Destination India: The globetrotter's favourite

India, an exotic tourist destination? Yes, yes, yes. And that''s official. For the phirang tourist whose bags are packed for some fancy island or quiet hill-station abroad, it''s time to do a rethink. Kyunki India has been listed as the second-best ''exotic'' tourist destination worldwide in a survey conducted by the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in the US and the Sasin School of Business Administration in Thailand.
"This is great news.India has really come up as a major tourist destination for foreigners," says Amitabh Kant, joint secretary, ministry of tourism, "Thanks to the proper promotion and packaging of destinations such as Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan, we have been able to draw lots of foreign visitors to the country. We also ran a campaign on the top 10 websites worldwide and within six months the tourism industry witnessed a boost of over 17 per cent."
While Thailand tops the list of ''exotic'' holiday destinations listed by the survey, India is ranked above China and Egypt. Overall, Thailand is the only Asian country to find a place among the top 10 tourist destinations in the world, a list which sees Italy ranked first and France second, with Spain and US in forth and fifth spots followed by Brazil, Mexico, New Zealand and Switzerland.
"Considering that China received more than 11 million tourists last year as compared with India''s 3 million, it might sound surprising that we are placed above China. However, one must take note of the SARS scare in China — a factor due to which we expect a rise in the number of foreign tourists coming to India this year. Besides, improvement in infrastructure has led to tourists setting their sights on places such as Hampi, the North-East and the Himalayas," says Ameeta Munshi of Thomas Cook.
Among Asian countries, Thailand is rated by the survey as the country offering the best hospitality, with China being billed as the country which truly represents the continent. India, of course, can take pride in the fact that it is slowly, but surely, making its presence felt on the global map.
As the spokesperson of Cox & Kings puts it, "With destinations such as Lakshadweep bound to be equipped with better infrastructure in the near future, there is definitely great scope for India''s tourism industry."
Adds Kant, "If Edmund Hillary has spoken of India as an amazing destination, Paul McCartney recently spent a fortnight with his wife Heather Mills in our country. India offers tourists more than just a destination — it is a journey for the mind and soul. Foreigners visiting the country get everything from exotic beaches to massage therapy and return enlightened."
Simply put, if most if not all roads lead to India in the current context, the future offers immense possibilities for the country to play the perfect host to the world. Now, wouldn''t that be exotic!