In 1897, Mark Twain wrote

"But India—that is different. Its marvels are its own; the patents cannot be infringed; imitations are not possible"

A global phenomenon – Tourism – the beginnings of which cannot be exactly dated; however, it has been in practice for centuries.

It is noted that as early as the 16th century BC, the wealthy classes used to travel for leisure. If we consider the current adventure/exploration tourism, the same form can be seen in ‘Description of Greece’ written by Pausanias during the 2nd century. The cultural geography of Greece of that time is written in vivid detail. He described the renowned locations as well as the obscure little things that he found in his travels. In 1336, the poet Francesco Petrarch ascended the windy summit of Mount Ventoux at a height of more than 6000 ft just for the viewand wrote about it – whether it was exploration or pleasure is debatable.

The people of Middle Ages also had pilgrimages. Pilgrimages were undertaken to Jerusalem, Mecca, etc. by believers even through the hardships and challenges of travel at that time. The 16th century novel ‘Journey to the West’ by the Buddhist monk Xuanzang of Tang dynasty is another written document mentioning travels for pilgrimage. It is an account of travelling to Central Asia and Indian subcontinent. Emperor Ashoka travelled extensively spreading the doctrines of Buddha – meanwhile he built better facilities for travellers including resthouses and monasteries. The 17th century onwards arts and literature became reasons for fashionable aristocrats to visit renowned places.

While it was caravans, carts, and even walking the mode of transport on land during Antiquity and Middle Ages, sea voyages provided speed and comfort for long distance wanderers. The hardships and challenges of traveling for pleasure reduced during 19th century with the build-up of a network of railways. The year1975 saw the American novelist Paul Theroux writing a travelogue ‘The Great Railway Bazaar: By Train Through Asia’ depicting his journey from London to Southeast Asia and back. During 19th century, Thomas Cook of United Kingdom started offering day trips to local areas and extended vacations to Africa, Asia and other countries in Europe. This could be said the first official package tour in tourism. It was in 20th century airplanes came in to the picture, allowing interested people to take up exploration across the globe with almost no hassle.

While not officially termed as tourism, several centuries before itself the influx of visitors to India from far off places is noted in different scriptures. Emperors Ashoka and Harshavardhana who could be described as domestic tourists – as per current way of thinking – not only traveled through the country, but had attended to facilities required for travelers. Persians traveling by caravans could be said to be the foremost foreign travelers to India. Chinese Buddhist monks journeyed to India learning about Buddhism.

Erstwhile royal courts of India took efforts to develop roads and inland waterways. The royals traveled with their huge entourage on the rivers and spent holidaying at the hills and other scenic locations. The mass shifting of people from one place to another led to development of places enroute. Trade and commerce ensued – the common people too benefited by the journeys that the royals took. Although pilgrimages to religious centers like Kashi and Rameshwaram existed even during the previous centuries in India, the advent of British and the building of railway networks led to increased journeys by people from all strata of society. Hill stations came in to the limelight and building of resorts in scenic locations increased during this time.

Since independence, successive governments in India have strived to highlight the potentials of tourism in the country. From the Second Five Year-Plan onwards, tourism has been a component of the planning processes. The initial approach by the government was to put the spotlight on select locations and showcase them for the global community. Over the years, various factors of tourism are brought in to focus and action plans are being made and realized to accelerate tourism development.

The thinking has changed to have an all-encompassing development of locations, be it urban or rural. Circuit routes are formed to allow the tourists to have a wide-angled view of locations and experience them in its entirety. With advanced connectivity, travel bloggers and writers have a free rein to write about their choicest destinations. That means, so far hidden destinations too open up for the tourist. Apart from visiting the beaches and famous scenic spots, the visitors are given a first-hand account of various other destinations to add in to their itinerary.

Economic impact of tourism in each tourist location is huge. The increase in footfalls leads to requirement of improved infrastructure. When this is met, it gives further impetus to the overall development of the area. Across the globe, countries are devising formulas to improve facilities, develop new strategies and streamline processes to support tourism. Although some natural elements has caused tourism sector to face a lull, efforts are on to improve infrastructure facilities and chart out better options for the discerning tourists. The fact is that irrespective of temporary reversals, Tourism has bounced back and grown leaps and bounds over the years.

Tourism has taken several forms – Adventure tourism, Eco tourism, Health tourism, Heritage tourism, Pilgrimage tourism, Rural tourism, etc. Often it can be seen that several locations can fall in to one or many categories. Traveling far in to the desert and visiting a holy destination, would be it adventure, nature or pilgrimage? Same for a medical facility located beside a beach – would it be eco or health tourism? Hence, if a location is segregated in to one particular form, it does not exactly mean it would not have other attractions. It could be said that the visitor can consider it to be a different form of tourism. It is all up to the tourist to visit and enjoy the destination. They could either stick to the criteria or take in the different facets of the destination and enhance their spectrum of experiences. Almost always, they would have the chance to witness the multifaceted nature of the destination.