1950s and 1960s: early days
The constitution comes into force, making India a republic, and the Indian states are reorganised on a linguistic basis, with several new states being created.
The merger of the princely states into Rajasthan, and the withdrawal of the taxation privileges, removes noble families’ traditional means of livelihood. Many abandon their large castles and mansions – later, some will be transformed into hotels.
With India’s first five-year development plan emphasising agricultural and community development, development of tourism is left to private visionaries such as Oberoi and Tata.
Oberoi, a distinguished family who migrated from Pakistan to India after Partition to establish one of India’s leading hotel groups, are the first advocates of professional training in hospitality management, establishing the Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development in New Delhi in 1966.
Today, the institution remains among the best in Asia, with 100 graduates a year. However, with little in the way of air, rail and road connections, rapid growth of mainstream tourism is stifled.
Britons with family connections to the Raj continue to visit famous sites such as the Taj Mahal and Himachal Pradesh and hill stations such as Ooty, Darjeeling, Shimla, Nainital and Kodaikanal where, during British rule, British families once retreated from the boiling Indian plains during the hot season.
Elsewhere, a new breed of colonisers heads to newly independent Goa as the first of the hippies are seduced by the promise of untouristy beaches and a relaxed way of life imparted by Portuguese colonial rule (which leads, in the immediate aftermath of Independence, to the state being dubbed “the Rome of the East”). By the end of the 1960s, the village of Anjuna has become Goa’s wildly bohemian centre, with the quieter communities of Arambol and Vagator emerging as patchouli-smelling satellites. “It was cheap, tropical and liberal – paradise,” one hippy who was there at the time manages to recall.
1970s and 1980s: opening up
India and Pakistan’s second major war, over East Pakistan, continues to stymie the development of tourism in areas of mountainous beauty in the north, such as in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
However, Indian tourism gets a boost with the devaluation of the rupee, which makes it possible for foreign visitors to experience luxury at an incredibly low cost. The idea of a national highway system is introduced, and many roads are widened to allow two buses to pass each other.
In 1971 and 1972, Taj Hotels pioneers the concept of Palace Hotels, unveiling the Rambagh Palace in Jaipur and the Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur and are lauded for their aesthetically restored suites and atmospheric touches, such as the peacocks ranging around the courtyards. In 1974, they follow with India’s first international beach resort: Fort Aguada Beach Resort in Goa.
When, in the mid-1980s, the first charter flights arrive in the small western state, Goa’s status as one of South Asia’s most popular beach resort destinations is assured. The Golden Triangle tour – taking in Delhi, Agra for the Taj Mahal and Jaipur – also begins to impress upon the international travelling consciousness.
In 1982, the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and Indian Railways launch a nostalgic tourist train, powered by a 19th-century heritage steam engine. The Palace on Wheels – formed of period carriages, with lounges, restaurant carriages and ensuite cabins furnished in classic Rajput style – is an immediate success, especially with the world media. The train’s route takes in Jaipur, Ranthambore National Park, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and the Taj Mahal.
City hotel provision sets new standards as The Taj Palace launches in Delhi with a vast convention centre fitted for the 1981 Asian games, and further sporting confidence follows in 1983 as India wins the third Cricket World Cup at Lord’s under Kapil Dev. In 1988, The Oberoi Group opens its first business-traveller focused Trident Hotel in Chennai (now Trident Hilton after 2003’s strategic alliance with Hilton International). In 1986, Leela opens its first hotel, the five-star Leela Mumbai.
