Day 82 – Q 2.Do you think India’s wellness and hospitality industry holds immense potential for regional growth? Examine.

2. Do you think India’s wellness and hospitality industry holds immense potential for regional growth? Examine. 

क्या आपको लगता है कि भारत का कल्याण और आतिथ्य उद्योग क्षेत्रीय विकास के लिए अपार संभावनाएं रखता है? जांच करें।

Introduction:

Regional Growth refers to economic activities, especially in remote parts of the country due to local economic activities and employment generation.

The wellness sector has been booming since the past couple of years as alternative therapies and measures are being deduced to shield the people of the country from sickness hazards. The Indian wellness industry was estimated at close to USD13.4 billion in 2014-15 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 12% for the next five years. 

According to WTTC, India ranked third among 185 countries in terms of travel & tourism’s total contribution to GDP in 2018. India was ranked 34th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019 published by the World Economic Forum.

Body

India’s wellness and hospitality industry holds immense potential for regional growth 

The Indian tourism and hospitality industry have emerged as one of the key drivers of growth among the services sector in India.  

• The Indian systems of medicine and homoeopathy particularly Ayurveda and Yoga are widely recognised for their holistic approach to health and capability for meeting emerging health challenges. 
• The demand for Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) and herbal products is surging in India and abroad 
• The country has developed vast AYUSH infrastructure comprising of registered practitioners, dispensaries and hospitals in public sector, undergraduate colleges.
• India is a rich country in terms of biodiversity. Of the 17,000-18,000 species of flowering plants found in India, 7,000+ are estimated to have medicinal usage.
• Around 1100 species of medicinal plans are estimated to be in trade, of which 242 species are annually consumed in excess of 100 metric tons/year.
• India has 15 Agro-climatic zones.
• The medical tourism market in India is expected to grow from US$ 3 bn to US$ 7-8 bn by 2020.
• The Tourism and Hospitality industry in India is one of the largest service industries. The Tourism and hospitality industry in India is an employment generating industry and every $1 Mn invested in tourism creates 78 jobs.
• The World Heritage List has 36 sites inscribed which include 28 cultural, 7 natural and 1 mixed category site. There are 3686 monuments/sites under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India
• The Tourism industry in India is the 3rd largest foreign exchange earner after gems, jewellery and readymade garments.

Conclusion

The Ministry of AYUSH with a separate department for Yoga, which has been exempted from service tax, is another example of government’s efforts. The sector has the potential to generate over 3 million job opportunities. 

Swadesh Darshan launched – 15 theme-based tourist circuits identified, 5 pan-India mega circuits identified, 77 projects worth $880 Mn underway. PRASAD launched – 41 sites in 25 states identified, 24 projects worth $104 Mn underway.