Comparison between Tourism in Delhi and Beijing
Beijing and Delhi are some of the world's renowned cities, located in some of the worlds, most populated countries. They are also major a tourist attraction sites in those countries contributing a significant amount to the country's GDP. They also have some of the oldest sites that preserve the native culture and the national heritage. India and China have become popular tourist destinations due to the presence of these cities. In essence, in the past decade, tourist volumes have increased following extensive marketing and improved international relations, especially in China. The paper shall compare and contrast tourism for Beijing and Delhi and draw conclusions based the indicators on the available data.
Demographics
Delhi has a population of eleven million people, and it is rated the most populous city in India and the fourth most populous city in the world. Beijing, on the other hand, has a population of over twelve million people, and it is the second most populous city in the country and eleventh most populous city globally (Smith, 2012). The city life in Delhi is still reserved, and it still practices the native Indian culture though there is a substantial evidence of refined sophistication, it still hosts some of the Indian most renowned monuments. Beijing is also the center of the political, cultural, and educational center for China, and it is evident that it stills conserves most of its native culture, and it continues to empower preservation of their Chinese culture. It is also a historical icon of China as it has most of the native monuments that are located there. Most of Delhi's heritage is still in the early stages of discovery and hence, it has not realized its full potential. Regarding culture, India has 15 official spoken languages, but Hindi is the most popular language spoken. The most popular religion is Hindu and followed by Islam.
Delhi is a major port of entry to the Indian sub-continent, and it is the 45th most visited city in the world. Approximately 2.4 million foreign tourists visit Delhi, and it is the principle gateway for Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan (Smith, 2012). Beijing is the 27th most visited city in the world, and it receives approximately over three million foreign visitors. The tourism sector in China is still and a new venture and it continues to expand rapidly. While India is not so strict with visit regulations such as visa, in China visits regulations are often strict requiring visitors to have visas to visit China. Regarding revenue, tourism generates 14.19 billion dollars in revenue in India, hence ranking it 17th in the world regarding income generation, and it has been ranked 6th in Asia (Smith, 2012). Domestic tourism also generates a significant amount of revenue to its economy, and it is estimated that there were over seven hundred million visitors in the year 2010. In China, Beijing foreign tourism pumps a significant amount of revenue to its economy accounting over forty-eight billion dollars while domestic tourism pumps over one and a half billion dollars into the economy though it continues to grow (Smith, 2012).
Tourist Motivation
Delhi is a hub of the cultural and historical heritage of the Indian people, and it has proved to be one of the sites that are known vibrant display of the preserve Indian culture. Some of the tourist attraction sites in Delhi include the historical/cultural sites of The Red Fort, Humayun's Tomb and the Qutub complex. The other attraction sites include the famous Gandhi Museum, Landmarks, and Monuments. Beijing is also China's center for cultural and religious heritage making it a spectacular tourist destination site for both the Chinese people and foreign tourists. Other locations include The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall of China and the Summer Place (Smith, 2012). These places just like Delhi illustrate the Chinese vivid history of Beijing and the focus of China as a country. The former Beijing residential areas have been converted to spectacular bars and pedestrian streets. In Delhi, tourists do not take tour groups because most Indians have a mastery of at least one international language, unlike in China where the most dominant language is Mandarin with only a few individuals having the mastery of international languages. It also forces tourists to travel in tour groups rather than individuals for convenience and to avoid getting lost, as the city is vast.
Tourist Attraction Sites
The tourist attraction sites are common for both countries because it consists of cultural heritage sites, human built environment, historical landmarks, monuments museums, excursions, temples, and the natural formations such as rivers and lakes. In addition to these futures, Beijing also has other attractions such as the area local culture that includes the Hutongs and Outdoor Markets, and the post-Olympic legacy. These cities have diverse attractions. Thus, tourists are spoilt for choice on which areas to visit. This is because there are numerous places to visit, and each has a unique future from the other; for instance, Delhi has about five Museums, five temples and five forts and monuments among other attractions. While Beijing harbors three famous world landmarks, historic landmarks, and even the local culture, hence, make it a heaven for most local and international tourists.
Infrastructural Developments
Both cities have diverse infrastructural developments hosting some of the world's most renowned railways, roads, and airports. These infrastructural developments aid largely in the movement of tourist from one destination to the other. They also offer convenient services for the tourism industry stakeholders and employees and making the sites easily accessible to all. It is pertinent to note that both cities mainly depend on rail transport for both freight and passengers. Both countries also have adequate access to road networks, airports. The airports serve both locally and internationally, and the majority of foreign tourists utilize air transport to access these cities and the two countries at large. Indira Gandhi International Airport based in Delhi is the busiest airport in India and a point of entry to approximately 35% of foreign tourists visiting the country, and it is a primary airline for India (Smith, 2012). Indira Gandhi has been awarded several awards for its excellent services both locally and abroad making it popular among many visitors who want to have a test of the Indian people and their culture. Beijing Capital International Airport receives over seventy-three million passengers per year, and it is the busiest airport in China and ranked second busiest airport in the world. It is also a major entry point for both foreign and local tourists visiting the city (Smith, 2012).
India is known to have the longest railway line globally served under a single management authority while China, on the other hand, has the 2nd longest road network after the United States. These routes have opened up China and India to explore more tourist destinations apart from Delhi and Beijing. There is projected growth in tourism for both cities if they continue expanding their infrastructure and exploring other places where infrastructure has not been developed or improved. China is doing intensive expansion of their airports and upgrading their domestic ports, hence, improving the quality of air travel both to its domestic tourists and to foreign tourists.
Major Tourist Activities
There is a range of activities that tourist visiting both cities can do while on vacation. It ranges from travel tours, shopping, adventure, research, honeymoons among others because there is a wide variety of destinations to choose from depending on the nature of the visits. Delhi has a range of activities including visits to top rated attractions such as the Humayun's Tomb, Gandhi Smriti, Qutab Minar, Swaminarayan Akshardham and Lodi Gardens. These destinations are known worldwide and any tourist visiting Delhi would not miss visiting, at least, one of these destinations. The other activities one can do is organizing for three days Delhi itinerary, for instance, it is an adventure where one have a detailed visit to the urban city of Delhi by subscribing to that package. The other destinations are the Uttar Pradesh that includes Agra and Kushinagar, and visits forts and palaces. The other activity tourists can enjoy the tiger safari that is uniquely Indian and the camel safari.
While Delhi relies much on its historical sites, Beijing not only relies on historic sites but also their culture as well. Chinese are known to preserve and sustain their traditional cultural beliefs and to ensure that it is passed from one generation to the other. Chinese martial arts, language, dressing, cuisine, religion, medicine, and dance, are some of the most refined and spectacular cultural practices that have remained almost unchanged even with westernization. It fascinates almost everyone to watch their cultural practices including tourists. Beijing is also one of the China's ancient capital hence it harbors the historical image of the ancient Chinese civilization including the Xian Dynasty. Just like Delhi, touring activities are organized and offered as packages to cut down spending, and adventurous tours to The Great Wall are always common. Other activities can include enjoyment of sushi, shopping, urban tours, and tours to the Chinese temples.
Tourism Impacts to both Cities and The Home Country
The tourism sector has a significant impact on the two cities and their mother countries as well. In India, the direct input of tourism to the GDP was recorded to be over thirty-one billion US dollars in the year 2011, and the entire contribution of the tourism industry to the GDP was close to one hundred and four billion dollars in the same year (Smith, 2012). That alone is significant not only to the economy but also as a source of foreign exchange. Tourism plays a crucial role in the employment sector as it absorbs a significant number of people into the employment sector. The travels and tourism industry employs close to twenty-five million people, and it is ranked 53rd in the world (Smith, 2012). The industry contributes close to 5.0% to the employment sector, but the total contribution of tourism and travel industry is close to forty million people, covering almost 7.8% of all employment opportunities and it is ranked at position 102 globally (Smith, 2012). Leisure spending is high, and then business spending follows behind. The highest contributors to the tourism sector are the residents accounting close to 82% of the total visits.
In China, the direct contribution of tourism to the economy was over one hundred and eighty-six billion dollars in 200, making up to 2.6% contribution to the GDP, ranked 114th in the world (Smith, 2012). The total contribution of the sector was close to six hundred and sixty billion dollars pumping close to 9.2% to the GDP of the Chinese economy, hence ranking it 87th worldwide. The sectors also play an important role in the employment sector as it consumes a significant number of people into the industry. The travels and tours supported slightly over twenty-two million jobs accounting for close to 2.9% of employment opportunities. The total contribution of human resource of the same year was close to sixty-two million employees, contributing close to 8.1% of employment opportunities hence being ranked 95th in the world (Smith, 2012). Most visitors visit Beijing for leisure spending is also a high priority among its visitors followed by business spending. The highest contributor to the tourism industry is also the local people accounting close to 88%.
Tourism Marketing
Both countries have invested heavily in tourism marketing and publicity both locally and internationally. Iconic areas such as Beijing and Delhi are some of the highlighted destinations that are highlighted in the tourism websites for both countries. These means that these cities have a huge impact on the sector and thus significant efforts have to be integrated to ensure that they become famous to all tourists planning to visit these countries. However, tourism-marketing strategies differ due to policies and marketing regulations unique to that particular country. India markets its tourism sector using brochures, maps, films, websites, leaflets, bulletins, websites, and newspapers among others. The official tourism website is incredible India also utilizes government's publicity sites such as Delhi Tourism, UP tourism among others.
China also utilizes some marketing strategies to publicize its tourist sector mainly via official Chinese government sites such as About China and Tourism China. It also uses the industry resources such as China highlights, travel China guides, China tours tailor and China tourist maps. The strategy almost distinguishes itself from what India utilizes in its marketing unit.
Development and Management Of The Industry
Both India and China are investing in efforts that would further raise the standards of tourism in the countries, hence exploring the full potential of the sector. The governments of both states are putting up infrastructural developments and realigning policy issues to fit the needs of their tourism industry. That is a significant step especially in China, where tourism is still a new venture, and the tourists are still being subjected to very strict regulatory policies that restrict either their entry or freedom of movement within China. India is streamlining its tourism policy of 2002 to ensure that all policies concerning the tourism sector are implemented; there is adequate planning in the tourism ministry, hence ensuring that developments eyeing the industry are undertaken, and it also ensures that there is adequate regulation of standards and guidelines in the tourism sector. It also aims to expand it publicity, marketing, and improving infrastructure and product development.
China, on the other hand, has a tourism agency called the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), which is governed by the state council of tourism charged with responsibilities such as planning and coordinating the development of the tourism industry and in organization and implementation of the market development strategies for both domestic and foreign tourism industries. The agency also has a section known as China Tourism Academy that researches, promotes, develops and internalization of Chinese tourism hence creating a wider scope about tourism in the country.
In conclusion, both cities share almost similar tourist attraction sites, marketing strategies, development, and the management of the sector as well as the tourism contribution to their countries. It is evident that both cities are paramount to the tourism sector and. Thus, it is the responsibility of the governments of these states to ensure that these cities maintain the profile that they deserve in the global map, as they are a treasure for both economic development and cultural promotion.
References
Smith, L. (2012). Gateways to Discovery. Kendall Hunt.
