Over-enthusiasm versus under-tourism

PM Narendra Modi’s Independence Day appeal to Indians to visit 15 places within the country before 2022 could upset one of the major travel and leisure trends being touted around the world: under-tourism. That there is a need to deflect holidaymakers from increasingly overcrowded ‘hotspots’ goes without saying.

Popular places such as the Trevi Fountain in Rome or Rohtang Pass in Himachal Pradesh are now so overflowing with tourist hordes that their attractions are completely obscured. People end up seeing only more people and vehicles. The somewhat esoteric phrase under-tourism is obviously meant to encourage the deflection of crowds to less-frequented destinations, to spread the benefit of tourist spends as well as ease infrastructure pressures on old favourites.

Even if less than half of India takes the PM’s exhortation to heart, a billion feet will be on the move, thereby trampling under-tourism’s raison d’être. Apart from the ecological implications of such seasonal migrations, under-tourism hinges on people being willing to be redirected elsewhere.


In that context, pilgrimage spots — which attract more domestic visitors than the Taj Mahal every year — will be the hardest to decongest unless states emulate Sikkim, which has put up replicas of sacred Char Dham to make the state a one-stop salvation destination.