Travel and tourism is one of the most predominant service industries in India and generates a substantial amount of revenue, apart from providing employment to a large section of the population. The industry assumes special significance with regard to the foreign exchange earnings that it generates, leading to the country’s subsequent economic development. The motivating factors behind the growth of this industry tend to be social, religious, business-oriented and so on. In India, the dominance of the unorganised sector as well as the lack of significant capital investment on developing tourist destinations remains some of the major challenges hampering the growth of the industry. A large part of travel and tourism related activities are undertaken for personal or pleasure purposes, while the rest is carried out for business-related purposes. Some of the related sectors in this regard include the hotel industry, travel and tour operators and air, rail and surface transport. The industry has a lot of potential, given India’s rich cultural heritage and regional diversity. While the number of tourists can be classified into the leisure and business categories, tourism by itself can be categorised into adventure tourism, religious tourism, medical tourism, heritage tourism, rural tourism and ecotourism. Business tourism is undertaken mainly for organising conferences, meetings, exhibitions and seminars. The industry has witnessed several emerging trends such as customised packages offered by tour operators and an increase in online bookings of late. Hide this