New Delhi, Feb 22 (IANS) Even as inbound international arrivals peaked at 4.4 million in 2006, India's tourism growth was hampered by inadequate airport infrastructure and the lack of adequate hotel rooms, says a new report, recommending a seven-point plan to boost the sector.

The other areas that need reform are the country's airline policy, taxation regime, the bureaucratic set-up, human resource development in the hospitality sector, and the visa regime, says the 'Total Tourism India' report prepared by credit card major Visa and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).

Releasing the report, Tourism Minister Ambika Soni agreed with much of what it said but said it also contained some "heartening" pointers to the manner in which the sector was growing.

The 308-page report took a year to compile. It is the second after that on Russia published in 2007 and comes ahead of a similar document on China that is due next year.

The report says that domestic travel "has been quietly booming over the past 15 years, as India's states increasingly awaken to home-grown tourism's potential to stimulate economic growth and boost employment".

Domestic trips reached an all-time high of 430 million in 2006, up 13 percent from 2005. The average annual growth rate has been more than 10 percent since 2000, with the boom in low cost carriers bringing travel within the price range of millions of more households across the subcontinent.

The report also shows that international outbound trips by resident Indians peaked at around 8.3 million in 2006.

Close to three million of these were to Asia Pacific destinations, making India the region's fourth largest source market behind China, Japan and Korea. This is expected to rise to over 3.6 million in 2007 and then increase by more than 10 percent each year to 2009.

"But India needs to accelerate efforts to improve and expand its infrastructure, particularly airports and roads, broaden its product range, especially in accommodation, and increase its competitiveness," PATA president and CEO Peter de Jong said at the launch.

"Our report shows that government expenditures on travel and tourism, including immigration services and airport administration, are projected to rise by about six percent next year.

"This is a step in the right direction, but a bigger investment - from both private and public sources - will be required if India is to meet its five objectives," de Jong added.

These five are: positioning tourism as a national priority, enhancing India's competitiveness as a tourism destination, improving and expanding product development, creating world-class infrastructure, and drawing up effective marketing plans and programmes.

"At the moment, I'd say the score card reads two out of five," de Jong maintained.