SAARC was setup in 1980 as a regional organization in South Asia with the objective of fostering mutual understanding, good neighborly relations and meaningful cooperation through ties of history and culture in an increasingly interdependent world. However, the regional conflicts coupled with other factors, has made nurturing SAARC as a regional organization a much more challenging task as compared to other regional organizations like the European Union and the ASEAN. South Asia is home to more than 1.5 billion population associated with various religious, lingual and religious groups. It is abundant in human, natural and cultural resources. It faces a dichotomy when it comes to Travel and Tourism. Though the region as a whole and the individual countries receive a meagre percentage of foreign tourists annually yet the growth rate of the foreign tourist arrival in the region is the best all over the world. This points to various factors that are working positively for the region and the individual countries. Through this paper, the various factors that might contribute to better tourism prospects, namely, political, geographical, cultural, and other factors that are a part of World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index and UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals are analyzed. These factors are compared with Spain, the country that gets the maximum number of foreign tourist arrival and a conclusion is sought as to what factor or set of factors work positively for Spain and not for South Asian region. The paper has some interesting findings based on the various parameters for increasing tourism prospects in South Asia that include focusing on price competitiveness, increased emphasis on Foreign exchange earning per tourist, immersive experience for travelers throughout the year and differential weightage for 14 factors of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index. Based on these findings, it has been observed that there is no linear relationship between the standard factors specified by TTCI. A carefully authored research paper by Ambuj Saxena (Co-Founder- BnBNation, Social Buzz and a book author- Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector), Dr Meenakshi Saxena Vice Principal (Retd), Delhi Government Girls Senior Secondary School Dr G G Saxena IAS (Retd) and Sr Vice President, TSCPL

1. Tourism Prospects in South
Asia
Ambuj Saxena
Co-Founder- BnBNation, GMS Hospitality Services Private Ltd.
Dr Meenakshi Saxena
Vice Principal (Retd), Delhi Government Girls Senior Secondary School
Dr G G Saxena
IAS (Retd) and Sr Vice President, TSCPL

2. Introduction
Holistic Scenario of Tourism

3. • There are eight counties in South Asia, namely: Pakistan, Sri
Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and
Afghanistan.
• South Asia is recognized as a distinct region with a massive
contiguous landmass, assorted physical features from
swamplands to deserts, grasslands to forests, coastal areas
to mountains, a huge variety of natural resources, scenic
beauty and rivers, and diverse climatic conditions
• Despite the fact that international tourists arrival reached to
1133 million tourists globally in year 2014, which has
increased from 1087 million in year 2013 showing a growth
of 4.3 percent and South Asia received only 17.1 million
tourists (UNWTO, 2015)
Tourism in World and South Asia

4. 1980
1990
2004
UNWTO (then called WTO)
office setup in Sri Lanka
(Colombo)
Lack of political will amongst
the South Asian nations
“Magic that is South Asia” South Asian Association
for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (SAARC-CCI) began a
Nepal-based initiative to promote tourism. A
special Tourism committee was formed.
12th Summit of SAARC:
“Working Group” on Tourism
was established by
Intergovernmental Council of
Ministers.
2005 celebrated as ‘South Asia
Tourism Year’

5. Niche created by SA nations wrt Tourism
Maldives: “Sunny side of life”
Bhutan: “Happiness Index”
Sri Lanka: “Treasured island destination”
Nepal: “Buddhist Tourism”
India: “Incredible India”

6. Literature Review

7. South Asia Pakistan India Sri Lanka Nepal Maldives
Relative Rank of
region/ Country
On the basis of
contribution in
GDP
12th out of
12 regions**
125 out of
184 countries
130 out of
184 countries
70 out of 184
countries
101 out of
184 countries
4 out of 184
countries
Direct Contribution
of
T&T to GDP
% of GDP 2.4 2.9 2.2 4.8 4.3 41.5
Total Contribution
of T&T
to GDP
% of GDP 6.8 6.9 6.7 11.1 8.9 78.1
Direct Contribution
of
T&T to
Employment
% of Employment 4.7 2.4 5.5 4.3 3.5 32.2
Total Contribution
of T&T
to Employment
% of Employment 7.9 6.0 8.7 10.0 7.5 62.0
Visitor Exports (%
of total
exports)
% of total exports 4.8 3.0 4.1 21.3 25.2 76.2
T&T investments
% of total
investments
5.9 9.2 6.2 4.1 3.6 18.9
Situation of Travel & Tourism in South Asia and Selected SA Countries

8. South Asia Pakistan India Sri Lanka Nepal Maldives
Relative Rank of
region/ Country
On the basis of
contribution in
GDP
12th out of
12 regions**
125 out of
184 countries
130 out of
184 countries
70 out of 184
countries
101 out of
184 countries
4 out of 184
countries
Direct Contribution
of
T&T to GDP
% of GDP 2.4 2.9 2.2 4.8 4.3 41.5
Total Contribution
of T&T
to GDP
% of GDP 6.8 6.9 6.7 11.1 8.9 78.1
Direct Contribution
of
T&T to
Employment
% of Employment 4.7 2.4 5.5 4.3 3.5 32.2
Total Contribution
of T&T
to Employment
% of Employment 7.9 6.0 8.7 10.0 7.5 62.0
Visitor Exports (%
of total
exports)
% of total exports 4.8 3.0 4.1 21.3 25.2 76.2
T&T investments
% of total
investments
5.9 9.2 6.2 4.1 3.6 18.9
Situation of Travel & Tourism in South Asia and Selected SA Countries
South Asia and most of its constituent countries
have not really invested in Travel and Tourism and
thus have not yet received the desired ROI.
If we look at Maldives, it has invested 3x more in
T&T than average of South Asia and has seen
amazing results across its economy.
• 41.5% Direct contribution to GDP in Maldives
(SA-2.4%)
• 32% direct contribution to Employment (SA-
4.7%)

9. ‘International Tourist Arrival’ in most of South Asian nations from 2000 to
2016 except India
Just like India, South Asian region as a
whole also points towards the
preference of tourists of traveling to
South Asian due to the price
competitiveness and availability of
natural attractions.
However, there are impediments
which need to be addressed by the
SAARC nations to make their
economies more attractive for foreign
tourists.

10. Global rank and score of selected SAARC countries vis a vis Spain
Courtesy: Tourism in South Asia by NAWAZ and HASSAN, 2016

11. Global rank and score of selected SAARC countries vis a vis Spain
Courtesy: Tourism in South Asia by NAWAZ and HASSAN, 2016

12. Global rank and score of selected SAARC countries vis a vis Spain
Courtesy: Tourism in South Asia by NAWAZ and HASSAN, 2016

13. Global rank and score of selected SAARC countries vis a vis Spain
Courtesy: Tourism in South Asia by NAWAZ and HASSAN, 2016

14. • Spain scores low or equivalent to select South Asian countries on the following TTCI parameters:
• Price Competitiveness Index
• International Openness
• Natural resources
• Cultural resources and Business Travel
• The following factors work in favor of Spain due to which it gets the maximum number of Tourist
Arrival around the year:
• Robust Infrastructure
• Heavy intra regional travel in Europe
• Prioritisation of Travel and Tourism
• Temperate environment and non existence of harsh climate
• ICT Readiness which provides convenience to tourists
Analysis of Spain versus selected South Asian countries
Foreign Tourist Arrival in Spain
Foreign Exchange earning in Spain
Foreign Tourist Arrival in India
Foreign Exchange earning in India2.8 x
8.5 x=
=

15. Intra regional travel among South Asian Countries
Sources: UN World Tourism Organization 2007 and Pacific Asia Travel Association statistical report 2007
From
To

16. How easy is it to setup a new T&T business in South Asia?
World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business 2018 shows that South
Asia though has improved in rankings yet it is relatively
tough to open a new business directly or indirectly related
to Tourism.
Region Time to start a small or
medium level business
Europe and Central asia 12 days
Middle East and North America 15 days
OECD region 17 days
Latin America and Caribean 19 days
South Asia 20 days
Sub Saharan Africa 23 days

17. Our Findings

18. SAARC and other efforts at bringing South Asian countries together for
tourism have not borne fruit unlike ASEAN or Europe. Instead, South Asian
countries have fared better when they have taken individual routes to
increase tourism.
Individualistic approach to
tourism will work in South Asia
TTCI parameters are better for
increasing Tourism in South Asia
than GCI
World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index has
more relevant and contextual parameters to increase tourism in South
Asia.
Although Spain is the #1 Tourist destination in the world, yet it fares poorly
on a few TTCI parameters. This points to the fact that not all parameters of
TTCI are important and South Asian countries should concentrate on a
select few to increase high end tourists.
A select few TTCI parameters are
important
A few tourist circuits need to be
explored by South Asia
Due to shared cultural heritage, South Asian countries have individually
tapped a few cultural avenues that could have been tapped better by
joining hands. Thus, Buddhist circuit, Ramayana circuit, Shaktipeeth circuit
can be explored by South Asian nations together.

19. Recommendations
Utilization of Tourism Prospects in South Asia

20. Steps are being taken by 8 capitals of Asian countries towards promotion of tourism
through Council of Promotion of Tourism in Asia (CPTA) with its President as Tokyo,
VP as New Delhi. Some concessions are being given by these countries to promote
tourism across 8 Asian capitals like Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Taipei, Hanoi, New Delhi,
Tokyo etc.
Recommendations
One Asia Pass
Buddhist circuit Shaktipeeth circuit Ramayana circuit
Tourist circuits apt for South Asia

21. • Global Buddhist population is 500 million and it is 10% of Global population
• It is amazing to note that India, where Buddha got Gyaan (Bodh Gaya) and
shared it with the world at Sarnath, receives only 0.001% Buddhist
pilgrims/tourists per year.
• In Nepal, where Buddha was born- Lumbini, too gets almost the same
percentage of Buddhist tourists as India.
• Thus, there is a pressing need for Infrastructure development including
accessible facilities at all Buddhist destinations. There is a need to make a few
Buddhist circuits comprising of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka etc.
Need to develop Buddhist circuits within India and in
South Asia

22. Country Total Population (2013) Buddhist Population as a
percentage of total
population
Buddhist Population
(2013)
Afghanistan 24,108,077 <0.1% 24,108
Bangladesh 159,654,860 0.5% 798,274
Bhutan 725,296 74.7% 541,796
Maldives 393,988 0.6% 2,363
Nepal 30,430,267 10% 3,043,027
Pakistan 193,238,868 <0.1% 193,238
Sri Lanka 21,675,648 69.3% 15,021,224
India 1,326,987,437 0.8% 10,615,899
Comparison of Buddhist population:
South Asia

23. Need for South Asian Shaktipeeth circuits
Country Number of Shaktipeeths
India 41
Bangladesh 04
Nepal 03
Pakistan 01
Sri Lanka 01
Tibet (China) 01
Shaktipeeth could be a potential tourism circuit that acts
as a common point for South Asian countries to
collaborate and increase Tourism. It may increase the
number of Indian tourists visiting these countries.
Such Indian tourists have a mid-to-high level of
disposable income, and may have a positive effect on
bilateral and multilateral relations of India. Source: IBG News

24. South Asian nations can study the Globally accepted indicators
and improve upon them
Other Recommendations
Global Competitiveness Index
Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index
Intra-Regional Travel in South Asia
South Asian nations should take a cue from the thriving Intra-
regional travel in ASEAN, One Asia Pass, Europe and Americas to
ease the Intra-regional travel among the South Asian nations.
Minimum political interference in Trade
and Commerce
Celebration of shared cultural and natural
heritage
Facilitation of Film Shooting
Respective South Asian governments should act as facilitators
rather than as regulator of the sector
Common annual fairs festivals and events that may be organised
by a committee constituted by SAARC Secretariat
Since Filmmaking and tourism are intertwined, so, South Asian
countries may ease the process of film shooting.

25. Thank you
Ambuj Saxena: ambuj@bnbnation.com | +917042106011
Dr Meenakshi Saxena: meenakshisaxena2504@gmail.com | +91 9810882217
Dr GG Saxena: ggsaxena@gmail.com | +91 9810603010