India's sustainable tourism sector is projected to reach $216 million in ten years, up from the current $ 37 million, states MakeMyTrip Founder and Chairman Deep Kalra.  Speaking at a travel conference hosted by the MakeMyTrip Foundation, Kalra emphasized the vast possibilities offered by the opportunity for sustainable tourism growth.

"The sustainable tourism market in India remains relatively small. It amounts to approximately 37 million in monetary value. Today is expected to reach crores approximately Rs 320 crores currently, but projected to grow to $ 216 million in a decade, becoming one of the fastest growing markets," says Deep.

The founder and chairman of MakeMyTrip additionally revealed that regarding sustainability, only 1 to 2 percent of tourism in India can be deemed sustainable today, which is a significant difference compared to international figures concerning enablers.

Deep  reported that internationally, sustainable tourism is expected to expand to an astounding $ 11.4 trillion within the next decade, up from roughly $ 3.12 trillion in the present fiscal year.

"We're discussing 2.73 trillion in dollar terms last year, compared to 3.12 trillion in the current financial year. However, looking ahead to a decade from now, anticipate it to rise to 11.4 trillion, making up roughly 10 percent of all eco-friendly travel, across all travel,"  adds Deep.

In India, the Ministry of Tourism has developed a National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism that includes strategic pillars for its growth, such as fostering environmental sustainability, safeguarding biodiversity, encouraging economic sustainability, enhancing socio-cultural sustainability, and implementing a certification scheme for sustainable tourism, among others.

 The ministry also launched the Travel for LiFE initiative to promote sustainable tourism in the country and to encourage the tourists and tourism businesses to adopt sustainable tourism practices.

Travel for LiFE aims to promote sustainable tourism in the country, through mindful and deliberate actions mobilized toward tourists and tourism businesses in the consumption of tourism resources.

The Ministry of Tourism has also revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective of developing sustainable and responsible destinations following a tourist and destination centric approach. 

 

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Through these initiatives, the government seeks to ensure that tourism contributes positively to the economy while safeguarding the environment and benefiting local communities.