Making India the Tourist Centre of the World

I got this from one of the Indian Visitor. Hi, Visiting the tourist attractions in other countries I don't see why India cannot be the tourist centre of the world. India has everything to offer --- a historical setting dating back thousands of years, bio-diversity, ethnic & cultural diversity, natural beauty & contrasts, variety in foods & fruits, richness in music, dance & drama, the biggest film industry in the world, the highest mountains, a long mountain range & a long coast line --- you name it we have it. Today travel in India is easy & cheap, except for the holiday season of April & May. Railway bookings & travel are no longer the nightmare they were & with an enterprising Minister in charge, it can be made more exciting & entertaining. With cheap air fares , air travel is today within everyone's reach --- it can even be further improved with innovative schemes. I don't understand this clamor for improving the infra structure, except possibly the toilet facilities, which must be more easily accessible & well maintained. This alone has a hugh employment generation potential. The manpower employed, even in advanced countries, is not insignificant. And , of course , the Gulf cities are kept spotlessly clean with Indian labor. We must learn to market & package our offering as is done in other tourists centres. Each city of India can match the tourist offerings of places like Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur. Where they excel is in the Packaging & Marketing. The close collaboration between Government & Private business is an excellent subject for study by those who believe that progress can only come through privatization. Let me try & give some ideas of what can be done * Yoga can be marketed in a big way with specialization in Yoga for various types of ailments. * Similarly Ayurveda & ayurvedic medicines with visits to places where ayurvedic plants are grown. * India can be the destination of choice for medical treatment with the excellent & cost effective offerings in modern forms of medicine also. * 1,000 varieties of mangoes are grown in India. Why not Mango Fests in the mango growing areas of this country? * Why not create the tea gardens as tourist attractions as the vineyards of California? * Why not Shopping Fests like the Dubai Festival? * Our powerful IT industry should create IT Parks where virtual reality can be experienced under various themes --- wild life, mountaineering, discovery & exploration, learning new languages, phonetics, etc. * Why can't we market the monsoons where people can experience the howling of the winds & the lashing of the rains in places along the Konkan Coast instead of the monsoon season being a time to avoid India? * Why can't we market our Rajasthan Desert with a desert experience as is done in the Gulf countries? * How about Cultural Festivals like they have the Greek Festivals, the Mexican Festivals, the Chinese Festivals where there is say a typical Kerala or Meghalaya setting , cusine, dance & music? * Why not create tourist centres for showing our ancient arts & crafts --- how they are made & offering products for sale through aggressive sales efforts --- as is done in Bangkok by Gems & Jewellery International? * Why not cheap , very cheap boarding & lodging & daily cultural programs at sites with great natural beauty like Yosemite National Park in U.S.A.? * Cheap accomodation is a prerequite for tourism --- not 5 Star Hotels. Goa has become a great tourist centre because one can find accomodation even in private homes. The list can go on & on ............................................. Is't it great !!