Changing paradigms in tourism policy of India Dr. Harini K.V. Department of Economics and Cooperation, University of Mysore, Mysore, Karnataka Online published on 20 May, 2017. Abstract The Indian tourism sector is one of the largest service industries in the country in terms of its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and foreign exchange earnings (FEE) as well as for providing employment to millions. Natural beauty, historical monuments, heritage, vast diversity in terms of resplendent colors, culture, cuisine, pilgrimage all have immense tourism potential. In the recent past education and medical tourism, adventure, rural and eco-tourism have added newer dimension to Indian tourism industry. As per the latest data available, tourism in India has shown a phenomenal growth in the past decade contributing 6.8% to India's GDP. Resent introduction of visa on arrival to visitors from 44 countries across the globe with the aim to extend it to another 106, launching of mobile app for list of tour operators and classifieds hotels, e-management of tourism and hospitality institute are some of the steps in the direction of promoting tourism. The Objectives of this paper are to review the tourism policy in India and understand the role of institutions and interventions in the implementation of tourism policy in Karnataka. The Sixth five year plan (1980–85) was a major landmark in the history of Indian Tourism. The first ever ‘Tourism Policy’ of the country was announced during 1982 which specified the development objectives and provided an action plan based on ‘Travel Circuit’ concept to maximize the benefits of tourism. A National Action Plan 1992 was announced. The objectives set out were targeted at the inadequacies of the system and incorporate all those areas which have been identified as the weakness of India's tourism development policy. In 2002, the action plan was finally translated into a tourism policy and it officially became a joint central-state government concern. The policy document projected tourism as an engine of growth. It suggested that tourism not only generates government revenue, foreign currency, but also provides an optimal use of India's scarce resources, sustainable development, high quality employment especially to youngsters, and finally peace and understanding, national unity. Karnataka government identified tourism sector as one of the key sectors propelling economic growth. Karnataka has been ranked as the 4th preferred destination among domestic tourists and 3rd preferred destination for investments in the tourism sector. Several innovative methods are adopted for improving the tourism sector in India. There is a paradigm shift in the tourism policy from the early objective of attracting tourists to promoting is as an engine of economic development through employment and revenue generation to eco-tourism which focuses on promoting environmental friendly tourism. Though several policies are made, the integration with other policies is not yet achieved. Top Keywords Tourism Policy Reviews and Implications. Top |