Let me start this with the following questions –
How many of us know where Croatia is? What is it famous for? What are its landmarks? Who are its neighbors? What are its currency and capital? In which continent is it, at least?
Well, when these questions first occurred to me, I had to use Wiki. For, I did not have the faintest idea what Croatia is, though I had a vague memory of hearing the name somewhere. Maybe, most of you have fared better than me. Now, why are we talking about a remote Central (or is it Southern?) European country with a population of just about an Indian city? We will see, in a couple of minutes.
With a culture older than more than five millennia, Egypt is a benchmark example among countries which are committed wholeheartedly to their tourism. Tourist police are almost everywhere and even help tourists settle payments with cab drivers. The job of a guide is taken very seriously in Egypt and there is a four year certified course to become one. All Egyptian guides are mandated to be multi-lingual and most of them can converse manageably well enough in international languages like English, Spanish, French, and German. Many can speak a reasonably good Hindi and Tamil too.
We have talked about two seemingly disparate situations and though they might seem so, they are not. Kindly allow me to elucidate.
India spends considerable budget on ‘Incredible India’ campaigns both in India as well as in abroad. Even, the buses of New York City are not spared of posters talking about how India is an irresistibly ‘Incredible’ tourist attraction. During the week of 22nd Dec to 29th Dec ’08, there was a series of ads in the New Yorker, marketing India and its tourism to prospective foreign tourists. Most of the ads are commonplace, ones which we normally don’t give a second glance. However, there was one sentence which refused to leave my mind. This is reproduced below –
“If you are seeking peace and fulfillment, visit India.”
Nothing can be a bigger joke. We have not forgotten the case of the young British girl, Scarlett Keeling in Goa, have we? On the last week of November, 2008, the multiple terrorist attacks rocked the financial capital of the country, Mumbai. At least 13 foreigners were killed. Besides these very specific ones, continual attacks on cities like Delhi, Jaipur and Hyderabad completely contradict the image of a peaceful and harmonious country we so desperately want to believe we are living in.
Actually, harassing a tourist visiting India, starts even before he lands in the country. A foreign tourist coming to India, sometimes, has to wait a month for an Indian visa. Pardon me for this, but heck, a US tourist visa was easier to get on a Muslim name in October 2001. Seriously. And, this is all happens before India even gets a tourist. Imagine what he will have to undergo after he actually arrives into the country. At the end of the day, the poor tourists who visit India end up hating the country. Not their fault really, you cannot blame them.
There is neither protection nor appropriate guidance to foreigners. The historical sites are badly littered and lazily maintained. The female tourists are leered at, openly. In fact, many guidebooks suggest that they wear loose, long clothes as a way of avoiding unwelcome attention. The Indian tourism ministry is highly incompetent and soporific. The infrastructure at most of the tourist spots is minimal and dismal. Still, we managed to coin a catchy phrase called ‘Incredible India’; and based on historical data and evidences, projected India to be the largest tourist destination by the 2020. If we go by the historical data, France, which attracts close to 20 times the number of tourists to India every year, will have the entire mankind in Paris alone by 2020. Okay, I am kidding. But you get the message, right?
In India, we boast of a rich heritage and culture which is at least 4000 years old. Probably, the only civilization more ancient than India’s is the Nile Valley civilization of Egypt. After reading about Egypt and its extended care to its tourists, I wish I can say the same things for Indian tourism and Indian guides too. I wish. I remember when I went to Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu; I was taken for a ride just because I could not talk the local lingo. How bad can it go for a foreigner? It can be hell, actually.
A relatively obscure country like Croatia gets more foreign tourists (consequently more global recognition and revenue) than India. In fact, double the number. India, on one hand, houses acclaimed monuments like the numerous palaces, forts, wildlife parks, sanctuaries, temples, and landscapes. Still, only half of the tourists what Croatia gets!
To summarize, what if we have a 4000 year old history? What if we have several thousand historical sites in the UNESCO’s care? What if we spend millions of dollars every year on senseless advertising and marketing of Incredible India? With a population and size of an Indian city, Croatia gets more than double number of tourists than India. And Croatia is the 126th largest country in world! Don’t we need to take a leaf or two from Egypt’s book, the way it treats its tourists who come to marvel at its age old culture and heritage?
What do we need to do then, to correct the existing problems? Well, there are really a bunch of activities that the Government of India needs to undertake. That also means that every aspect of the tourism industry needs to be worked on. Since I don’t expect the GOI to go through this article (and they are bound not to care even if they do), I will not go into the details. One more politically correct reason why I will not give my ‘Pearls of Wisdom’ is for the simple reason that I am not competent enough.
Probably a better question to ask is what we, a common and a middle class person like you and me, can do to help protect the country’s image and build a better reputation? Can we do anything at all?
Of course, we can.
Please help tourists feel welcomed in this land of ours. True, we being the helpless middle class of the country, cannot do everything for them. But, let us help them as far as we can. I have seen countless foreigners made fun of, in the tongue they can’t understand, when they try to ask directions for a place. Also, the prices are named exorbitantly for a foreigner, just because they can’t bargain well enough. Exploitation is rampant in all forms. And we can prevent most of these. Can we not?
Heck, even the beggars haggle with them when they are given Rs 2. They demand Rs. 10. Somebody selling trinkets for Rs 10 hikes the price to Rs. 100 when he sees a non-Indian. The conductor of a public transport facility does not bother to return the change to a foreigner. I had witnessed a highly ludicrous incident a few years back in Puri, a pilgrimage center in India. There was this foreign tourist who, by accident, walked into the temple with his footwear on. When he was pointed out his mistake, he apologized profusely and left the queue to do the needful. Still, a local policeman caught sight of him and he was asked to pay Rs 5000 failing which he was threatened with jailing for a month. Truly, India is Incredible!
A foreigner, wherever he is caught sight of, is flocked by people asking for money. I don’t understand how we manage to assume that all foreign tourists are rich? Well, most of them are on as a tight budget as we are. Not all of them are Bill Gates, are they?
How many times did we, you and me, try and stop the incidents of the above sort? Did we do our part in welcoming a guest? Unfortunately, these kinds of incidents are so commonplace to us that most of us don’t even give a second glance. We, the Indians with a rich heritage and culture, have always believed that a guest is God. ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ has been a guiding principle in our history. Still.
Recently, I came across the website – http://www.atithi.org.in/ reflecting some of the sentiments and ideas worded in this article. Though, in itself, this is a highly commendable initiative and a starting point, India needs more of these. Instead of getting hooked on to catchy phrases like ‘Incredible India’, instead of feeling proud of the millions of dollars spent in meaningless advertising and instead of fooling ourselves of the power of India Inc., let us do our bit to help welcome the tourists to our country.
If Croatia can do it, so can India.
