What makes India a big hit in the sphere of tourism?

The very first point that strikes me when i ready myself to answer is its vastness. And its diversity. And the underlying unity. The most important criteria for a country's success in tourism is its climatic conditions. Barring a few places. India has a very congenial climate all along the year, This in turn gives a vast scope for the tourism business almost the entire year, giving rise to uniform revenue generation all through the year. Besides good climatic conditions, India has a rich tradition of Festivals which are colourful and scintillating. India's Religions and their rituals and customs are capable of creating enough awe in any onlooker.

Seeing a phenomenal growth in tourism, government of India and the state governments made 'Tourism' as one of their main source of revenue. Consequently respective state governments formed their own 'Tourism Development Corporations' and started highlighting their state's hot tourist centers and special packages to lure their tourists.

And, in addition to this, the whole Tourism has been classified in to different categories of Tourism depending upon the Tourist Spot's speciality.

Photography tourism.

For example some wildlife sanctuaries are well known as the most visited and most photographed, most talked about spots. Similarly some historic spots like Golconda fort are also most visited and most photographed  spots. Such tourist places are classified as Photography tours.

Medical Tourism

Now with the growing leaning of people towards many alternative treatments like Ayurveda and SPAs, tourists are falling in line to reach India for cost effective but sure treatment in the most natural surroundings. For example Kerala's Kairali Ayurvedic centre, Somatheeram Ayurvedic resort, Sarovaram Ayurvedic resort to name a few have become the most sought after medical tourism centers.Medical tourism is contributing to the Indian economy in a big way. Its not all. Medical tourism is bringing most precious foreign exchange to the country's exchequer.

Pilgrimage Tourism.

India's reputation for pilgrimages and religious centers is well known.For example, Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh is the most visited and the second richest religious center. It draws millions of tourists every year contributing to the state's economy in a big way.Similarly the breath taking architecture of Sun temple in Konark, Orissa and Golden temple in Amritsar are but a few examples.

Eco Tourism

Eco tourism is of recent origin in India. Regions which are endowed with  naturally sustainable resources are becoming the centers of tourism. When it comes to Eco tourism lakes like Chilika lake of Orissa,Bheemeshwari Wildlife Sanctuary to name a few will flash into mind. They attract every year exotic migratory birds from far off continents. They are the places endowed with natural lakes and streams and water falls.

Cultural Tourism

Who doesn't know about the cultural heritage of India. For an outsider, it looks as if Indian culture is surrounded by mysticism.. People around the world are enamoured about the cultural tourist spots spread over entire length and breadth of the country. Its colourful festivals, Melas and fairs are a treat to the eye to any body who has a heart. Pushkar fair, Taj Mahotsay, Surajkund mela are some of the hot spots which draw mind boggling number of people from all over the world.

As an example take the world famous Thrissur Pooram festival, or the most colourful festival of Holi or the grandeur of Brahmostavams will thrill any tourist to the core. Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal are the most famous cultural centers in India. No one can resist the colourful cultural heritage of Rajasthan because of its rich cultural heritage.

Adventure tourism

India's geographical variations and rich waterfronts are the best suited spots for Adventure tourism. Vizag's sea  offers a rich variety adventure games and sports like surfing and skiing. Other adventure sports are Rock climbing., mountaineering, rafting, trekking to name a few. The best tourist centers for mountaineering are Garhwal,Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmere. And the thrill in camel safari need not be stressed. The most famous places for camel safari are Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Bikaner.

Rafting though it entered in to adventure tourism recently, it has made a deep dent on adventure tourism. The reason for the success of rafting is due to the presence of live rivers like Bhagirathi,and Ganga, Similarly trekking too made its presence felt in  Adventure tourism. Another new branch that's becoming more and popular is trekking on the rugged hilly regions of different regions of India.

Beach tourism

India is blessed with a 7300 km long coast line. This feature is being exploited by all those states and regions which are blessed with rich coast line. Take for example the splendour of Kovalam beach of Kerala, exotic beaches of Goa, marvelous Marina beach of Chennai and the vibrant beaches of Vizag also known as Visakhapatnam are contributing in a great way to the exchequers of their respective state governments.

Spiritual Tourism

The very name of India conjures Spiritualism for which its well known all over the world over since the dawn of civilization. For a tourist from the far off lands India remained as a thing of mystery making them come to this land of spiritualism again and again. Its the wish of every Hindu to visit a shrine of their favorite deity located in the holy places and on the holy banks of rivers at least once in their life time. Holy places like Benares also known as Kasi, Rameswaram, Sri Kalahasti, Mahabalipuram and Tirupati to name a few are always overflowing with people.The tourism departments of the
respective state governments in a bid to boost tourism offer attractive packages to the tourists.

Monument tourism

The Royalty that ruled this country be it Cholas or Mughals invariably had a common feature. All of them patronised different architectural trends to bring out charismatic structures which are awe inspiring even today. And what could be a better example than the great Taj Mahal which is mesmerizing the world as one of the seventh wonder of the world?

The forts and palaces of the great Rajasthan rulers, the magnificent and majestic structures like char minar, Qutab minar and the inimitable iron pillar are but a few examples of marvelous monuments that are drawing the tourists incessantly towards them.

Photos : Creative commons, Wikipedia