One major reason I’d not want to go to India is that there seems to be a significant crowd of Nationalists that would rather deny any issues than face and fix them, and can be quite hostile to anyone that points then out. I don’t really care for the “apes” commentary as that seems racist AF, but if tourism is a goal then cleaning up regressive bullshit like caste and gender discrimination (and not conducting assassinations on foreign soil then getting hostile when called on it) would be a good start.
Some of these are legit, but the money ones are bullshit. Especially entrance fees to national monuments. I think of it not as an extra charge for tourists, but as a discount for locals.
I live in the US, but was able to travel to India 25 years ago. It was an unforgettable experience for me, and I would love to return someday. I must say however, that my wife is less excited by the prospect. I would like to think that India’s reputation along these lines is both exaggerated and improving.
The money one would be perfectly fine if it was an explicitly stated official policy where Indians get cheaper access to their own tourist attractions and cultural sites. I think it probably starts to get annoying if everything you pay for is marked up by some amount on the spot by chancers who are taking advantage of your naivety. I haven’t been to India so I don’t know if this is a big problem or a rare occurrence, but I have heard of it happening before, typically in poorer countries.
Lifting people out of poverty by giving them honest jobs with livable wages is probably the only way to fix this, because poverty creates desperation and desperation can lead some people to petty theft, or a host of other personal and social problems.
I guess I just don’t care that much. Nobody forced you to go visit the country, and buy trinkets or visit landmarks. If the price is too high, either negotiate or don’t pay it. I’ve seen so many people getting upset about whether they are being ‘screwed’ out of what amounts to a dollar or two.
Well yeah, nobody is forcing you to visit any country.
But if I voluntarily travel somewhere and feel like I’m constantly battling against the risk-reward schemes of dishonest merchants (who aren’t just selling trinkets or tickets to toueist attractions, but also potentially inflating the price of basic things like food, drinks and transportation at every opportunity), I’m personally far less likely to have a good time or return for a second visit. The amount of money isn’t even the problem, it’s the feeling of being taken advantage of or needing to haggle over a bottle of water.
(Again, I haven’t been to India so I have no clue to what degree this is or isn’t a problem.)
If you don’t care then that’s fine, but I’d rather spend 10x the money traveling to a place where I have friendly and honest interactions than save money by visiting a place where everybody is looking at me like a potential mark or some kind of loot goblin. That’s all I’m saying.
This is more about how you feel. How would you know if you’re being overcharged? If you can’t overcome that feeling that people are constantly out to take advantage of you, then you’re gonna have a bad time. Like I said, the best way to approach transactions in unfamiliar settings is to ask yourself “is this worth it to me”, rather than asking yourself “would locals pay this much?”. You can always walk away. If the vendor wants the sale, they’ll let you know.
Wow your argument is not great.
Put yourself in the USA, a person in front of you gets charged $5 for a coke, you see this transaction happen.
Then you get to the stand and he says $10 for a coke… how would you feel?
I mean, I live here. It would be weird, and I’d probably ask why it’s a different price. Depending on the answer, I might or might not buy the coke.
I do not understand your argumentation.
The quora question is about how to attract more international tourists. People stated why they avoid visiting, you said “if you don’t like it don’t come”.
I will flip it back to you. If you don’t like the complaints then don’t ask for international tourists to come.
Ok folks, keep your comments focused on the money and ignore the sexual violence. Great job.
There’s like 4 threads here, If you want to talk about it, talk about it. don’t whine that someone else didn’t start the conversation
You’re whining about him starting the conversation.
So, I have been both working, studying, and spent leisure time in India about a year in total. I lived for 6 months outside New Delhi in the slums. Made interview among tribes and people displaced by established nature tourism. Together with my wife. Been to tourist spots as well.
Yea you are kind of like a bunch of school kids sometimes. Just a bit scarier. I only encountered the grandiose self image besides India in the US.
My wife could not be alone a second.
The fascist Hindu nationalism is awful to see , for a western fascist probably laughable.
Just to be plain: You think India is best in all the ways , for an outsider it’s like a bunch of people throwing everything in a pile and letting the strongest win.
Just the amount of people trying to prove forced marriage is so much better than the possibility for divorce or just marry who you want.
Of course different rules based on caste , one of my Indian friends who is kind of famous in the movie business still have a hard time based on his last name and actually trying to do some good in India.
The ads in your papers sounds like you selling cows rather than your sisters and daughters.
Don’t get me wrong there are great people , great movements and great things in India.
But overall WTF…
Today I would not return for leisure unless to visit friends there.
*Edited due to poor wordings.
Awhile ago I learned that there’s a thing called casteism. I thought racism was extremely stupid, but casteism just cranks the stupidity to 11. So instead of discriminating against someone’s skin tone or nationality, you’re discriminating against literally nothing??? Whatever, man…
Yea Hindu nationalism is kind of built around that. If you are poor you are poor because you deserve it. And we are rich because we deserve it etc…
Interviewed a guy from the Communist party about caste among other thing and even they have a hard time getting people out of the caste think among their own members.
It’s so hard rooted you need a revolution to even scratch the surface of it.
Yea Hindu nationalism is kind of built around that.
Well, you don’t really know what Hindu nationalism is, do you? It is the same as Zionism - A Hindu country that practises apartheid against other groups, barring a select few “allies”, like the Bohra and Ahmaddiya Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Jews and Christians. Hindu unity stems from removing casteism, at the cost of vilifying the Muslims.
If you are poor you are poor because you deserve it. And we are rich because we deserve it etc…
Also, you’ve not a clue about casteism. It has nothing to do with money. Caste is a social and political issue, not a religious one. Casteism is a by-product of spread of Vedic influences, and it exists in every religion practiced in India, including the Indian diaspora of Muslims and Christians.
Your lazy evaluation hurts the downtrodden castes in other religious communities. Watch this documentary first: India Untouched.
It’s so hard rooted you need a revolution to even scratch the surface of it.
Yes, leftist revolution is needed, but here’s a twist - most of the communist leaders in CPI(M) Kerala are all Hindu Brahmins or Catholic Brahmin Christians, with little to no diversity. Only socialist parties like Janta Dal (People’s Party) or Samajwadi (Socialist) Party has people from other castes.
You look like a troll LARPing as a communist. No leftist in their right mind would dehumanize other groups, by calling them apes.
Sure I’m no expert , just touched on the subject in my research. My focus was on the forced displacements done. Which was justified by many things caste , scheduled tribes that got “benefitted” by moved in to the desert. As I said very hard ingrained everywhere. but of course it’s about money and power. Just like everywhere else religion , social and politics, tradition and so on can justify it.
Just like money is about politics.
Bad wording on my part. King of the hill politics then if you wish.
Im just not a hippie that wants to justify shitty thing since they got high in Goa once. Who’s larping uh.
My focus was on the forced displacements done
Is this with respect to Rajput/Jat/Gujjar/Thakur supremacy in the cow-belt areas (somewhere around Rajasthan)? Well, I am not surprised.
It also reminds me of sub-nationalism, which is a real problem. Malayali chauvinist have practiced this to drive native Tuluva, Koraga and Kodava folks out from Kasargod, which is the northernmost districts of Kerala, home to the minority community. I’m a Tuluva, so I know about this. Similarly, Kannada, Telugu and Marathi chauvinists have also similarly imposed their language on many minorities.
Language chauvinism may have some casteist intentions, with how they force language, appropriate culture and destroy language of the tribals, but not necessarily - Kodava, Konkani and Tuluva aren’t tribals - they’re just minority Hindu communities, with Christians in the Konkani demographic.
Bad wording on my part
At least we can agree on something
Who’s larping uh
I’m tired, let’s stop this here.
Making special accommodations for Global North tourists only really enriches the wealthy in the Global South. It may provide a few hospitality industry jobs, but I suspect that, all told, it’s a wash or a detriment to regular people just trying to live their lives.
In fairness, “you ARE rich”
most tourists don’t realize how rich they are for being able to travel and don’t really understand poverty and the depths of poverty that exist in other countries.
