Back in the early days in India, nations across the globe were fascinated by India’s mystical charm vowing to put India on their bucket list.
Foreign Tourists were Drawn to the Mystical Enchanted Land
In the early days, millions of foreign tourists flocked to India, caught in the spell of her mystical ancient charm, lured by her melodious wooden flutes, the dance of pythons, yogis who could sit on a bed of nails or run through blazing fire, the dusky peaceful call during Azan, the gleaming white mosques, shining Varanasi in the golden glow of incandescent oil lanterns amid the dark shimmering Ganga, grand forts, temples, old rustic churches, shrines, and a host of exotic spots.
They were enthralled by the flaming red sunsets of Kanyakumari, the display of an extravagant lover demonstrating his love through the creation of the pearly white marble Taj Mahal, and the enchanting backwaters of Kumarakom in Kerala with their famous houseboats, relishing in the luxury of houseboats in Kashmir amid towering mountains.
They were enticed by romantic Rajasthan, where one spends nights under sparkling shooting stars in the dazzling Indian desert, the excitement of a camel trek, and spending nights in a luxury tent amid isolated, tranquil surroundings. The exhilarating places in India are endless and their enchantment is boundless be it the picturesque Kashmir Valley nestled in the rich-green golden Himalayas or hundreds of exciting wild-life sanctuaries, foreign tourists simply adored India. During summer, in the past, thousands of Western tourists thronged Darjeeling streets and the hotels were overflowing. Now, for years, there is a deathly silence and slowdown in all these places.
How Things Changed
While global travel and tourism was an $8.9 trillion (US$) business in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic dropped those figures to a quarter of their previous value.
Sadly, over the years, there was no longer the exuberant rush to India and it was observed that most global trotters would fly to either Europe or Caribbean Islands, or Hawaii for holidays. Here are the ten most visited countries in the world right now.
Top 10 Countries Most Popular with Tourists (by number of 2019 visitor arrivals) France – 90.0 million Spain – 83.7 million United States – 79.3 million China – 65.7 million Italy – 64.5 million Turkey – 51.2 million Mexico – 45.0 million Thailand – 39.8 million Germany – 39.6 million United Kingdom – 39.4 million
One might ask why and there are three main reasons that can be practically observed:
Three Reasons Why India is Losing Foreign Tourists
Rise in Crime and Rape: It is terribly unfortunate that rape projected in India across the globe has alarmed tourists. While always an epidemic, somehow over the years the rape cases have become more violent grabbing the world’s attention. There are especially cases where women and girls are raped and then burned alive or hanged so they would never live to tell their stories. One rape was reported every 16 minutes in India in 2019. This figure was 15 minutes in 2018.
While Indians retort indignantly that rape happens more in other nations, yes, perhaps it is true, but nowhere is rape done so barbarically. When I happened to mention this to someone, they responded almost as if the barbaric killing was a non-issue. The fact is authorities and people have almost accepted this. While there may be a lot of hard work going on, a vast number of Indians see good education at an early age working to eliminate the barbaric culture of rape that is rapidly advancing.
It is believed that a political party gives immunity to their workers, along with weapons. We saw the pistols and swords carried during the recent protests during the Hanuman Chalisa, It is said that the crimes against children have gone up by 300% in recent years, says NCPCR chairperson. Just about everywhere, there is a rise in crime because goons have guns and they are backed by political leaders.
Communalism: A sudden spurting of hatred with toxic speeches aimed toward Muslims amid violence as well as attacks on Christians spewed by top Hindutva leaders who have links to the BJP made citizens feel as if the leadership in government was at war against its citizens and people started to feel very insecure.
When the world is watching all this uncomfortably, multinational companies have even backed out of India. In March 2020, a week after communal riots devastated parts of the Capital Delhi, trade bodies estimated a loss of $34.65 billion.
Fahad Maqsusi, a businessman shared “Hijab row followed by halal economics by communal unsocial element’s seems hitting employment in India. As Middle Eastern companies started to pull out multi-billion businesses from Bangalore & shifting it to #Jordan & #Egypt due to rising communal violence against Muslims.”
Apparently, Ejada Bank from the Middle East was also pulling out of India as most of the Gulf companies are feeling Karnata’s communal atmosphere is not favorable for business and did not want to rely on India.” While this refers to business, there is simmering angst in hearts abroad over the rising nearly pan-India violence against Muslims and Christians with new laws that legitimize unwarranted arrests against Muslims and Christians. Foreign tourists now get unfriendly vibes from India.
Fanaticism: In the past, Indians had an aura of openness and friendliness and no one was felt discriminated against for being of another religion, caste, or color, which has drastically changed in the last years. Hateful speech and abuse even online have increased in levels of toxicity. Open talking about the eradication of Muslims and Christians on Twitter is become commonplace. Nasty comments too are made by top handled linked to the BJP. All this will have had ramifications around the globe because news travels fast nowadays and people are intrinsically linked. They have relatives abroad, friends, businesses, and work abroad. Nothing can be hidden. In the past, Indians abroad united because they were Indians but now are divided around the globe because of religion. While Indians will visit home from abroad, the foreign tourists would rather go to the European nations feeling safer.
Tourists who perhaps were planning to visit India always do a ground study of the country they want to visit, such as safety, crime, and seeing it shrieking in the unsafe zones, decline to visit.
Losing Global Tourists is Sinking Indian Economy
The consequence has been especially damaging in nations that rely laboriously upon tourism as part of their GDP. There is a sharp drop in foreign tourists in Kashmir which was previously a strong source of their income causing an overall GDP fall.
One of the most powerful ways to build an economy is through tourism though it should never be the main source of income because the loss of tourists can devastate the economy. Tourists from across the globe bring in foreign funds prospering that region.
Conclusion
It should be the aim of India to maintain peace, harmony, and acceptance of diversity in religion, caste, and regions in order to bring prosperity and joy. Constant fighting and bickering and casting communal slurs every now and then are only bleeding India, hurting her, and destroying the economy.
The spirit of India is intrinsically diverse from the roots of her origins, a multi-source civilization, not a single-source one with countless migrations and invasions of multi-cultures and religions intermingling, the multifariousness of India is unsurpassed by any other country in the world. The ethos of India over centuries has been tolerant and secular and to suddenly squash millions of Indians into stifling silence would have serious consequences in time.
Rita
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