A Study on Changes in GDP due to its Relative Dependence on Tourism Receipts

Abstract

Tourism is a social phenomenon, driven by the natural urge of human beings to experience new places, cuisines, and destinations. The tourism industry being an established industry is considered as a vehicle for economic development. It is amongst the top ten sectors in India as it attracts a high level of foreign direct investment (FDI).The tourism industry has contributed a lot to the economy by attracting a large number of both foreign and domestic tourists travelling for professional as well as holiday purposes. This results in increased foreign exchange income and greater employment opportunities that stimulate the growth of tourism industry as well the overall economic growth. This research is mainly directed towards finding out the contribution of tourism sector towards the GDP of the country and giving suggestions on ways to improve it further. The possibilities of improvement and increase of foreign cash inflow is a crucial part of tourism sector towards contributions to the economy. The researcher has used correlation and regression to establish the relationship as well as the influence of the tourism sector towards GDP and has found a positive impact, and this has been evident in all the countries. But if we compare the GDP contribution of the tourism sector from a world perspective, Indian tourism sector has not contributed enough to GDP. World average contribution from tourism sector towards GDP is 9.8%,but India‟s contribution towards GDP is 6.7%. This shows that there is huge opportunity in Indian tourism sector, and this huge opportunity has to be capitalized through government policies and reforms.