Background Note
Till the early 2000s, the efforts of the MoT to attract international tourists in India were limited to formulating policies and preparing pamphlets and brochures (Refer Exhibit I for the tourism policy initiatives of the GoI till 2002). Experts believed that there were no significant efforts from the government to support tourism...
Killing the Goose that lays the Golden Egg? Foreign tourists to India often had problems almost as soon as they disembarked. It was difficult to get through customs quickly. Tourists waiting to clear customs were often left aghast as officials would leave on tea breaks keeping them waiting in a line.

Problems like dirty toilets at airports and lack of trolleys could also color their perceptions of the place permanently. Another major problem plaguing the Indian tourism sector was that foreign tourists were viewed as gullible victims who could be easily duped. Touts converged on tourists as soon as they reached and pestered them. Conmen frequently fleeced tourists... | |
A Campaign to Change Attitude and Perceptions
Lack of infrastructure and quality of services was the bane of Indian tourism industry. While infrastructure issues were being tackled separately, MoT began a national social awareness program to address the service issues. This program, named Atithi Devo Bhavah, was a capacity building exercise to develop a tourist-friendly attitude in India... | Components of the CampaignADB was a seven point program that targeted key stakeholders of the tourism industry, as well as the society as a whole (Refer to Table 1 for Atithi Devo Bhavah: the seven point program).

The key stakeholders listed were taxi drivers, tourist guides, operators, immigration officers, tourist police and others who have direct interaction with inbound tourists. Chowdhury emphasized that training was one of the key factors that