When social media sites had flourished with millions of users, it was confined to connecting with friends and family only. With increased popularity of social media, businesses received an opportunity to expand their products and services on online platforms as a newfound marketing source. Earlier, the technology being unknown, fear of investing in social media had taken over most businesses, even large operating hotels. Soon, realizing how cheaper and effective it is, marketing strategies were beyond newspapers and mouth publicity. Hotels and restaurants are able to set up websites and create profiles of their business. It is proven to be the best and effective source of marketing, especially for new and upcoming businesses.

Travel agencies were popularly hired to plan trips or book hotels. Since, they had connections with the hotels and other tourist visiting places, they were tremendously hired. There was no other way to contact them without these agents. Now, profiles can be created that allows customers to book rooms according to their likings and avail discounts, if applicable. When visiting a new state or a country, many times you are unaware of the good restaurants or restaurants that serve your preferred cuisine, in that case finding restaurants around your location is one search away.

Travelers before the beginning of social media era were naïve. They were not aware about the deals or ratings. Research could not be done before visiting due to lack of resources to find out about the popularity or prices of the hotels and restaurants. Consumers can know the quality of the food served or services provided through the ratings under each business. Ratings can also be posted by you if you like or dislike the services. Ratings have a range of factors on which you can rate, such as food quality, ambience, prices. Concept of ratings encourage businesses to improve their quality and services. It is a huge platform to promote businesses through ratings and comments by the actual visitors.

Consumers expect great services with cheaper prices, delivering such requirements creates a difference in overall marketing. Media has immense power to either uplift your business or downgrade it to ‘Should not be visited’ status. Offering expected services on time and encouraging a feedback from the customers leaves a lasting impression without evidently provoking a bad review.

Online travel sites are being chosen over physically operating travel agencies. Such travel agencies have minimum expenses and huge profits due to affordable deals provided to attract customers. Seeing low-cost deals persuades customers to choose them as agents. Such agencies with little operating maintenance have substituted other travel agencies.

Promotion of travel and tourism on social media sites like Instagram, Facebook has supported nations from around the world to draw tourist and elevate growth of tourism and hospitality. In India, every state has its own tourism campaign run on social media platforms through films and pictures. During recent times, tourism had faced a fatal downfall because of Coronavirus. Many businesses were shut down by the massive hit of Covid-19. With improved conditions, tourism sector is gradually recovering. With the help of social media, tourism sector will recover faster and better.

Karina sharma

Tourism is the act of going for joy and roaming particularly in an unknown destination. Moreover, it is a sorted out adventure amid which a few spots are visited. However, tourism is not just confined to humans traveling to new locations, but the travel industry is one of the significant wellsprings of a national financial system. Tourism isn’t just a business for giving joy to and rest. It has now developed into a major industry. Consistently, a great many non-natives come to India because of which a country wins a ton of remote trade. The travel Industry makes employment increment and contributes towards enhancing the economy. Tourism has caused the development of travel organizations and tourism administrators, the foundation of lodgings and guest houses, hotels and eating houses, the creation of lavish vehicles, and presentation of super-extravagance trains and aviation routes. It has additionally energized the improvement and modernization in a country.

Tourism as an industry has been travelling with the wild pace of technological advancements and aboard are people from different places and cultures interacting with increasing ease….since, the globe had been shrunk into a village.
Unlike our predecessors, we can affordably and in a shorter time travel across the world in large numbers comparatively safe. Tourism being one of the biggest and fastest growing industries globally, its benefits and the challenges, keenly observed by governments affects the economic, socio-cultural, environmental and educational resources of nations.
The positive effects of tourism on a country’s economy include the growth and development of various industries directly linked with a healthy tourism industry, such as transportation, accommodation, wildlife, arts and entertainment. This brings about the creation of new jobs and revenue generated from foreign exchange, investments and payments of goods and services provided. Though improvements in the standard of living of locals in heavily visited tourist destinations is usually little or non-existent, inflation of the prices of basic commodities, due to visiting tourists, is a constant feature of these areas.
The nature of the world economy dictates that it’s mostly people from developed nations who travel as tourist to the developing ones, much more than do people from developing nations visit as tourist the developed ones. This results in a downward stream of cultural influences that in cases have proven to be detrimental, as they were not in cohesion with the environment, economy and culture of these hosts, who cannot in that same capacity exchange influences. For example, it is common knowledge that most tourist destinations are plagued with prostitution; this has had dire consequences for the culture, economy and health of these tourist coveted nations, but is reported to be a major boost for tourism.
The environment can be greatly affected by tourism in cases where the attraction is a vista of nature’s beauty, visits of people in large numbers could mean huge amounts of treading and pollution of materials such as plastic waste, bottles, which in the long run could be disruptive to the habitats of both faunal and floral life. Assessments into the capacity of people an area can safely bear environmentally, security and facility-wise are important in the protection and preservation of these vistas beaming with nature’s beauty. The responsibility falls on hosts, who must make it a point to inform and educate visitors on acceptable behaviours and dangers posed by going against the advised codes of conduct, such as disposing waste haphazardly.
In the quest to provide facilities for tourists the environment has been affected in other ways, large hotels and other facilities for tourists and likes consume large amounts of power in their quest to provide a long list of patrons with all the ‘hip’ electronic comforts.
The tourist themselves face several difficulties in their quest for, journey and stay in these foreign lands, such as the sometimes tiring search for visas and the duration of stay permitted by the host country. Another is security; most places because of frequent tourist visits have become targets for criminal activities such as kidnapping and terrorism.
Nonetheless in true nature of the human spirit tourism continues to be one of the fastest growing industries worldwide……..besides, what would adventure be?

Tourism is very important source of the economy in the country. However it needs investment first in order to make the tourist destinations clean, more attractive, safe, and secure for the tourists safety purpose. If we analyze the level of tourism in the country the question arises that what we do to promote tourism in our country. Do we maintain proper cleanliness and hygiene in all the villages, towns and cities of the country. It needs proper cleanliness, safety and maintenance of the tourists destinations in the country in order to promote the tourism. Only being full of historical monuments, heritages, etc do not attract tourists. Tourists see cleanliness, safety and security of the tourists destinations of any country.

Our country is worldwide famous for having attractive tourist destinations. People from all over the world come every year in a huge crowd to see the various sight-seeings. There are many big cities in India having very attractive world-class skyscrapers. Our country is the home to beautiful Taj Mahal, excellent gateway to the Himalayas, Royal Bengal Tiger, Lotus Temple, Kashi Vishwanath Temple, India Gate, Red Fort of Delhi, Fatehpur Sikri, Agra Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Qutb Minar, Harmandir Sahib, Amer Fort, Akshardham, Hawa Mahal, City Palace Jaipur, Gateway of India, Mysore Palace, Meenakshi Amman Temple, Golkonda, Jama Masjid Delhi, Lodi Gardens, Siddhivinayak Temple Mumbai, Mahabodhi Temple, Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, Charminar, Lake Palace, Jantar Mantar, City Palace Udaipur, Dal Lake, Falaknuma Palace, Venkateswara Temple Tirumala, and many more.

Other tourist destinations in India are Srinagar, Shimla, Goa, Coorg, Ooty, Darjeeling, Varanasi, Mahabaleshwar, Pune, Gangtok, Imphal, Kajiranga, Kashmir, Kanyakumari, Kerala, Ajanta Ellora, Leh/Ladakh, etc. However, there are lot to be done in order to improve the prospects of tourism in India to attract more tourists to give foreign tourists a memorable experience like never before anywhere else in the world.

People from upper class Indian society generally like to spend holidays in London, New York or other swish countries however people from middle class society always enjoy tourists destinations in their own country. Our country is highly targeted as the tourist place by the people all over the world in spite of many problems that’s why travel and tourism in India needs to be promoted more.