Maharashtra has been rated on top in terms of tourism potential by a recent survey compiled by World Travel and Tourism Council. The ranking has been done by assessing the relative competitiveness of over 30 states in India. Maharashtra has moved up one position from the previous edition of the survey done last in 2013.
In comparison, national capital Delhi — which topped last time's rating — stood second on the list. Similarly, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu won the third, fourth and fifth place respectively.
According to the Tourism Highlights 2015 Edition report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the total number of International Tourist Arrivals (ITA) worldwide was 1,133 million in 2014, India attracted 0.67% of the world's international tourist arrivals out of which Maharashtra attracted 4.5 million tourists from foreign countries and over 8.4 million domestic tourists, which is largest than any other state in the country.
Commenting on the development Valsa Nair Singh, secretary state tourism and cultural affairs, GoM, said: "This recognition is prestigious, as Travel and Tourism is an integral part of our economy and we are happy that we stand as No.1 in attracting tourists. This is a team effort, through innovative promotional campaigns, marketing strategies, planned, focused and aggressive ideas we have reached such milestones. We are motivated to do better every day. Our recent thumping success of MITM attracted global buyers and sellers and we are confident to grow over the magic numbers in coming years, making Maharashtra number one destination on the world map."
According to tourism industry experts, the ranking was highly dependent on a strong economy, good infrastructure, presence of a sizeable quantum of branded hotel rooms and a variety of demand generators to occupy these rooms. "In line with these factors, Maharashtra has recorded perfect scores in four parameters – tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. The state has performed well across all other parameters with the exception of its expenditure on tourism," said an official from state tourism department.
India's travel and tourism economy is poised to grow 7.5% in 2015 over last year, exceeding the 6.9% growth that the global forum has predicted for the South Asian region. By the end of 2015, the travel and tourism sector will contribute Rs8.22 trillion or 7% of India's gross domestic product (GDP) and 37.4 million jobs — almost 9% of total employment, the report said. In comparison during the year 2014, the industry contributed Rs7.64 trillion and 36.7 million jobs to the Indian economy.
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