Aviation
- India needs at least 400 airports and 3,000 aircraft in the next 10 years to keep pace with the growing demand, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
- He said as the aviation industry has been growing at 18 per cent CAGR, the country needs up to 3,000 aircraft in the next ten years.
- He also underscored the need for making air travel safer and more secure.
- "Our job is not over by creating infrastructure for aviation industry to grow. We need safe and secure aviation. Indian aviation will not grow at the cost of safety and security," the minister said during the inauguration of India Aviation-2010, a five-day exhibition and conference of international aviation began on Wednesday.
- He said the bidding process for New Mumbai airport is expected to be completed in a year.
Hospitality & Travel
- The Hospitality industry is the third-largest foreign exchange earner, accounting for 6.23% of India’s GDP and 8.78% of India’s total employment, according to a report by the Planning Commission.
- Tourism in India is the largest service industry. The travel and tourism sector currently employs 49 million people, or 1 in every 10 jobs, and this is projected to increase to 58 million, or 1 in every 9.6 jobs by 2020.
- Travel and tourism is a USD 32.7 billion business in India, according to industry estimates; in addition, the hospitality sector is sized at USD 23 billion and is expected to grow to US$ 36 billion by 2018.
- It is expected that the hospitality sector will witness an inflow of USD 12.17 billion in investments over the next two years, according to market research company Technopak Advisors.
- According to the Planning Commission, the hospitality sector creates more jobs per million rupees of investment than any other sector of the economy. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which says India’s travel and tourism sector is expected to be the second-largest employer in the world, employing 40,37,000 people, directly or indirectly, by 2019.
