Indian vacation is currently among the most popular vacations. Tourism has become one of the largest service industry in India. The geographic diversity, culture wonders and different traditions have lured more and more foreign and domestic visitors to India. Aside from these wonders, the Indian hospitality which can be defined by the motto Athidhi Devo Bhava or when the guest is treated as God has been among the major reasons for tourists to return to India for more.
India is gifted with natural wonders like the large known mammals like the Bengal tiger and the Asian elephant. There are about 75 national parks in India and 421 sanctuaries, providing safe home to among the animals which are globally protected. Aside from its wildlife, India is also known for its flora and outstanding and scenic views, like the white sand beaches, valleys and hills, forests and deserts.
There are also historic monuments, palaces, forts and other architectural sights like the well known Taj Mahal built between 1631 to 1653 as a tomb for the emperors wife. Aside from these monuments there are also temples like the Golden Temple in Punjab. Others could get interested in the temples dedicated for the celebration of love, sexuality, coupling and worship in Khajuraho.
In 2005, a study conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council showed that India has become the fastest growing Asia-Pacific market for international tourist spending. In the next ten years, there is an estimate of 18.8 percent growth in terms of Indian tourism. This last three years had showed that Australian and British foreigners have increased. Australians had a record figure of 1.000.000 visitors, while British visitors who are both in business and leisure trip had reached 3,000,000, according to Indian Tour Operators Promotion Council.
If you would analyze the amount of earning of India on tourism, its even bigger than the earnings of United States. Last 2005, India saw an earning of US $ 6.9 billion from foreign tourists, while, US earned US $ of 3.1 billion. This was also the fastest year for tourism earnings in India to increase, there was an estimated increase of 36 percent in tourist earnings.
But statistics lately on Indian vacation seems to be the largest. In 2008, Indians were already welcoming 5 million foreign tourists every year. Translated into earnings, it would be equivalent to US $100 billion and is expected to grow by 9.4 percent until 2018.
The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007, India ranked to be 6th in terms of price and 39th in terms of safety and security. In international surveys, India has become one of the top five tourist hot spots in the world. Foreign tourists vacations peak on October to February. Foreigners would not only make leisure trips, but also for business trips.
In spite of all the raves about Indian tourism, there are also travel advisories that a vacationer should always keep in mind. According to the Indian Tour Operators Promotion Council here are some things that we should keep in mind during our Indian escapades:
Every country has its terrorism as a threat, there has been incidents of Indian bombings in the past. Security has already been tightened in major cities in India, however, if making plans if it is important to consider hat kind of places are known to be targets of terrorist acts.
There are also some areas in India that has ongoing political strife, it would be best to avoid these kinds of places. It is best to get updated if there are any places were political stress is happening.
There are also places that should be avoided because of their instability. For example are Jammu and Kashmir areas are better to be avoided since of an ongoing dispute between these Indian locations and nearby Pakistan.
Natural catastrophe can struck anytime, anywhere. India has active seismic zones and are subject to earthquakes. There are also some coastal places in India where cyclones could happen.
There are also local customs and laws that are followed and should be abided by the visitors, too. This would be behaviour and dress code in northern India and religious places. Also, homosexuality and its acts are illegal in India and would involve severe penalties.
There are also necessary precautions that should be taken against mosquito and water-borne disease like malaria, cholera, dengue and typhoid to ensure that you will be having a healthy Indian vacation