The Commonwealth Games 2010 which are to be held in Delhi are expected to bring in an extra five million tourists to India. Recent studies by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) reveal that aviation, hospitality and tourism sectors should benefit immensely during the Commonwealth Games and the period before it. 

People going on holiday close to the event, fans travelling specifically to go to the games and people going on South India package tours are contributing factors towards this increase.The last time that India hosted a high profile sporting event was during the winter of 1982 for the 9th Asian Games. Not only were the games a major success, India’s economy was in a good position as extra money was being spent in the country by tourists. 

India is hoping that this success is going to be repeated as they start preparing for the games which are due to start in three years time.  According to ASSOCHAM, India will receive an estimated 10 million international foreign tourists in 2010. One million of these tourists are expected to be international and another four million are predicted to be domestic tourists. 

Amazingly, these figures are only for the period during the Commonwealth Games period in October. The period leading up to the games is going to have an even bigger impact on the country but over a wider period of time. The number of international passengers is expected to rise from 25 million from last year to 45 million by 2010 and the number of foreign tourists is also expected to rise from 4.43 percent to 10 percent.

Evidently the aviation sector is also expected to witness a rise as they cater for the extra passenger numbers. Over the next two years, 200 large commercial aircraft will be introduced to the Indian Skies. As well as this, several airports including Delhi, Nagpur, Mumbai and Bengalaru are to be modernised which is set to further increase this growth. It is thought that most of the tourists are going to come from Australia, the UK, Canada, Mauritius, Sri Lanka and South Africa as representations from these countries are likely to emerge as winners from the event. 

Not only are the Commonwealth Games going to benefit tourism, they are going to create extra jobs within the local community. Sectors such as airlines, airports, hotels, and tour operators are going to require extra staff as is the process of modernising and revamping airports around the country.