India, Sept. 27 -- The world over, tourism is seen as a transformative force which serves as a key growth engine of an economy with creation of jobs, foreign exchange earnings and development of infrastructure. Tourism also plays an important role in bridging cultures, preserving traditions and supporting restoration of heritage sites with people to people contact. As we celebrate World Tourism Day today, India has emerged as the top choice for tourists across the world and the tourism sector has seen exponential growth over the past 11 years under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As India has taken its unique heritage to the world, 13 new sites have been added to Unesco's list of world heritage properties in the past decade, taking the number of such sites in the country to 43. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, India has surpassed Italy and Spain to become the eighth-largest tourism economy with earnings of US$ 231.6 billion (nearly Rs 20.42 lakh crore) from the tourism sector in 2024-25. As India's rich cultural heritage, diverse geography and historical landmarks are attracting the world, the number of foreign tourists has registered a seven-fold increase from 15.27 lakh in 2021 to 99.52 lakh in 2024. The recent good and services tax (GST) reforms will further boost the tourism sector and make it even more competitive globally. Hotel stay will become more affordable as tourists will be required to pay only 5% GST as compared to 12% earlier. Buses with seating capacity of over 10 people will now attract 18% GST as compared to 28% earlier. Art and cultural goods will now attract 5% GST as compared to 12% earlier, translating into more demand for products of Indian artisans. In all, the GST reduction will lead to increased job opportunities in the travel and tourism sector. For decades, heritage monuments were in neglect. But now with the motto, Vikas bhi Virasat bhi, the Centre is paying equal attention for conserving cultural heritage and developmental projects. This has helped revive religious sites which have not only boosted tourism but also increased job and business opportunities for local people. Be it the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi, Mahakaal Lok Project in Ujjain, Ma Kamakhya corridor in Guwahati, tourists now enjoy world-class facilities at these sites. The construction of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has become a global spiritual hub that attracted over 16 crore visitors in 2024, up from 60 lakh in 2020. Initiatives like Kartarpur Corridor, Char Dham Road Project, ropeway projects connecting Gaurikund to Kedarnath and Govindghat to Hemkund Sahib and Somnath Temple reconstruction project have eased the spiritual journey of devotees. As Bharat remains the spiritual capital of the world, the Centre has paid special attention to sacred sites of all communities. The Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme has helped in the preservation of 46 such sites. The scheme includes sites related to the minority communities, including Hazratbal shrine and Ajmer Sharif dargah; Chamkaur Sahib Gurdwara and Nada Sahib Gurdwara renovation, Patna Sahib. Likewise, the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for 12 cities include heritage sites related to minority communities, including Ajmer Sharif dargah, Golden Temple in Amritsar and Bodh Gaya in Bihar. With improved facilities, spiritual tourism is now witnessing 35-40% growth in India, leading creation jobs and business opportunities. From 2014-25, the length of national highways has grown by 60% (from 91,287km to 1,46,204km). Now 68 Vande Bharat trains are running across 333 districts. While the capacity of Indian ports has doubled in 11 years, the number of operational airports gone up to 160 in 2025 as compared to 74 in 2014. Tourists now enjoy enhanced connectivity to small towns and remote regions with 625 new air routes becoming operational under the UDAN scheme that has benefitted over 1.51 crore passengers. India is attracting tourists from all over the world for high-quality medical services at affordable costs. The number of such tourists has gone up from 1.8 lakh in 2020 to 6.5 lakh in 2024 and over 1.31 lakh in the first quarter of 2025. The Union Budget 2025-26 has given further boost to medical tourism with the Heal in India initiative. E-medical visa/e-medical attendant visa facility is now available to nationals of 171 countries. The Centre has introduced Swadesh Darshan for developing 110 projects for 15 theme-based tourist circuits, including Ramayana, Buddhist, Coastal, and Tribal, to connect different regions of the country. The Dekho Apna Desh campaign encourages domestic tourists to explore unexplored tourist sites, while Chalo India has made the Indian diaspora brand ambassadors for tourism promotion. The Wed in India campaign showcases the country as a wedding destination for Indian and foreign tourists. Travel for LiFE initiative is aimed at promoting sustainable tourism. State-wise tourist circuits should be developed on the lines of national-level tourist circuits to promote unexplored destinations. Efforts should be made to further improve connectivity, tourist facilities and safety at remote places. To prevent overcrowding in hill stations and on religious circuits, management plans should be used to determine carrying capacity and take crowd control measures. As India's tourism sector is witnessing a growth, special training programmes should be undertaken for the unskilled workforce to improve the quality of service. India's unique festivals and fairs can be a major attraction for tourists to explore various regions. By including festivals in travel calendars, foreign tourists should be encouraged to plan trips accordingly. For safety of tourists, an increased number of tourism police personnel should be deployed. The turnaround in India's tourism sector is testament of the Centre's visionary policies, strategic planning and consistent efforts over the past 11 years. With the transformation of the tourism sector, it's set to be one of the growth engines to realise the vision for a Viksit Bharat by 2047....