Telecom, Tourism and Railways have shown better performance compared to other services like aviation, shipping, ports and storage. The telecom connections (wire and wireless) increased from 4297.25 lakh in 2008-09 to 9513.4 lakh in 2011-12. The data till 31st December, 2012 shows that 8955.1 lakh connections have been provided. In the tourism sector the number of foreign tourists visiting India increased from 5.28 million in 2008-09 to 6.31 million in 2011-12. The number of arrivals as on 31st December, 2012 was 6.65 million. The foreign exchange earnings from foreign tourist arrival grew from US $ 11832 million to US $ 16564 million in 2011-12. The earnings till 31st December, 2012 were US $ 17737 million. The Railways sector also performed well by registering 969.78 million ton of freight traffic carried by Railways in 2011-12 as compared to 833.31 million ton of freight transported in 2008-09. The net ton kilometres of Railways increased from 538226 million in 2008-09 to 639768 million in 2011-12.

As per the 12th Five Year Plan approach paper, India’s travel and tourism sector is estimated to create 78 jobs per million rupees of investment compared to 45 jobs per million rupees in the manufacturing sector. The foreign tourist arrivals in the country grew by 9.2% in 2011. This however was moderated to 5.4% in 2012 as a result of the global slowdown and Euro-zone crises. Domestic tourism continues to be an important contributor to the sector with 14.34% CAGR of domestic tourist visits from 1991-2011. The hotels and restaurants sector with 1.5% share in India’s GDP for 2011-12 is an important sub component.

DSM/UM/MV/SR

(Release ID :92575)

Tourism sector growth increases foreign arrivals and employment potential in services, moderating amid global economic slowdown. Telecom, tourism and railways outperformed other services between 2008-12, with telecom connections and rail freight rising markedly and tourism arrivals and foreign exchange earnings increasing. Foreign tourist arrivals grew in 2011 before moderating in 2012 due to global slowdown and Euro zone difficulties. The 12th Five Year Plan approach paper estimates substantially higher job creation per unit of investment in travel and tourism than in manufacturing, emphasising the sector's employment role.