure compared to the massive ambition of the authorities.
Explaining how this budgetary spending is focused, officials said it covers, among others, global marketing campaigns, participation in global travel marts, digital promotions and branding initiatives, and strategic partnerships under various matching grants with airlines and tour operators. This is a critical area for adaptation by the Union Ministry of Tourism both at the Centre and in the States if the objective is to get more tourists to visit India. The list includes investment by the government separately in infrastructure development, airport modernisation, eco-tourism facilities and hospitality training — the last three areas where India needs to focus firmly and unflinchingly.
Alongside, TM officials maintain that India is one of Malaysia’s key source markets with sturdy growth potential, sustained by leisure, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions), educational tourism and VFR (visiting friends and relatives) travel segments. Given the gaps in funding and fostering tourist hotspots across India, the government needs to clear the decks of legacy problems plaguing the tourism industry if its intention is to stay true as a global tourist destination going forward.
(G Srinivasan is a senior economic journalist based in New Delhi)
