The promotion of Rajasthan as a heritage tourist destination

1. Introduction

In order to accomplish the aims and objectives, this piece of work focused on the promotion of Rajasthan as a heritage tourist destination in the world. The vital idea behind the selection of this topic is to discuss the importance of heritage tourism.

Tourism plays an important role in the socio-economic development of any country. It is also one of the major sources to earn foreign exchange, and generating employment for urban as well as rural public. This chapter have 6 parts. Background of the study

1. Background to the study:

Tourism industry in India is on a great boom at the moment. India has a great potential to be a major tourist destination in the world. It’s the second highest foreign exchange earning industry and government gave travel and tourism industry an export status. Indian tour and travel industry is one of the most profitable industries in the country. During the year 2006, four million tourists visited India and spent US$8.9 billion (Economy watch, 2006).

The buoyancy in the Indian tourism industry can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, the tremendous growth in the Indian economy, because of that the disposable income of the middle-class increased to expend on their recreation. Secondly, the IT sector in the country by which India famous as an IT hub in the world. Which attract people globally for business trips. Thirdly, the aggressive advertising campaign “Incredible India” by the tourism ministry of India also changes the image of India worldwide. Tourism industry also provides employment to millions of people directly and indirectly in the country. Which help the society and solve the big issues of unemployment in the country. Estimates of 20 million people are directly employed by this sector in the country currently. According to the above lines Rajasthan the north-west state of India is very popular among the national and international visitors. The royally palaces and forts, endless golden desert, hardworking and colourful people make the state more exciting to visit.

Besides all this, Probably India is the only country which offers various categories of tourism. These include history tourism, adventure tourism, medical (Ayurvade and other) tourism, eco tourism, culture tourism, rural tourism, religious/pilgrimage tourism, spiritual tourism and beach tourism etc (I love India, 2007)

2. Justification of the study:

Heritage tourism is now big business. In economic and entrepreneurial terms, it is one of the major success stories of recent years. At a time of declining Industrial activity and rising unemployment in any society, heritage tourism has provided an alternative form of enterprise, creating jobs and generating wealth for local economies (Herbert, 1995).

Tourism in India has the potential to do wonder in this upcoming industry of profit as well as fun. Rajasthan the largest state, and one of the most eminent tourist destinations, which is famous for its pictureqous natural beauty and wonderful construction. Rajasthan are usual attractions for first time visitors (Mintel, 2008).

The outlook for travel industry in India looks extremely bright. “Conde Nast” rank India 6th amongst the top 10 tourist destination in the annual “Reader’s Award” in 2004, which was 9th a year before. The magazine ranked Raj Vilas, in Jaipur (Rajasthan) as 3rd in the overseas leisure hotel category for Asia (Business Standard, 2004). The JBIC (Japan Bank of International Cooperation) rank her 5th most attractive investment destination.

The report “Indian Tourism Industry Analysis” provides an insight into the Indian tourism market. According to the report, India is one of the most potential tourism markets in the world. India expected to see 10million international tourist by 2010, which was 5million in 2007. Andhra Pradesh, Utter Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan are the leading tourist destinations in the country (Bharat Book Bureau, 2004)

3. Aims and Objectives:

To critically assess the opportunities to promote Rajasthan as a heritage tourist destination

Objectives