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doubling of passenger transport output every seven
to ten years. Railway, road and aviation sectors are
thus receiving high levels of public and private
investment. The aviation sector has been substantially
deregulated. In 1994 the monopoly of
Indian Airlines, Air India and Vayudoot �since
merged with Indian Airlines) over scheduled air
transport services was ended. By 1996 six private
corporations had been granted scheduled airline
status, with nineteen air taxi operators being
permitted to run charter and non-scheduled
services. Nationwide, twelve airports were earmarked
for upgrading with private sector participation.
The new airlines have also encouraged
some states to consider reviving unused airfields to
attract tourist traffic.
Apart from the neighbouring countries of
Bangladesh and Pakistan, major inbound markets
include United Kingdom, the United
States, Europe and Japan, the latter increasingly
focused on pilgrimage-related tourism.
However, while India is perceived as an exotic
destination in the West because of the
communication of images of the Taj Mahal,
Srinigar �Kashmir), the Himalayas and its varied
culture, it has also suffered from images of
poverty, poor health and sanitation and
inferior infrastructure. Negative perceptions
of India in Western countries have long served
to stifle the development of inbound tourism in
India. News coverage of natural disasters, outbreaks
of disease, political instability and ethnic
unrest have created a difficult environment in
which to effectively market the country as an
international destination. An outbreak of plague
in 1994, just as the peak winter tourism season
was beginning, severely damaged growth expectations
with India only receiving 1.6 million
visitors, excluding nationals from neighbouring
Bangladesh and Pakistan, instead of the expected
two million. As a result of the plague, the
capital, New Delhi, which had hoped to reach
five million visitors in 1997, deferred that target
to the year 2000.
The development of a large middle-class in
India has substantial implications for tourism. The
outbound market is witnessing substantial growth
in the visiting friends and relatives market
and in leisure tourism to the United Kingdom and
Southeast Asia, while domestic tourism remains
strong. Infrastructure provision will likely remain
the main barrier to tourism growth, while perception
of political stability and relative freedom from
natural disasters will influence the foreign market.
However, the development of new markets in terms
of sports tourism �golf and skiing), conventions
and continued demand for traditional heritage and
pilgrimage tourism appear to augur well for
continued growth.
Further reading
Bhattacharyya, D.P. �1997) `Mediating India: an
analysis of a guidebook', Annals of Tourism Research
24�2): 371±89.
Kale, S.H. and Weir, K.M. �1987) `Marketing
Third World countries to the Western traveller:
the case of India', Journal of Travel Research 25�2):
2±7.
Kaur, J. �1985) Himalayan Pilgrimage and the New
Tourism, New Delhi: Himalayan Books.
Richter, L. �1989) The Politics of Tourism in Asia,
Honolulu, HA: University of Hawaii Press.
indigenous
indigenous 303
C. MICHAEL HALL, NEW ZEALAND
Indigenous means native to a particular place, as in
referring to a species unique to a region or a
cultural trait specific to a people. `Indigenous
peoples' is a widely used term for those who are
original in their habitats, who maintain a strong
sense of identity with their lands and cultures.
Other current names for these groups are first or
original nations or Fourth World. Whatever term
is used, indigenous peoples themselves have the
right to define its meaning, and its recognition by
outsiders. Fourth World is the term which the
World Council of Indigenous Peoples has used to
distinguish themselves and their cultures from
those of the industrialised and developing worlds.
They share a common history of early sociopolitical
independence, followed more recently by
colonisation from foreign states.
The term is a useful means of self-identification
for these peoples to represent and defend their