India moves 12 places up in global travel and tourism ranking in 2017

India has improved 12 places to reach the 40th position globally, according to the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017 by World Economic Forum. The country has seen continued growth in international arrivals over the past 15 years, reaching the 8 million mark in 2015. India continues to charm international tourists with its vast cultural and natural resources (9th and 24th, respectively), and its price competitiveness advantage (10th). India continues to enrich its cultural resources, protecting more cultural sites and intangible expressions through UNESCO World Heritage lists, and via a greater digital presence.
International openness (55th, up 14 places), through stronger visa policies implementing both visas on arrival and e-visas, has enabled India to rise through the ranks. The T&T sector benefited from improvements in the country’s ground transport infrastructure, which has traditionally been a challenge (29th). Health conditions are improving, though they remain inadequate (104th). Similarly, ICT readiness (112th), security concerns (114th) and human resources (87th) are improving, but remain weak. While further improvements are needed across these dimensions, India is taking small but important steps in the right direction. The T&T sector presents significant opportunities that are yet to be reaped, especially in the provision of tourist service infrastructure (110th), and in terms of additional accommodation capacity and entertainment facilities.