India, as a country that could be a mecca for tourists and tourists from all over the world, should be pilling up in our country. But as records show and even it is very evident that tourists have been shying away from visiting India. Indian Government has failed to market India as a tourism hub in spite of the fact that it has wonderful places like the Taj Mahal.
Well, there are a ton of contributing factors for this and I am going to talk about it.
India has an image problem
It is considered a 3rd world country among most foreigners. Foreigners don’t feel India safe when it comes to health and personal safety due to some incidents highlighted by the media. The Indian government hasn’t taken any real steps to improve the country’s image in a way that would attract foreign visitors. We as a country have to contribute towards making India a go-to destination for tourists all over the world.
People creating issues for foreigner
Let’s be honest, Indians are not the most welcoming people when it comes to foreigners. Tourists often find themselves in uncomfortable situations on various occasions. If we Indians see any foreign wearing bikini on beaches, we lose it. We stare at those ladies like they are criminals or angels from heaven.
One way or another we endup making them uncomfortable often. This is just one example, you can find tons of those here. We need to learn to create a more hospitable and comfortable environment for foreigners. If they will feel safe and comfortable then they would visit India for sure.
India is too Crowded
Normally people want to go to places where they can chill out and relax but when you have millions of people at every popular destination, it’s hard to chill out. People go on vacation to get out of their busy urban life where there are chasing things one after another not to find themselves lost among the crowd.
Speaking from personal experience, I always try to avoid a rush whenever I plan any trip. I will either opt for a less crowded place or I will plan my trip in the off-season so there will be fewer people. India needs to control its exploding population.
Improper maintenance of historical heritage
We often brag about our cultural and historical heritage but how many of us actually try to maintain them. Most of the famous historical heritages are on the verge of collapse. You can see Khajuraho, a place that has been very popular for its historical temples and sculptures. It’s our cultural heritage and it is very poorly maintained. We have a lot of great forts and temples that are in ruins.
Take Kalinjar fort and Sun temple mahoba for example, these places are in complete ruins due to ignorance from people and government.
Biased pricing
The Indian government and people don’t put enough effort to attract foreigners to visit India. India charges foreigners triple the amount at most heritage sites. When you go to Taj maha, the main tourist destination, Indians pay 500 RS for the visit while foreigners are made to pay 1500 RS. Imagine yourself visiting destiny world and paying triple the amount the locals pay and then tell me how you feel.
Health risk
Our 7 cities come in the top 10 when it comes to air pollution. Water is polluted with a high quantity of chemicals and dangerous tropical parasites. I have met many foreigners that have conveyed the health risk issue and I can understand that. A foreigner that is mostly paranoid wants to avoid possible health risks.
Looting mindset
You go to any place and see these Auto-walls and all-pulling stunts to get the most out of tourists. Who would like to go to a place where everyone is trying to loot them. I understand that it happens in other countries too but we do too much in India. When you come out of Agra railway station, you see Auto walls rushing at you like bees. It’s a horrible experience. Local’s cheating foreigner’ mindsets are pushing India back when it comes to tourism. We have forgotten our ancient saying.
Atithi Devo Bhava
We are embarrassed by our own real culture
Most people are feeling embarrassed by images of men and women making love in different positions and ways in the wall of temples. Instead of feeling embarrassed, we need to embrace it and feel proud of our broad culture. Most people don’t actually understand their own culture. The definition of culture is hugely misrepresented by politicians or by the so-called ambassadors of religions.
The same thing goes for our great book, Kamasutra, an ancient manual of lovemaking, written by our gurus. Our culture was much more open-minded and we are too afraid to accept that or even to acknowledge that.
Dirty beaches
People love to go to places with clean beaches and Indian beaches are poorly maintained. I have been to most Indian beaches and except few beaches in Goa and Pondicherry, most of them are in the worst condition. We need to work towards making beaches clean and safe for everyone. We have got some nice beaches in Andman but that is not enough. If we want to pull a large number of tourists to our country, we need to clean up our beaches.
Its not that cheap
India is not the cheapest tourist destination. flights connecting India to most countries are expensive. Normal hotels are in bad condition so tourists have to stay at 5-star hotels and they cost hell a lot.
Conclusion:
Most foreigners come to India for spirituality and to see the great Taj Mahal. I wish India had put effort to encourage more visitors from different countries. It’s not just the responsibility of the government, it’s for the people of India to understand it and put effort so more tourists can visit and we can generate some revenue from it that will benefit India.
India got a lot to offer and it’s not all bad. There are some great places to visit and all Indians are not bad at treating foreigners. I have just pointed out things that could improve in order to attract more people to visit India. This answer is not written in intention to defame my own country.
To make things better, we need to acknowledge things that are not right in the first place and that’s exactly what this answer is all about.
