India

It is certainly true that India as a tourist destination offers a whole lot more to tourists than most other destinations can, from the peaks of the Himalayas to the Tea Gardens of Assam to the backwaters of Kerala, to the white sandy beaches of Goa, and above all, monuments like the Taj Mahal, one of the wonders of the world--- India has all of this and much more , but sadly, India gets fewer tourists than most of its competing nations.

There are quite a few reasons as to why India only gets a minuscule percentage of the world’s tourists. Prominent amongst these are our lack of infrastructure, visa’s being difficult and expensive, the perception regarding lack of safety and security, etc.

When it comes to infrastructure, sadly, we are way behind our neighboring countries or other Asian destinations – the drive from Delhi to Agra has improved and is now world-class, but, when you look at other highways, it’s a sad situation. The drive from Jaipur to Delhi, a distance of about 250 kms, could take up to 7 hours! Likewise, the drive from Bangalore to Mysore, a distance of only about 150 kms, could take up to 5 hours! It is just not the roads or the lack of them, it is basic facilities like clean toilets that are lacking in most of our highways.

Then there is air connectivity – while things have improved quite a bit in the last few years, our national carries Air India, unfortunately, hasn’t done much to improve connectivity to India from major tourism producing countries. Compare ourselves to Dubai or Singapore, where the national carriers because of their strength, network, and connections, bring in thousands of tourists.

A lot of tourists intending to travel to India are deterred by the high cost and the time taken to obtain a Visa for India. With short lead times and last minute vacation planning becoming more and more common, travelers obviously choose destinations that are easy to get to in terms of the visa. Competing destinations like Thailand, Singapore, Hongkong, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc, either require no visas at all or have visas that are available on arrival. Even countries like Turkey, that are serious about their tourism, have introduced e-visa that can be obtained on the internet.

As a country, we have so much to show, in terms of history and culture, but, unfortunately, greed and dishonesty seems to have crept in, and crept in so deep, that it mars the tourist’s good experiences too! Tourists visiting the Jama Masjid (the largest Mosque in India ) are forced to pay a camera fee when there is actually nothing to be paid. Tourists traveling in auto rickshaws often end up paying 3 or 4 times the usual fare!

We really need to get our act together , and the Government needs to understand the importance of tourism, both in terms of its cultural exchange value , and in terms of its economic value, and do things that will attract visitors to our shores--- getting our act together on the infrastructure front , lowering of taxes on tourism product ( taxes in Delhi for example constitute almost 40% of the Hotel costs) , ensuring the safety and security of tourists travelling (particularly female travellers), would be the first steps towards this .

We also need to have more leisure activities for tourists, travellers are very happy to see monuments, forts, and palaces, but a lot of them even want nightlife and evening entertainment, good golfing facilities, etc, facilities which sadly, most of our tourist destinations lack. For example, Goa, India’s most sought after beach holiday destination, does not till date, have a world-class Championship Golf course something that every other beach holiday destination offers.

Having said all of this, India certainly does have lots to attract tourists, monuments like the Taj Mahal, Tiger Reserves like Kanha and Bandhavgarh, the frozen deserts of Ladakh, the pristine backwaters of Kerala, the 400-year-old temples of Southern India, the list is actually endless !!!

1. The Connaught

Bordering the city center, Connaught Place, and is only a 3-minute walk away from the outer circle of Connaught Circus. Connaught Place is an old-style low rise shopping area, with plenty to offer by way of shopping, bars, and restaurants. As far as food and drinks are concerned, in Connaught Place, one would find everything from fine dining Indian restaurants like Veda, to fast food outlets like Saravana Bhawan (serving well priced Indian fast food), Mc Donalds, Costa Coffee, etc.

Bordering Connaught Place to the south, is Janpath, which is about a 10-minute walk from the Connaught hotel. It has small shops selling everything from artifacts, costume jewelry, silk, leather garments, and souvenirs. Janpath is a great place for tourists to test their bargaining skills too. Also, located on Janpath, is the Cottage Industries Emporium, a government-run departmental store style shopping complex, spread over 3 floors, with a good selection of Brassware, Handicrafts, Furniture, etc – and with an added attraction of having fixed sticker prices for everything.

A 5 minute walk away from the Connaught hotel is Baba Kharak Singh Marg, which houses a complete row of State Government Emporiums, which are also great places to shop, with fair and fixed prices.

For those seeking to do a bit of sightseeing on their own, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, as well as the National Museum are only about 3-4 kms away from The Connaught hotel.

2. The Park

Bordering the city center, Connaught Place, and is only a 2-minute walk away from the outer circle of Connaught Circus. Connaught Place is an old-style low rise shopping area, with plenty to offer by way of shopping, bars, and restaurants. As far as food and drink are concerned, in Connaught Place, one would find everything from fine dining Indian restaurants like Veda, to fast food outlets like Saravana Bhawan (serving well priced Indian fast food), Mc Donalds, Costa Coffee, etc.

Bordering Connaught Place to the south is Janpath, which is a less than a 10-minute walk from the Park hotel. It has small shops selling everything from artifacts, costume jewelry, silk, and leather garments and souvenirs. Janpath is a great place for tourists to test their bargaining skills too. Also, located on Janpath, is the Cottage Industries Emporium, a government-run departmental store style shopping complex, spread over 3 floors, with a good selection of Brassware, Handicrafts, Furniture, etc – and with an added attraction of having fixed sticker prices for everything.

5 minute walk away from the Park hotel is Baba Kharak Singh Marg, which houses a complete row of State Government Emporiums, which are also great places to shop, with fair and fixed prices. For those seeking to do a bit of sightseeing on their own, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, as well as the National Museum are only about 3-4 kms away from The Park hotel.

3. The Shangri La & the Lalit

Both these hotels are just off the city center, Connaught Place, which is about a 10-minute walk away. Connaught Place is an old-style low rise shopping area, with plenty to offer by way of shopping, bars, and restaurants. As far as food and drinks are concerned, in Connaught Place, one would find everything from fine dining Indian restaurants like Veda, to fast food outlets like Saravana Bhawan (serving well priced Indian fast food), Mc Donalds, Costa Coffee, etc.

Bordering Connaught Place to the south is Janpath, which is about a 10-minute walk from these hotels. It has small shops selling everything from artifacts, costume jewelry, silk, and leather garments and souvenirs. Janpath is a great place for tourists to test their bargaining skills too. Also, located on Janpath, is the Cottage Industries Emporium, a government-run departmental store style shopping complex, spread over 3 floors, with a good selection of Brassware, Handicrafts, Furniture, etc – and with an added attraction of having fixed sticker prices for everything.

For those seeking to do a bit of sightseeing on their own, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, as well as the National Museum are less than 2 kms away from The Shangri La hotel, and less than 3-4 kms from the Lalit hotel.

4. The Imperial

Perhaps the best located amongst all of New Delhi’s hotels. It is located on Janpath, bordering the city center, Connaught Place, which is a less than a 5-minute walk away. Connaught Place is an old-style low rise shopping area, with plenty to offer by way of shopping, bars, and restaurants. As far as food and drink are concerned, in Connaught Place, one would find everything from fine dining Indian restaurants like Veda, to fast food outlets like Saravana Bhawan (serving well priced Indian fast food), Mc Donalds, Costa Coffee, etc.

The Imperial is located right next to the small stores on Janpath, which sell everything from artifacts, costume jewelry, silk, and leather garments and souvenirs. Janpath is a great place for tourists to test their bargaining skills too. Right across the road from The Imperial hotel, is the Cottage Industries Emporium, a government-run departmental store style shopping complex, spread over 3 floors, with a good selection of Brassware, Handicrafts, Furniture, etc – and with an added attraction of having fixed sticker prices for everything.

For those seeking to do a bit of sightseeing on their own, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, as well as the National Museum are less than 2 kms away from The Imperial hotel.

5. The Claridges  and The Taj Mahal Hotel

Located just south of the city center, the Claridges as well as the Taj Mahal Hotel are located only about a 10-minute walk away from Khan Market, a great place to shop, with small shops selling everything from books, to hi-fashion clothing, and everything in between. Khan Market also has a great selection of Indian and International Restaurants, as well as several bars and coffee shops. Another shopping area, that is less than 2-3 kms from both these hotels, is the Santushti Shopping Complex (opposite the Prime Minister’s residence), which is a calm green part of town, with boutiques set in beautiful surroundings.

Also, less than a 10-minute walk away from both these Hotels are the Lodi Gardens, an oasis of green in the heart of the city. Spread over about 100 acres of land, the Lodi Gardens are a great place to go for an early morning walk or a jog. The city center, Connaught Place is just a 5-minute drive away from both of these Hotels.

For those seeking to do a bit of sightseeing on their own, India Gate, Rashtrapati Bhawan, as well as the National Museum are less than 2 kms away from both these hotels.

6. The Oberoi, New Delhi

The Oberoi is about a 10-minute drive away from the city center, Connaught Place, and only about a 5 or 7 minutes walk away from the Sunder Nagar Market, which houses a few fashionable boutiques as well as restaurants. The Oberoi Hotel actually overlooks the Delhi Golf Club, an 18 hole Championship Course, which is less than 2 minutes' walk away.

7. The Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon

Located in the suburb of Gurgaon, just a 15-minute drive from the International Airport, The Leela Kempinski is actually connected by the walkway to one of India’s largest shopping mall, the Ambience Mall. The Mall offers excellent International and Indian branded shopping as well as over a dozen great bars and restaurants .