Tourism to contribute $280 billion to Indian GDP by 2026

The total contribution of travel and tourism to Indian GDP is forecasted to increase by 4.97 per cent per annum to $280.5 billion by 2026, according to a recent report commissioned by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Deloitte. The value of the restaurant and hotel industry is expected to continue to grow at a rate (averaging 8.1% annually throughout the forecast period), as India seeks to develop and diversify the types of tourists served. Its value will increase to $39.8 billion by 2020. While the hotel and restaurant industry contributes less than 1.5% of GDP–a share that will be maintained in the next five years—this merely attests to the diversity and strength of other industries, such as IT, mining and infrastructure, which remain very important to the economy.