Over the last few years, tourism in India has witnessed a major boom. In comparison to inbound travel, even though the country has seen a major growth in the outbound sector; the success rate of Indian tourism is lagging far behind China’s.
Here are a few reasons why India’s failing to fit in with China:
Peace, Safety and Security
India is a hotbed for thieves, pickpockets, burglary, sexual assaults, attacks against foreign tourists and attacks against females brings down its value compared to China where travellers have little to worry about.
Visits to India by female tourists dropped almost 40% percent in 2016 compared with the same period two years ago, according to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
Infrastructure
Domestic travellers in India have doubled over the last few years but the tourism sector failed to incorporate significant developments in the infrastructure arena. India till 2016 has just a little over 110,000 star rated hotel rooms, compared to Beijing’s 145,000 alone.
Lack of supply of hotel rooms has pushed the demand higher, making travel in India far expensive than China. The rooms that cost $400 a night in Delhi or Mumbai would cost hardly $100 dollars in most part of China.
Transportation
The quality of public transportation infrastructure in China is far ahead of India. It’s much easier and comfortable for tourists to get around China than it is for them to get around India.
China’s air, rail, and road networks are all well connected and much faster, safer, and modern than India’s.
Market size
China’s geographical size is also another important reason for it’s huge growth in tourism market. China being far larger than India is packed with tonnes of tourist attractions.
Many foreign visitors coming to India prefer cultural and natural destinations and tend to stay away from the cities.
But in China, cities too are also major draws as Chinese cities offer pure traditional experiences unlike Indian cities which are a melting pot of different cultures.
Expenses
There are too many taxes in India make travel expensive, whereas China allows free movement across the entire country with minimal tax complications. Tax disparity in independent travel purchase is a major flaw in Indian travel ecosystem.
