About India

• New Delhi is India's capital.delhi image by ralf werner froelich from Fotolia.com
  
  More than 60 years into its independence from British colonial rule, India has developed into a strong player on the world economic stage. As of 2010, more than 1.1 billion people live in India, making it the second most populated country after China. New Delhi is the political capital of India, although Mumbai is the country's the financial center.
  
  

India's Economy

• Tourism is becoming more and more a vital part of the Indian economy.indian currency image by Sid Viswakumar from Fotolia.com
  
  Even though most of the population is rural and still works in agriculture, India's service-based economy has rapidly brought about a thriving development, especially in the last 20 years when India liberalized its markets. The services sector employs about 30 percent of India's workforce, yet provides about half of its output. India depended on its large English-speaking, well-educated workforce to develop a burgeoning technology sector, as well. Tourism is a growing portion of India's economy with an earnings increase of more than 17 percent from 2009.
  
  

Reasons for Growth

• The Indian government played an important role in promoting tourism.india flag button image by Andrey Zyk from Fotolia.com
  
  India's government, through its Tourism Ministry, developed a National Action Plan for Tourism to develop this portion of the economy. The plan sought to promote tourism as a way to boost socio-economic development, increase employment, preserve the nation's heritage and environment and promote international and domestic tourists to visit India as a way to increase its share of global tourism. Through this plan, the ministry began advertising campaigns at home and abroad. The successful campaign has brought more tourists--and their money--to the country and boosted employment in this sector to more than 20 million people by 2006.
  
  

Foreign Tourism to India

• The Taj Mahal is one of India's most famous attractions.taj mahal palace in delhi,india image by Galyna Andrushko from Fotolia.com
  
  In 2006, more than 4 million tourists visited India and spent the equivalent of $8.9 billion U.S. dollars, and this figure rose by about 22 percent each year from 2006 to 2009. Thanks again to its technology and service sectors, foreign business travelers are descending on India in large numbers. Many extend their trips, adding more tourist money to the economy. In fact, foreign tourists from all over the world spend more in India than almost any other country worldwide, according to Economy Watch. Tourists are attracted by India's cultural diversity, temples, scenery and festivals. Each region of India offers something for foreign visitors, from the Taj Mahal and New Delhi in the north, bustling Mumbai in the West to the religious center of Varanasi in central India and any number of its beaches and coastal cities.
  
  

Indian Travelers Abroad

• Indians are a growing part of their country's tourism sector.india image by giantorre from Fotolia.com
  
  Not only are foreign tourists traveling in India, its own citizens are taking more vacations, as well. The country's economic growth increased its middle-class population. This group is contributing the most to domestic travel thanks to an annual 10 percent increase in disposable income between 2001 and 2006.