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Striking partnerships Growing with IATO The IATO Convention-2013 has a dual objective of bringing IATO has extended an invitation to the Chief Minister of all local and global stakeholders, exploring innovative ideas Kerala to inaugurate the Convention, and the Minister of to take India’s inbound segment to new heights… State for Tourism to be the Chief Guest of Honour. VIVEK SETHI
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he Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) is back with a special message for its members and stakeholders in the inbound travel business through its annual convention in Kochi. As per Subhash Goyal, President, IATO, the need of the hour is to strike global and local partnerships.
“The theme for this year’s Convention is very apt, taking into consideration the present scene of tourism. Globally, countries are forming partnerships for tourism marketing, sharing databases, developing strategies, common booths at global travel fairs, pooling resources and exchanging ideas. This partnership is also visible in research partnership, investigating tourism as a socialecological system, civic governance and tourism in the face of uncertainties created by global warming and peak oil pricings, etc,” said Goyal. “Public Private Partnerships (PPP) are becoming increasingly important in
Subhash Goyal President Indian Association of Tour Operators
Globally, countries are forming partnerships for tourism marketing, sharing databases, developing strategies, and exchanging ideas tourism infrastructure development opportunities. These will be explored in course of the business sessions and inputs from the experts who
have been invited from India and abroad,” he added. Further, IATO is keen to lift the growth momentum forward by taking partnerships ahead into creation of innovations. Here, Goyal said, “Innovation can be defined in a multiplicity of ways as new products, processes, new materials, new forms of organisations, use of technology; creating centres of excellence that disseminate new operational researchbased knowledge, focussing on incremental raise of quality and staff, including niche innovations and revolutionary innovations can really impact positively for tourism and its sustainability.” “This quantifies how much importance the theme holds for stakeholders. The above note amplifies the major aspects. The sessions will touch other related matters of social media, taxation, visa issues, global marketing, skill development and overseas marketing efforts. IATO’s business sessions are aimed at educating members on all these aspects of tourism and new trends,” he added.
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s per Arun Anand, Convention Chairman, IATO Convention 2013; it has been seen and acknowledged that wherever IATO hosts a convention, the movement of tourists in the host state also takes a leap. “In Kerala, the government is pro-active and the trade is very professional. The state has high literacy rate, rich culture, beaches, wildlife, easy air-connectivity with three international airports, luxury as well as budget hotels.
We will boost Kerala with our efforts, and that will in turn bring tourists in numbers. We are confident that IATO will succeed in enhancing tourist arrivals to Kerala after the Convention,” said Anand. Further, the inaugural ceremony of the IATO convention had been a mega event, which had seen participation of important players from
Arun Anand Convention Chairman IATO Convention 2013
public and private domain. Similarly, Anand highlights that as per the tentative programme, IATO has invited Chief Minister of Kerala to inaugurate the Convention and the Minister of State for Tourism will be the Chief Guest of Honour. “We are very optimistic and expectations are high. As IATO, we are putting in sincere efforts and have formed strong partnerships with government bodies and all stakeholders. We
have already got confirmation from Kerala (the host state), Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha and Delhi; and have assured participation of Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and West Bengal. All these states are regulars at IATO Conventions and we value their support,” said Anand. “Air India as the national carrier, is our airline partner. IndiGo, SpiceJet, and Jet Airways are helping us in the best possible way. The hospitality partners are Le Meridien (Convention Venue) and other partner hotels include Crown Plaza, Holiday Inn, Vivanta Malabar Taj, Casino, Trident, Dream Hotel, Ramada Resort, Abad Atrium and Whyteforte,” Anand added.
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Eyeing 3 million foreign tourists by 2021 Kerala will publicise the VoA facility for 11 countries which are already enjoying the benefits of this scheme. It will take part in travel fairs and roadshows to tell travellers how convenient visiting Kerala is. TT B U R E AU
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he introduction of Visaon-Arrival (VoA) facility at Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi airports marks a new chapter for Kerala Tourism, which has already carved an important place in the global tourism map. As per AP Anil Kumar, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, “We believe the VoA scheme will help Kerala Tourism achieve its target of 30 lakh foreign tourist arrivals by 2021,” Kumar said. Kerala recorded 7,89,698 foreign tourist arrivals in 2012 and
Oommen Chandy Chief Minister Kerala
the foreign exchange earnings touched ` 4,548 crores. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Anil Kumar, V S Sivakumar, Minister for Health, Kerala and senior officials including
AP Anil Kumar
Suman Billa
Minister for Tourism Kerala
Secretary Kerala Tourism
Suman Billa, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, S Harikishore, Director, Kerala Tourism and VN Chandran, Director, Thiruvanantha-puram Airport reviewed arrangements at the special VoA counter which became operational on August 15 at the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport on 28 August 2013. A roughly 250 sq ft holding area has been
set aside in the Immigration section and the exclusive visa desks are manned by Intelligence Bureau officials. VoA was rolled out in the first phase in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Two other airports that got VoA facility in the second phase are Bengaluru and Hyderabad. Kerala is also the only state to have two airports offering the service. VoA is currently
available for citizens of 11 countries-Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. “These countries are markets where Kerala Tourism sees vast potential and is beginning to make significant inroads. For instance, the tourist arrivals from Japan rose by around 56% in five years to 11,440 in 2012; and the arrivals from Finland more than doubled over the period to 5,160 last year. Tourist arrivals from countries such as New Zealand, Singapore and The Philippines have similarly risen between 75% and 90% since 2008.
The VoA facility has been a long-standing demand from Kerala Tourism and now that we have got it, we intend to take full advantage of it,” said Anil Kumar. “We are especially thankful to the Central Government and Union Ministers from Kerala, including Mullapally Ramachandran and KC Venugopal, for bringing this service here. The Department of Tourism will take our campaign to these countries. We will take part in travel fairs and take our roadshows there,” he added.
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HOTELS
Lalit’s debut in Kolkata The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group has commenced with its first batch of the hospitality school. reports. TT B U R E AU
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he Lalit Suri Hospitality School has commenced classes for the first academic batch from its new campus at Faridabad in Delhi-NCR. The batch for the threeyear Bachelor of Hotel Management Programme was welcomed by Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group. According to her, the current batch has 20 students. Ultimately, the school will see 200-student batches from next year, Suri informed during an exclusive interaction with . The course will be offered in affiliation with Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) Rohtak, Haryana. The school is the first industry-integrated hospitality institute to be approved and affiliated by MDU. The institute has appointed HS Dewan, former Principal, IHM Faridabad, as the Nodal Officer. MDU is a National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC)-accredited ‘A’ Grade State University offering various programmes, including Hotel & Tourism Management. The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group is offering two new hotels in the luxury
Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director, The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group
segment by the end of the current year.
“We are looking at adding two luxury hotels to our portfolio by the end of 2013. The first hotel was recently opened in Chandigarh,” she said.
The second hotel–The Great Eastern Hotel, an iconic landmark of Kolkata, will reopen in November. “A property of Lalit Suri group, the 171-year-old hotel is in an advanced stage of restoration. We will unveil the hotel on November 19 this year. This is very karmic for us. The first owner had opened the hotel on November 19, and this year, we will inaugurate it on the same day. It also coincides with the birth anniversary of Lalit Suri,” she elaborated.
Privatisation of six major airports will lead to higher airfares: IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has warned airfares would increase significantly if six major public sector airports in two metro cities and four state capitals are privatised. The civil aviation ministry, in co-ordination with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Planning Commission, wants to hand over a majority stake and the operation and maintenance responsibilities of the Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati airports to private players. These airports are owned and managed by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and have been recently upgraded. Expressing grave
concern about the move to privatise these airports without stakeholder consultations, IATA has said that "any unnecessary private shareholding" may increase the focus on "profit-maximisation" and lead to higher user costs. The privatisation of these six AAI airports will only serve to fuel a further round of increases in the airport cost environment, adding to costs for passengers and the airlines, IATA has warned in a missive sent last week to the government as well as the parliamentary committees in charge of transport and public sector undertakings
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HOTELS
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Offering luxuries of the future... Now Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Jaipur, the all-villa resort, is exclusively eyeing the ‘couples only’ segment, except during the low season months when they are open to booking family holidays. It is also looking forward to its next venture in this niche segment – The Tree of Life Shiva, Varanasi. TT B U R E AU
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n oasis of peace and harmony nestled in the Aravalli Valley-The Tree of Life Resort and Spa, Jaipurhas gone all out to capture the leisure market in the region. About 16 km away from Amber Fort, the villa property is set in seven acres of land just outside Jaipur. Having spent three decades in tourism, this resort is the brainchild of Himmat Anand, Founder, Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Jaipur. Says Anand, “The resort offers luxuries of the future - space and privacy. Each villa offers a private
Himmat Anand Founder Tree of Life Resort & Spa, Jaipur
space between 2,400 and 4,500 sq ft. Each has a outdoor couple spa and sunken tub and an outdoor shower. Many of the villas come with their own private pool.” Talking about the USP and the niche product, a candid Anand informs, “From
its inception, I was clear on how the Tree of Life would create its own niche, and then stay there. We have, over the last three years, evolved as an experience which gives the guests their own space and allows them to be their own selves. We cater primarily to the ‘couples only’, segment except during the low season, when we are open to booking family holidays. We refuse large weddings, conferences, DJs and any other activity
which we feel will disturb the peace and calm of our surroundings; we allow our staff to function in a manner which they are most comfortable with, and do not have any long-drawn Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). All of this and more has resulted in repeat guests, some of whom have come back to us for a fifth time already.” Built in a traditional style using lime plaster and stone, with hardly any use of
cement and steel, the resort blends with the natural surroundings of its village setting. Each villa here is named after a tree. Throwing light on the occupancy and ARRs at the resort, the founder reveals, “As we are determined to operate in a certain segment and only accept business which fits in with our operating profile, there is a flip side too. Occupancy and financial
considerations are not top priority, guest satisfaction and liking is. I am more than satisfied when I see my occupancy of April to August 2013 close at around 47 per cent with an ARR hovering around 9,000. With the winter setting in, this is only going to get better and I am looking to close in March ‘14 at an year round occupancy of around 60 per cent and an ARR of about 12,000.” Anand is now looking forward to his next venture – The Tree of Life Shiva, Varanasi.
“We are hopeful of starting construction by early 2014 and have it operational by summer 2016. I am very excited about this as it has a very strong theme linked to the Ganga and to Varanasi.
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Kerala to tap new markets The state has already started promoting Bekal in the North and Kollam in South Kerala. It is also paying attention to develop new markets like USA, Japan, and Finland among others. T T B U R E AU
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erala has made a substantial mark with its beaches, backwaters and Ayurveda in the international and domestic tourism segment. Going forward, S Harikishore, Director,
Kerala Tourism explains in a candid interview with that the state is developing more attractions and new product offerings. Here are the selected excerpts:-
Travel attractions in KeralaBeaches, backwaters and Ayurveda are the most popular Kerala Tourism products among international travellers. With domestic tourists, the backwaters, especially houseboats, are very popular. Hill stations such as Munnar and Wayanad are also a big hit among travellers from other parts of India.
S Harikishore Director Kerala Tourism
As far as international marketing is concerned, we are trying to tap new markets
like USA, Japan, Finland etc. The Visa on Arrival facility will also help boost tourist arrivals significantly from these areas.
In the domestic market, we are planning to intensify our campaign targetting TierII and Tier-III cities.
New travel attractions? We are working closely with the private sector in developing new destinations across the state. Bekal in North Kerala, which now has excellent accommodation infrastructure, is one among them. The other one is Kollam in South Kerala. We have already started promoting these destinations through fam trips, brochures, roadshows etc. We are now looking at new products like adventure tourism, and monsoon holidays which will add to our state's attractions. Kerala has the potential to become a major player in the country's adventure-tourism circuit. Ecotourism too holds great promise for the future. We are also keen to promote Kerala as a MICE tourism destination with its unique settings for conferences by the beaches, backwaters and hill-stations, and innovative incentive holidays. The Government is very keen to provide substantial increase in the budget outlay every year for tourism. This year, there is a budget provision of ` 28 crore for marketing alone, against ` 25 crore last year.
Role of travel agents in promoting Kerala Travel agents, hotels and hospitality businesses all play a very important role in tourism promotion. Their role in the growth of Kerala’s tourism sector has been significant. The state government is very supportive of industry conventions and meets because we believe these will bring out new ideas, schemes and projects to attract more visitors, improve services and serve the tourists better.
Goa records highest tourist arrivals in 2012 2012-13, the In Department of Tourism, Government of Goa registered record arrivals of 27.8 lakh tourists in the state of Goa, of which 4.5 lakh were foreigners. This was against 26.7 lakh during 2010-11, which includes 4.45 lakh foreigners; showing an overall increase of 4.4% in the inflow. Goa also witnessed an increase in arrival of chartered flights.
According to Goa Tourism Department statistics, 987 chartered flights carrying 2.15 lakh tourists from nine international destinations landed in Goa during October 2012 to mid-May 2013.
Dilip Parulekar Tourism Minister Government of Goa
an increase with 25 vessels carrying 22,233 passengers in 2012-13, as against 20 vessels carrying 11,946 passengers in 2010-11. Dilip Parulekar, Tourism Minister, Government of Goa, said, “In 2012-13, Goa did extremely well than previous years. Goa has emerged as a preferred destination for MICE, weddings and also leisure. Positive steps have been taken by the Goa Government, such as introduction of water sports policy, security force on
Kochi: The new MICE hub For a city like Kochi which has a fairly advanced MICE infrastructure, hosting 1,200 delegates poses no difficulty at all. It has successfully hosted national and global events on a far bigger scale, such as the Kerala Travel Mart, the Emerging Kerala Global Connect and the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. MICE tourism has great potential in Kerala, and we are looking to develop world-class infrastructure in other destinations across the state. The Government has supported travel-related events in the past, and we actively encourage businesses and organisations to take advantage of the MICEfriendly environment that Kerala offers.
About 742 chartered flights arrived from Russia followed by 152 flights from United Kingdom. This was against 910 flights with 1.69 lakh tourists flying in chartered planes in 2011-12. Similarly, the number of cruise ship arrivals in Goa has also seen
Goan beaches, improvement of tourism infrastructure, marketing and promotional efforts, etc. However, for a sustained inflow, there is always a scope for improvement, and we are working hard to further the cause of tourists’ comfort in Goa.”
Manori-Uttan as tourism destination The plan to develop Manori-Gorai-Uttan in Mumbai as a tourist hub has been approved by the Government of Maharashtra. As part of the plan, an 18 km-long enclave will be made accessible to the public by a five km coastal road restricted to the beach area
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HOTELS
Making a transition to leisure and MICE According to Raju Shrestha, General Manager, Holiday Inn Cochin; Kochi was treated as a typical transit destination. But now, it has evolved as an emerging destination for MICE. offices. This has boosted the hotel industry by reducing the dependability on seasonal international leisure travelers. Consequently, it has helped the industry to have an equal mix of domestic and international, or business and leisure travellers.”
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ochi has emerged as a gateway to Kerala over the last five years. The
Raju Shrestha General Manager Holiday Inn Cochin
hospitality industry has seen a major transformation from the city being dominated by
local and regional players to the launch of almost all major global hospitality players. Talking about Kochi charting
out its own track in the MICE map of the country, Shrestha says, “The growth in corporate and IT segment has
increased tremendously, since most of the corporate giants have anchored in the city with their corporate
The hotel offers one of the city’s highest inventories of 211 rooms in the heart of Cochin. Reveals the GM, “Holiday Inn Cochin is the first ISO-22000 certified international hotel brand for food safety standards. The property has five Food & Beverage award-winning outlets that provide a variety of options for the discerning business travellers. It is also the first hotel to engage tailored risk-mitigation solu-
tions emphasising a proactive approach with security personnel trained by veteran commanders of the Israeli Defense Force.” Regarding the occupancy performance of the hotel, he affirms, “The hotel is trading with a year-to-date occupancy of 47 per cent.”
Features O The hotel offers one of the city’s highest inventories of 211 rooms in the heart of Cochin O Holiday Inn Cochin is the first ISO-22000 certified international hotel brand for food safety standards
A target of attracting wedding segment The recently-launched Indana Palace, Jodhpur is also keen on tapping inbound and domestic leisure travellers. The hotel is a perfect blend of modern luxury and old palatial charm. “We are working closely with the travel trade through joint marketing activities, updating them on regular intervals with our deals and offers at the hotel,
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Meera Pahwa Vice President-Marketing & Sales Indana Hotels
ndana Palace, Jodhpur; Indana Hotels and Resorts’ first venture in India, is keen on tapping the wedding segment. Meera Pahwa, Vice PresidentMarketing & Sales, Indana Hotels and Resorts said, “Indana Palace, Jodhpur is a perfect blend of modern luxury and old palatial charm. Jodhpur is increasingly becoming popular destination for weddings, and Indana’s 3,000 sq. ft. prefunction area along with a sprawling
10,000 sq ft banquet hall and attached 40,000 sq ft landscaped lawn makes it a wonderful venue to create unforgettable fairytale weddings. Further, the hotel also makes a strong offering for MICE services through its
state-of-the-art convention facilities and services. “As Jodhpur is primarily a leisure destination, the Indana Palace, Jodhpur is also targeting inbound and domestic travellers from this segment.”
Further, Indana also plans to expand its presence across India with hotels in Jaipur, Udaipur, Nagpur and Mumbai. Speaking of working with the travel trade to promote the Indana Palace, Jodhpur; Pahwa informed,
building itineraries with them and also supplying promotional materials. We have also organised FAM tours for them to experience the hotel and have received a good response.” Additionally, Indana Palace, Jodhpur has also tied up with the major OTAs present in the country in order to push sales.
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Focussing on wedding segment Vijayshree Resort & Heritage Village has launched attractive wedding packages and is working closely with online and offline travel companies. T T B U R E AU
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fter receiving awards and recognition for its eco-friendly model of operations, Hampibased Vijayshree Resort & Heritage Village is now look-
ing at promoting itself as an apt destination-in-itself for wedding groups. The property features 43 cottages, along with a seven lakh square feet of open lawn area for MICE events. It is aiming to tap wedding groups with a maximum capacity of 400 people. To provide accommodation for bigger groups, the prop-
Managing Director, Vijayshree Resorts said, “Strategically-located in the heritage hub of Karnataka, our property is perfect for travellers looking for a home away from home. Our ‘No alcohol, no non-veg and nosmoking’ concept coupled with spa and wellness facilities act as a perfect gateway
Adjacent to the resort, it is a perfect justification of the theme of ‘one village, glorious heritage’, bringing you up close with the rural Indian life. Raju Bhurat Managing Director, Vijayshree Resorts
erty has also formed a consortium with neighboring properties. Providing further details about the property and facilities, Raju Bhurat,
for leisure travellers looking for respite from city life. Considering our 90 per cent of green space, we are now focusing on MICE, especially on weddings. We have organised about 20 weddings this year and intend to further increase the number in the coming years. We are also working closely with online
and offline travel companies to spread awareness about our brand enhance our brand recall value.” The property also features a small heritage-themed village in the nearby location open for evening events offering like folk dance, puppet show, horse-cart ride, camel ride, magic show and many more activities to indulge in. Bhurat said, “Adjacent to the resort, it is a perfect justification of the theme of ‘one village, glorious heritage’, bringing you up close with the rural Indian life. The artistic rock sculptures, fountains, thatched huts and workday equipment of villagers creates a surreal setting of a typical Indian village.”
Unique O The property also features a small heritage-themed village in the nearby location open for evening events offering like folk dance, puppet show
Promoting Northeast India to domestic tourists In order to attract larger number of tourists to the region, Parivaar India Tours plans on promoting to Northeast India to domestic tourists in the country. Abhijeet Chalke, Director, Parivaar India Tours said, “Our focus is on the Seven
Abhijeet Chalke Director Parivaar India Tours
Sisters (Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram) of the Northeast region. Additionally, festivals such as the Hornbill Festival, which is held every year in Nagaland, are seeing great demand from tourists.” Parivaar India Tours is targetting leisure, and corporate travellers as well as those
keen for offbeat experiences from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Pune. Speaking on the marketing and promotional strategy, Chalke stated, “The Northeast is a truly amazing and innovative combination of seven varied destinations. Multiplepriced tour programmes, with simplicity and exact product-information is our USP. Presently, we are concentrating on providing as much destination knowledge to our clients, which is very important as the region is currently a lowprofile destination. Helping our travel partners discover it is our key strategy.” He added, “We have been promoting the Seven Sisters of the Northeast for the past seven years and have received a fairly good response from our inbound travel partners. We entered the domestic market in 2011 and so far, we have been receiving mixed responses. However, we expect a sizeable growth from the domestic segment this year.”
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HOTELS
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TRAVTALK
ATE’s five-star offering for travellers The Westin Bekal Resort & Spa at Bekal, Kerala, ATE’s top-end five star deluxe beach resort, is expected to be ready by 2014. T T B U R E AU
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irtravel Enterprises Group has signed a contract with Westin to come up with the resort project Westin Bekal Resort & Spa at Bekal, Kerala. The resort, that is expected to be ready and commissioned by 2014, is proposed to be a top-end five-star deluxe beach establishment with 165 keys, built
E M Najeeb Chairman ATE Group
The Westin Bekal Resort & Spa will be a true celebration of Kerala heritage with focus on Malabar in traditional Kerala architectural style and one that adopts green practices to achieve a zero carbon footprint. Said to be spread over a total built-up area of about 300,000 sq ft, the resort blends with 400 metres of beach frontage and 1 km of backwater frontage. The resort has different categories of rooms, including Presidential Villa, Premium Villa, Senator Villa, Superior Villa and Spa Villa. The proposed convention centre, which is said to accommodate 2,000 people, is located outside the core
resort area and will be equipped with state-of-theart facilities. Conceptualised on Responsible & Sustainable Tourism principles, the resort will be the first resort with LEED Platinum Certification. The resort is located near the famous
Bekal Fort, which is more than 400 years old. The resort is easily accessible by rail, road or air. The nearest train station - Kanhangad is 10km away while the Kasaragod railway station is 14km away. The nearest airport is located at Mangalore at a distance of 80km.
The Westin Bekal Resort & Spa, the most fascinating presence of sea and backwaters together, offers an excellent Kerala feel
E N Zaheer Managing Director The Westin Bekal Resort & Spa
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Orchha Palace to welcome MICE
Puducherry to speed up tourism projects
After the success of The Orchha Resort, the Orchha Palace that will be ready by 2015, will cater to corporate guests, says Kalyani Dagar, General Manager, Sales & CRS, The Orchha Resort. T T B U R E AU How has Orchha developed as a tourist destination in the last five years? How has that helped the Orchha Resort? When we started The Orchha Resort in 1997, very few people were aware of the place Orchha. Initially, we had few transit lunches daily enroute Khajuraho. It was promoted only among travel agents, but looking at the potential and beauty of the place, we started promoting it in the domestic market as well. We participated in most of the important domestic exhibitions, covering all
Kalyani Dagar General Manager, Sales & CRS, The Orchha Resort
India, and as a result it has not only helped the resort, but also made Orchha a popular destination.
Are your clients domestic tourists or international guests? Initially, we used to cater only to international guests, but now from the last four years, the
domestic and corporate sector is also growing gradually.
How do you cater to the various segments? The Orchha Resort is fully capable of catering to the various needs of a cross-section of our clientele. With an increased flow of domestic and corporate clients we have also come up with facilities like a meeting room and a party hall.
When do you plan to come up with Orchha Palace? Orchha Palace will most probably be ready by 2015. At present, it is under
construction. It is an area of 11 acres, and it will be a 120-room five-star property with a convention centre and a full-fledged banqueting facility.
How different will Orchha Palace be from Orchha Resort? The Orchha Resort is situated on the banks of River Betwa, giving a calm serene and leisurely feel; whereas Orchha Palace is located more close to the city centre, and would cater to our corporate guests as a MICE destination.
Puducherry Lt. Governor Virendra Kataria called on K.Chiranjeevi, Minister for Tourism, Government of India on August 2, 2013. The Governor has requested to expedite the release of Central Financial Assistance to various tourism infrastructure projects in Pondicherry.
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Khajuraho: Visiting a timeless tale The temples of Khajuraho are India’s unique gift to the world, representing, as they do, a paean to life, to love, to joy, perfect in execution and sublime in expression. and the Javari with a richly carved gateway and exterior sculptures.
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uilt between 950 and1050 AD, of the 85 original Khajuraho temples, 22 have survived till date to constitute one of the world’s great artistic wonders. Architecturally too, they are unique and different from the temple prototype of their period.
The Southern Group includes: Duladeo Temple – Dedicated to Shiva, the apsara and ornamented figures are the temple’s most striking features. Chaturbhuj Temple – This temple has a massive, intri-
The temple is divided into three geographical divisions - western, eastern and southern.
over Madhya Pradesh is on display at the Chandela Cultural Complex. The state museum has more than 500 representative items of terracotta, metal craft, woodcraft, tribal and folk paintings, tattoos, jewellery and masks. The best time to visit the place is from July to March. To reach there, Khajuraho has its own rail-
The Western Group includes: Kandariya Mahadeo – This soars 31 m high and is dedicated to Shiva, the sanctum a
AD), it is dedicated to Kali. Only 35 of the original 65 shrines remain.
Chaunsath Yogini – This is the only granite temple and the earliest surviving shrine of the group (900
Chitragupta Temple – This temple is dedicated to Surya, the sun god. The image of the deity in the inner sanctum is particularly imposing. Vishwanath Temple – A three headed image of
sanctorum enshrines lingam.
Brahma is enshrined in this temple. Lakshmana Temple – The lintel over the entrance of this beautiful Vaishnavite temple shows the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva with Lakshmi, Vishnu’s consort. Matangeswara Temple – Still a living place of worship, the temple is dedicated to Shiva, has an eight feet high lingam and is outside the precincts of the Western Group.
The Eastern Group includes: Parsvanath Temple – The group’s largest Jain Temple and exquisite in detail. Ghantai Temple – This Jain temple has a frieze which depicts the 16 dreams of Mahavira’s mother, and a Jain goddess on a Garuda. Adinath Temple – Dedicated to the Jain saint, Adinath, the temple is lavishly embellished with sculpted figures, including yakshis. The three Hindu temples of the group are the Brahma, containing a four-faced lingam, the Vamana, which is adorned on its outer walls with carving of apsaras in a variety of sensuous attitudes;
cately-carved image Vishnu in the sanctum.
of
Sound & Light Show – This fascinating spectacle evokes the life and times of the great Chandela Kings and traces the story of the unique temples during the 10th and 11th centuries. The 50-minute show runs in Hindi and in English every evening and Amitabh Bachchan narrates the story of Khajuraho. State Museum of Tribal and Folk Arts – A fine collection of masterpieces of tribal and folk arts and artifacts from all
way station linking it to Delhi, Jhansi (172 km), Harpalpur (94 km) & Mahoba (64 km) and Satna (117 km), which is on the MumbaiAllahabad line of the Central Railway, is a convenient rail link for those coming from Mumbai, Kolkata and Varanasi. By road, Khajuraho is connected by regular buses with Satna, Harpalpur, Jhansi and Mahoba. There are regular air services linking Khajuraho with Delhi and Varanasi.
Hilton comes to Pune Hilton Worldwide recently announced the launch of DoubleTree by Hilton Pune Chinchwad, the first international hotel brand, to open in Pimpri - Chinchwad. Located in the heart of Pune’s information technology and industrial belt, the 115-room property boasts upscale accommodations and amenities, including four food and beverage venues, an execu-
tive lounge, 24-hour business centre, versatile meeting and events spaces, pool, fitness centre and spa.
DoubleTree by Hilton Pune Chinchwad is located near more than 8,000 of the area’s key businesses and manufacturers,
including Hyundai, Force Motors and DaimlerChrysler, and offers easy access to Pune Airport, Mumbai-Pune National and Express Highways and the Pune city centre and railway station. Nearby are some of the region’s most sought-after tourist destinations, including the hill stations of Lonavala and Khandala, and the ancient Buddhist caves of Karla and Bhaja.
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HOTELS
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Leisure and business@Crowne Plaza Kochi The latest international hotel brand with contemporary and chic design, IHG’s Crowne Plaza Kochi has the largest room inventory in Kerala with 269 rooms, says the GM. T T B U R E AU
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usiness and leisure travellers in India are seeking a hotel with a brand name they can trust, that caters to their specific needs and delivers a great stay every time. That’s what Crowne Plaza Kochi promises. The latest international hotel brand with contemporary and chic design, IHG’s Crowne Plaza Kochi has the largest room inventory in the state of Kerala with 269 rooms, claims Sanjay Kaushik,
Sanjay Kaushik General Manager Crowne Plaza Kochi
The property offers one of the largest meeting space area of 24,110 square feet in the region General Manager, Crowne Plaza Kochi. Approximately 45 minutes’ drive from Cochin International Airport, it is strategically located on NH-47 Bypass with a beautiful view of straddling backwaters and coconut groves. According to Kaushik, Crowne Plaza Kochi has helped in the evolution of Kochi’s hospitality landscape along with boosting the brand positioning of IHG in the region. With the launch of two brand defining properties
within a span of 18 months, namely the Crowne Plaza Kochi and Holiday Inn Cochin, IHG has established a lead in the Kochi region. Both the hotels are leveraging on their scale of having a combined inventory of 480 rooms plus
state-of-the-art convention facilities. “We have had some great events right from Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to World Economic Forum confirmed with us. Also with IATO happening in Kochi, we are really looking forward to
welcome our key trade partners and offer great experience to them. Crowne Plaza is globally a strong brand. My key responsibility is to strengthen the IHG presence in the region through Crowne Plaza Kochi,” he affirms.
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TRAVTALK IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
STATISTICS
Men take the lead in inbound travel Tourists in the age group of 35-45 visited India the most in 2011. In gender-wise distribution of tourists coming to India, men have a clear 19% lead over the fairer sex. numbered the men in FTAs in India from Kazakhstan (64.7%), Mauritius (55.1%), Russian Federation (51.1%), UAE (51.0%) and Argentina (50.2%) during 2011.
T T B U R E AU
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uring the year 2011, sex-wise distribution of the FTAs comprises of 59.4% men and 40.6% women. The male-female break-up of the FTAs in 2010 was 59.3% and 40.7% respectively. Table 1 gives the gender-wise distribution of FTAs in India during 19962011. Percentage of arrivals not reporting their gender was quite high in 2001 and 2002, but it is gradually decreasing from 2005 and from 2008, it was noticeably low at 0.1. During 2009, onwards the reporting of sex of the FTAs has been 100%.
Age Distribution of FTAs in IndiaThe proportion of FTAs in different age groups has not changed much in the last few years. However, the proportion of FTAs aged 55 or above has increased from 11.5% in While the proportion of female for most of the countries is in the range of 30% to 50%, for some countries like Egypt, Sudan, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Yemen Arab Republic, Afghanistan, Nepal, China (Main), Japan, Korea etc. it was substantially low (less than 30%) in 2011. On the other hand, women out-
FTAs in India according to gender 1999-2011 Year
Arrivals
Gender Distributor Male
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
22,87,860 23,74,094 23,58,629 24,81,928 26,49,378 25,37,282 23,84,364 27,26,214 34,57,477 39,18,610 44,47,167 50,81,504 52,82,603 51,67,699 57,75,692 63,09,222
65.3 61.5 65.4 69.5 61.9 41.1 50.2 55.7 54.9 52.5 57.1 59.9 60.5 59.6 59.3 59.4
Female
Not Reported
34.7 38.5 34.6 30.5 38.1 24.5 27.5 32.1 33.9 33.1 36.2 39.6 39.4 40.4 40.7 40.6
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 34.4 22.3 12.2 11.2 14.4 6.7 0.5 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 Statistics: MOT
1996 to about 24.2% in 2011. As the proportion of FTAs not reporting their ages has varied over the years, therefore, comparison of age-distribution of FTAs needs to be done with caution. In 2011, the highest
FTAs in India (21.2%) were from 35-44 years age group, followed by the age groups of 45-54 years (19.7%) and 25-34 years (16.6%). The lowest number of FTAs occurred in the age-group of 15-24 years (7.9%).
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MOT
MOT, state ministers and trade together The first-of-its-kind state tourism ministers’ meet took stock of the various developments across states and union territories. reports... T T B U R E AU
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he Ministry of Tourism had called for state ministers meet on July 18, 2013 in New Delhi. All 35 states and union territories participated, which included over 20 state tourism ministers.
their perspective to the Minister. “I am happy to accept the suggestion made by stakeholders at the state tourism ministers’ meet to hold such brainstorming session frequently which has full partic-
(L-R): Anand Kumar, Parvez Dewan, K Chiranjeevi and Nakul Anand
The Federation of Association in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH) got an opportunity to showcase its perspective on India tourism potential, which Nakul Anand, Chairman, FAITH narrated in his 20-minute presentation. The other 21 association representatives also presented
ipation from states and private sectors players. We will be happy to conduct the state ministers’ meet at least twice a year,” said K Chiranjeevi, Minister of Tourism, Government of India. Addressing the first subject on the agenda regarding security, Chiranjeevi urged the state governments and UTs to enact the cadre of Tourist Police in one form or the other, which can be done either by bor-
rowing some companies from the police department or hiring ex-servicemen or home guards. “It is not only important that we provide security to the tourists but it is also important that we must instill a sense of confidence in them,” said Chiranjeevi. Chiranjeevi said the second important issue which has become a serious cause for concern and due to which we are losing business to other markets, is cleanliness and hygiene. “The problem is serious and if we fail to tackle it now, it may be too late. All states and UT administrations must declare tourist destinations as plastic and garbage-free. We should build proper toilets and sensitise the community about the need to keep the destinations clean,” he added. Further, expressing concern on high tax structure, Chiranjeevi said that collective taxes on tourismrelated services range between 20 to 30% in India as compared to 5 to 10% in the neighbouring countries. “I have opened a dialogue with the finance ministry to rationalise the Central taxes. I would request you to take up the issue of rationalisation of state taxes with your counterpart in finance department of your state”, he added.
IATO meets Ministry of Tourism
The IATO delegation, led by President Subhash Goyal and comprising its office bearers, meets Minister of Tourism K. Chiranjeevi and Parvez Dewan, Secretary, Tourism, GOI
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TECHNOLOGY
TRAVTALK IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
IRCTC to revamp website by early 2014 The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) is planning to revamp its train ticket booking website and relaunch it by early next year. Currently, the website books 2,000 tickets a minute. The new site, to be built at an investment of more than Rs 100 crore, will be able to make 7,200 transactions a minute. Vasu MS, Additional General Manager, Software, IRCTC said that some tweaks such as separating search and booking functions, and an e-wallet system that will cut banks' sites out of the booking process were being made to make the current site faster.
Press T for Travel with
India
Vikas Agnihotri, Director - Travel & BFSI, Google India, talks about how internet has revolutionised the travel industry and why everybody now needs an online presence. TT B UREAU How do smartphones and tablets affect the travel industry? Almost one-third of the queries which are related to travel are coming from smartphones, queries from smartphones in itself are growing to almost 400%, 397% to be exact on a yearon-year basis. This itself will have a significant impact in the decision-making process as far as the travel industry is concerned. In terms of the five stages of travel - there are dreaming, researching, booking, experiencing and social phases. In the dreaming and researching phases,
people going to move across devices and smartphones is one of them. In the initial stage, when you are planning a holiday and sometimes when you are not even planning a holiday, there is an external stimulus that triggers you to take a holiday. That external stimulus may come from the smartphone, and this is all because of the computing power it has.
How do you think has the internet revolutionised the travel industry, and what do you think does the future hold in store? The future’s good; there are more and more people who want to search for their
holidays and plan their trip better and already research shows that more than five elements are researched and searched online as compared to two elements offline. This shows that when a consumer is planning a vacation, he has a range of information needs and that is only available online to him. I don’t think he can get his answers as conveniently from any other source, other than an online source, so to that extent I think online will play an important role.
With internet being the future for everyone, do you think travel agents also
Irrespective of the fact that whether you are a travel agent or own any other business, you need to have an online presence because in today’s time and age, if someone wants to search for any information, he/she will go online
need to concentrate on going online? Travel agents have adapted to the change. Some travel agents are already doing it. But irrespective of the fact that whether you are a travel agent or own any other busi-
ness, you need to have an online presence because in today’s day and age, if someone wants to search for any information, he/she will go online. If you are not on the net, you’ll not be found. In India, Google runs a portal called India Business Online. Here we encourage people to come online and set up a free business URL. There have been many success stories as people are discovering what kind of business they can be in and what’s in store for them.
Which category of travellers use technology to the maximum for their travel needs? The age group of 22-45 are users of smartphones. In any economy when people move online the first thing that you see is through travel, the second phase is through e commerce and third goes into banking and financial services and other services. Travel is already a very dominant factor online.
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STATISTICS
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Tourism’s share in Indian economy India Travel & Tourism’s Contribution to GDP Business vs Leisure, 2012
72.3%
Domestic vs Foreign, 2012
27.7% Business spending
30.1% Direct
80.3%
54.8%
Domestic spending
Indirect
15.1%
Source: WTTCII
Leisure spending
India Breakdown of Travel & Tourism’s Total Contribution to GDP, 2012
Induced
19.7% Foreign visitor spending
Direct Contribution: GDP generated by industries that deal directly with tourists, including hotels, travel agents, airlines, as well as restaurant and leisure industries. Indirect Contribution:The contribution to GDP and jobs are because of Capital Investment, Government collective spending, Supply-Chain effects Induced Contribution: The broader contribution to GDP and employment of spending by those who are directly or indirectly employed by Travel & Tourism.
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VISA
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Spreading wings in India via technology With a pan-India presence, Udaan India is looking forward to grow technologically to provide best-in-class visa services to its clients. Their newest office is in Kolkata. TT B UREAU
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nvisioning the changing trends and impact of technology, Udaan India was the first company to launch its visa portal in 2000. The company also pioneered the online Visa Tracking System. Amidst this, VFS Global began in Mumbai on the initiative of the US State Department to assist the US Embassy there. Since then, VFS Global has been serving a lot of diplomatic missions and immigration authorities for visa issuance – related administrative and non-judgmental tasks. Many new changes
Rajan Dua Managing Director Udaan India
were introduced by some diplomatic missions. While a few countries made visa processing easier by introducing e-visa, increasing their presence in places like Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Puducherry etc; on the other hand a few countries made things a little more complex like personal appearance being mandatory for submission, biometrics, acceptance of limited applications, longer processing time to review the application, etc. Udaan has a dedicated staff to take care of online visa applications, meet and assist service for personal appearance/ personal interviews, biometrics, thorough quality check of the applications to minimise processing time for application review, and so on and so forth. Now, as more and more countries are opting for online appointments, online submission of visa applications and even scanned supporting doc-
uments, Udaan has a team of experienced and skilled manpower which provide best-in-class service and assistance. Anticipating the demands of the travel industry, Udaan has set up a training division to ensure regular inflow of trained and skilled manpower.
The company has a pan-India presence and has spread its wings from Delhi to its branch offices in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurgaon.
The latest feather in the cap is Kolkata. It provides visa facilitation services to travel agents, travel management companies, corporate, and individual travellers. With augmented outbound travel, even corporates are looking for a direct visa facilitator.
Understanding their needs, Udaan provides onsite implant support to them. The launch of the upgraded version of their portal www.udaanindia.com, has been a value addition for the clients. The new version has comprehensive visa information of all countries
for all jurisdictions, contact details / holiday list of all embassy / consulates and outsourced visa centres, forms, formats, real time online tracking wizard, status alerts at every stage of application processing. All these are provided free of cost to the registered users.
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STATISTICS
TRAVTALK IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
Contributing to employment and GDP Breakdown of Travel & Tourism’s Total Contribution to GDP and Employment 2012
Total Contribution of Travel & Tourism to Employment '000 jobs
GDP (2012 INR billion) 48,592,000
966
1,920 Direct
25,041
Source: WTTCII
+Indirect
+Induced
9,364 5,107 = Total contribution of Travel & Tourism
Employment ('000)
3,500
39,512,000
39,420,500
2012
2013
Direct
Indirect
2023 Induced
Direct contribution to employment: The number of direct jobs within the Travel & Tourism industry.
Total contribution to GDP: GDP generated directly by the Travel & Tourism industry, plus its indirect and induced impacts.
Total contribution to employment: The number of jobs generated directly in the industry plus indirect and induced contributions.
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FAMILY ALBUM
TRAVTALK IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
Pre-convention luncheon meet by IATO Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) conducted a pre-convention luncheon meeting with its members, where Lally Mathews, Co-Convention Chairperson, shared the convention details. Subhash Goyal, President, IATO invited all members and urged them to register early to avail attractive packages for the convention.
Vikramajit Chairman SanJeet Editor & Publisher Deepa Sethi Editor-in-Chief
Editorial Ratan Kr Paul Vivek Sethi Megha Paul Devika Jeet Anita Jain Lyandra D’Souza News-Editor Peden Doma Bhutia Desk-Editor Archana Sharma Sr. Sub-Editor Hritvick Sen Photographers Simran Kaur-Delhi
Marketing Gunjan Sabikhi Harshal Ashar Aarti Nagrath Karishma Khanna Geetika Pathak Baljinder Singh Monika Malhotra Anju Khattar Manish Singh Priyanshu Wankhade Amit Sarkar Gaganpreet Kaur Rishika Karra Elizabeth Rani
Design Nityanand Misra Sudhir Mudgal Vikas Mandotia Nitin Kumar Aarushi Agrawal Production Manager
Anil Kharbanda Circulation
Ashok Rana
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CLIPBOARD
IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
TRAVTALK
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HIGHLIGHTS
TRAVTALK IATO DAILIES 2013 – DAY 1
IATO Theme summarises agents’ need The IATO theme ‘Innovations and Partnerships’ states what is needed to jump-start and invigorate the state of the travel agents in India, feel the IATO Chapter Chairmen of various states. Here are a few excerpts from what they said:C Nagendra Prasad Chairman, IATO Tamil Nadu Chapter
Sunil C Gupta Chairman, IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter
Harihar Patra Member, IATO Tour Guide Relations Committee
The security for women tourists is the first issue that needs to be tackled. With the recurring rape cases, inbound has been impacted in recent times. So this situation has to be resolved to boost our tourism potential. Also, political agitations in the country, especially in Andhra Pradesh, Darjeeling and Srinagar need to be curbed. These are areas which can tap a lot of inbound.
The theme is most relevant and probably the only solution to put Indian tourism on the path of rapid growth. Through sustainable partnerships amongst various stakeholders, we can realise the huge employment and economic potential that tourism offers for our ever-growing population. Yes, there are challenges. Inbound tourism is most sensitive to various domestic and international happenings, and it gets affected quickly. This translates into cancellations and diversions to other destinations. It is imperative to change the negative security perception in India, along with negative publicity.
Innovations and partnerships are the only two ways to survive in the present competitive market. This creates a new hype in the market, where stakeholders or partners support you. Going forward, the tour operators need to get educated and updated on how to create new destinations with the partnership of state governments. It is very important that our B2B community indulges in creation of new products. Also, in my opinion, the new trends that will drive inbound tourism in India are adventure and spiritual segments.
Ramesh Wattal Committee Member, IATO
Bhim Singh Chairman, IATO Rajasthan Chapter
The theme ‘Innovations & Partnerships’ has been chosen to emphasise that new partnerships in the Indian travel trade will only innovate, if the partnerships themselves are innovative. It is important to have innovative partnerships to bring small stakeholders in the industry up to the same platform as others. And once the requirements of these small stakeholders are met, it will lead to an all-round growth of the industry. With the maximum allowance on all domestic flights being fixed at 15 kg, it is a problem for international travellers, especially the ones on transit to domestic locations.
The greatest challenge now is to promote and increase inbound tourism, which has been almost static for many years in spite of attractive sites and facilities of the international standards available in the country. There are new trends being witnessed in the industry, which show that the sector is evolving. The large ‘group tour’ business is now replaced by smaller groups and more FITs. More tourists are travelling by cruise ships and are requesting for the same experience in India.
Rakesh Chopra Chairman, IATO Madhya Pradesh Chapter I feel the convention is really timed right. Margins are shrinking and if one wants to excel, then ‘innovation’ is the only way forward or otherwise, the market forces would throw you out of business. ‘Partnerships’ are like pillars for any business and one should try and build on it over the years. Thus, the theme is indeed very apt. One major problem, that we have never faced in the past and which we are now facing, is the consistent and steep hike in the cost of fuel. In our trade, we have to quote rates more than one year in advance. With the hike in the cost of fuel every now and then, it is becoming difficult to give quotations in advance. We wish some steps are taken on a war footing, so that border taxes are paid online and free flow of tourist vehicles across borders becomes a reality. I wish the IATO convention takes up this issue.
... and some humour to sparkle up asks IATO’s Chapter Chairmen some off-beat questions on what would they like to have changed in India, and who would they like most to represent the country in certain fields. From SRK to Sunny Leone, here is what they had to say.
Sunil C. Gupta
Rajan Sehgal
Chairman, IATO Uttar Pradesh Chapter
Member, Civil Aviation and Airlines Committee
Who should be the brand ambassador for the country’s night tourism?
Q
Q
Katrina Kaif and Sunny Leone
Q
Who should be the brand ambassador for food tourism?
Former U S President Bill Clinton
What changes will you bring in tourism if you were the PM of India?
Q
Increase the budget of department of tourism manifold, and run a worldwide campaign Incredible India Part 2,3,4,5,6 should be undertaken.
According to you, who should be the brand ambassador to promote Bollywood tourism in India?
Q
Amitabh Bacchan
Brand ambassador for: (A) India’s night tourism?
Arjun Rampal
Q Q
(B) India’s food tourism? Anupam Kher
(C) Bollywood tourism? SRK and Salman Khan
If I were PM - I would become ‘travel-agent friendly’. I will call them and listen to all their woes as nobody has done it till date.
Harihar Patra Member, IATO Tour Guide Relations Committee
Q
Brand ambassador for food tourism?
Q
If you were the PM of India?
Famous chefs like Kunal Kapoor.
I will try to bring the infrastructure to the front to ensure that travellers do not have any problem. I will also take the stakeholders to understand their deliverables to the country in terms of employment and resource utilisation for various earnings so that we can manage the business.
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