Tourism in India has assumed an unprecedented
importance in recent years and therefore efforts have been made at the national
and international levels to promote it through different media.  In the year 1984, the total international
tourist traffic approximated to 300 million, while the total world travel
receipts amounted to 100 billion US dollars. 
The share of the developed countries accounted for about 87 percent,
whereas that of developing countries was only about 13 percent from the 300
million world travelers.
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Remarkably, the governments of the developing
countries began devoting more attention to the promotion of tourism through an
integrated approach.  In these countries,
tourism has come to be recognized as one of the most vital industries.  Dudley, a famous researcher, regards tourism
as “the most important industry in the world”. 
To quote Vladimir Ankudinov, Head of the Foreign Affairs Board of
Russia, “Electronics, plastic, computer and many other new industries are
expanding at a much faster rate of growth than the old classical
industries.  But there is one industry
for which the rate of growth can well compete with any of the new comers.  That industry is tourism”.
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It may be noted that the foreign tourist
traffic in India during the period 1951-1984 rose from a modest figure of
16,839 to a staggering 12,10,752 in 1984, while the foreign exchange earnings
increased from 56.50 crores to Rs.1200 crores during the decade from 1973-74 to
1983-84.  It is projected to increase to
Rs.1800 crores in 1987-88. The earnings from tourism have already crossed more
than 10,000 crore rupees in this decade. 
It would be pertinent, therefore, to evaluate the importance of tourism
in its various dimensions.
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In
Kerala packages  designed for particular age groups and also
packed with a diversity of options helped to attract more high profile tourists
and it resulted in a phenomenal increase in earnings from package tourism.  From obscure beginnings, the private sector
has totally revolutionized the travel and tourism trade in the state.  Hotels and resorts offer significant
discounts during the off season to attract the domestic travelers.