Tourism in India

Tourism in India is economically important and is growing rapidly. The World Travel & Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated ₹6.4 trillion (US$94 billion) or 6.6% of the nation's GDP in 2012. It supported 39.5 million jobs, 7.7% of its total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% till 2023 making India the third fastest growing tourism destination over the next decade. India has a large medical tourism sector which is expected to grow at an estimated rate of 30% annually to reach about ₹95 billion (US$1.4 billion) by 2015.

About 22.57 million tourists arrived in India in 2014, compared to 19.95 million in 2013. This ranks India as the 38th country in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011. In 2014, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh were the most popular states for tourists.Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. Worldwide, Chennai is ranked 38 by the number of foreign tourists, while Mumbai is ranked at 50, Delhi at 52 and Agra at 66 and Kolkata at 99.

India

India, officially the Republic of India (Bhārat Gaṇarājya), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west;China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Myanmar (Burma) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

Home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and a region of historic trade routes and vast empires, the Indian subcontinent was identified with its commercial and cultural wealth for much of its long history. Four religions—Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism—originated here, whereas Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam arrived in the 1st millennium CE and also shaped the region's diverse culture. Gradually annexed by and brought under the administration of the British East India Company from the early 18th century and administered directly by the United Kingdom after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, India became an independent nation in 1947 after a struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent resistance led by Mahatma Gandhi.

Incredible India

Incredible India (styled as Incredible!ndia) is the name of an international marketing campaign by the Government of India to promote tourism in India in 2002 to an audience of global appeal.

Incredible India title was officially branded and promoted by Amitabh Kant, then the Joint Secretary under the Union Ministry of Tourism, in 2002.

Marketing campaign

In India and the Ministry of Tourism launched a campaign to promote Incredible India as a tourist destination in 2002. The phrase "Incredible India" was adopted as a slogan by the ministry. Before 2002, the Indian government regularly formulated policies and prepared pamphlets and brochures for the promotion of tourism, however, it did not support tourism in a concerted fashion. However, in 2002, the tourism ministry made a conscious effort to bring in more professionalism in its attempts to promote tourism. It formulated an integrated communication strategy with the aim of promoting India as a destination of choice for the discerning traveler. The tourism ministry engaged the services of advertising and marketing firm Ogilvy & Mather (India) (O&M) to create a new campaign to increase tourist inflows into the country.

Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh ([ɦɪmaːtʃəl prəd̪eːʃ]; literally "Snow-laden Region") is a state in North India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. Its area is 21,495 sq mi (55,670 km²), and is bordered by Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west, Haryana on the south-west, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east.

Himachal Pradesh is famous for its abundant natural beauty. After the war between Nepal and Britain, also known as the Anglo-Gorkha War (1814–1816), the British colonial government came into power and the land now comprising Himachal Pradesh became part of the Punjab Province of British India. In 1950, Himachal was declared a union territory, but after the State of Himachal Pradesh Act 1971, Himachal emerged as the 18th state of the Republic of India. Hima means snow in Sanskrit, and the literal meaning of the state's name is "In the lap of Himalayas". It was named by Acharya Diwakar Datt Sharma, one of the great Sanskrit scholars of Himachal Pradesh.