SCHOLARS' CORNER

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CBS LINE

Volume 4(3)

Digital Tourism in India: Bridging Gaps 

Sreejith T R

PhD Scholar

Centre for Budget Studies, CUSAT

Indian Tourism inspired by ethos of “Atithi Devo Bhava” has emerged as one of the sectors in the Indian economy undergoing rapid transformation with the advent of digital technologies. From Travelers searching destinations till deporting digital platforms plays the central. Online agencies accounted for over 81 percentage of travel bookings in 2025 of which 65 percentage are through mobile devices. More than 69 percentage of Indian travellers prefer online platforms for their trip planning and bookings through a strong light on the shift towards a digital first tourism economy. The booming online travel market valued more than 51 billion USD is an opportunity.

Rapid digitalization such as artificial intelligence, Digital payments and mobile applications had personalized travel experiences, seamless bookings and real time information access. Now a days social media and digital contents also play a crucial role in decisions on destinations as majority of travellers relying on online platforms for destination inspiration. These innovations and its potential should be considered as an opportunity for future growth.

However, this digital transformation is not uniform in India. A critical challenge is the rural digital divide. According to ministry of communications 95 percentage of villages had access to 3G/4G connectivity. The sad part of the story is tele-density in rural areas stands at 58 percentage compared to 126 percentage in urban areas. In this context we must be having a thought on capability approach by Amarthya Zen until and unless we have the capability to effectively utilize the existing technology. The potential remains unexplored. Low digital literacy and affordability constraints remains hurdles for many small tourism operators from fully participating in the digital economy.

In an era where technology enabled tourism brings prosperity and growth the digitally excluded stakeholders remain marginalized. For ensuring broad based equitable growth its time to take action. The Young aspiring minds with research attitude should be the torch bearers in this field.  

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