Safety and Infrastructure, Among the Key Issues for the Sump in International Tourists in India

Some of the top concerns of international tourists planning to visit India are women’s safety, poor infrastructure.
In a recent BBC World News India Travel Study, about 66 % of the total 441 respondents, showed concerns about the sanitation, safety and security in the nation. Another 33% of the tourists complained about the infrastructure in the country.

The survey reveals, “Tourists who have not visited India, have very less knowledge about the country apart from the Taj Mahal and have an impression of a noisy, polluted and poor country. They have doubts regarding infrastructure, sanitation and safety especially for women.”

The reports stated that the internet is a chief source of information for travellers planning a trip to India. Even when most of the state tourism boards have improved both the frequency of endorsements and marketing budgets in the recent few years, the international tourists are yet to be influenced by these ads.

About 85 per cent of the respondents said that they had not seen any advertisements by an Indian state tourism board. A minor 15 per cent said they have come across and even got influenced by advertisements for Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Goa, Karnataka or Maharashtra.

Some state campaigns, like that of Vibrant Gujarat, do not seem to be influencing the travellers. In spite of being a major investment destination, Gujarat is very less brand value among the tourists.

“Even as Gujarat ranks high as an investment destination, it is yet to be acknowledged as destination for international travellers. This may be due to fact that Gujarat is a dry state. Only 1 % of the respondents have come across the ads of the state. Even after having good infrastructure and transport facilities, the state is yet to endorse destinations such as the Rann of Kutch, Gir Forest and Gandhi Ashram,” the survey said.

On the other hand, states like Goa, has the highest recall value among international travellers and Kerala too has gradually gained a good brand recall. While the North-East region of the country has not been able to show its potential due to the lack of infrastructure facilities, the survey said.

Another important aspect is that female international travellers have shown concerns about their safety in India due to the recent crimes against women in the country, which has resulted in the slump of inbound tourism.

According to the ministry of tourism data, foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) from January to September 2013 were 47.41 lakh with a growth of 3.8 per cent, as compared to FTAs of 45.67 lakh with a growth of 5.2 per cent during January to September 2012 over the corresponding period of 2011. The FTAs in India during 2012 were 66.48 lakh registering a growth of 5.4 per cent.