As many as 50 tourist destinations across the country will be developed as a “complete package”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman outlined in her fifth Union Budget. Every destination would be developed as a complete package, the minister said while presenting the Budget. A push to the tourism sector will have a multiplier effect while generating jobs.

The focus of development of tourism would be on domestic as well as foreign tourists.

“There is a large potential to be tapped in tourism. The sector holds huge opportunities for jobs and entrepreneurship, for the youth in particular,” she said.

Data shows that in 2020, the travel and tourism sector in the country provided employment to about 80 million people accounting for about 15.3 per cent of jobs overall. About 10 million people lost their jobs or were forced to go on leave without pay after the Covid 19 induced restrictions were imposed.

The tourism sector however has shown a rapid recovery in the post Covid phase. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in August 2022 were 498,243 with a positive growth rate of 437.3% as compared to 92,728 in August 2021, the India Brand Equity Foundation revealed.

In 2019, India earned $ 3.1 billion in foreign exchange from the period January to December and received more than 10 million tourists.

“Promotion of tourism will be taken up on mission mode with active participation of states, convergence of government programmes, and public-private-partnerships,” Sitharaman said.