THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM

INDUSTRY

A Project Submitted to
HSNC University, Mumbai for partial
completion of the degree of Third year of
B. Com (Financial Markets)

Under the Faculty of Commerce and Management

By

Kerman Cyrus Darbari

Roll Number - 013

Under the guidance of

Dr. Riya Nathani

Kishinchand Chellaram College

Dinshaw Wacha Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400-020

March 2023
THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON TRAVEL AND TOURISM
INDUSTRY

A Project Submitted to
HSNC University, Mumbai for partial
completion of the degree of Third year of
B. Com (Financial Markets)

Under the Faculty of Commerce and Management

By

Kerman Cyrus Darbari

Roll Number - 013

Under the guidance of

Dr. Riya Nathani

Kishinchand Chellaram College

Dinshaw Wacha Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400-020

March 2023
 DECLARATION

I, the undersigned Mr. Kerman Cyrus Darbari (TYBFM, Roll Number 013)
hereby declare that the work embodied in this project work titled “The Impact of
Covid-19 on the travel and tourism industry”, forms my own contribution to
the research work carried out under the guidance of Dr. Riya Nathani is a result
of my own research work and has not been previously submitted to any other
University for any other Degree/Diploma to this or any other University.
Wherever reference has been made to previous works of others, it has been
clearly indicated as such and included in the bibliography. The learner has
complied to the provisions of the UGC (Promotion of Academic Integrity and
Prevention of Plagiarism in Higher Educational Institution) Regulation, 2018.
I hereby further declare that all information of this document has been obtained
and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct.

Name and Signature of

Kerman Cyrus Darbari

Certified by

Name and Signature of

Dr. Riya Nathani

Kishinchand Chellaram College

Dinshaw Wacha Road, Churchgate, Mumbai 400-020
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This is to certify that Mr. Kerman Cyrus Darbari (TYBFM, Roll Number 013)
has worked and duly completed his Project for the degree of Bachelors in Financial
Markets under the Faculty of Commerce and Management in the subject of
Financial Markets and his project is entitled, “The Impact of Covid-19 on the
travel and tourism industry” under my supervision.
I further certify that the entire work has been done by the learner under my
guidance and that no part of it has been submitted previously for any degree or
diploma of any university. It is his own work and facts reported by his personal
findings and investigations.

Course Coordinator I/c Principal

Dr. Ritika Pathak Dr. Tejashree Shanbag

Project Guide/Internal Examiner

Dr. Riya Nathani

External Examiner

Date of submission: 4th March, 2023

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

To list who all have helped me is difficult because they are so numerous and the
depth is so enormous.
I would like to acknowledge the following as being idealistic channels and fresh
dimensions in the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thanks the HSNC University for giving a chance to do
this project.
I would like to thank my I/c Principal, Dr. Tejashree Shanbhag for providing the
necessary facilities required for the completion of this project.
I take this opportunity to thank our Coordinator Dr. Ritika Pathak, for her moral
support and guidance.
I would also like to express my sincere gratitude towards my project guide Dr.
Riya Nathani whose guidance and care made the project successful.
I would like to thank my College Library, for having provided various reference
books and magazines related to my project.
Lastly I would like to thank each and every person who directly or indirectly
helped me in the completion of the project especially my Parents and Peers who
supported me throughout my project.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

SR.NO TOPIC PAGE

NO.
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 01
2 CHAPTER 1:- INTRODUCTION 02
1.1 History of Travel and Tourism Industry 02
1.2 Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry globally 04
1.3 Impact on the global economy 08
1.4 Contribution towards India’s GDP 17
1.5 Factors affecting growth of the industry 19
3 CHAPTER 2:- TOURISM INDUSTRY IN INDIA 27
2.1 History of Tourism Industry in India 27
2.2 Development of the industry in India 29
2.3 Factors affecting the development of the industry 33
4 CHAPTER 3:- IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE TRAVEL 36
AND TOURISM INDUSTRY
3.1 Impact of Covid-19 on the Tourism Industry worldwide 36
3.2 Impact of Covid-19 on the Tourism Industry in India 42
5 CHAPTER 4:- POLICY REFORMS 45
6 CHAPTER 5:- REVIEW OF LITERATURE 58
7 CHAPTER 6:- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 67
6.1 Objective 67
6.2 Hypothesis 67
6.3 Research Design 67
6.4 Sampling Design 68
6.5 Data Collection 69
6.6 Limitations of the study 70
8 CHAPTER 7:- DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 71
9 CHAPTER 8:- SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 83
10 BIBLIOGRAPHY 85
11 ANNEXURE 88
 Study on impact of Covid-19 on travel and tourism industry

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Tourism provides goods or services to facilitate business, pleasure and leisure activities
away from the home environment. It is one of the fastest growing industry in the world.
Travel agencies provide conveyance, accommodation, and admission to entertainment
activities to individuals and groups scheduling trips. They offer advice on destinations,
plan trip itineraries, and make travel arrangements for clients. They play a crucial role
in the development and flourishment of tourism industry.

A travel agency is a private retailer or public service that provides travel and tourism-
related services to the general public on behalf of accommodation or travel suppliers to
offer different kinds of travelling packages for each destination. Travel agencies can
provide outdoor recreation activities, airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways,
travel insurance, package tours, insurance, guide books, VIP airport lounge access,
arranging logistics for luggage and medical items delivery for travelers upon request,
public transport timetables, car rentals, and bureau de change services.

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CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION

1.1. History of Travel and Tourism Industry:

We can trace the origin of the modern concept of tourism back to the 17th century,
when young nobles from western and northern European countries made what was
called the Grand Tour: a trip around Europe (usually covering France, Germany, Italy
and Greece) with the main purpose of soaking up history, art and cultural heritage. It
was considered a perfect way to be educated.

By the 18th century, this custom was widespread among wealthier classes and it
spread to other parts of the world, such as America. Similarly, religious pilgrimages
that were already popular during the Middle Ages continued during this period.

The Industrial Revolution, which began in the second half of the 18th century,
produced a major economic, social and technological transformation that would
spread to the rest of the world. As a result of these changes, there was an exodus from
rural regions to growing big cities, which needed labor for the new industry.

Therefore, new social classes appeared. Developments in transport were also key. The
improvements in freight and passenger transport contributed to the birth of leisure,
new forms of entertainment and travel. People travelled mainly by train, taking
advantage of the fact that railway networks connected the destinations in Europe and
other parts of the world.

The 19th century saw the creation of the first travel agencies. One of the pioneers was
Thomas Cook & Son, which was the first to offer excursions and holidays for groups,
which included transport, accommodation and food tickets, thus making costs
cheaper. This would be the origin of what we now know as package holidays.

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In the first half of the 20th century, the tourism industry continued to grow thanks to
the mass production of buses and cars. Coastal tourism began to gain importance and,
after World War II, the Mediterranean coast quickly grew in popularity. Also,
improvements in air transport (charter flights) as well as progress in labor legislation
and a growth in social welfare led to a boom in tourism.

The tourism sector suffered a recession during the 1970s, mainly due to the energy
crisis, leading to lower costs and prices. That's when mass tourism emerged.
Travelling went from being something only for an exclusive group to become a
leisure activity within the reach of many.
In the following decades, there was a progressive internationalization of hotel
companies, travel agencies and airlines. New products and new leisure activities were
also offered, revolving around sports and health, among others.

Today, the tourism sector has become one of the great economic engines in many
countries, forming part of the international political agenda. In recent years, with low-
cost flights and the existence of alternative accommodations, managed by online
companies, it is much easier for tourists to afford to travel and they can design their
itinerary and experiences to their liking.

Tourism not only impacts the local economy, but it is also starting to affect the social
structures, culture and lifestyle of the destinations visited. Therefore, the challenge
now is to provide solutions by developing a tourism awareness that is respectful with
the environment and the local way of living of its inhabitants.

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1.2. Development of the Travel and Tourism Industry globally:

The travel and tourism industry is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in
the world, with economic growth in 2017 (4.6%) outpacing that of the global
economy (3%) for the seventh year in a row, as well as all other major industrial
sectors. This means that travel and tourism industry GDP growth was 50% higher
than that of the global economy. In the same year, it employed 313 million people
across the world, equivalent to 1 in 10 jobs, and generated 10.4% of global gross
domestic product (GDP). In 2017, there were 1.322 billion international tourist
arrivals – an increase of 7% compared to the previous year, and the strongest growth
rate for seven years. [ICAO, 2018] Fig. 1. International Tourist Arrivals in 2017
Source: ICAO (2018), “Travel and Tourism a Force for Good in the World,”
accessed November 7, 2018, By 2030, it is estimated that there will be 1.8
international tourist arrivals – which means an average of 5 million people crossing
international borders every single day. [ICAO, 2018]

As powerful as the travel and tourism sector is in terms of its reach and economic
impact, it is unique in the diversity of its composition. Stakeholders in travel and
tourism range from global hotel chains, cruise lines and seaports, and airports and
airlines turning over billions of dollars every year, to individuals running a bed and
breakfast, teaching a cooking class or leading a tour through their local community.
Thinking of the industry in such a way allows us to picture not only the vast
economic impact that it has at the global level, but also to consider the life-
transforming effects it can have on real people in destinations across the world.
[ICAO, 2018] Looking to the next decade, 100 million new jobs could be created in
the travel and tourism sector by 2028 – 64.5 million of these will be in the Asia
Pacific region, with 35 million in China and 10 million in India. [ICAO, 2018] Fig.
2. Regional Breakdown of Total Job Creation (Millions) from 2017 to 2028
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Source: ICAO (2018), “Travel and Tourism a Force for Good in the World,”
accessed November 7, 2018.

The travel and tourism sector accounted for 10.4% of global GDP and 313 million
jobs, or 1 in 10 jobs globally in 2017. With 4.6% GDP growth in 2017 – the highest
rate since 2011 – the travel and tourism sector outperformed all other major global
economic sectors, with manufacturing coming in second place with 4.2%, and
financial services lagging behind with 2.5% industry sector growth. [ICAO, 2018]
With the right regulatory and policy environment, including support from
governments, travel and tourism industry has the potential to create tens of millions
of new jobs by 2028. [ICAO, 2018] The travel and tourism industry grew faster in
2017 than every other major economic sector, including financial services. [ICAO,
2018] The USA received the greatest direct and total contribution to GDP from
travel and tourism industry with $509.4 billion and $1501.9 billion respectively in
2017. China is forecast to overtake in both categories by 2028. [ICAO, 2018]
According to aviation, a new record was established – 4.1 billion passengers were
carried by the aviation industry on scheduled services in 2017, indicating a 7.1%
increase over 2016. This figure is expected to almost double by 2036, with 7.8
billion people predicted to be travelling by air each year, 55% of international
tourists travel to their destination by aircraft. [ICAO, 2018] Cruise travel is on the
rise, with 27.2 million passengers expected to set sail in 2018. In 2017, 25.8 million
passengers cruised, representing 4.5% growth on 2016. [ICAO, 2018] Overall
growth in the cruise industry (64%) has exceeded that of the general global tourism
sector (45%) over the past 10 years. [ICAO, 2018] In 2017, the hotels and resorts
industry generated $878 billion in revenue and employed 4.3 million people.
[ICAO, 2018] The travel and tourism industry directly contributed $2.6 trillion –
equivalent to the size of the UK economy – to global GDP in 2017, or 3.2% of

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global GDP. [ICAO, 2018] In 2017, travel and tourism industry’s total (including
direct, indirect and induced impacts) contribution to global GDP was $8.3 trillion,
equivalent to 10.4%. [ICAO, 2018] International tourism receipts calculated as
expenditure by international visitors on accommodation, food and drink,
entertainment, shopping and other services and goods, amounted to $1.22 trillion
in 2017. [ICAO, 2018] Travel and tourism industry is a major contributor to
international trade in services, with global visitor exports, the amount brought as a
contribution by visitors to the country they visit generating a record $1.5 trillion in
2017. This is equivalent to an average of $4 billion a day, almost 7% of total exports
and 30% of total world services exports. Global visitor exports should grow by
3.9% in 2018, and by 4.1% per year from 2018 to 2028, totaling $2.3 trillion in
2028, and making up 6.9% of total exports. [ICAO, 2018] Fig. 3. International
Tourism Receipts in 2017 Source: ICAO (2018), “Travel and Tourism a Force for
Good in the World,” accessed November 7, 2018, The travel and tourism industry
yields significant economic and social benefits around the world, and possesses the
power to change people’s lives for the better by driving economic growth and
development, reducing poverty through the provision of livelihoods, and fostering
tolerance and peace through intercultural exchange and understanding. The sector
has demonstrated strong and continued growth in the number of people travelling
internationally each year, as well as its economic impact over the last six decades.
Future predictions suggest that the sector will continue to grow in size and
significance, amplifying its opportunity and responsibility to act as a force for good
in the world. [ICAO, 2018]

While strong, sustained and diversified growth in travel and tourism industry is
positive, high growth rates require all stakeholders at destinations to consider how to
grow tourism responsibly and sustainably. Successful sustainable tourism

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strategies should move from promotion to broader destination planning and

management, and look to the long-term to ensure quality engagement, preservation
of natural and cultural resources, and the spread of tourism benefits to all. [ICAO,
2018] The travel and tourism sector requires the hotels and resorts industry to
provide accommodation for people visiting new destinations, and the revenue his
generates contributes to the sector as a whole. In 2017, the industry generated $878
billion globally in revenue, and employed 4.3 million people across 739,000
businesses. Over the past five years (to 2017), they estimate that the industry has
grown by 3.2% per year, thanks to improved global economic conditions and the
resulting boost to consumer confidence and increased travel. [ICAO, 2018] It is
estimated that the hotel industry is comprised of 17.2 million rooms, and that
branded hotels have 53% of the market. The leading branded hotel companies,
including IHG, Marriott, Hilton, Wyndham and Accor Hotels account for nearly
one quarter of the total open branded rooms [ICAO, 2018] In line with the travel
and tourism sector as a whole, the hotels and resorts industry expects growth in the
future thanks to improving global economic conditions resulting in higher GDP and
more disposable income, as well as demographic shifts such as the growth of the
middle class and an ageing population that has the desire and means to travel.
[ICAO, 2018] Travel and tourism industry and its related industries clearly
contribute to the economic and social development of a nation, by driving economic
growth, creating jobs and wealth, fostering trade and encouraging investment. The
emergence of a tourism sector within a country offers the opportunity to acquire
business or language skills thanks to newly realized entrepreneurial and other
professional opportunities, resulting in human capital development, and upward
social mobility. [ICAO, 2018] The travel and tourism industry investment in 2017
was $882 billion, or 4.5% of total investment. It should rise by 4.8% in 2018, and
by 4.3% over the next ten years, reaching $1,408.3 billion in 2028 (5.1% of total).
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[World Travel and Tourism Council, 2018] As the world becomes more connected
and more focused on travel and tourism industry, innovative business models
become crucial to the development of tourism. At the same time, particular attention
must be paid to the challenges and threats that characterize the development and
growth of the tourism industry.

1.3. Impact on the global economy:

Tourism brings with it huge economic potential for a destination that wishes to
develop their tourism industry. Employment, currency exchange, imports and taxes
are just a few of the ways that tourism can bring money into a destination.
In recent years, tourism numbers have increased globally at exponential rates, as
shown in the World Tourism Organization data below.
There are a number of reasons for this growth including improvements in technology,
increases in disposable income, the growth of budget airlines and consumer desires
to travel further, to new destinations and more often.
Here are a few facts about the economic importance of the tourism industry
globally:
 The tourism economy represents 5 percent of world GDP
 Tourism contributes to 6-7 percent of total employment
 International tourism ranks fourth (after fuels, chemicals and automotive products) in
global exports
 The tourism industry is valued at US$1trillion a year
 Tourism accounts for 30 percent of the world’s exports of commercial services
 Tourism accounts for 6 percent of total exports
 1.4 billion international tourists were recorded in 2018 (UNWTO)
 In over 150 countries, tourism is one of five top export earners

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 Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange for one-third of developing countries
and one-half of less economically developed countries (LEDCs)
There is a wealth of data about the economic value of tourism worldwide, with lots
of handy graphs and charts in the United Nations Economic Impact Report.
In short, tourism is an example of an economic policy pursued by governments
because:
 It brings in foreign exchange
 It generates employment
 It creates economic activity
Building and developing a tourism industry, however, involves a lot of initial and
ongoing expenditure. The airport may need expanding. The beaches need to be
regularly cleaned. New roads may need to be built. All of this takes money, which is
usually a financial outlay required by the Government.
For governments, decisions have to be made regarding their expenditure. They must
ask questions such as:
How much money should be spent on the provision of social services such as health,
education, housing?
How much should be spent on building new tourism facilities or maintaining existing
ones?
If financial investment and resources are provided for tourism, the issue of
opportunity costs arises.
By opportunity costs, I mean that by spending money on tourism, money will not be
spent somewhere else. Think of it like this- we all have a specified amount of money
and when it runs out, it runs out. If we decide to buy the new shoes instead of going
out for dinner than we might look great, but have nowhere to go!
In tourism, this means that the money and resources that are used for one purpose may
not then be available to be used for other purposes. Some destinations have been
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known to spend more money on tourism than on providing education or healthcare

for the people who live there, for example.
This can be said for other stakeholders of the tourism industry too.
There are a number of independent, franchised or multinational investors who play
an important role in the industry. They may own hotels, roads or land amongst other
aspects that are important players in the overall success of the tourism industry. Many
businesses and individuals will take out loans to help fund their initial ventures.
So investing in tourism is big business, that much is clear. What are the positive and
negative impacts of this?

 Positive economic impacts of tourism:

So what are the positive economic impacts of tourism? Most destinations choose to
invest their time and money into tourism because of the positive economic impacts
that they hope to achieve. There are a range of possible positive economic impacts.
The most common economic benefits of tourism are as follows:

Foreign exchange earnings:

One of the biggest benefits of tourism is the ability to make money through foreign
exchange earnings.
Tourism expenditures generate income to the host economy. The money that the
country makes from tourism can then be reinvested in the economy. How a destination
manages their finances differs around the world; some destinations may spend this
money on growing their tourism industry further, some may spend this money on
public services such as education or healthcare and some destinations suffer extreme
corruption so nobody really knows where the money ends up!
Some currencies are worth more than others and so some countries will target tourists
from particular areas. Currencies that are strong are generally the most desirable
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currencies. This typically includes the British Pound, American, Australian and
Singapore Dollar and the Euro.
Tourism is one of the top five export categories for as many as 83% of countries and
is a main source of foreign exchange earnings for at least 38% of countries.

Contribution to government revenues:

Tourism can help to raise money that it then invested elsewhere by the Government.
There are two main ways that this money is accumulated.
Direct contributions are generated by taxes on incomes from tourism employment and
tourism businesses and things such as departure taxes.
Taxes differ considerably between destinations. Japan is known for its high departure
taxes.
According to the World Tourism Organisation, the direct contribution of Travel &
Tourism to GDP in 2018 was $2,750.7billion (3.2% of GDP). This is forecast to rise
by 3.6% to $2,849.2billion in 2019.
Indirect contributions come from goods and services supplied to tourists which are
not directly related to the tourism industry.
Take food, for example. A tourist may buy food at a local supermarket. The
supermarket is not directly associated with tourism, but if it wasn’t for tourism its
revenues wouldn’t be as high because the tourists would not shop there.
There is also the income that is generated through induced contributions. This
accounts for money spent by the people who are employed in the tourism industry.
This might include costs for housing, food, clothing and leisure Activities amongst
others. This will all contribute to an increase in economic activity in the area where
tourism is being developed.

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Employment generation:
The rapid expansion of international tourism has led to significant employment
creation. From hotel managers to theme park operatives to cleaners, tourism creates
many employment opportunities. Tourism supports some 7% of the world’s workers.
There are two types of employment in the tourism industry: direct and indirect.
Direct employment - includes jobs that are immediately associated with the tourism
industry. This might include hotel staff, restaurant staff or taxi drivers, to name a few.
Indirect employment - includes jobs which are not technically based in the tourism
industry, but are related to the tourism industry. Take a fisherman, for example. He
does not have any contact of dealings with tourists. But he does sell his fish to the
hotel which serves tourists. So he is indirectly employed by the tourism industry,
because without the tourists he would not be supplying the fish to the hotel.
It is because of these indirect relationships, that it is very difficult to accurately
measure the economic value of tourism.
It is also difficult to say how many people are employed, directly and indirectly,
within the tourism industry.
Furthermore, many informal employments may not be officially accounted for. Think
tut tut driver in Cambodia or street seller in The Gambia– these people are not likely
to be registered by the state and therefore their earnings are not declared.
It is for this reason that some suggest that the actual economic benefits of tourism
may be as high as double that of the recorded figures!

Contribution to local economies:

All of the money raised, whether through formal or informal means, has the potential
to contribute to the local economy.
If sustainable tourism is demonstrated, money will be directed to areas that will
benefit the local community most.
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There may be pro-poor tourism initiatives (tourism which is intended to help the poor)
or volunteer tourism projects.
The government may reinvest money towards public services and money earned by
tourism employees will be spent in the local community. This is known as the
multiplier effect.
The multiplier effect relates to spending in one place creating economic benefits
elsewhere. Tourism can do wonders for a destination in areas that may seem to be
completely unrelated to tourism, but which are actually connected somewhere in the
economic system. A tourist buys an omelet and a glass of orange juice for their
breakfast in the restaurant of their hotel. This simple transaction actually has a
significant multiplier effect. Listed below are just a few of the effects of the tourist
buying this breakfast.

Example 1 -
The waiter is paid a salary- he spends his salary on schooling for his kids- the school
has more money to spend on equipment- the standard of education at the school
increases- the kids graduate with better qualifications- as adults, they secure better
paying jobs- they can then spend more money in the local community.

Example 2 -
The restaurant purchases eggs from a local farmer- the farmer uses that money to buy
some more chickens- the chicken breeder uses that money to improve the standards
of their cages, meaning that the chickens are healthier, live longer and lay more eggs-
they can now sell the chickens for a higher price- the increased money made means
that they can hire an extra employee- the employee spends his income in the local
community.

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Example 3 -
The restaurant purchases the oranges from a local supplier- the supplier uses this
money to pay the lorry driver who transports the oranges- the lorry driver pays road
tax- the Government uses said road tax income to fix pot holes in the road- the
improved roads make journeys quicker for the local community.
So as you can see, that breakfast that the tourist probably gave not another thought to
after taking his last mouthful of egg, actually had the potential to have a significant
economic impact on the local community!

Development of the Private Sector:

The private sector has continuously developed within the tourism industry and
owning a business within the private sector can be extremely profitable; making this
a positive economic impact of tourism.
Whilst many businesses that you will come across are multinational, internationally-
owned organizations (which contribute towards economic leakage).
Many are also owned by the local community. This is the case even more so in recent
years due to the rise in the popularity of the sharing economy and the likes
of Airbnb and Uber, which encourage the growth of businesses within the local
community.
Every destination is different with regards to how they manage the development of
the private sector in tourism.
Some destinations do not allow multinational organizations for fear that they will steal
business and thus profits away from local people.

 Negative economic impacts of tourism:

Unfortunately, the tourism industry doesn’t always smell of roses and there are also
several negative economic impacts of tourism.
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There are many hidden costs to tourism, which can have unfavorable economic
effects on the host community.
Whilst such negative impacts are well documented in the tourism literature, many
tourists are unaware of the negative effects that their actions may cause. Likewise,
many destinations who are inexperienced or uneducated in tourism and economics
may not be aware of the problems that can occur if tourism is not management
properly. The most prominent negative economic impacts of tourism are as follows:

Leakage:
Economic leakage in tourism is one of the major negative economic impacts of
tourism. This is when money spent does not remain in the country but ends up
elsewhere; therefore, limiting the economic benefits of tourism to the host destination.
The biggest culprits of economic leakage are multinational and internationally-owned
corporations, all-inclusive holidays and enclave tourism.

Infrastructure cost:
Another one of the negative economic impacts of tourism is the cost of infrastructure.
Tourism development can cost the local government and local taxpayers a great deal
of money.
Tourism may require the government to improve the airport, roads and other
infrastructure, which are costly. The development of the third runway at London
Heathrow, for example, is estimated to cost £18.6 billion! Money spent in these areas
may reduce government money needed in other critical areas such as education and
health, as I outlined previously in my discussion on opportunity costs.

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Increase in prices:
One of the most obvious economic impacts of tourism is that the very presence of
tourism increases prices in the local area.
Have you ever tried to buy a can of Coke in the supermarket in your hotel? Or the bar
on the beachfront? Walk five minutes down the road and try buying that same can in
a local shop - in the majority of cases you will see a big difference in cost! Increasing
demand for basic services and goods from tourists will often cause price hikes that
negatively impact local residents whose income does not increase proportionately.
Tourism development and the related rise in real estate demand may dramatically
increase building costs and land values. This often means that local people will be
forced to move away from the area that tourism is located, known as gentrification.
Taking measures to ensure that tourism is managed sustainably can help to mitigate
this negative economic impact of tourism. Techniques such as employing only local
people, limiting the number of all-inclusive hotels and encouraging the purchasing of
local products and services can all help.

Economic dependence of the local community on tourism:

Another one of the major economic impacts of tourism is dependency. Many
countries run the risk of becoming too dependent on tourism. The country sees $ signs
and places all of its efforts in tourism. Whilst this can work out well, it is also risky
business!
If for some reason tourism begins to lack in a destination, then it is important that the
destination has alternative methods of making money. If they don’t, then they run the
risk of being in severe financial difficulty if there is a decline in their tourism industry.
In The Gambia, for instance, 30% of the workforce depends directly or indirectly on
tourism. In small island developing states, percentages can range from 83% in the
Maldives to 21% in the Seychelles and 34% in Jamaica.
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There are a number of reasons that tourism could decline in a destination.

The Gambia has experienced this just recently when they had a double hit on their
tourism industry. The first hit was due to political instability in the country, which has
put many tourists off visiting, and the second was when airline Monarch went bust,
as they had a large market share in flights to The Gambia.
Other issues that could result in a decline in tourism includes economic recession,
natural disasters and changing tourism patterns. Over-reliance on tourism carries risks
to tourism-dependent economies, which can have devastating consequences.

Foreign Ownership and Management:

The last of the negative economic impacts of tourism that I will discuss is that of
foreign ownership and management.
As enterprise in the developed world becomes increasingly expensive, many
businesses choose to go abroad. Whilst this may save the business money, it is usually
not so beneficial for the economy of the host destination.
Foreign companies often bring with them their own staff, thus limiting the economic
impact of increased employment. They will usually also export a large proportion of
their income to the country where they are based.

1.4. Contribution towards India’s GDP:

Research conducted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed
the travel and tourism sector’s contribution to the Indian economy could surpass pre-
pandemic levels this year, with a year-on-year growth of 20.7%.

The forecast from the WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Report (EIR), shows the
sector’s contribution to the nation’s economy could reach almost Rs.15.9 trillion (U.S.
$215 billion) in 2022, 1% above 2019 levels.

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Employment levels are set to grow to almost 35 million travel and tourism jobs, with
an 8.3% growth this year.

Over the next decade, India’s travel and tourism’s GDP is expected to grow at an
average of 7.8% annually, compared to 6.7% of the India’s overall economy, to reach
almost Rs.33.8 trillion (U.S. $457 billion) – representing 7.2% of the total economy.

The forecast also reveals the sector is expected to create over 24 million jobs over
the next decade, averaging more than 2.4 million new jobs every year.

Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said, “After the pain suffered by India’s
Travel & Tourism sector, the future looks bright with travel and tourism to and from
India set to exceed 2019 levels. The outlook for the next decade is looking very
positive with India accounting for one in five of all new travel and tourism jobs
globally.”

Before the pandemic, India’s travel and tourism sector’s contribution to GDP was
7% (₹15.7 trillion, U.S. $212 billion) in 2019, falling to just 4.3% (₹9.2 trillion, U.S.
$124 billion) in 2020, which represented a shocking 41.7% loss. The sector also
supported more than 40 million jobs in 2019, falling to just over 29 million in 2020,
when the pandemic devastated the sector.

Following the significant decline in 2020, the global tourism body’s latest EIR report
reveals that 2021 saw the beginning of the recovery for the country’s sector. Last
year, its contribution to GDP climbed 43.6% year on year, to reach ₹13.2 trillion
(U.S $178 billion). While the sector also saw a recovery of just under three million
travel and tourism jobs, representing a positive rise of 10.2% to more than 32
million, this is still eight million fewer jobs than in 2019.

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The sector’s contribution to the economy and employment could have been higher
if it were not for the impact of the Omicron variant, which led to the recovery
faltering around the world, with many countries reinstating severe travel restrictions.

1.5. Factors affecting growth of the industry:

Tourism industry provides employment to more than 255 million people which
accounts to almost 8 % of the employment in the world. There are several factors
which affect tourism business. The employment opportunities in tourism range from
hotel industry, transportation and recreation business to road side vendors and
laundry people.
As tourism is considered to be an interdisciplinary subject, it involves a wide range
of players directly or indirectly related to any of the tourism activities in the
destination. It contributes to 11 % of the GDP of the world along with 7.9 % export
share and 9.4% capital investment in its various sectors and more than 30% of
Services exports.
Tourism is a worldwide growing industry, demand for international tourism in 2016
grew by 3.9% to reach magical number of totals of 1,235 million i.e., 46 million
more overnight visitors compared to the year 2015. Tourism involves billions of
people at the demand side but also millions at the supply side that directly or
indirectly depends on it.
Billions of mon is disbursed every year for setting up basic amenities in the existing
destination and the establishment of a new destination. This money is spent in
promotion and advertising of the destination. On the other hand, there is a large
amount of money that is spent by tourists for travelling and staying in these
destinations.
The growth of tourism is fueled due to increased leisure time, higher disposable
incomes, and falling costs of travel because of globalization, industrialization,
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automation and digitalization. The digitalization and power of Internet has powered
tourist by providing on line booking facilities that boost the growth of the travel
industry.
Internet has also delivered tourist with the power to explore destinations and cultures
prior visiting places from their personal computers and make travel decision before
finalizing travel plans. It also allows tourists to scrutinize hotels, and taking review
of other tourist in mind, pre-visit check of weather forecasts, gen up on local food
and even chat with other tourists online around the world about their overall travel
experiences before choosing a destination.

2. Important Factors Influencing Growth of Tourism:

1. Demographic Factors:
The composition of the population in a country plays a major role in affecting many
dynamic industries like the tourism industry. These factors primarily include age,
income level and family members earning, size of the household, nationality, gender,
culture, food habits, climate, etc.
The income of the family members determines the nature of travel, place of travel,
amount spent on travelling and on the destination amenities, time spent in the
destination, loyalty to the travel brands and agencies and sources and amount of
gathering information.
A study indicates that high income earners start gathering information through the
internet and other sources much prior to travelling for the gathering of the
information about place to travel, right time to travel, right mode of transport to
travel, place of stay, places to be visited and types of additional activities.
Some of the smart tourists even book their holidays, accommodation and activities
before reaching the destination. On the other hand, low income travelers or budget

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travelers or back packers do not consider it important to gather information before

travelling and they prefer travelling to lesser known destinations with minimum
amenities and low-cost facilities.
Another demographic factor that affects the tourism in a destination is the age of the
visitors. When it comes to certain destination or certain tourism product, one product
does not fit for all age groups.
For example, the youngsters would enjoy the adventure activities like rafting, bungee
jumping, paragliding and similar activities in a destination where the same destination
could be leisure or spiritual destination for the elder or old age visitors.
Gender is another important demographic factor which influences the growth of
tourism in a place. Arrivals of a greater number of female visitors in place would
demand more shopping outlets like souvenir shops which would change the shopping
trends in the destination, whereas the male visitors would demand for an altogether
different market drift.
Nativity is an important factor that determines choices and preferences for
accommodation, transportation and recreational activities. For instance, Europeans
are more interested in culture and tradition of a place whereas the British tourists
would indulge themselves more into fun and leisure activities.
The household size of the visitors can highly influence the growth of tourism in a
destination as the group with children would have more inclination for all the
activities in the destination as the children are inquisitive in nature and curious for
new things where as the mature couple in a destination would only limit themselves
to certain amount of things which are comfortable to get and which they are interested
in.

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2. Technological Factors:
Technological changes in tourism involve several factors like changing business
intervention, better communication, modern mass media techniques, new practices in
transportation and improvement in basic facilities like water supply and easier
accessibility to all types of visitors.
A massive effect on growth tourism is brought from the rapid increase in online
booking trends. This technological support has provided a lot of opportunity to the
consumers to avail all the services online which were earlier only feasible after
reaching at the destination. Since the visitors have become aware of the online
booking facilities and the suppliers have acquired a platform to sell their products
online, it has become one of the biggest factors in affecting the growth of tourism
business.
The amount of online bookings increase day by day as the competition from the
supplier’s side has increased and tourists have become alert and informed of a better
price deal.
Holiday bookings and airlines and railways booking have dramatically increased after
the boost in the online market. Along with transportation facilities, the
accommodation services have also found a place in the online market and are
increasing with time.
All type of hotels, home stays, home exchange programs and bed and breakfast
services all over the world are connected to each other and also to the consumers
through various social media sites. The increase in the usage of the social media sites
has also generated interest in the visitors.
The social media and travel blogs play a prime role in promoting the destinations and
providing a virtual tour to the potential travelers.
The technological advancement has also helped many destinations to get connected

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with the rest of world through cruises, railways, roads and aviation. Many
destinations, lesser known to the world, have got recognition due to the connectivity
through the progress in transportation technology.
Online travel sites are a source for the tourists to book their holidays sitting in their
living rooms. The travel sites not only help the potential consumers to book their
holiday packages but along with it also shared ample information about the
destination.

3. Economic Factors:
Travelling to any destination far or near require some amount of disposable income
from the travelers. Whether it is a luxurious Psychocentric destination or an all centric
destination, it would consume some amount of income from the tourists for the
conveyance, food and lodging and performing several other activities.
The tourists with high disposable income would spend more in any destination than
the tourists having less disposable income. The economic factor thus plays an
important role in making or breaking of the tourism industry.

4. Environmental Factors:
Good climate has always been a major factor to attract tourists from different parts of
the world. Pleasant breeze, warm sunshine, cool weather has always attracted tourists
towards it. The people who hail from the planes or the hot climatic regions always
prefer to travel towards the hills stations and the places which are prone to snow fall.
The travelers from the western countries are attracted towards the countries near the
equatorial region to experience the sun, sand and sea phenomena. Sun rising from the
valleys, beautiful scenic beauty, green meadows, and waterfalls, sunset at the beach,
snow fall in the mountains, fresh water lakes and even rains in the tropics are a matter

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of motivation for different types of tourists coming from different climatic regions of
the world.

5. Socio-Cultural Factors:
Culture of a place with its unique features has been a matter of attraction for the
tourists since ages. Different civilizations emerged from different parts of the world
have very distinctive features amongst themselves to portray their traditions and the
people of the places.
When tourists from a different cultural background travel towards a new culture,
he/she also takes own culture along with them through which cultural exchange and
cultural hybridization take place. The culture is, therefore, said to be dynamic which
never remains the same in a particular region and changes with time as new people
visit the place and as the needs and necessities of the residents as well as the visitors
change with time.
The socio-cultural standards of any region would include the traditional attires,
ornaments, food habits, lifestyle, folk songs and dances and the way of life, which
largely defines a particular tribe or race.

6. Historical and Religious Factors:

Every place has its different historical perspectives which have the proof of it through
its ancient forts, palaces, monuments and memorials. Many tourists are attracted to
the legacy of the rich historical heritage of a place.
Exploring new historical aspects of different destination brings excitement among the
tourists. Archaeology and history of any place including the excavated sites and
materials and museums attract a particular segment of tourists and each one
contributes in the growth of tourism.
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Religious or pilgrimage tourism is one of those forms of tourism which attracts large
number of tourists. The religious shrines or different cultures attract the visitors for
the attainment of inner peace and sanctity. People travel to get blessings of their
favorite deities.
Religious reasons force people to travel at all the occasions may it be birth,
adolescence, marriage or death, people travel to their respective gods and goddesses
to satisfy their soul and bring peace to their mind, body and family members.
Tourism is an age-old phenomenon. With time it has grown to develop as different
entity and with many different and new ideas. As the factors influencing the growth
of tourism in different regions of the world differ and provide a different amount of
impact in various places, the growth of tourism is not the same everywhere.
At a place the culture would influence the growth of tourism simultaneously and in
some other destination the economic conditions may be responsible for the growth of
the same. It has to clear that the growth factors of tourism are dynamic and tend to
change at a very high rate from region to region because of huge disparity among the
landscapes, people, tradition and climates.
The chapter provides a detailed view of almost all the factors that can influence the
growth of tourism in any area which helps to also analyze the negative and positive
impacts of the tourism caused to the environment and the residents.

Changing Tourism Paradigms:

The history of tourism has witnessed the progress of travel through various
civilizations of the world. Invention of wheel around 3000 BC by Sumerians followed
by Romanians and Greeks passionate for travel, development of sea and road
transportation and trade and commerce helped to explore new travel routes, sea routes,
silk route, European Renaissance, famous grand tours in Europe, Industrial

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Revolution and innovation of technologies.

The end of World War-I and II could bring major changes in the travel patterns in the
western countries.
The pattern of tourism sector has changed after the Second World War. The global
peace and harmony had created ample opportunity to travel throughout the world.
These changes led by increase in international tourist arrivals, exploring new travel
destination and facilities, new types of accommodation, travel by automobiles,
airlines, cruises, and luxury trains (Orient Express and Palace on Wheels) have
motivated people to travel more to far distance places with the organized package
tours (GIT, FIT, DIT).
Exploring natural destinations is always major interest of tourists. These destinations
include mountains, hills, beaches, national parks and sanctuaries, lakes, rivers,
lagoons, waterfalls, etc. The development of eco-resorts, spa resort, yoga, Ayurveda,
health and spiritual resorts with amazing accommodation facilities and amenities
could change the travel patterns in the society. Connectivity through air, water, rail
and road transport has made travel easier and affordable. The obligatory provisions
of Leave Travel Concession (LTC) and vacations in summer and winter have
encouraged more people to undertake leisure travel. Annual holidays and vacations
became popular to corporate sector also.

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CHAPTER 2 - TOURISM INDUSTRY IN INDIA

2.1. History of Tourism Industry in India:

Planning for Indian tourism began after the country's independence. In 1945, Sir John
Sargent served as the committee's chair. He was the government of India's educational
advisor at the time. Following that, India underwent systematic tourism growth. The
second and third five-year plans have evolved the tourism planning methodology. The
sixth five-year plan strongly emphasizes using tourism as a tool for economic growth,
social integration, and upholding peace. After the 1980s, the tourist sector proliferated
as a source of jobs, revenue, foreign exchange, and leisure activity. The government
has promoted the tourist industry through many vital actions.
But tourism didn't take off until after the 1980s. The then government took some
important initiatives. The Indian government released its first tourism policy in 1982.
The goal of the First Tourism Policy was to advance sustainable tourism as a tool for
social and economic inclusion and advance India's reputation as a nation with a proud
past, a thriving present, and a promising future. Six main categories, including swagat
(welcome), suchana (information), suvidha (facilitation), suraksha (safety), sahyog
(cooperation), and Samrachana (infrastructure development), would be the focus of
the policies developed to do this.
This policy also prioritizes developing and promoting tourism-related products,
protecting the environment, and preserving cultural heritage. In 1982, the planning
commission of India recognized tourism as an industry. According to the new policy,
the tourist industry will be added to the concurrent list because doing so will give it
constitutional recognition and enable the central government to enact legislation that
will regulate the operations of various service providers in the tourism industry. The
first tourist policy reached a major turning point when the tourism industry was added

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to the Concurrent List of the Indian Constitution.

The National Committee on Tourism was established by the Indian Planning
Commission in 1986 to create a future plan for the tourism industry. Additional tax
exemptions on foreign exchange profits from tourism were among the concessions
the central government announced for the industry. With a capital fund of Rs.100
crores, the Tourism Development Finance Corporation was established in 1987 to
provide commercial financing for the tourist sector. Another important National
Action plan for Tourism was announced in 1992.
The Eighth Five Year Plan (1992-1997) strongly emphasized the private sector's
increased involvement in the tourism sector as a means of promoting tourism planning
in India. In the year 2002, the Government of India announced National Tourism
Policy. This policy is based on a multifaceted strategy that incorporates innovative
marketing tactics, capacity building in the hospitality industry, faster or more rapid
implementation of tourism project development, and integrated tourism circuits.
Positioning tourism as a significant engine of economic growth is the primary goal of
the National Tourism Policy of 2002.
The government works to accomplish this goal through promoting domestic and
foreign inbound tourism, creating new tourist attractions, building tourist
infrastructure, boosting agro-rural tourism, creating new tourist routes, and forming
public-private partnerships.
Following the National Tourism Policy of 2002, the tenth five-year plan (2002-2007)
supported skill development by promoting training programs in the hospitality and
catering industries. The Himalayan adventure and beach tourism were pushed under
the tenth five-year plan. Ayurveda, traditional craft markets, and pilgrimage sites all
fall under the category of wellness tourism. Subsequently, more funding has been
allocated for tourism development in the eleventh five-year plan (2007-2012). The

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eleventh five-year plan attempts to foster collaboration between the federal, state, and
commercial sectors by extending the national tourist policy of 2002. Later, The
Ministry of Tourism has undertaken various initiatives to promote tourism in the
country, such as the 'Incredible India Campaign', the 'Atithi Devo Bhavah program',
and the 'Visit India campaign' (2009).
Tourism participation took on a new aspect in the 12th five-year plan (2012–2017).
The strategy emphasizes the necessity to adopt a "pro-poor tourism" approach to
increase the net benefits of tourism to the poor and ensure that tourism expansion
helps to combat poverty.

2.2. Development of the industry in India:

Early Development:
The first conscious and organized efforts to promote tourism in India were made in
1945 when a committee was set up by the Government under the Chairmanship of Sir
John Sargent, the then Educational Adviser to the Government of India (Krishna,
A.G., 1993). Thereafter, the development of tourism was taken up in a planned
manner in 1956 coinciding with the Second Five Year Plan. The approach has evolved
from isolated planning of single unit facilities in the Second and Third Five Year
Plans. The Sixth Plan marked the beginning of a new era when tourism began to be
considered a major instrument for social integration and economic development.
But it was only after the 80’s that tourism activity gained momentum. The
Government took several significant steps. A National Policy on tourism was
announced in 1982. Later in 1988, the National Committee on Tourism formulated a
comprehensive plan for achieving a sustainable growth in tourism. In 1992, a National
Action Plan was prepared and in 1996 the National Strategy for Promotion of Tourism
was drafted. In 1997, the New Tourism Policy recognizes the roles of Central and

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State governments, public sector undertakings and the private sector in the
development of tourism were. The need for involvement of Panchayati Raj
institutions, local bodies, non-governmental organizations and the local youth in the
creation of tourism facilities has also been recognized.

Present Situation and Features of Tourism in India:

Today tourism is the largest service industry in India, with a contribution of 6.23% to
the national GDP and providing 8.78% of the total employment. India witnesses more
than 5 million annual foreign tourist arrivals and 562 million domestic tourism visits.
The tourism industry in India generated about US$100 billion in 2008 and that is
expected to increase to US$275.5 billion by 2018 at a 9.4% annual growth rate. The
Ministry of Tourism is the nodal agency for the development and promotion of
tourism in India and maintains the "Incredible India" campaign.
According to World Travel and Tourism Council, India will be a tourism hotspot from
2009-2018, having the highest 10-year growth potential. As per the Travel and
Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 by the World Economic Forum, India is
ranked 11th in the Asia Pacific region and 62nd overall, moving up three places on
the list of the world's attractive destinations. It is ranked the 14th best tourist
destination for its natural resources and 24th for its cultural resources, with many
World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural, rich fauna, and strong creative
industries in the country. India also bagged 37th rank for its air transport network.
The India travel and tourism industry ranked 5th in the long-term (10-year) growth
and is expected to be the second largest employer in the world by 2019. The 2010
Commonwealth Games in Delhi are expected to significantly boost tourism in India
further. Moreover, India has been ranked the "best country brand for value-for-
money" in the Country Brand Index (CBI) survey conducted by Future Brand, a

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leading global brand consultancy. India also claimed the second place in CBI's "best
country brand for history", as well as appears among the top 5 in the best country
brand for authenticity and art & culture, and the fourth best new country for business.
India made it to the list of "rising stars" or the countries that are likely to become
major tourist destinations in the next five years, led by the United Arab Emirates,
China, and Vietnam.

Tourist Attractions in India:

India is a country known for its lavish treatment to all visitors, no matter where they
come from. Its visitor-friendly traditions, varied life styles and cultural heritage and
colorful fairs and festivals held abiding attractions for the tourists. The other
attractions include beautiful beaches, forests and wild life and landscapes for eco-
tourism; snow, river and mountain peaks for adventure tourism; technological parks
and science museums for science tourism; centers of pilgrimage for spiritual tourism;
heritage, trains and hotels for heritage tourism. Yoga, Ayurveda and natural health
resorts and hill stations also attract tourists.
The Indian handicrafts particularly, jewelry, carpets, leather goods, ivory and brass
work are the main shopping items of foreign tourists. It is estimated through survey
that nearly forty per cent of the tourist expenditure on shopping is spent on such items.
Despite the economic slowdown, medical tourism in India is the fastest growing
segment of tourism industry, according to the market research report “Booming
Medical Tourism in India”. The report adds that India offers a great potential in the
medical tourism industry. Factors such as low cost, scale and range of treatments
provided in the country add to its attractiveness as a medical tourism destination.

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Initiatives to Boost Tourism:

Some of the recent initiatives taken by the Government to boost tourism include grant
of export house status to the tourism sector and incentives for promoting private
investment in the form of Income Tax exemptions, interest subsidy and reduced
import duty. The hotel and tourism-related industry has been declared a high priority
industry for foreign investment which entails automatic approval of direct investment
up to 51 per cent of foreign equity and allowing 100 per cent non-resident Indian
investment and simplifying rules regarding the grant of approval to travel agents, tour
operators and tourist transport operators.
The first-ever Indian Tourism Day was celebrated on January 25, 1998. The Year
1999 was celebrated as Explore India Millennium Year by presenting a spectacular
tableau on the cultural heritage of India at the Republic Day Parade and organizing
India Tourism Expo in New Delhi and Khajuraho. Moreover, the campaign ‘Visit
India Year 2009’ was launched at the International Tourism Exchange in Berlin,
aimed to project India as an attractive destination for holidaymakers. The government
joined hands with leading airlines, hoteliers, holiday resorts and tour operators, and
offered them a wide range of incentives and bonuses during the period between April
and December, 2009.

Future Prospects:
According to the latest Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) research, released by the
World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and its strategic partner Oxford
Economics in March 2009:
The demand for travel and tourism in India is expected to grow by 8.2 per cent
between 2010 and 2019 and will place India at the third position in the world.
India's travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second largest employer in the

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world, employing 40,037,000 by 2019.

Capital investment in India's travel and tourism sector is expected to grow at 8.8 per
cent between 2010 and 2019.
The report forecasts India to get capital investment worth US$ 94.5 billion in the
travel and tourism sector in 2019.
India is projected to become the fifth fastest growing business travel destination from
2010-2019 with an estimated real growth rate of 7.6 per cent.

Constraints:
The major constraint in the development of tourism in India is the non-availability of
adequate infrastructure including adequate air seat capacity, accessibility to tourist
destinations, accommodation and trained manpower in sufficient number.
Poor visitor experience, particularly, due to inadequate infrastructural facilities, poor
hygienic conditions and incidents of touting and harassment of tourists in some places
are factors that contribute to poor visitor experience.

2.3. Factors affecting the development of the industry in India:

1. Weather and Climate Resources:
India is vast country and its different parts experience different types of climate. This
extraordinary asset in the form of varied climates can be encashed to promote tourism
in the country by attracting tourists from far and near.
Regional variations in the climate of India are caused by five main factors, viz., (i)
the vast size of the country, (ii) tapering of the peninsular India towards the south,
(iii) the latitudinal extent astride the Tropic of Cancer, (iv) situation at the head of the
Indian Ocean, and (v) role played by the Himalayas as a climatic barrier between

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India and central Asia, protecting the country from cold and dry winds from central
Asia.
A tourist will find different types of climate in the Great Plain of North India, the
snow covered Himalayas, in the peninsular plateau area and in the coastal regions.
There are climatic variations from one state to another and even from one district to
another. These climatic variations are of great advantage to engage tourists in a variety
of activities during their stay in the country.
However, strong influence of the monsoons along with their typical rhythm provides
underlying unity to India’s climatic diversity. This unity in diversity of the Indian
climate is a potent factor which works to attract tourists. The visiting tourist can
choose to stay in any type of climate and enjoy the changing status of weather while
moving from one place to another.
Temporal changes in weather are no less pronounced than the spatial changes. India
is one of the few countries where there is change in weather after every two months.
The spatial and temporal changes in India’s climate and weather act as a great magnet
to attract tourists and enable them to enjoy the gift of nature. Larger the diversity,
greater is the potential of climate resources to develop tourism.

2. Landscape Resources:
Geology and physiography are two major bases of landscape resources. These two
aspects influence the landscape and determine the rocky peaks for climbing, cliffs or
scarp for hand gliding, steep snowy slopes for skiing and caves for exploiting them
for sightseeing. Rock formation exposed in areas like Deccan plateau or Ladakh
attract tourists interested in trekking.
There is ample scope for rural tourism also. Water bodies and water-points like
riversides, gorges, waterfalls, springs, etc. provide spectacular views to the tourists.

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Sunbathing and adventurous raffling and rowing are associated with water tourism.
Although all sorts of landscape resources attract tourists, yet the degree to which
different types of landscapes act as tourist’s attraction varies greatly. According a
research report by A. Gilg of Exter University in U.K., mountains comprise the
greatest attraction for the tourist. The other features, in descending order are bold
hills, hilly country, plateau uplands and lowlands.
Forest landscape is found to be equally attractive, irrespective of topography. It is for
this reason that National Parks, Sanctuaries as well as Biosphere Reserves are used as
tourist spots. Seeing wildlife in its natural habitat rather than in a zoo or a safari-park
is termed as Nature Tourism these days. Vegetation in wilderness and wildlife which
depends on it constitutes a very important element of tourist landscape.

3. Seascape Tourist Resources:

Coastal waters of the mainland of India and that of the groups of islands (Andaman
& Nicobar Islands in Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in Arabian Sea) comprise
another major source of tourist attraction. Sandy beaches, coves, spits and lagoons,
reefs and seaside cliffs are tourist’s hot spots. These are visited for sunbathes,
swimming, boating and surfing. This type of tourism flourishes only in those areas
where waves are gentle and tidal currents are not dangerous.

4. Historical and Cultural Resources:

These are manmade features and are found in almost all parts of the country. Such
resources are associated with historical, religious or cultural events. A rich historical
and cultural heritage has developed during long course of history of India. These
include statues, shrines, tombs, forts, palaces, ancient monuments as well as recent
buildings and are famous for their architectural designs and structural beauty.

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CHAPTER 3 - IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE TRAVEL AND

TOURISM INDUSTRY

3.1. Impact of Covid-19 on the tourism industry worldwide:

Before COVID-19, travel and tourism had become one of the most important
sectors in the world economy, accounting for 10 percent of global GDP and more than
320 million jobs worldwide.
In 1950, at the dawn of the jet age, just 25 million people took foreign trips. By 2019,
that number had reached 1.5 billion, and the travel and tourism sector had grown to
almost too-big-to-fail proportions for many economies.
The global pandemic, the first of its scale in a new era of interconnectedness, has put
100 million jobs at risk, many in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises that
employ a high share of women, who represent 54 percent of the tourism workforce,
according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Tourism-dependent countries will likely feel the negative impacts of the crisis for
much longer than other economies. Contact-intensive services key to the tourism and
travel sectors are disproportionately affected by the pandemic and will continue to
struggle until people feel safe to travel en masse again.
From the white sand beaches of the Caribbean, Seychelles, Mauritius, and the Pacific
to the back streets of Bangkok, to Africa’s sweeping national parks, countries are
grappling with how to lure back visitors while avoiding new outbreaks of infection.
The solutions range from wooing the ultra-rich who can quarantine on their yachts to
inviting people to stay for periods of up to a year and work virtually while enjoying a
tropical view.
Tourism receipts worldwide are not expected to recover to 2019 levels until 2023. In
the first half of this year, tourist arrivals fell globally by more than 65 percent, with a
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near halt since April—compared with 8 percent during the global financial crisis and
17 percent amid the SARS epidemic of 2003, according to ongoing IMF research on
tourism in a post-pandemic world.
The October World Economic Outlook projected the global economy would contract
by 4.4 percent in 2020. The shock in tourism-dependent economies will be far worse.
Real GDP among African countries dependent on tourism will shrink by 12 percent.
Among tourism-dependent Caribbean nations, the decline will also reach 12 percent.
Pacific island nations such as Fiji could see real GDP shrink by a staggering 21
percent in 2020.
Nor is the economic hit limited to the most tourism-dependent countries. In the United
States, Hawaii saw one in every six jobs vanish by August. In Florida, where tourism
accounts for up to 15 percent of the state’s revenue, officials said it will take up to
three years for the industry to recover.
Among G20 countries, the hospitality and travel sectors make up 10 percent of
employment and 9.5 percent of GDP on average, with the GDP share reaching 14
percent or more in Italy, Mexico, and Spain. A six-month disruption to activity could
directly reduce GDP between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent across all G20 countries,
according to a recent IMF paper.

Managing the revenue gap:

In Barbados and Seychelles, as in many other tourism-dependent nations, the
pandemic brought the industry to a virtual standstill. After successfully halting local
transmission of the virus, the authorities reopened their island countries for
international tourists in July. Still, arrivals in August were down almost 90 percent
relative to previous years, drying up a vital stream of government revenue. Barbados
had gone into the crisis with good economic fundamentals, as a result of an IMF-

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supported economic reform program that helped stabilize debt, build reserves, and
consolidate its fiscal position just before the crisis struck. The IMF augmented its
Extended Fund Facility program by about $90 million, or about 2 percent of GDP, to
help finance the emerging fiscal deficit as a result of plummeting revenues from
tourism-related activity and increasing COVID-related expenditures.
“The longer this lasts, the more difficult it gets to maintain,” says Kevin Greenidge,
senior technical advisor to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley. “What we don’t
want to do is operate policy-wise in a manner that will jeopardize the gains in terms
of the fundamentals that we have made.”
On the other side of the world, Seychelles, a country that entered the crisis from a
similar position of strength, will still be challenged to return to medium-term fiscal
sustainability without significant support. Just before the crisis struck, the government
had rebuilt international reserves and consolidated its fiscal positions. Even so, the
ongoing pandemic struck the Indian Ocean island nation very hard as tourism
revenues fell while COVID-related expenditures increased.
“It is too early to determine whether the crisis represents a permanent shock and how
it will shape the tourism industry going forward,” says Boriana Yontcheva, the IMF’s
mission chief to Seychelles. “Given the large uncertainties surrounding the recovery
of the sector, innovative structural policies will be necessary to adapt to the new
normal.”
It is too early to determine whether the crisis represents a permanent shock.
All over the world, tourism-dependent economies are working to finance a broad
range of policy measures to soften the impact of plummeting tourism revenues on
households and businesses. Cash transfers, grants, tax relief, payroll support, and loan
guarantees have been deployed. Banks have also halted loan repayments in some
cases. Some countries have focused support on informal workers, who tend to be

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concentrated in the tourism sector and are highly vulnerable.

An analysis of the tourism industry by McKinsey & Company says that multiyear
recovery of tourism demand to 2019 levels will require experimenting with new
financing mechanisms.
The consulting firm analyzed stimulus packages across 24 economies totaling $100
billion in direct aid to the tourism industry and $300 billion in aid across other sectors
with significant involvement in tourism. Most direct stimulus was in the form of
grants, debt relief, and aid to small and medium-sized enterprises and airlines. The
firm recommends new ways to support the industry, including revenue-sharing
mechanisms among hotels that compete for the same market segment, such as a
stretch of beachfront, and government-backed equity funds for tourism-related
businesses.

Development challenge:
The crisis has crystallized the importance of tourism as a development pathway for
many countries to decrease poverty and improve their economies. In sub-Saharan
Africa, the development of tourism has been a key driver in closing the gap between
poor and rich countries, with tourism-dependent countries averaging real per capita
GDP growth of 2.4 percent between 1990 and 2019—significantly faster than non-
tourism-dependent countries in the region, according to IMF staff.
Smaller, tourism-dependent nations are in many ways locked into their economic
destinies. Among small island nations, there are few, if any, alternative sectors to
which they can shift labor and capital.
Seychelles, for example, has benefited from increases in tuna exports during the
COVID-19 period, which have somewhat offset tourism losses, but these additional
earnings remain a fraction of tourism receipts. The government is also carrying out a

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plan to pay wages to displaced tourism-sector workers while offering opportunities

for retraining.
Meanwhile, the government in Barbados is trying to maintain social spending and
reprioritize capital spending to create jobs, at least temporarily, in non-tourism sectors
such as agriculture and infrastructure development. The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism
Association has projected that as many as 60 percent of the 30,000 new hotel rooms
that were in the planning or construction phase throughout the Caribbean region will
not be completed as a result of the crisis.
Still, the crisis is being viewed as an opportunity to improve the industry in the
medium and long term through greater digitalization and environmental
sustainability. The UNWTO has encouraged support for worker training in order to
build digital skills for harnessing the value of big data, data analytics, and artificial
intelligence. Recovery should be leveraged to improve the industry’s efficient use of
energy and water, waste management, and sustainable sourcing of food. “In a sector
that employs 1 in 10 people globally, harnessing innovation and digitalization,
embracing local values, and creating decent jobs for all—especially for youth,
women, and the most vulnerable groups in our societies—could be at the forefront of
tourism’s recovery,” says UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Adjusting to a new normal:

As the immediate impact of lockdowns and containment measures eased during the
second half of 2020, countries started looking for a balance.
Thailand, Seychelles, and other countries approved programs that would admit
tourists from “lower-risk” countries with special quarantine requirements. Fiji has
created “blue lanes” that will allow seafaring visitors to arrive on yachts and
quarantine at sea before they unleash “the immense economic impact they carry

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aboard,” Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama declared on Twitter. St. Lucia requires
a negative COVID-19 test no more than seven days before arrival. Australia created
a “travel bubble” that will eliminate quarantine requirements for travelers from New
Zealand. CARICOM countries have also created a “regional travel bubble” that
eliminates testing and quarantine for people traveling from countries within the
bubble.
In a new era of remote work, countries and territories such as Barbados, Estonia,
Georgia, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, and the Cayman Islands offer new long-term
permits, lasting up to 12 months in some places, to entice foreign visitors to bring
their virtual offices with them while spending in local economies.
Japan, which had seen its international arrivals triple from 2013 to 2018, started lifting
border closures for travelers from certain countries at the end of October. To
accommodate a post-pandemic tourism rebound, an IMF Working
Paper recommends that the government continue a trend of relaxing visa
requirements, draw visitors away from urban centers to less populated regions of the
country, and complement a tourism comeback with improvements to labor resources
and tourism infrastructure.
The World Tourism and Travel Council in a report on the future of the industry said
the pandemic has shifted travelers’ focus to domestic trips or nature and outdoor
destinations. Travel will largely be “kick started by the less risk averse travelers and
early adopters, from adventure travelers and backpackers to surfers and mountain
climbers,” the report says.
Leisure travel will lead the comeback in the tourism and travel sector. Business travel,
a crucial source of revenue for hotels and airlines, could see a permanent shift or may
come back only in phases based on proximity, reason for travel, and sector.
In the end, the return of tourism will likely hinge on what will be a deeply personal

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decision for many people as they weigh the risk of falling ill against the necessity of
travel. The private sector backed by some tourism-dependent nations is
developing global protocols for various travel industries, including a call for more
rapid testing at airports to boost confidence in traveling.
“The fact is people do not feel comfortable traveling. We have not put in the necessary
protocols to give them that comfort,” St. Lucia Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said
at a September virtual event. “After 9/11, the TSA [Transportation Security
Administration] and other security agencies around the world did a fantastic job of
developing protocols that regained the public’s confidence to travel, and sadly with
this pandemic we haven’t done that.”

3.2. Impact of Covid-19 industry on the Tourism industry in India:

The Tourism industry has been one of the largest contributors to India's GDP in recent
years increasing from a share of 6.70% in 2017 to 9.20% in 2018. The Government
of India ("GOI") over the past few years has taken various supportive measures and
has focused on making India a global tourism destination by promoting schemes like
'Incredible India', 'Atithi Devo Bhava', 'Swadesh Darshan' and 'Pilgrimage
Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive' (PRASAD). The World Travel and
Tourism Council ("WTTC") 2020 has reported that in the year 2019, tourism
generated 39,821 million jobs in India, which is 8.0% of total employment in the year
2019.
The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the tourism industry across the globe
covering sectors like hospitality, travel agents, air, land and sea transportation
industry and others. As per WTCC, the Covid-19 pandemic is expected to cost the
tourism industry at least USD 22 billion resulting in a loss of 50 million jobs globally.
India is no exception; tourism has witnessed a significant decline during 2020.

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In such a situation India is no exception; tourism has witnessed a significant decline

during 2020. GOI has a crucial role to play in revival and growth of the tourism
industry. GOI needs to take immediate relief measures under the Goods and Services
Tax ("GST") to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on tourism industry.
To begin with, reduction in rate of GST is the need of the hour. There are different
rates of GST for hotel accommodation starting from 0% to 18% depending upon room
tariff. GST on room tariffs above INR 7,500 is 18%, GST on room tariffs between
INR 1,000 and INR 7,500 is 12% and room tariffs below INR 1,000 does not attract
GST. GOI should consider reduction in GST rate on room tariff between INR 1000
to INR 7500 from the current 12%/18% to 5% immediately for at least 12 months.
Tour operators and travel agents are required to pay GST 18% on commission earned
for supplying specified services. A tax holiday may be introduced for a specified
period to safeguard the interest and revival of such service providers. Also, Online
Tax aggregators ("OTAs") are required to collect Tax collection at source ("TCS")
while remitting payments to airlines and hotels. Therefore, exemption on such levy
of TCS must also be considered to avoid additional burden of tax.
Availability of Input Tax Credit ("ITC") will be a major concern for tourism industry
post COVID-19 on account of blockage of working capital of their business, and it
requires a mechanism for optimum flow of ITC. Presently, taxpayers can avail ITC
pertaining to financial year (FY) 2019-2020 till due date of furnishing Form GSTR-
3B (relating to payment of Tax) for the period ending September 2020. The GOI may
extend time limit for availing ITC pertaining to FY 2019-2020 till March 31, 2021,
so that the tourism industry can avail maximum ITC and discharge its liability through
ITC, hence reducing burden on its cash outflow. Additionally, GOI may increase
scope of availing ITC for tourism industry by reducing list of blocked credits under
Section 17(5) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

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Presently, ITC is required to be reversed in case recipient of goods or services, or both

fails to pay consideration to its supplier within 180 days from date of invoice. In the
current situation, where businesses across various sectors are experiencing losses,
such reversal of ITC can be suspended till March 31, 2021, for the tourism industry.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, timely compliance of monthly GST is also proving to be
difficult to deal with. Although GOI earlier had extended due dates for filing Form
GSTR-3B for taxpayers having turnover of more than INR 5 crores till April 2020, in
order to further reduce burden of GST compliances GOI may extend due dates for
filing of GST returns for such taxpayers.
Furthermore, currently, taxpayers are required to pay GST on mercantile/billing basis
i.e. liability to pay tax arises upon issuance of invoices. In order to protect and
safeguard tourism business, GOI may also allow tourism industry to pay GST on
receipt/cash basis till March 31, 2021. Additional benefits such as exemption from
payment of tax under reverse charge mechanism (RCM) would also help tourism
industry to reduce additional burden of tax under GST.
Tourism industry is probably the worst hit sector due to the pandemic and the
consequent restrictions imposed during the lockdown period and also beyond. Revival
of this industry should be a prime concern for GOI. Tourism industry in India requires
a push for its revival and immediate reliefs under GST laws will bring an impetus to
this sector to survive from this never-seen before global economic crisis.

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CHAPTER 4 - POLICY REFORMS TO REVIVE THE TOURISM

INDUSTRY WORLDWIDE

 Rebuilding tourism is a priority, but the sector must become more sustainable
and resilient in the future:
Tourism continues to be one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic
and the outlook remains highly uncertain.
OECD expects international tourism to fall by around 80% in 2020. Destinations that
rely heavily on international, business and events tourism are particularly struggling,
with many coastal, regional and rural areas faring better than cities.
Encouraging news on vaccines has boosted hopes for recovery but challenges remain,
with the sector expected to remain in survival mode until well into 2021.
Domestic tourism has restarted and is helping to mitigate the impact on jobs and
businesses in some destinations. However, real recovery will only be possible when
international tourism returns. This requires global co-operation and evidence-based
solutions so travel restrictions can be safely lifted.
The survival of businesses throughout the tourism ecosystem is at risk without
continued government support and although governments have taken impressive
action to cushion the blow to tourism, to minimize job losses and to build recovery in
2021 and beyond, more needs to be done, and in a more coordinated way. Key policy
priorities include:
 Restoring traveler confidence
 Supporting tourism businesses to adapt and survive
 Promoting domestic tourism and supporting safe return of international tourism
 Providing clear information to travelers and businesses, and limiting uncertainty (to
the extent possible)

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 Evolving response measures to maintain capacity in the sector and address gaps in
supports
 Strengthening co-operation within and between countries
 Building more resilient, sustainable tourism
While flexible policy solutions are needed to enable the tourism economy to live
alongside the virus in the short to medium term, it is important to look beyond this
and take steps to learn from the crisis, which has revealed gaps in government and
industry preparedness and response capacity. Co-ordinated action across governments
at all levels and the private sector is essential.
The crisis is an opportunity to rethink tourism for the future. Tourism is at a crossroads
and the measures put in place today will shape the tourism of tomorrow. Governments
need to consider the longer-term implications of the crisis, while capitalizing on
digitalization, supporting the low carbon transition, and promoting the structural
transformation needed to build a stronger, more sustainable and resilient tourism
economy.

 Unprecedented scale of the tourism crisis, and outlook extraordinarily

uncertain:
The COVID-19 crisis has hit the tourism economy hard, with unprecedented effects
on jobs and businesses. Tourism was one of the first sectors to be deeply impacted by
the pandemic, as measures introduced to contain the virus led to a near-complete
cessation of tourism activities around the world. The sector also risks being among
one of the last to recover, with the ongoing travel restrictions and the global recession.
This has consequences beyond the tourism economy, with the many other sectors that
support, and are supported by, tourism also significantly impacted.
The unprecedented shock to the tourism economy is being compounded by the

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evolving sanitary situation. While positive news on vaccines has boosted the hopes of
tourism businesses and travelers alike, challenges remain. Vaccine roll out will take
some time, and the sector is potentially facing stop/start cycles for some time. This
will further damage business and traveler confidence, and business survival
prospects. Despite the proven resilience of the tourism economy to previous shocks,
the sheer scale and combined economic and health nature of this crisis means that the
road to recovery is highly uncertain. While there has been some resumption of
international tourism activity, this remains very limited. Domestic tourism has
restarted in many countries, but can only partially compensate for the loss of inbound
tourism.
OECD now estimates international tourism1 will fall by around 80% in 2020. No
meaningful recovery in international tourism flows is foreseen until well into 2021,
and is likely to take some years. This is in line with recent projections by other
organizations. Latest UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimates point to
a 70% decline year-on-year in international tourist arrivals in the first eight months of
the year, with the loss in export revenues from international tourism eight times that
recorded in 2009 amid the global financial crisis. UNWTO now foresees a decline in
international arrivals close to 70%, with recovery to pre-crisis levels not expected
before 2023.
Domestic tourism is providing a much needed boost to help sustain many tourism
destinations and businesses, and will continue to be a key driver of recovery in the
short to medium term. There has been some pick up in domestic tourism activities
since the middle of the year, due in part to displacement effects of international travel
restrictions. However, this has been hindered as many countries face further waves of
the virus, and domestic tourism is expected to end the year significantly down on pre-
COVID levels. Spain and the United Kingdom, for example, are forecasting a

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decrease in domestic tourism by 45-50% in 2020. Also, not all destinations or

businesses have benefited, due to ongoing restrictions on movement within countries
and altered demand patterns and behaviours.
This is having very tangible economic and social consequences for many people,
places and businesses, and the wider economy. Tourism generates foreign exchange,
supports jobs and businesses, drives regional development and underpins local
communities. Before the pandemic, the sector directly contributed 4.4% of GDP,
6.9% of employment, and 21.5% of service exports in OECD countries, on average
(and 6.5% of global exports according to the World Trade Organisation3). However,
these shares are much higher for several OECD countries, where tourism is a major
driver of economic activities, such as France (7.4% of GDP), Greece (6.8%), Iceland
(8.6%), Mexico (8.7%), Portugal (8.0%) and Spain (11.8%). The indirect impacts of
tourism are also significant, exacerbating the size of the shock on national and local
economies.

 Forecasts for tourism performance and recovery:

Canada: Revised tourism estimates from Destination Canada in July 2020 were
based on a re-opening of the Canadian border in January 2021. Destination Canada
developed two possible scenarios for 2020, based on different possible conversion
rates of outbound Canadian tourism towards domestic travel:
Scenario 1:
Assuming only 20% of Canadian outbound tourism demand is converted to domestic
tourism, tourism expenditures drop by 61% (to CAD 41.3 billion) and jobs
attributable to tourism drop by 55% (to 324 000).
Scenario 2:
Assuming 100% of Canadian outbound tourism demand is converted to domestic
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tourism, tourism expenditures drop by 43% (to CAD 59.7 billion) and jobs
attributable to tourism drop by 41% (443 500).
Croatia:
Forecasts for tourism flows are revised every 15 days, following a review of the latest
travel safety recommendations and epidemiological situation. This is informed by
data from the e-Visitor system, which that provides daily updates. A 50% drop in
tourism traffic is expected in 2020.
Germany:
The German Federal Competence Centre for Tourism’s latest “Recovery-Check”
forecasts from July 2020 identify three possible scenarios for domestic and
international tourism recovery. Under the central scenario, domestic tourism is
expected to recover to 2019 levels in summer 2021, with international tourism
recovery forecast for April 2023 (i.e. two years longer). Annual booked turnover
compared to 2019 is expected to decline by: 42% in domestic and 57% in international
tourism in 2020, 14% in domestic and 52% in international tourism in 2021, and 30%
in international tourism in 2022.
Switzerland:
According to the Swiss Economic Institute (KOF) the number of overnight stays is
predicted to fall by 34% on 2020. The slump in domestic demand is forecast to be
relatively small (down by 14%), with the loss in international business significant
(down by 55%). Domestic and European demand is expected recover steadily, but
demand from overseas markets is not expected to recover until 2023. With the
exception of a few hotspots, hotel prices are also expected to fall and recover in 2022.
Fares on mountain railways could rise significantly if passenger numbers are
drastically reduced.

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United Kingdom:
Visit-Britain have modelled a range of scenarios of the short-term impact on inbound
and domestic tourism. Under the central scenario, inbound tourism arrivals are
forecast to decline by 73%, with a corresponding decline in spending of 79% (last
updated early October 2020). For domestic tourism, the central scenario forecasts a
49% decline in trips and spending.

The halt in tourism is having a knock-on impact on the wider economy, given the
interlinked nature of the sector. The OECD estimates that more than a third of the
tourism value added generated in the domestic economy comes from indirect impacts,
reflecting the breadth and depth to linkages between tourism and other sectors (e.g.
food production, agriculture, transport, business services). UNCTAD, meanwhile,
estimates that global GDP losses due to the crisis in tourism could amount to 2.8% of
the world’s GDP (USD 1.2 trillion), if international tourist arrivals drop by 66%, with
the consequences most marked in countries like Croatia (potential drop in GDP of
8%), Portugal (6%), Morocco (4%), Greece (4%), Ireland (3%) and Spain (3%). This
could rise to a fall of 4.2% of world’s GDP (USD 3.3 trillion) if international tourism
flows are at a standstill for 12 months.

The crisis is putting millions of jobs in the tourism sector at risk. Tourism is highly
labor intensive and provides a high volume of jobs for low skilled workers, together
with higher skilled jobs. According to the International Labor Organisation (ILO),
the accommodation and food services subsectors alone globally provides employment
for 144 million workers, about 30% of whom are employed in small tourism
businesses with 2–9 employees. Many of these jobs are customer-facing, exposing
workers also to the health risks from the virus (e.g. waiters, hotel receptionists).

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The scale of job losses is not yet apparent, as government supports have
protected workers from the full impact of the pandemic. However, the World
Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that that up to 174 million job are at
risk globally in 2020.7 The European Commission’s Joint Research Centre forecasts
that between 6.6 - 11.7 million jobs in businesses operating and/or dependent on
tourism-related activities could be at risk of reduction in working hours or permanent
losses in 2020, representing between 3.2% and 5.6% of the total active population in
the European Union. Women, young people, rural communities, indigenous people
and informal workers are disproportionately affected – groups that are more likely to
be employed in micro or small tourism businesses.

National level estimates similarly reflect the scale of the impact on tourism,
together with the challenges in making predictions in a fast moving and
uncertain situation. Quantifying the current and future impacts of the crisis on the
tourism sector is challenging, with the crisis exposing shortcomings in tourism
statistical information systems, including a lack of robust, comparable and timely data
to inform policy and business decisions. Available evidence highlights the precipitous
drop in international travel flows and tourism spending, as well as the contraction of
domestic tourism activities.

Attempts to forecast the impact of the pandemic on the tourism economy have
repeatedly been overtaken by the rapidly evolving sanitary situation, and
changes to containment measures. Traditional forecasting methods are unreliable
in the current environment.
Box 1. presents forecasts for domestic and international tourism performance in 2020
from selected countries. As with the OECD projections, scenario-based approaches

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provide some directions for tourism recovery, but are necessarily based on
assumptions and simplifications, and subject to ongoing adjustment and revision.
The outlook for tourism is extraordinarily uncertain, and recovery will depend on the
interlinked consequences of the economic and health crisis on demand and supply
side factors. These include the evolution of the pandemic, availability of a vaccine (or
alternative control measures), and the lifting of travel restrictions, as well as the
survival and readiness of businesses throughout the tourism ecosystem to meeting
demand, impacts on consumer confidence and travel behavior, and developments in
the wider economy. The global scale and extended duration of the crisis, continued
uncertainty, and the interlinked economic and health nature of this crisis makes it
unlike any previous shock to the tourism system.
Beyond the tourism economy, the pandemic has triggered a global economic
crisis, and this in turn has consequences for tourism recovery. OECD predicts that
global GDP will fall sharply by 4.2% in 2020, before returning to pre-pandemic levels
by the end of 2021. The road ahead is brighter as progress on vaccines has lifted
hopes, but challenges remains and recovery will be uneven across countries, and
across sectors. Growth has rebounded in many parts of the economy, but tourism and
other sectors have been slower to bounce back, and this is impacting recovery in many
countries.

Box 2. Potential long lasting tourism policy implications: initial country views: -
Sustainability may become more prominent in tourism choices, due to greater
awareness of climate change and adverse impacts of tourism. Natural areas, regional
and local destinations are expected to drive the recovery, and shorter travel distances
may result in a lower environmental impact of tourism.
Domestic tourism is expected to benefit, as people prefer to stay local and visit

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destinations within their own country. Domestic tourists are often more price-
sensitive and tend to have lower spending patterns.
Traveler confidence has been hit hard by the crisis, and the ongoing uncertainty.
This may lead to a decline in demand and tourism consumption that continues well
long after the initial shock.
Traveler behavior will be influenced by the evolution of the crisis, as well as
longer term consumer trends that are reshaping in the way people travel. This may
include the emergence of new niches and market segments, and a greater focus on
safety protocols and contactless tourism experiences.
Safety and hygiene have become key factors to select destinations and tourism
activities. People are likely to prefer ‘private solutions’ when travelling, avoiding big
gatherings, and prioritizing private means of transport, which may have an adverse
impact on the environment.
Structural change in tourism supply is expected across the ecosystem. Not all
businesses will survive the crisis and capacity in the sector is likely to be reduced for
a period, limiting the recovery.
Skills shortages in the tourism sector may be exacerbated, as many jobs are lost and
workers will redeploy to different sectors.
Reduced investment will call for active policies to incentivize and restore investment
in the tourism sector to maintain the quality of the tourism offer and promote a
sustainable recovery.
Digitalisation in tourism services is expected to continue to accelerate, including a
higher use of automation, contact-less payments and services, virtual experiences,
real-time information provision.
Tourism policy will need to be more reactive and in the long term it will move to
more flexible systems, able to adapt faster to changes of policy focus. Crisis

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management will be a particular area of focus. Safety and health policy issues also.
It is too early to say what the long term implications of the crisis will be for
tourism, but a return to business as usual is highly unlikely. The tourism sector
will be a very different in 2021 to what it was in 2019. The longer the crisis continues,
the more businesses and jobs will be lost, the greater the implications for traveller
behaviour, and the tougher it will be to rebuild the tourism economy. This brings
challenges for the sector, but also opportunities to encourage innovation, drive new
business models, explore new niches/markets, open up new destinations, and move to
more sustainable and resilient tourism development models. Box 2 presents some of
the potential long term impacts which may arise, and their policy implications.
The crisis is a call for governments at all levels to take strong and co-ordinated
policy action to mitigate the impacts and support the recovery. It is also an
opportunity to take advantage of new technologies, implement green recovery
strategies, and shift to policy and business practices that better balance the
environmental, social and economic impacts of tourism. Policy makers should
leverage the opportunity to reboot the tourism economy on a stronger, fairer and more
sustainable footing. The crisis, and the recovery plans that are being put in place, are
a once in a lifetime opportunity to move towards more sustainable and resilient
models of tourism development.
In this environment, tourism is high on the global policy agenda, and similar
calls have been made by other international institutions, including the United
Nations, World Bank and World Trade Organization. The G20 Tourism Ministers, in
the Diriyah Communiqué, recognized that COVID-19 may result in a paradigm shift
for the travel and tourism sector, and committed to continue to work together to
support those most impacted by the crisis, and support a sustainable and inclusive
recovery of the tourism sector.

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 Drawing initial lessons and charting a way forward for tourism policy:
The COVID-19 crisis has been a huge shock to the tourism economy, severely
impacting people’s livelihoods, neighborhoods and businesses. As the pandemic
continues to evolve, the full consequences are not yet clear. However, a return to
‘business as usual’ is unlikely. Policy makers will need to learn from the crisis to build
a stronger, more resilient tourism economy for the future. While it is still too early to
say with any certainty what these will be, a number of initial lessons are outlined:
Crisis has been a call to action to governments, at all levels, to respond in a co-
ordinated way, and has highlighted the importance of integrated tourism policy
approaches to support recovery. Delivering well-targeted and accessible supports
as quickly and efficiently as possible to vulnerable tourism businesses, workers and
tourists has and continues to be crucial. Government at all levels, and the private
sector, need to be better prepared and have the capacity to react and adapt quickly.
This requires more robust risk assessment and crisis response mechanisms, and closer
co-ordination – at local, national and international level.
Strengthened multi-lateral co-operation and robust support is essential to
reactivate tourism. Countries need to work together, as the actions taken by one
government have implications for travelers and businesses in other countries, and for
the global tourism system. Countries need to develop collaborative systems across
borders to safety resume travel, restore traveler and business confidence, stimulate
demand and accelerate tourism recovery. More efficient international co-ordination
systems are also needed to respond to future shocks.
Sector-specific supports are needed to address the particular needs of tourism
workers, businesses and destinations, and support wider economic recovery.
Tourism has benefited significantly from general economic stimulus measures.

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However, it is one of the most heavily impacted sectors, and will have an impact on
wider macroeconomic recovery in many countries. Those parts of the tourism
ecosystem that are not yet open for business and where demand is likely to be
depressed or constrained for some time will require particular attention, as will
destinations and small businesses that have been most severely hit and are most
vulnerable.
Continued government support should already start to build toward more
sustainable and resilient tourism economy. Destinations and tourism businesses
need help to be ready to provide tourism services to meet demand when the recovery
comes. It will be important to work with tourism businesses so they are sustainable
beyond the end of the supports, and already starting to address the long term
implications of the crisis. Measures should be increasingly conditioned on broader
environmental, economic and social objectives.
Providing policy clarity and taking steps to limit uncertainty (to the extent
possible) will be crucial to support tourism recovery. The outlook for the tourism
economy remains extraordinarily uncertain, and business and travel confidence has
taken a big hit. Clear communication, well-designed information policy and clarity
on the epidemiological criteria will be particularly important where there is a need to
change travel restrictions and containment measures in response to virus outbreaks
and the shifting sanitary situation.
Improving the evidence base to inform policy and business decisions will be key,
through information gathering, research and data analysis. The crisis has
highlighted shortcomings in the availability of timely, comparable, granular data in
quickly evolving situations. Reliable and consistent indicators are needed to evaluate
the effectiveness of programs and initiatives, and monitor progress on tourism
recovery and resilience. Risk-based solutions to safely lift travel restrictions and get

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the international tourism ecosystem back-up and running must be based on sound
scientific evidence. These solutions also need to be feasible to implement, with
sufficient capacity available to ensure these systems are can function reliably.
Crisis is a once in a lifetime opportunity to move toward fairer, more sustainable
and resilient models of tourism development. The pandemic has once again
exposed structural shortcomings in the tourism system and the vulnerability to
external shocks. There is an urgent need to diversify and strengthen the resilience of
the tourism economy and encourage the digital, low carbon transformations that will
be essential to shift to stronger, fairer and more sustainable models of tourism
development.

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CHAPTER 5 - REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. Vijay Singh (2020), in his article Covid-19 effect: Travel agent starts selling
vegetables through online broadcasts, published in The Times of India talks about
how a travel agent named Lav Jaiswal (40) who ran a successful travel and tour
business before Covid-19 was forced to start selling vegetables by the roadside at
Upper Govind Nagar in Malad (East), Mumbai because of the unforeseen global crisis
of Covid-19.

2. Aneesh Phadnis (2021), published his article Tourism may go off recovery track as
travel firms brace for Omicron impact in the Business Standard. This article published
on the 29th of November, 2021 talks about the spread of the new variant of Covid-19
virus and how it could stall the recovery of the tourism sector. India’s largest online
travel agency, MakeMyTrip said that it was premature to assess the impact of
Omicron variant on overseas bookings.

3. PTI (2020), article published in The New Indian Express on Lockdown impact:
Tourism companies staring at complete shutdown, seek government aid talks about
how travel agencies were rattled with the impact of Covid-19 and how they went into
complete shutdown because of the global pandemic. A report at that time even said
that around 40% of the companies operating in the travel and tourism sector stared at
the risk of complete shutdown within the next 3 to 6 months at that time.

4. PTI (2020), the article “Covid-19 scare impacts tourism across state” published in
The Free Press Journal gives us an overview of how top tourist destinations and
UNESCO World Heritage sites in Maharashtra have witnessed a sharp decline in

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tourism, especially foreigners because of the outbreak of Covid-19.

5. R. Rajaram Tiruchi (2020), completed work on Covid-19 hits hard travel and
tourism industry talks about the lockdown imposed in March 2020 because of Covid-
19 and how it has hit hard the travel industry here bringing their entire operations to
a grinding halt. The article highlights how the suspension of overseas and domestic
flight services and cancellation of all passenger trains have impacted the travel
industry like never before.

6. Chaitanya Mallapur (2020), based on his study “India’s Covid-19 lockdown may
cause 38 million job losses in the travel and tourism industry” published talks about
how Covid-19 has drastically impacted the travel and tourism industry all across
India. This article also provides reports from experts suggesting the possible job loss
across tourism and allied industries due to standstill caused by the Covid-19 outbreak
across the world. One of the key statistic mentioned in this article is that this sector
employs and accounts for 12.75% of the country’s workforce.

7. Julianna Tatelbaum (2022), researched on “What has it been like covering the news
during a pandemic?” The above article published by Julianna Tatelbaum a CNBC
reporter in the UK talks about how the anchor/reporter covered the regarding the
Covid-19 pandemic. In her article, she talks about her personal experiences that she
faced while covering and gathering information during the deadly Covid-19.

8. S. Hammerstein (2021), studied the Effects of COVID-19-Related School Closures

on Student Achievement-A Systematic Review. The journalist based in Germany did
a thorough research on Covid-19 and how the virus has affected the working of

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schools and education institutions in Germany. The article also talks about how the
institutions are coping up with Covid-19 and the ways adopted to make teaching
easier during the pandemic.

9. N Sauer (2022), studied “The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Well-Being of

College Students”. This articles covers the issues faced by college students while
coping with Coronavirus. It talks about how the pandemic has affected the mental
health and the well-being of students and how it has adversely had a major impact on
their health. The article states few of the remedies which can help the students cope-
up with anxiety and depression.

10. Jenny Lee (2021), in her study “Impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of US
college students” speaks about how social distancing had become mandatory during
Covid-19. It covers aspects such as how people benefitted from distancing themselves
during the scary Covid-19. This is another article covering information on how the
virus had impacted the mental health of students in the USA and how the students
coped up with it.

11. Abhinaya Suresh (2021), published the article “Impact of Covid-19 on school
education in India” in the Times of India. The journalist covers the aspects of Covid-
19 along with giving us a detailed analysis of how it has impacted the working of
schools and educational institutes in the country. It also covers the aspect of virtual
learning which has become so very crucial in our day to day lives.

12. R. Ramakumar (2021), studied the “Impact of Covid-19 on the Indian Economy”.
This paper is an analysis of the economic impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy.
This paper analyses how covid-19 has impacted the working of an entire nation and
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how much of an impact will it have on the development of the nation.

13. Terry Walmsley (2020), studied “The Impacts of the Coronavirus on the Economy
of the United States”. The article presents a formal analysis of the macroeconomic
impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., China and the rest of the world.
Given the uncertainty regarding the severity and time-path of the infections and
related conditions, they examine three scenarios, ranging from a relatively moderate
event to a disaster.

14. J Chen (2021), studied Epidemiological and economic impact of COVID-19 in the
US. This research measures the epidemiological and economic impact of COVID-19
spread in the US under different mitigation scenarios, comprising of non-
pharmaceutical interventions. A detailed disease model of COVID-19 is combined
with a model of the US economy to estimate the direct impact of labor supply shock
to each sector arising from morbidity, mortality, and lockdown, as well as the indirect
impact caused by the interdependencies between sectors. During a lockdown,
estimates of jobs that are workable from home in each sector are used to modify the
shock to labor supply.

15. Z Habibi (2022), studied The Potential Impact of Covid-19 on the Chinese GDP,
Trade, and Economy. The article talks about how the rapid spread of Covid-19 in
China has halted normal life. It also highlights how the intensification of Covid-19
may have long-term effects on China’s economy. The research shows that the
presence of Covid-19 in China has global implications. Because of the virus threat,
foreigners avoid mixing with the Chinese. Global tourists have cancelled their plans
to visit China, and Chinese tourists cannot visit foreign countries.

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16. YF Lin (2020), researched on “Spread and Impact of Covid-19 in China: A

Systematic Review and Synthesis of Predictions from Transmission-Dynamic
Models”. The research work published explains how Coronavirus disease 2019
(Covid-19) was first identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and quickly
spread throughout China and the rest of the world. Many mathematical models have
been developed to understand and predict the infectiousness of COVID-19. The aim
is to summarize these models to inform efforts to manage the current outbreak.

17. T Burki (2020), studied “China’s successful control of Covid-19”. The journalist, in
his article covers how China as a country successfully managed to control the
outbreak of Covid-19. The article talks about the measures taken by the Chinese
government and its people to curb the outbreak of Covid-19 and prevent its rapid
spread within the country.

18. P Ghosh (2020), researched on “Covid-19 in India: State wise Analysis and
Prediction”. Most of the prior research and media coverage focused on the number of
infections in the entire country. However, given the size and diversity of India, it is
important to look at the spread of the disease in each state separately, wherein the
situations are quite different. In this paper, the aim is to analyze data on the number
of infected people in each Indian state (restricted to only those states with enough data
for prediction) and predict the number of infections for that state in the next 30 days.
The motive is that such state wise predictions would help the state governments better
channelize their limited health care resources.

19. MA Andrews (2020), researched on the “First confirmed case of COVID-19

infection in India: A case report”. The research presents here the first case of Covid-
19 infection reported in Kerala, India. On January 27, 2020, a 20-year-old female was
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presented before the Emergency Department in General Hospital, Thrissur, Kerala,

with a one-day history of dry cough and sore throat.

20. A Ghosh (2020), studied “How India is dealing with COVID-19 pandemic” Social
distancing and lockdown rules were employed in India, which however had an
additional impact on the economy, human living, and environment. Where a negative
impact was observed for the economy and human life, the environment got a positive
one. How India dealt and can potentially deal with these three factors during and post
COVID-19 situation has been discussed here.

21. M. Cascella (2022), researched on the Features, Evaluation, and Treatment of

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the highly
contagious infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome
coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has had a catastrophic effect on the world’s
demographics resulting in more than 6 million deaths worldwide, emerging as the
most consequential global health crisis since the era of the influenza pandemic of
1918.

22. Joshua Elliott (2021), studied the Predictive symptoms for Covid-19 within the
community. The article talks about the relative symptoms which helps us predict
whether a person is suffering from Covid-19 or no. The article includes information
on various symptoms such as cough, fevers or chills and other problems such as
difficulty in breathing which helps us to detect Covid-19.

23. M. Grasso (2021), researched on The impact of the coronavirus crisis on European
Societies. The coronavirus pandemic, which first impacted European societies in early
2020, has created a twofold crisis by combining a health threat with economic turmoil.
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While the crisis has affected all European societies very significantly, its impact
varies across countries, social groups, and societal domains. The article also
highlights how the European Societies reacted to the outbreak of Covid-19.

24. EN Iftekhar (2021), based her study on “A look into the future of the COVID-19
pandemic in Europe”. The article talks about how will the coronavirus disease 2019
(Covid-19) pandemic develop in the coming months and years? They also examine
key aspects that are likely to influence the Covid-19 pandemic in Europe. The
challenges and developments will strongly depend on the progress of national and
global vaccination programs, the emergence and spread of variants of concern
(VOCs), and public responses to non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs).

25. Sophia Chen (2020), researched on Tracking the Economic Impact of Covid-19 and
Mitigation Policies in Europe and the United States. The journalist uses high-
frequency indicators to analyze the economic impact of Covid-19 in Europe and the
United States during the early phase of the pandemic. The journalist also documents
that European countries and U.S. states experienced larger outbreaks and suffered
larger economic losses. We also find that the heterogeneous impact of Covid-19 is
mostly captured by observed changes in people’s mobility, while, so far, there is no
robust evidence supporting additional impact from the adoption of non-
pharmaceutical interventions.

26. Maurice Kugler and Shakti Sinha (2020), studied The impact of Covid-19 and the
policy response in India. Much has been written about how Covid-19 is affecting
people in rich countries but less has been reported on what is happening in poor
countries. Paradoxically, the first images of Covid-19 that India associates with are
not ventilators or medical professionals in ICUs but of migrant laborers trudging back
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to their villages hundreds of miles away, lugging their belongings. With most of the
economy shut down, the fragility of India’s labor market was patent. The article also
covers India’s response to Covid-19 and the policy formulated and policy changes
made to help the nation cope up with the dreadful disease of Covid-19.

27. Meenakshi Shukla (2021), researched on The Effect of Covid-19 and Related
Lockdown Phases on Young Peoples' Worries and Emotions. The Covid-19 pandemic
has posed unprecedented stress to young people. Despite recent speculative
suggestions of poorer mental health in young people in India since the start of the
pandemic, there have been no systematic efforts to measure these. Here the journalist
reports on the content of worries of Indian adolescents and identifies groups of young
people who may be particularly vulnerable to negative emotions along with reporting
on the impact of coronavirus on their lives.

28. D. Bharathi (2021), studied the Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Indian Services
Sector. The Covid-19 Pandemic which resulted in lockdown across the world forced
businesses to run their activities by keeping the Social Distancing in Mind to reach
out to the customers. The sudden or drastic change in the business approach due to
the pandemic has resulted many of the players in service industry to stop their
business activities or have seen the drastic decline in their business till they are
accustomed to the new approach of doing the business.

29. Stuti Pramod (2022), researched on the “Effectiveness of Covishield vaccine in

preventing Covid-19”. This study aimed at assessing the vaccine’s effectiveness (VE)
of Covishield, which is identical to AstraZeneca vaccine, in preventing laboratory-
confirmed Covid-19.

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30. Azizah F. Siddiqui (2020), studied the “Situation of India in the Covid-19 Pandemic:
India’s Initial Pandemic Experience”. In this article, the journalist investigates the
impact of Covid-19 through screening and surveillance methods adopted in India, as
well as the potential health system, social, political, and economic consequences.

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CHAPTER 6 - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

6.1. Objectives of study:

1. To learn the impact of Covid-19 on travel and tourism industry around the globe.

2. To learn how Covid-19 has impacted the development of travel and tourism industry

in India.
3. To study how Covid-19 has impacted the sales of travel agencies.

4. To know the change in contribution of the travel and tourism industry to India’s GDP

during Covid-19.

6.2. Hypothesis:
 H0: Covid-19 has contributed towards the development of the travel and tourism
industry worldwide.
 H1: Covid-19 has hampered the development of the travel and tourism industry
worldwide.

 H0: Covid-19 has contributed towards India’s GDP in the past 2 years.
 H1: Covid-19 has hampered India’s GDP in the past 2 years.

6.3. Research Design:

Research design is a blueprint of a scientific study. It includes research
methodologies, tools, and techniques to conduct the research. It helps to identify and
address the problem that may rise during the process of research and analysis.

In this case, survey method is used to collect the necessary data. The personal
interview is used to collect the information from the respondents and questionnaires

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are used. The respondents are reached out and the detailed information is collected
related to the study. The questions mainly focus on the impact of Covid-19 on the
travel and tourism agents.

 Choice of Research Design:

A research design specifies the methods and procedure for conducting a particular
study. Broadly the research can be grouped into three categories.

 Descriptive Research Design:

Descriptive design is another type of research design. The goal of using a descriptive
research design is to describe a research topic, so this type of research is useful when
you need more information about your topic. Descriptive research design can also
help you understand the "what," "where," "when" and "how" of your research topic.
The one question that a descriptive research design does not answer is "why." In this
research, the researcher has used the Descriptive Research Design to collect the
necessary information related to the topic.

6.4. Sampling Design:

The sample design encompasses all aspects of how to group units on the frame,
determine the sample size, allocate the sample to the various classifications of frame
units, and finally, select the sample.

 Sampling Design used in the research:

Cluster sampling method is used by the researcher to gather the relevant information.
Cluster sampling is a probability sampling method in which you divide a population
into clusters, such as districts or schools, and then randomly select some of these
clusters as your sample. The clusters should ideally each be mini-representations of
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the population as a whole.

 Sampling Size:
The sample size is the measure of the number of individual samples used in an
experiment. For this research, a sample size of 80 people has been taken.

6.5. Data Collection:

Data collection is the process of gathering and measuring information on variables of
interest, in an established systematic fashion that enables one to answer stated
research questions, test hypotheses, and evaluate outcomes.
Data collection is of two types:
 Primary Data
 Secondary Data

Primary Data:
Data that has been generated by the researcher himself/herself, surveys, interviews,
experiments, specially designed for understanding and solving the research problem
at hand. For primary data collection, a survey was conducted amongst travel agents
to gather the relevant information.

Secondary Data:
Secondary data is the data that has already been collected through primary sources
and made readily available for researchers to use for their own research. It is a type
of data that has already been collected in the past.
A researcher may have collected the data for a particular project, then made it
available to be used by another researcher. The data may also have been collected for

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general use with no specific research purpose like in the case of the national census.

6.6. Limitations of the study:

 The present study concentrates only on the travel agents and tour managers within
Mumbai.
 There may be some biases due to the respondents not being fully aware of the new
policies and regulations framed by the government.
 Due to a small sample size and biased opinions, the results derived may not be
appropriate.

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CHAPTER 7 - DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

 Primary data:
Q.1. How do you deal with the rules and regulations or laws relating to vaccination
and Covid-19 protocols with respect to your country?
Interpretation:
Majority of the respondents got themselves vaccinated and followed all the protocols
related to Covid-19. As there was a nationwide lockdown, the respondents spent their
time at home and kept themselves busy by acquiring new skills and developing new
hobbies.

Q.2. How did you deal with the unexpected losses during the lockdown period?
Interpretation:
Most of the respondents made use of their earlier savings to survive during this crisis
period. While some of the respondents started their own household business, a few of
them started helping/ taking part in their existing family business.

Q.3. What are some of the short and long term effects of Covid-19 on domestic travel
trends?
Interpretation:
About 75% of the total interviewees feel that the Covid-19 pandemic had a major
impact on the growth of domestic tourism in the short-term. However, because of
complete stoppage of traveling because of the lockdown imposed on the entire
country, the industry should pick up and the revenue of travelling agencies should
boost once the lockdown is over.

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Q.4. At the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, many tourists faced difficulties while
returning home due to border control issues, how did your agency cope with it?
Interpretation:
The response to this question was very similar by all the respondents. During Covid-
19, a lot of the tourists were stuck because of the outbreak and with total stoppage on
travelling, returning home safely was next to impossible, but thanks to the tour and
travel agents and its employees, the tourists were brought home safely without
causing a sense of panic amongst them. The agents made sure that the tourists
followed all the protocols, that all the required documents were in place to ensure
travelling and that all the necessary goods were in place to make the tourists feel
comfortable.

Q.5. Has government helped the tourism industry to revive in the last two years?
Interpretation:
The tour managers and travel agents had quite a mixed feeling about this. About
65% of the interviewees felt that the government has helped revive the tourism
industry whereas the rest 35% felt that the government has not really responded
appropriately to fight for the revival of the industry.

Q.6. What are your thoughts and expectations from the government for revival of the
tourism industry?
Interpretation:
Majority of the tour managers and agents feel that the government should start
promoting and marketing domestic tourism on a large scale in order to revive the
industry. A few of the respondents even feel that the government should provide

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relaxations on the regulations and laws relating to the industry. Some respondents feel
that the government should develop its domestic infrastructure in order to attract more
tourists which in turn will help to generate greater revenue.

Q.7. Do you think the impact of Covid-19 will be recurring in nature?

Interpretation:

 29 out of the 80 respondents think that the impact will be recurring in nature.
 51 out of the 80 respondents think that the impact will not be recurring in nature.

Q.8. Do you think there is a direct nexus between the impact of Covid-19's lockdown
and pollution because of restricted travelling?

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Interpretation:
 69 out of the 80 respondents think that there is a direct nexus between the impact of
Covid-19's lockdown and pollution because of restricted travelling.

 11 out of the 80 respondents think that there is not a direct nexus between the impact
of Covid-19's lockdown and pollution because of restricted travelling?

Q.9. There are three levels of losses in the market - moderate, intermediate and
dramatic, so which one is yours?

Interpretation:
 37 out of the 80 respondents feel that there was a moderate impact of Covid-19 on
their level of losses.

 23 out of the 80 respondents feel that there was an intermediate impact of Covid-
19 on their level of losses.
 20 out of the 80 respondents feel that there was a dramatic impact of Covid-19 on
their level of losses.

Q.10. How much of an economic impact has Covid-19 had on your standard of

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living?

Interpretation:
 32 out of the 80 respondents think that there was a slight impact of Covid-19 on
their standard of living.

 28 out of the 80 respondents think that there was a moderate impact of Covid-19 on
their standard of living.

 20 out of the 80 respondents think that there was an extreme impact of Covid-19 on
their standard of living.

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 Secondary data:
 Figure 1:

This visualization is captured from Wikipedia. Stacked bar chart is used to show three
parameters for covid-19 data, which are total deaths, total cases and total recovered
cases. All parameters are shown on the x-axis and dates are exhibited on the y-axis.
This is an interactive visualization with the option of selecting months or days for
displaying the parameters. The bar chart above depicts the total number of cases, the
recovery rate and the number of deaths that took place within a span of 15 days from
09/04/2020 to 23/04/2020.

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 Figure 2:

This chart draws back to the date September 02, 2020. The article highlights that
more than half the 56,292 Covid-19 deaths across states by August 22 were in the
50 -70 age group, with Covid-19 deaths being the highest in the 61-70 years’ age
group among both genders. Twice as many men have died of the coronavirus disease
(Covid-19) as women in India, with men accounting for 69% of all fatalities,
according to health ministry data accessed by HT that offers the most granular view
to date of how the pandemic is affecting people across age and gender in the country.
And more than 90% of the people who died, both men and women, were above 40
years of age. Less than one in three persons who died of Covid-19 was a woman. By

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August 22, women accounted for 17,315 of the total Covid-19 toll of 56,292. The
pandemic had killed 38,973 men by the third week of August, shows the data, which
categorizes four deaths as “to be updated” and “others.”

 Figure 3:

This graph above is taken from an article from ‘The Times of India’ published on
07/04/2020. The article states that those above 60 years of age make up for just 19%
of Coronavirus patients in India but account for 63% of the fatalities so far, with those
having pre-existing health conditions being even more vulnerable, Of the rest, 30%
of those who died were 40-60 years old and only 7% were younger than 40. As many

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as 86% of the fatalities had conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart and
kidney diseases.

 Figure 4:

The above graph has been taken from an article published in The Times of India as
on 16th of June 2020. The article headlined “Covid-19 pandemic: 10 most-affected
countries in the world” states that Originated in China's Hubei province last year,
Covid-19 had now reached 220 countries and territories. There were over 8 million
confirmed cases as on that day and the death toll has crossed the 4 lakh mark. The Us
carried the biggest burden with over 20 lakh cases which was followed by Brazil and
Russia. India ranked fourth with over 3 lakh cases and more than 9000 deaths.

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 Figure 5:

This article has been written on March 13, 2020 just at the time the Covid-19 outbreak.
According to the graph above, in the baseline scenario, the reporter expects a
substantial slowdown of global economic growth due to COVID-19. In the
calculations, global growth in 2020 will arrive at 1.6%, which is substantially lower
than the OECD (2.4%) and Bloomberg consensus (2.7%, start of March). Before the
corona outbreak, they had 2.9% penciled in for global growth.
China, as the epicenter, is expected to face the most detrimental economic impact,
slowing down to 2.4% in 2020, which is markedly lower than the pre-corona forecasts
of 5.7%. For India, they expect a growth of 5.3% in 2020, with Covid-19 shaving off
0.4ppts compared to the pre-corona situation (5.7%). Those effects are still limited,
mainly because India only has limited ties with the Chinese economy. So the shock

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wave that China is sending across the global is affecting India to a lesser extent than
many other counties in Asia. For instance, Chinese tourism only constitutes 0.2% of
Indian GDP (compared to 5.9% in Thailand for instance).

 Figure 6:

This graph is taken from a paper published on 14th of May 2021. This paper based on
the notion of Trade in Value Added (TiVA), combines the global trade analysis
project (GTAP) model with the value-added model in seeking to simulate and assess
the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on China's manufacturing sector in global value
chain (GVC) reconfiguration. The empirical study provides three major results. First,
at the macroeconomic level, the pandemic wreaks a negative impact on all the
economies, including the U.S., in regard to import & export trade, GDP and social
welfare policy. Second, nation-level simulation shows that there's a remarkable
disparity across different pandemic scenarios in the level of division of labor and of
GVC participation for China and its trade partners. Third, sector-level analysis shows
that the impacts of the pandemic include promoting the level of GVC participation

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and of labor division in China's manufacturing sector (electromechanical equipment

and computer goods).

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CHAPTER 8 - SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

 Suggestions:
 In order to revive the industry, the government should start promoting the domestic
tourism industry on a large scale.
 The government should look to develop the infrastructure of places of importance in
order to attract tourists.

 In order to give a boost to the industry, the government should amend its rules and
regulations related to Travel and Tourism,

 A lot of travel and tourism agents had lost their jobs during the lockdown because of
Covid-19, so the government should provide some form of financial aid to these
agents in order to help them survive.
 The government should introduce new and different schemes related to domestic
tourism to lift up the revenue generation within the nation.

 Helpline centers should be set up in order to help those children having difficulties to
cope up with their emotions in such a time of crisis.

 Conclusion:
 Covid-19 has impacted the growth of economies all over the world.

 Of all the nations, India is one of the most affected nations because of its huge
population size.
 In India, amongst all the sectors, the tourism sector is one of the most affected
industries with thousands and lakhs of people losing their job because of the
nationwide lockdown.

 The mental health of millions was affected because of the total lockdown for several

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months.

 There was a state of panic all over the world because of the shortage of supplies.

 Millions of people lost their lives because they did not get the required treatment on
time and because of the unavailability of vaccines.

 By amending its regulations and policies, the government can help revive the tourism
sector in India.

 Summary of Findings:
 Majority of the respondents feel that the impact of Covid-19 will not be recurring in
nature.

 Most of the respondents think that there is a direct nexus between the impact of
Covid-19's lockdown and pollution because of restricted travelling.
 A lot of respondents think that the Covid-19 has hampered the growth of domestic
tourism in the short term. However, the growth of the tourism industry within India
and worldwide will start taking pace once the lockdown is over.

 Majority of the respondents think that the government should promote domestic
tourism on a large scale in order to generate more revenue.

 A large number of respondents believe that the revival of the industry is possible if
tax concessions and financial aid is provided by the government.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 Books:
1. Impact of Covid-19 on Indian Economy, (by Rekha Jagannath).
2. COVID-19 and the Tourism Industry [Sustainability, Resilience and New
Directions], (by Routledge).

 Research Journals:
1. The Effect of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the Tourism Industry in China, (by
Ashikul Hoque).
2. The impact of COVID-19 on tourism sector in India, (by Sanjita Jaipuria).
3. Impact of COVID-19 on the travel and tourism industry, (by Marinko Škare).

 Websites:
1. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/covid-effect-travel-agent-starts-
selling-vegetables-through-online-broadcasts/articleshow/77260141.cms

2. https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/tourism-may-go-off-
recovery-track-as-travel-firms-brace-for-omicron-impact-121112800638_1.html

3. https://indianexpress.com/article/world/coronavirus-lockdown-restrictions-eased-
tourists-travel-countries-7366187/

4. https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy-responses/tourism-policy-responses-to-
the-coronavirus-covid-19-6466aa20/

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5. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/covid-19-hits-hard-travel-and-
tourism-industry/article31388284.ece

6. https://scroll.in/article/959045/indias-covid-19-lockdown-may-cause-38-million-
job-losses-in-the-travel-and-tourism-industry

7. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/08/covid-19-pandemic-misinformation-
journalism/

8. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746289/full

9. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349234243_The_Impact_of_the_COVID-
19_Pandemic_on_College_Students'_Health_and_Financial_Stability_in_New_Yor
k_City_Findings_from_a_Population-
Based_Sample_of_City_University_of_New_York_CUNY_Students

10. https://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40359-021-00598-3

11. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/theenchantedpen/impact-of-covid-
19-on-school-education-in-india-32475/

12. https://www.redalyc.org/journal/601/60171806001/html/

13. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41885-020-00080-1

14. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-99712-z
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15. https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jecomi/v10y2022i4p73-d778148.html

16. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00321/full

17. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(20)30800-

18. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7431238/

19. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32611918/

20. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666351120300218

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ANNEXURES
 Questionnaire:
Name and Designation –

1. How do you deal with the rules and regulations or laws relating to vaccination and
Covid-19 protocols with respect to your country?
.

2. How did you deal with the unexpected losses during the lockdown period?

3. What are some of the short and long term effects of Covid-19 on domestic travel
trends?

4. At the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak, many tourists faced difficulties while
returning home due to border control issues, how did your agency cope with it?

5. Has government helped the tourism industry to revive in the last two years?

6. What are your thoughts and expectations from the government for revival of the
tourism industry?

7. Do you think the impact of Covid-19 will be recurring in nature?

A. Yes B. No

8. Do you think there is a direct nexus between the impact of Covid-19’s

lockdown and pollution because of restricted travelling?

A. Yes B. No

9. There are three levels of losses in the market - moderate, intermediate and dramatic,
so which loss is yours?

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A. Moderate B. Intermediate C. Dramatic

10. How much of an economic impact has Covid-19 had on your standard of living?

A. Extreme B. Moderate C. Slight

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