Tourism has become the world’s biggest export industry, but India gets a very small slice of this lucrative business. The reason for our failure is not far to seek. We lack hotel accommodation of international standard and our air transport system is defective. The number of hotel rooms now available is less than 10,000 for the whole country, whereas even single cities like Bangkok and Singapore have more accommodation. Rather late in the day, the building of hotels has been speeded up with foreign collaboration (only in Delhi and Bombay) and another 5,000 rooms will soon be available, but the Minister for Tourism wants twice this figure by 1973. The Hotel Development Find has Rs. 500 lakhs for lending to entrepreneurs but this sum will not suffice. At the Madurai conference of the Tourist Development Council, the Union Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation has drawn attention to the plans afoot to provide tourist attractions in the southern States. Kovalam and Cochin, Madurai, Kanyakumari, Periyar and Mahabalipuram are to be developed to attract tourists. But delegates from the Tamil Nadu Government have pointed out that the target of 1,000 rooms by 1973 in this State is not being reached because hoteliers find their rooms are not fully booked during the season and are therefore unwilling to build more hotels.
