EXPORT AND IMPORT PROCEDURES AND DOCUMENTATION.

Group No: 16.

Class: SYBMS.

Division: B.

Semester: 4.

Date: 10/02/2011.

Topic: Invisible Exports – With Special Reference to the Tourism Industry.

GROUP MEMBERS.

91. TEJAL WAIRKAR.

92. KARISHMA YADAV.

94. SUWARNA BHOKARE.

95. AAKASH HINGER.

96. SAURABH TANDEL.

Introduction:

Invisible export is the part of international trade that does not involve the transfer of goods or tangible objects, which mostly include service sectors like banking, advertising, copyrights, insurance, consultancy etc. Invisible

export also known as invisible trade is basically associated with the person’s own skill and knowledge is what is 'sold' rather than a piece of software or books.

Invisible trade is composed of invisible imports and invisible exports. Since nothing tangible is transferred, the importer is defined as the person, group or country that receives the service. The exporter is defined as the supplier of the service. The net total of a country's invisible imports and invisible exports is called the invisible balance of trade and is a part of the country's balance of trade. For countries that rely on service exports or on tourism, the invisible balance is particularly important.

Export Performance of the Indian Service Industry:

An analysis of the consultancy contracts secured by Indian project in the foreign market has been carried out by EXIM Bank of India. As per the analysis, done during 1995-96 to 2000-01 indicates that consultancy contracts were secured largely in West Asia which accounted for 39% number wise and 46% value wise followed by South East Asia and Pacific & South Asia. South East Asia constituted 22% both by number and by value whereas South Asia was 18% number wise and 16% value wise. According to the 2002 data of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), India's share in global trade in services was about 1.3%. India’s share of consultancy exports is about 0.5% of global trade in services.

Government Initiatives:

In the recent years the Government of India has take some important step for the improvement of service based export. The Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09 is one of them, which has announced the setting up of Services Export Promotion Council for promoting the Indian service sector in the foreign market. Government of India has also introduced Market Development Assistance (MDA), Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme, proactive EXIM Policy and EXIM Bank schemes. Government also provides exemption on service tax for export of consultancy services. However due to lack of clarity in the provisions in the present notification, consultancy export may be affected.

Strengths and Weakness of the Indian Consulting Industry:

The major strengths of the Indian invisible exports or invisible trade include professional competence, low cost structure, diverse capabilities, high adaptability and quick learning capability of Indian consultants.

The major weakness of the Indian invisible exports or invisible trade include low quality assurance, low local presence overseas, low equity base, lack of market intelligence and low level of R&D.

Tourism Industry – A Special Focus On India.

India’s tourism industry is experiencing a strong period of growth, driven by the burgeoning Indian middle class, growth in high spending foreign tourists, and coordinated government campaigns to promote ‘Incredible India’.

The tourism industry in India is substantial and vibrant, and the country is fast becoming a major global destination. India’s travel and tourism industry is one of them most profitable industries in the country, and also credited with contributing a substantial amount of foreign exchange. This is illustrated by the fact that during 2006, four million tourists visited India and spent US $8.9 billion.

Several reasons are cited for the growth and prosperity of India’s travel and tourism industry. Economic growth has added millions annually to the ranks of India’s middle class, a group that is driving domestic tourism growth. Disposable income in India has grown by 10.11% annually from 2001-2006, and much of that is being spent on travel.

Thanks in part to its booming IT and outsourcing industry a growing number of business trips are made by foreigners to India, who will often add a weekend break or longer holiday to their trip. Foreign tourists spend more in India than almost any other country worldwide. Tourist arrivals are projected to increase by over 22% per year through till 2010, with a 33% increase in foreign exchange earnings recorded in 2004.

The Tourism Ministry has also played an important role in the development of the industry, initiating advertising campaigns such as the 'Incredible India' campaign, which promoted India’s culture and tourist attractions in a fresh and memorable way. The campaign helped create a colorful image of India in the minds of consumers all over the world, and has directly led to an increase in the interest among tourists.

The tourism industry has helped growth in other sectors as diverse as horticulture, handicrafts, agriculture, construction and even poultry.

Both directly and indirectly, increased tourism in India has created jobs in a variety of related sectors. The numbers tell the story: almost 20 million people are now working in the India’s tourism industry.

India’s governmental bodies have also made a significant impact in tourism by requiring that each and every state of India have a corporation to administer support issues related to tourism.

A new growth sector is medical tourism. It is currently growing at around 30% per annum. Medical tourist arrivals are expected to reach one million soon.

The tourism industry of India is based on certain core nationalistic ideals and standards which are: Swagat or welcome, Sahyog or cooperation, Soochanaa or information, Sanrachanaa or infrastructure, Suvidha or facilitation, Safaai or cleanliness and Surakshaa or security.

Some of the major tourist attractions in India are:

Charminar, Hyderabad. Kaziranga National Park, Assam.

Qutub Minar, Delhi.

Dal Lake, Jammu and Kashmir.

Kovalam beach, Kerela.

Golden Temple, Amritsar.

Taj Mahal, Agra.

Tourism Statistics:

Inbound Tourism Statistics - India is visited by a huge number of tourists from all over the world and every year a change in the figure is recorded...

Foreign Tourists In India (Number)

  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

January 283750 228150 274215 337345 385977 459489 532088 584765

February 262306 227529 262692 331697 369844 439090 498806 560658

March 248965 225558 218473 293185 352094 391009 444186 509926

April 185338 155378 160941 223884 248416 309208 333945 369677

May 151098 132998 141508 185502 225394 255008 267758 290785

June 176716 143100 176324 223122 246970 278370 310104 344526

July 224432 186432 225359 272456 307870 337332 377474 -

August 196517 161477 204940 253301 273856 304387 360089 -

September

162326 151721 191339 226773 257184 297891 325893 -

October 181605 212191 260569 307447 347757 391399 440715 -

November 209685 243566 290583 385238 423837 442413 510987 -

December - - 319271 417527 479411 541571 575148 -

Total 228273

8 207302

5 272621

4 345747

7 391861

0 444716

7497719

3266033

7

Percentage Changes in foreign tourists arrival

  2002/01 2003/02 2004/03 2005/04 2006/05 2007/06 2008/07

January -19.6 22.0 23.0 14.5 19.0 15.8 9.9

February -13.3 13.1 26.3 17.3 18.7 13.6 12.4

March -9.4 1.6 34.2 25.2 11.1 13.6 14.8

April -16.2 5.0 39.1 16.5 24.5 8.0 10.7

May -12.0 0.2 31.1 23.8 13.1 5.0 8.6

June -19.0 27.5 26.5 16.0 12.7 11.4 11.1

July -16.9 22.5 20.9 7.3 9.6 11.9 -

August -17.8 26.91 23.6 6.9 11.1 18.3 -

September -6.5 26.11 18.5 11.4 15.8 9.4 -

October 16.8 22.11 18.0 7.0 12.5 12.6 -

November 16.2 19.40 32.6 7.8 4.4 15.5 -

December - - 30.8 11.0 13.0 6.2 -

Total 9.2 13.1 26.8 13.2 13.5 11.9 11.5

International Tourists Arrivals to India

  2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Arrivals from Region/ Country

USA 329147 348182 410803 526120 611165 696739

UK 405472 387846 430917 555907 651803 734240

Canada 88600 93598 107671 135884 157643 176567

Germany 80011 64891 76868 116679 120243 156808

France 102434 78194 97654 131824 152258 175345

Australia 52691 50743 58730 81608 96258 109867

Italy 41351 37136 46908 65561 67642 79978

Japan 80634 59709 77996 96851 103082 119292

Malaysia 57869 63748 70750 84390 96276 107286

Singapore 42824 44306 48368 60710 68666 82574

Nepal 41135 37136 42771 51534 77024 91552

Sri Lanka 112813 108008 109098 128711 136400 154813

Netherlands

42368 31669 40565 51211 52755 58611

China 13901 15422 21152 34100 44897 62330

South Korea

27150 29374 35584 47835 49895 705407

Facts to knowTourists inflow from AustraliaIn the last three years the tourist arrivals from Australia to India have almost doubled to a record figure of 1, 00,000. However India aims to double

tourist inflow from Australia to two lakh in the next three years.

Tourist’s inflow from BritainEvery year about 3000,000 tourists from Britain visit India for both business as well as leisure.

Tourists to India spend more...Tourists to India spent $ 372 on their visa cards in the year of 2005. This is a 25% rise from the year 2004 thereby, making India the fastest growing Asia -Pacific market for the International tourist spending. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the Indian tourism demand will grow at an annual 8.8 % over the next ten years, fueled by higher incomes and lower air fares.

Earnings on TourismIn 2005, India earned US $ 6.9 billion from inbound foreign tourists, which is more than twice the US $3.1 billion earned during the year 2002. According to the latest balance of payments figures released by the Reserve Bank of India, 2005 was the year of fastest growth in forex inflows from foreign travel, during which inflows went up 36 %.

Leading Tourist destinationWith nearly 140, three and two star hotels, Kerela has turned into a major hot spot for foreign tourists. However, Tamil Nadu holds the second position in attracting foreign tourists.

Mode of transportAir continued to be the predominant mode of travel for the tourists coming to India. However arrivals by sea were negligible.

Age- Group factorAn average foreign tourist is between age group of 20-40 years.

Best time for tourist’s arrivalsOctober to February is considered to be the peak season for travel by foreigners for business as well as leisure purposes.

Employment generated by tourism in IndiaTourism Industry provides employment to about 2 crores of people in India.

Outbound Tourism Statistics - The mind blowing atmosphere and opportunities of foreign lands compels Indians to cross boundaries...

Destination Wise Outbound Travel of Indian Nationals

  2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Canada 52071 54742 55492 57010 68315 77849

USA 274202 26967 257271 272161 308845 344926

Bangladesh 74268 78090 80415 84704 80469 86231

Maldives 10616 8511 11377 11502 10999 10260

Nepal 96995 63722 65743 86578 89861 95685

Pakistan 66061 58378 2618 7096 19658 59560

Sri Lanka 31860 33924 69960 90603 105151 113323

Malaysia 132127 143513 183360 145153 172966 225789

Singapore 346356 339813 375658 309446 471196 583543

Thailand 224104 206132 253110 230316 300163 352766

China 120930 159361 213611 219097 309411 356460

Australia 41452 48227 45022 45597 55603 67951

Hong Kong 131368 161752 193705 178130 244364 273487

Japan 38767 40345 45394 47520 53000 58572

Statistics of Indian National Going Abroad

Year No of Outbound IndiansPercentage Change over the

previous year

2000 4415513 7.3

2001 4564477 3.4

2002 4940244 8.2

2003 5350896 8.3

2004 6212809 16.1

2005 7184501 15.6

2006 8339614 16.1

Facts to know* International Trips made by India Nationals in 2004 was 6.2 million, which was 16% more than 2003. In 2003 it was 5.3 million and 4.90 million was the statistics in the year 2002. It reached the statistics of 7.2 million in 2005.

* Tourists outflow from India to Hong Kong has been growing at a healthy pace despite the hullabaloo surrounding the SARS outbreak. India recovered to record a positive growth with the arrivals of 19,667 in September 2003, an 8.1% increase over the same period in September 2002.

* About 500,000 Indians are issued visa to Britain every year.

* Malaysia expects about three lakhs of Indian tourists every year, ahead of Australia, Taiwan and the U.S. Excited by the increased number of Indian tourist’s arrivals, Malaysia has been holding road shows to further beefing up its tourism sector.

* Over 1 lakh Indians visited Sri Lanka in 2004.

Invisible export is the part of international trade that does not involve the transfer of goods or tangible objects, which mostly include service sectors like banking, advertising, copyrights, insurance, consultancy etc. invisible exort also known as invisible trade is basically associated with the person’s own skill and knowledge is what is 'sold' rather than a piece of software or books. 

 

Invisible trade is composed of invisible imports and invisible exports. Since nothing tangible is transferred, the importer is defined as the person, group or country that receives the service. The exporter is defined as the supplier of the service. The net total of a country's invisible imports and invisible exports is called the invisible balance of trade and is a part of the country's balance of trade. For countries that rely on service exports or on tourism, the invisible balance is particularly important. 

 

An analysis of the consultancy contracts secured by Indian project in the foreign market has been carried out by Exim Bank of India. As per the analysis, done during 1995-96 to 2000-01 indicates that consultancy contracts were secured largely in West Asia which accounted for 39%

number wise and 46% value wise followed by South East Asia and Pacific & South Asia.   

 

South East Asia constituted 22% both by number and by value whereas South Asia was 18% number wise and 16% value wise. According to the 2002 data of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), India's share in global trade in services was about 1.3%. India’s share of consultancy exports is about 0.5% of global trade in services.    

In the recent years the Government of India has take some important step for the improvement of service based export. The Foreign Trade Policy, 2004 – 09 is one of them, which has announced the setting up of Services Export Promotion Council for promoting the Indian service sector in the foreign market. Government of India has also introduced Market Development Assistance (MDA), Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme, proactive EXIM Policy and EXIM Bank schemes. Government also provides exemption on service tax for export of consultancy services. However due to lack of clarity in the provisions in the present notification, consultancy export may be affected.  

Here is a trend for how this sector is going to rise in the future; India's export of services is expected to touch $310.9 billion by 2011/12, powered by the booming software, consultancy, engineering and tourism sectors, according  to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) survey. Services exports could surpass merchandise exports, which are expected to more than double to $305.5 billion in the next five years.  

India: Projected Exports of Services and Merchandise 

  Services ($ billion)

Merchandise ($ billion)

2006 71.6 112.4

2007 91.5 132.7

2008 116.9 156.8

2009 149.2 185.3

2010 190.6 218.9

2011 243.4 258.6

2012 310.9 305.5

Key Highlights of Service Sector Exports this year:

India exported goods worth $112.4 billion during 2005/06 while export of services was $71.6 billion.

Indian services exports are estimated to reach $91.5 billion this fiscal, and merchandise exports to hit $132.7 billion.

India's service exports grew at 28% annually for the last five years, faster than the 22% growth in goods exports during the same period.

Software services was the highest foreign exchange earner at $21.8 billion during April-December 2006, followed by business and management consultancy at $16.5 billion and travel services at $6.4 billion.

Aakash

THE tourism and hotel industries are known as “Invisible Exports”, as they bring money into the country without having to export anything. The two industries are interdependent and one cannot survive without the other.

Tourism is synonymous with travel. The earliest and most well known record of tourism is probably The Travels of Marco Polo, which described the journey of the legendary Venetian (1254-1324) from Europe to Asia, passing through many countries en route and covering the historic Silk Route during the period 1271 to 1295.

After him came the traveller-cum-explorer Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), who discovered America in 1492, and Captain James Cook (1728-

1779), who toured the Pacific region. Another famous record about travels is the Canterbury Tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer and published in 1484, which described the pilgrimage from Southwark to Canterbury to visit the shrine of St Thomas a’Becket.

According to official statistics of United Nations World Travel Organisation (UMWTO), France was the country most visited by tourists in 2007 with 81.9 million arrivals, followed by Spain with 59.2 million, United States (56 million), China (54.7 million) and Italy (43.7 million).

In terms of income, the USA topped the list with USD$96.7 billion, followed by Spain with $57.8 billion, France ($54.2 billion), Italy ($42.7 billion) and China ($41.9 billion).

The most-visited city was London, with 15.64 million visitors, then Bangkok with 10.3 million, Paris (9.70 million), Singapore (9.5 million) and Hong Kong (8.14 million). It should be noted that three out of the top five are Asian cities.

Tourism has now expanded beyond the conventional pilgrimages and sightseeing tours, with the emergence of such forms as eco-tourism, medical tourism, educational tourism and cultural tourism. The next category appears to be space tourism, which is expected to make its debut in the first quarter of this century.

The essential partner for tourism is a hotel. It has been so since the time of the Roman Emperors, when hotels were known as mansionis. Records show that the earliest hotel still in existence was founded by a priest called St Bernard of Montjoux in the 10th century in the Great St Bernard Pass, in the Swiss Alps. It is still being looked after by Augustinian priests today. The Travels of Marco Polo also show that hotels existed in Europe and Asia in the 13th century.

Hotels used to be near wharfs and jetties when the principle mode of travel was by boats and ships. When horse drawn stage coaches appeared in the 18th century, they sprang up near main roads. In the 19th century travelling became faster and more convenient with the advent of locomotives and trains. More people travelled and the number of hotels mushroomed.

More places for travellers appeared, under various names like inns, taverns, lodges, boarding houses, guesthouses, hostels, rooming houses, resorts, motels, bars, pensions and greasy spoons. A greasy spoon is slang for a cheap hotel, apparently.

The hotel business boomed and the smaller hotels gave way to larger and luxurious ones. The first of these was the Waldorf Astoria of New York, which gained high acclaim and it became a sign of status for celebrities and millionaires to stay there.

The first luxury hotel in Europe was Savoy of London. There was no electricity yet then and the Savoy was the first to provide it through the hotel’s own generator.

Good as they were, only the rich could afford to stay there because they were expensive. This led to the emergence of a new generation of less expensive hotels. Elsworth Milton Statler of Buffalo, USA, became the pioneer of this line when he founded the Statler Hotel. It soon captured the market of the middle class businessmen. The success encouraged Statler to build more hotels under the same name and gave rise to what has now come to be known as the hotel chain. Other chains appeared, including the Regent, Marriot, Hyatt and Sheraton to name a few. Traders, Sedona and Nikko of Yangon belong to such chains. Those who could not afford to set up their own hotels, operate under what is called a “franchise operation” of these chains.

The hotel business swelled into an enormous global industry and the competition resulted in better services. Buildings became taller and larger, with many rooms. The first of these was the Stevens Hotel in Chicago (later called the Conrad Hilton), with 3000 rooms. The Soviet Union, not to be outdone, built a larger one called Hotel Rossiya and edged Stevens into second place on the room count.

Motels, a hybrid term of motor and hotel, then emerged in the ’50s when more and more tourists began travelling in their own cars. They were usually located in areas easily accessible by cars, away from the dense traffic of downtown. Motel business improved rapidly and some hotels added extra amenities like swimming pools to upgrade them.

After World War II, flying became the standard form of travelling. International travel increased markedly and this led to higher demand for

places to stay, which gave birth to another generation of hotel – budget hotels.

These sprang up in the ’60s and ’70s and became popular with less-affluent business-men. Japan then came up with the “capsule hotel”. As the name suggests, the rooms are very small with just a bed and the bare minimum facilities. They attracted travellers with a limited budget, like backpackers.

Hotels can be classified into three types: transient, resort and residential hotels. The first are those where guests stay for a few nights in transit. Resort hotels are more for people to relax and are usually found in spacious grounds, near beaches and scenic places.

Residential hotels are serviced apartments for longer stays. Examples in Yangon include the Micasa, Marina and Sakura Residence, which provide a dining room and kitchenette in addition to a bedroom.

1. WHAT IS TOURISM?

This is a simple question for us in the industry!

Unfortunately, in most governments, there is a lack of understanding of

the power of tourism.

This happens in my country and virtually all democracies.

9/11 drove home to most nations the fact that the economy of most nations is tied into travel.

It is the engine of prosperity!

Tourism is fast becoming the world's largest industry and generator of jobs.

Tourism provides direct and indirect employment to over 250 Million Jobs and one out of

every 9 workers!

Our problem is that tourism is invisible!

Tourism is not like Steel, which you can see, and measure,

Agriculture that can be seen and touched.

Hence, our heads of state can have little understanding of an invisible product, which is truly an INVISIBLE EXPORT!

However, Mass Tourism, because it is young, yes young, is barely understood by people

out of our profession.

India’s present democracy was born in 1947, while Tourism began to grow heavily in the 1950's with

the birth of Commercial Passenger Jet Service.

Prior to the JET,

• In the days of propeller aircraft only the affluent traveled internationally.

• In the 30's, pre World War II, extended Business Travel was a luxury, as even a trip from New

York To Dallas Texas would entail a week to ten days with high-speed trains. Today this same

trip is done in a day.

• Prior to 1968 it was unheard of to take a weekend trip from New York to London or Paris, or a

One Week Trip to Hong Kong, yet, today this has become common practice.

What 100% of all parliamentarians need to know is that Travel, the invisible export, is now one

of the biggest EXPORTS in the world.

• Visitors arrive to buy and take home your nation's production in their suitcases or via the mail.

This is no different than commercial goods loaded on a container.

• Every time a Jet touches down at an airport, it affects your economy. These visitors fuel your

restaurant and hotel business and buy from the smallest Street Vendor to the Luxury Specialty

Stores. In 1960, there were just 69 Million International Arrivals. Today the number is

staggering and growing. It reached 697 million in 2000. It also represents $ 595 Billion dollars

and 11% of the world's GDP and 8% of the Global Employment.

Travelers’ spending affects countless jobs and production.

All nations of the world confront the same problem:

"A need for a low balance of payments."

Tourism is the quickest way to lower the balance of payments!

The wonderful byproduct is providing JOBS.

One example is Airline statistics which show that for each person employed by an airline, 5 jobs are

created! Think for example of all the jobs that an airline creates? Baggage handlers, paper cup

makers, plastic utensils, cleaners of aircraft, maintenance people, food and beverage growers and

preparers, luggage manufacturing, clothing and cloth manufacturer, to name just a few!

HERE ARE SOME NEW TRENDS in travel post 9/11

Source: WTO & Canadian Tourism Research Institute

A clear tendency toward shorter stays when going on holidays.

Higher demand for customized holidays

The shift from active holidays to holidays as an experience.

Increased numbers of senior tourists.

The advent of emerging destinations

Increase in auto versus air travel

More late bookings.

Popularity of rural and back to basics travel.

Increased use of the Internet for travel research.

Increased family related trips.

The latter item is an ideal opportunity for India.

You can find the entire list on the WTO website.

The KEY for us to know now is that there are CHANGING PATTERNS of travel

due to UNCERTAINTY.

THE ONE FORMULA THAT REMAINS VALID is that cooperation between government

and the private sector is a must!!

India tourism from overseas was growing at an average annual cumulative rate of

4.5% between 1990 and 2000. Predictions for you are 2.2 Million arrivals for 2002,

which compare poorly with figures of similar neighbours like Thailand, Indonesia,

Malaysia, China and Nepal, without even including Hong Kong and Singapore.

To be down in 2001 compared to 2000 is understandable as 2000 was an outstanding 13

travel year for the world. 2002 should have given you some comeback, however, as I mentioned

previously, the excessive media coverage of any tragic event is in itself, a tragedy.

Hence India suffers from this adverse publicity.

The media thrives on tragedies. My daily news broadcasts at home thrive on everything

from car accidents to kidnappings.

On the World Wide scene, all major incidents negatively impact tourism.

The worst of all words is nuclear. Your northwest neighbor has bantered around this word.

I told many friends of mine that I would be traveling to India. I also asked my daughter in law,

who lives in New York City to ask all of her friends how they felt regarding travel to India.

Due to the media saturation of the border problems in Jammu-Kashmir

8 out of 10 of them said: "Is it safe," or words to that effect. Even a little U.S. town like

Southbridge, MA elicited a note from one of my cousins about my trip here.

Her closing remark in the note was: "Be careful."

Why? Because Perception is reality. What the public will perceive, they will believe. Their feelings are

fueled by media saturation of incidents. Sadly, most Americans have a limited knowledge of

Geography. They avoid entire regions when any bad news appears.

One example was IRELAND. The IRA campaign and terrorism in Northern Ireland

effected the South. It took 10 years to get tourism there back to normal.

However, this short-term problem must not be allowed to affect your long term planning as Tourism

takes long term promoting to be effective!

A recent survey by H.A.I. (Hotel Association of India) drove home some vital data.

147 Experienced International travelers staying at 17 Leading hotels and 12 major

tourist destinations in India were surveyed. While these travelers shrugged off the

travel advisories and warnings as colored by political situations or inadequate knowledge, 14

the major point driven home was the effects on Travel, Tourism and Hospitality.

Businessmen in the survey indicated that their hotels had no tourists and of the

15 Tourists within the survey group, none were from the USA.

While this survey is positive, the problem is that it did not make the New York Times!

A major public relations drive is needed with the keynote being safety.

In the survey results you can see that the Europeans are more familiar with India as

they have a long history with you and go beyond the headlines. In the USA,

there is far too little accurate knowledge of the actual situation. This is why not one

of the 15 Vacation Travelers was from the USA.

I am sure you all have copies of this survey, which is dated June 2002.

The fact is that India is SAFE; the unsafe perception in the U.S.A. is due to advisories

and the media.

The contribution of Indian travel and tourism industry to the nation's GDP is anticipated to attain USD 187.4 bn by 2019 against the present USD 67.4 bn, as per Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2009 conducted by World Economic Forum. The research has also revealed that the GDP expansion for Indian travel and tourism industry will witness an increase by 7.7 % every year up to the next ten to fifteen years. Moreover, the revenue generated from exports by global visitors and tourism products are likely to produce USD 51.3 billion by FY 2019 against the present USD 16.8 bn.

To benefit from the ever-expanding travel and tourism industry of India, many agents have established Tours and Travel Companies in India. These companies provide attractive tour packages to families, individuals, honeymoon couples, and others to different part of the world.