TourismFirst july issue by Cross Section Media Pvt. Ltd.

a cross section publication

V O L U M E 1 . I S S U E 3 . J U LY 2 0 1 5 . ` 5 0

TOURISMFIRST T R AV E L & T O U R I S M I S E V E RY B O DY ’ S B U S I N E S S

YOGA COULD BE THE NEXT BIG WAVE FOR INDIAN TOURISM “Room for one more carrier from India on Star Alliance”

MARK F SCHWAB CEO, Star Alliance

“Croatia has much to offer to the Indian outbound”

AMIR MUHAREMI

Croatian Ambassador

“Foreign arrivals to touch 10 million in next three years” LALIT PANWAR

Secretary Tourism Government of India

Swamimalai: more than food and rooms, an authentic Indian experience STEVE BORGIA

Mentor, INDeco Hotels

Technology is changing the way we travel, and how? Forget the Hype: this is Real. The Source of the Saraswati

this issue

JULY, 2015

Turning Yoga into a tourism dynamo June 21st was simply a special day for us. For never before in our history, we have so effectively (some may even call it opulently) displayed, probably the most formidable element of our diverse soft power basket – the yoga. What happened at Raj Path was emulated at different locations in over 100 countries across the globe and the entire world simply watched the spectacle in sheer awe. Everybody knows the story – how it has been spearheaded by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he had visited the United Nations immediately after becoming the prime minister asking the world at large to embrace Yoga to infuse a sense of sanity in our humdrum lives. And despite murmuring notes from some quarters, we believe that it is a step in the right direction, a good beginning which should be diligently taken forward. Yoga simply has several linkages. From Indian standpoint, it can also be turned into a tourism dynamo. This, however, is not a new proposition. For long, yoga pundits have been pointing out that it can draw people from different corners of the world in large numbers. But so far, it has happened on a selective, low key basis. The challenge now is to push the envelope and make Yoga a catalyst for tourism too. The Yoga Day celebrations, we believe, will create that momentum wherein the tourism sector can also successfully make the most of it going ahead. However, it will require a new approach, shaping a new eco-system. To begin with it will entail officially recognising some destinations as Yoga hubs. Rishikesh, Haridwar, Bangalore, etc. are already known for their Yoga offerings owing to the presence of some noted institutions there. So they should be the first of the lot to be designated as Yoga hotspots in the country. There can be more inclusions in the list going ahead. The second most important issue, in our reckoning, is to bring in an element of standardisation in the discipline. We have to get extremely quality conscious on this front – the trainers have to be qualified and there have to be specific micro offerings rather than selling generic solutions to the tourists coming to learn yoga. A popular feeling about the Indian yoga market is that it has too many trainers and gurus who do not simply deserve to be there preaching this ancient process. Such oddities can only be fixed, if we set standards. 21st June has clearly shown that the world finds a serious wow factor in the quintessential Indian offering. And given an opportunity, they would rather like to learn it at its point of genesis. And so the onus now lies on the stakeholders here – to turn Yoga Tourism into a formidable entity giving the world one more reason to feel excited about visiting India.

Navin Berry

Tourism Currents 05 Mobile apps lead the online hotel booking, reveals MakeMyTrip.com finding 06 PM drives Yoga: Yoga gets a big push, now is the time for Yoga tourism to take centre stage 12 Forget the Hype: this is Real. The Source of the Saraswati 14 Will the new aviation policy usher in a responsive regime? 18 “Smarter regulation must to meet future challenges,” says Tony Tyler, Director General and CEO, IATA 20 “Room for one more carrier from India on Star Alliance”: Mark F Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance 23 “Foreign arrivals to touch 10 million in next three years,” Lalit Panwar, Tourism Secretary 24 Explosive expectations from new visa regime unwarranted 28 India sets its eyes on infrastructure revamp; tourism could be the biggest beneficiary

Destination India

33 Tamil Nadu retains its numero uno position in tourist arrival in 2014 34 NGT diktat on Manali tourism brings life to a standstill 38 The complex around Humayun’s Tomb gets the coveted Unesco World Heritage tag 40 Swamimalai: Taking hotels beyond room and food 46 Technology is changing the way we travel, and how? 49 MP Tourism to invite bids for land parcels for tourism development 52 Night products launched, new policy initiated in Rajasthan 56 Kerala in the Monsoon

International 62 The French Midi: This tourist area is an important ingredient of the composite tourism product of France 67 China registers strong growth in International Outbound 68 Croatia: Indian outbound to grow in the near future, says Ambassador Amir Muharemi 70 Nepal Tourism: The challenge to rise from the perception rubble 72 Dazzingly Different: eight of the most remarkable cities in the world

HotelScapes

79 “Conferencing in Hyderabad to witness a strong 2015” says HICC chief 80 Starwood Hotels strengthen its inventory with Sheraton in Hyderabad

NAVIN BERRY navin@tourismfirst.org RITWIK SINHA ritwik@tourismfirst.org features editor: PRIYAANKA BERRY priyaanka@tourismfirst.org features desk: SHASHANK SHEKHAR shashank@tourismfirst.org advertising: SAURABH JAIN saurabh@tourismfirst.org circulation: CHANDRA TAMANG info@tourismfirst.org editor:

contributing editor:

TOURISMFIRST is owned, published and printed by Navin Berry and printed at Anupam Art Printers. B-52, Naraina Phase II, New Delhi. It is published from 36-37, 3rd Floor, Indra Palace, H-Block, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001. Tel: 011-43784444, 41001622. Fax: 011-41001627. Total pages 84

July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents FIRST ANNIVERSARY

Air India- Star Alliance successful partnership completes one year

uly 11th, marked the successful completion of one year of the Air India Star Alliance partnership. It was on this day last year that India’s national carrier Air India formally became the 27th member of t he Sta r A l l ia nce network. Air India celebrated the day with fervour and enthusiasm, with lots of exciting initiatives planned

for passengers. Passengers on 10 select domestic metro flights were treated to an exclusive, personalized inflight experience with a chef on board who interacted with them and also, assisted cabin crew in the service. On the other hand, the passengers on board international flights in the First and Executive class were treated to delectable chocolates. To commemorate the occasion, designer display cards at the metro airports were placed on check in counters and personnel adorned Air India Star Alliance badges at the airports. A ir India became the f irst Indian carrier to be inducted into Star Alliance network, the world’s first truly global airline alliance. This partnership gave the passengers an opportunity to travel to 1316 destinations across the network and enjoy world class services, better connectivity and seamless travel. One year on, the passengers have immensely benefitted from

NEW SERVICE

British Airways’ inaugurates Boeing 787-9 from Delhi

DEMANDING e-TV

South Africa wishes to join India’s e-visa list

British A irways with the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, complete with a new First class cabin, will commence f lying to Delhi from 25 October 2015. With the launch, Delhi will become the first route for British Airways globally to benefit from the brand new aircraft. The 787-9, the first of which is due to arrive with British Airways in September, is 20ft longer that its 787-8 predecessor (of which the airline has eight), so as well as offering World Traveller (economy), World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and Club World (business class), there’s also room for a new First class cabin – a first for the airline’s 787 fleet. Commenting on the development, 4

TourismFirst July 2015

Moran Birger, British A ir ways' Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia said, “We, at British Airways, are constantly innovating and adding more to our offerings, keeping the customer’s comfort and convenience at the heart of our decision making. India is the second largest international market for us after the U.S. and we are committed to providing the very best to our customers, adding further value to their travel experience with us. “We welcome our customers from Delhi to experience a whole new level of comfort and luxury and do hope they enjoy the benefits of our new aircraft from the city,” he added.

this alliance. It has earned the globe trotter innumerable perks besides sea m less con nec t ivity across the globe with more than 18,500 daily flights in 193 countries. The frequent f lyer benefits between Air India’s Flying Returns program and those of the existing member carriers have benefitted customers a great deal in earning and redeeming, upgrading and obtaining Star A l liance Gold Status. Fly ing Return members who hold Maharajah Club or Golden Edge Club status are automatically upgraded to Star Alliance Gold status, giving them access to more than 1,000 lounges across the global network. Air India celebrated this occasion with much enthusiasm across its offices in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The celebration functions included its employees and partners like travel agencies, corporates and other Star Alliance airlines..

outh Africa has shown keen interest to join India's electronic tourist visa scheme. In a bid to promote tourism and business ties with India, South African Home Minister Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba has proposed a 10-year, multiple-entry business visa. It has been mooted to be mutual in nature and has the potential to further enhance tourist visits between the two countries. The matter came up during his meeting with his counterpart, recently, in the capital. India has recently unveiled a liberal e-visa regime bringing a number of countries in its fold. The results have been positive as there has been a noticeable rise in the number of international inbound tourists. As many as 5.11 lakh tourists arrived in India, in May 2015, as compared to 4.68 lakh in May 2014, registering a growth of 9.2%.

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Mobile apps lead the online hotel booking, reveals MakeMyTrip.com finding A reading of the available data with the MakeMytrip.com reveals an unprecedented upsurge in mobile device based bookings for hotels. This tread, in the midst of an ever-growing internet penetration in the country – fuelled by inexpensive handsets, is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

he trends are clear. For the first time, mobile has overtaken desktop bookings contributing to a staggering 53 percent of overall domestic-hotel bookings compared to the previous year – where hotel bookings were 29 percent of overall bookings as per the customer transaction data available with MakeMyTrip.com. Driven by the last- minute booking in the peak season of May and June, the trend indicates that as much as 80 percent of bookings were made just up to a week before travel. Another important aspect of this spike has been a two fold increase in the weekend travel and checkins over long weekend drives. The data ref lects a more noticeable movement to drivable destinations compared to those accessed through flights or rail. Commenting on the trends

based on the f indings R ajesh Magow, Co-Founder and CEOIndia, MakeMyTrip said “Mobile has clearly hit an inflection-point by overtaking desktop in hotelbookings for June. While Advance Purchase (AP) trends on desktop bookings have not changed compared to last year, the majority of hotel bookings on mobile continue to be for shorter AP. Almost 80%% of mobile bookings are for check-

confidence and comfort in transacting on the platform, and is an outcome of the value that we provide to the customer on the device of their choice,” he said. The biggest beneficiary of this changing customer behavior have been small and budget-property owners in Tier III towns which have shown the highest year-onyear (YOY) grow th in mobile bookings. It is evident from the

• This is a positive development, since it shows customer confidence and comfort in transacting on the platform, and is an outcome of the value that we provide to the customer on the device of their choice. ins up to a week in advance, 61% for last-minute bookings (up to 2 days in advance) and a whopping 32% for same-day hotel bookings.” He further argues that the trend is not a one-off but indicates a rather gradual shift in consumer preference. He shares: “A closer

Tier 3 centres growth in Online Hotel bookings YoY Growth (2015) Alibaug (253%) Landsdowne (108%) Khajjiar (100%) Ganpatiphule (100%) Yelagiri (70%) Pondicherry (48%) Mahabaleshwar (25%)

look will show that there is a slow but steady shift in consumer habit of booking on mobiles. Travelers are now using their mobiles to book hotels with a longer advance booking period. The 7-day AP contributed to 82% book ings on mobile last year (compared to 78% in FY2015), 48-hour AP contributed to 70% bookings in 2014 (compared to 61% in 2015) and same-day bookings fell from

YoY Growth (2014) Alibaug (205 %) Thekkady (125%) Pondicherry (103%) Allepey (100%) Mahabaleshwar (85%) Lonavala/Khandala (65%) Darjeeling (62%)

40% to 32% this year.” He believes that the trend is a result of the flexibility and comfort that mobile based bookings provide and it reflected the consumers’ confidence in the platform. “This is a positive development, since it shows customer

AP (Advance Purchase) Bookings share Platform 2015 2014 up to 7 days Mobile 78% 82% Desktop 63% 63% up to 2 days Mobile 61% 70% Desktop 44% 44% Same day Mobile 32% 40% Desktop 14% 13%

fact that Alibaug registered a 253 percent YOY growth, whereas K h ajji a r, Ga npat iphu le a nd Landsdowne clicked over 100 percent YOY. Pondicherry and Mahabaleshwar, too, registered a positive growth. In terms of sale from online booking, as per the released findings, Delhi continued to hold its top spot for the second year in the row for the maximum number of hotel sale, followed by Bangalore. While Mumbai, Goa and Chennai followed respectively. Ooty was dislodged from the sixth spot by Hyderabad and Chandigarh entered the top ten list, taking over from Jaipur. July 2015 TourismFirst

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Yoga gets a big push, now is the time for Yoga tourism to take centre stage

Did anyone ever think that Rajpath can become â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Yogapathâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;? We are not only celebrating a day but we are training the human mind to begin a new era of peace, amity. Prime Minister NARENDRA MODI on International Day of Yoga at Rajpath, New Delhi

TourismFirst July 2015

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PM drives Yoga

With the highly publicized and widely- appreciated celebration of the ‘International Yoga Day’, the spotlight is back on the ancient art of Yoga. The challenge, now, is to sustain the momentum by creating the requisite infrastructure and systems to brand the art for bringing travelers from distant shores, fuelling Yoga tourism like never before. Rajpath turns into ‘Yogapath’ Rajpath and its imperial surroundings are generally reserved for the two most important occasions for the nation – namely the Republic day and the Independence Day celebrations – for it signifies the collective jubilation and pride of a nation in an imposing backdrop with a meaningful past. But the Rajpath saw another massive outpouring of the young and old, alike, with non-other than the Prime Minister himself leading the yoga practitioners to mark the celebration of the much touted ‘International day of Yoga’ on June 21st. It was not an ordinary gathering, by any means, as the participants included foreign diplomats from over a hundred nations, including the US Ambassador to India, Richard Varma, the CM and the LG of Delhi, score of babus, members of the National Cadet Corps and school children, who bent and stretched in unison, with the PM in the front row, in a 35- minute event telecasted on hundreds of satellite channels for the world to watch in awe. PM at the event, in his speech, said, “Did anyone ever think that Rajpath can become ‘Yogapath’? We are not only celebrating a day but we are training the human mind to begin a new era of peace, amity.” In the process, India managed to break the record for the largest yoga gathering at a single spot with over 35,000 people performing different yogic asanas in front of the Guinness Book of World Record officials. Its impact was global, as the day was observed in over 251 cities in 191 countries across the world and, in a bid to maximize the outreach, the Indian missions and diplomatic posts made arrangements for the celebrations and other related events. The state machinery went on an overdrive to ensure its success with almost 4,000 police personnel and 1,500 traffic policemen pressed into service for the event. W hile, national broadcaster Doordarshan deployed more than 20 hi-definition cameras for the coverage of the event, including several outdoor broadcast

KARAN ANAND

Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings “The government should certify yoga institutes and emulate the example of Kerala where yoga centers have to confirm to guidelines in order to promote it. We are very poor in branding what we have and I feel this is the opportune time to promote yoga.”

GIRIJESH VYAS

President of Yoga Life Society, Ujjain “We have certainty enthused the society about Yoga at large, and it is commendable that the government has used all its might to propagate it in the right earnest. It will be a great combination, if we can manage to teach the right art with favorable policy to promote it. I have no doubt that it will give a big fillip to tourism in the country.”

NUPUR SIKKA

Director, Ganga Kinare “India is able to appreciate the values of Yoga better now because outsiders respect them. Repackaging of Yoga into highly accessible activity offers great potential for health tourism as India attempts to capitalize on a product which is uniquely theirs.”

July 2015 TourismFirst

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UN celebrates International Yoga Day around the world Washington DC

Spiritual Leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar demonstrated some simple Asanas (yoga poses) on the International Day of Yoga

“It is, indeed, heartening to see so many people performing this art in unison. The idea is to carry forward this initiative. We must not lose steam and ensure that it becomes a part of our community practice. The event has given the art a new impetus. Let us work together in promoting the benefits of the art.” SRI SRI RAVISHANKAR Founder, Art of Living

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the special event celebrating the first International Day of Yoga at UN Headquarters

‘The International day of Yoga’ saw a robust participation around the world. People lined up in streets, on riversides, beaches and auditoriums to practice and participate in Yoga sessions. The UN headquarters, too, in New York was abuzz with activity. Celebrated across different continents and time-zones, it was a rare occasion when the world acted in unison. Even the UN General Secretary Ban Ki- moon was seen engrossed in practice. A large Indian diaspora and sustained publicity, apart from PM Modi’s own charisma, played an important role in galvanizing the masses. In attendance was also Sri Sri Ravishankar who was busy encouraging participants. The event, itself, was a resounding success as seen in the pictures.

“By proclaiming 21 June as the International Day of Yoga, the General Assembly has recognized the holistic benefits of this timeless practice and its inherent compatibility with the principles and values of the United Nations.” Ban Ki-moon

Secretary-General, United Nations

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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (centre) and his wife. Extreme left is Asoke Kumar Mukerji, Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations in New York

Brisbane, Australia

vans for live coverage were also put into action. The initiative was appreciated by a plethora of people, most notably, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar, founder, Art of Living. Baba Ramdev, while launching a Yoga encyclopedia in the capital, commented that, “There is an unparalleled curiosity in every household about Yoga now. So much so that it is turning into a people’s revolution and I too, in my own modest way, am helping in its ascent. It is a matter of great pride that we are being able to showcase our national pride to the world community.” While observing on the upsurge of unauthentic yoga practice, he said, “Some people had held the art hostage in caves, glamour and complexities. We are happy to tell you that through our concerted efforts and now through this mammoth gathering, it has been made accessible to the masses.” Sri Sri Ravishankar, too, was effusive in his praise for the attempt to bring Yoga in the mainstream. He stressed on the need to continue on the hard work and not lose momentum after such an auspicious start. He said “It is, indeed, heartening to see so many people performing this art in unison. The idea is to carry forward this initiative. We must not lose steam and ensure that it becomes a part of our community practice. The event has given the art a new impetus. Let us work together in promoting the benefits of the art.”

AYUSH goes all out to promote the event, ropes in NGO’s

Paris, France

The seed for this magnificent Yoga push was sown in the last September when the PM, in his visit to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, during his maiden speech had urged the world leaders to adopt June 21 as the ‘International day of Yoga’. Consequently, resolution for the Yoga Day was co-sponsored by 175 of the 193 member nations in a short period of 75 days. Forty seven of the fifty-six members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation countries too joined as co-sponsors, giving it a truly international and multi-communal tinge. After the decision was taken, the ministry for AYUSH (The Department of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) deliberated on several ideas and decided to mark the occasion by organizing a yoga event involving 10,000-15,000 people inside the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. But, soon the idea was dropped for it did not have enough space to accommodate the numbers needed to break the previous record. Finally, Rajpath was chosen and the order came from the very top. The AYUSH invited an open tender bidding for holding one-month yoga camp between May 21 and June 20 in every district of the country and decided to pay a sum of one lakh rupees per district to the chosen agency or July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents the NGO for holding camps in the earmarked area (district), making it mandatory on the part of the participating NGO to hold one camp on the Yoga Day with the participation of a minimum of one hundred practitioners. India’s big yoga push saw several cabinet ministers fanning out to the distant corners of the country leading the celebrations. Foreign affairs minister, Sushman Swaraj led the celebrations at the UN headquarters in New York, while BJP president Amit Shah was seen promoting Yoga, in Bihar, on his arch rival’s turf.

Why has India not been able to tap the potential of Yoga tourism? Yoga, an ancient art of mending body and mind, has grown leaps and bounds in the past decades. Fuelled by a growing understanding for health and wellness, it has led to its renaissance of sorts, with a number of Yoga centers sprouting all around us. So much so, that in the US alone Yoga has become a 27 billion dollar industry – with a range of related products on offer which include yoga pants, towels, Yoga mats and so on. This, on one hand, has increased Yoga’s visibility and acceptance globally and on the other, helped in creating a number of phony gurus – who sell pretty much anything in the name of the ancient art. The government, both at the centre and now at the state level upbeat by the enthusiasm shown by the masses, have shown keen interest in creating a tourism model with Yoga as its prime driver. The new tourism policy, which should be out shortly, has the opportunity to create institutions and capabilities to cater to the Yoga enthusiasts. “As a science that seeks to keep the body, mind and soul in concert, yoga is India’s gift to the world which holds the promise of self-realization,” reads the draft of the policy. It further says, “Properly marketed, yoga has the potential to draw in a significant

sambhavnaon Ko sambhav karen (Yoga, realize all possibilities). The AYUSH ministry is also working on creating publicity material with a list of authentic centers for Yoga practice to make it easier for the tourists to gather related information. The publicity plan pitches Rishikesh as the ‘Yoga capital of the world’ and also ropes in cities like Pune, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Puducherry, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Munger for the ‘Yoga circuit’. Whereas the Uttrakhand government is mulling on organizing a Yoga ‘Maha Kumbh’ in 2016. Keen on making Yoga a part of the hospitality ensemble in the state, CM Harish Rawat informed media persons in an interaction that, “I have asked the Tourism Department to work out a proposal, within a week, making it mandatory for star hotels to have yoga in their packages.” As many as fourteen places, including Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh and Tehri, have been earmarked for Yoga tourism in the state by the tourism department. “We have identified Rishikesh and Jageshwar for intensive yoga practice. In these zones, the government will start a pilot project on yoga and wellness in 150 government schools by July-end,” added Rawat. Cer tain centers in cities like Ujjain, Rishikesh and Haridwar have already gained international prominence by the virtue of ‘word of mouth’ marketing and continuous excellence in its day-today operations. One such institute in Ujjain – known for its history and ancient temples – is the ‘Yoga Life Society’. The institute, which provides Yoga training and has tailor-made programs to suit one’s need, has been able to attract a number of foreign and domestic tourists alike. Adrian Demoliner, who travelled to India to learn Yoga shares on the society’s website that, “I never gave importance to myself always thought about others but never thought that my body needs care. Now I realized that I need to activate not only my body but also

faith in our work will be unshakable and we will continue to attract Yoga enthusiasts from world over.” He shares that his society has been receiving a fair share of travelers from Scandinavian countries apart from Brazil, Mexico and Western Europe. “We have certainty enthused the society about Yoga at large, and it is commendable that the government has used all its might to propagate it in the right earnest. It will be a great combination, if we can manage to teach the right art with favorable policy to promote it. I have no doubt that it will give a big fillip to tourism in the country.”

Need for a more nuanced look at branding and packaging These efforts augur well for the overall growth of the Yoga industry and consequently Yoga centric tourism. But, the moot point is: have we missed the bus? Looking at the sprawling Yoga centric activities and tourism, and of course the size of the business that it generates, we are sadly nowhere close to the western countries that have succeeded in branding and marketing Yoga unlike us. Our branding and marketing is weak, meagre and, most of them, are left to the obscure centers run by self-made and half-baked gurus with no support from the government what so ever. Without uniformity, licensing and a structure to create some responsibility for the preachers, more often than not, we leave the field open to creating bad name for us. So, why exactly has it flourished in the western countries and we have not been able to ‘sell’ our very own asset? Nupur Sikka, Director, Ganga Kinare, a hotel in Rishikesh, which has been focusing on Yoga to enhance its clientele base, argues that, “Takers of Yoga are more in foreign countries, maybe because yoga with its quiet poses and careful breathing provides the perfect stability to their stressful lives or may be it is because yoga offers

• The government, both at the centre and now at the state level upbeat by the enthusiasm shown

by the masses, have shown keen interest in creating a tourism model with Yoga as its prime driver. The new tourism policy, which should be out by the end of this year, has the opportunity to create institutions and capabilities to cater to the Yoga enthusiasts. number of travelers. It is, however, necessary to create an inventory of the institutions imparting yoga and connect them to the tourism market by adapting them suitably in terms of language orientation, physical infrastructure and ability to handle visitors.” According to media reports, after the resounding success of the Yoga day, the ministry of tourism is working at making Yoga an important part of the ‘Incredible India’ campaign. The media got a glimpse of the campaign prior to the Yoga day – which included – Yoga, 10

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my mind and learn to control breathing. I can win if I avoid temptation and follow discipline.” Her testimony aptly puts forth the massive ‘soft’ power that Yoga wields and can be utilized to attract more travelers. Girijesh Vyas, President of Yoga Life Society, Ujjain, shares his understanding on the issue. He says that, “It is important to practice and preach classical form of Yoga, which is not diluted and is the essence of the art. I have understood that as long as we can stick to the real and unadulterated form of Yoga, people’s

spiritual transcendence all within the confine of a single yoga mat. Since Yoga and meditation is immensely popular in the west and it has become a universal language of spiritual exercise there, they have been able to capitalize on its business aspect. She further adds that, “India is able to appreciate the values of Yoga better now because outsiders respect them. Repackaging of Yoga into highly accessible activity offers great potential for health tourism as India attempts to capitalize on a product which is uniquely theirs.”

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Standardization and certification must to lend credibility: Industry insiders On the packaging and branding front, it would be imperative on the part of hotels and most importantly Ashrams, which run tailor-made programs to introduce Yoga to the visitors, to create the requisite infrastructure along with workshops and programs to engage the curious tourists in authentic and experience based service. Nupur shares that a lot of their clientele is driven by Yoga tourism and their purpose of visit is primarily to understand the intricacies of the art of Yoga. “In fact, many of our guests are very keen on learning Yoga and meditation. There are multiple Yoga retreats held at the hotel throughout the year .These workshops are taught by popular foreign yoga teachers and appeal to a global audience who come to India for one or two weeks to study

The brand development for Yoga will take place if the change in behavior (towards a healthier lifestyle) is translated to other vistas as well- such as travel and vacation. He, further, believes that certain established destinations could lead this market. “Destinations like Rishikesh and Kovalam stand to gain a lot as they have numerous spa and wellness centers that propagate Yoga. People from around the world will come to visit places like these resulting in a boost in tourism,” he says. While, Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox and Kings opines that certification of institutes would go a long way in establishing the much needed credibility to the business. He shares that, “Yoga as we all know is popular the world over and though people do visit India to learn and experience yoga, we have to promote the various schools of yoga. This would require coordination with various Yoga

There has been some criticism on the part of the opposition that the government has been trying to claim credit for the age-old art. Some have also said that it must be confined to private practice and by creating such a fuss about it, the government is trying to commodify the art. However, it is important to understand that the purpose of this mammoth exercise was not only to introduce and promote Yoga among the youngsters in the nation but also to tilt the scales in the favor of India, as far as the Yoga industry and related tourism is concerned. We have lost out in the race, from the western countries, precisely because we have not been able to brand our asset and create the needed infrastructure to attract travelers. Apart from a few renowned Ashrams, that by their own virtue and credibility have created a global name for themselves, government’s support has been minimal and unworthy of a mention. It is

• Ujjain, Rishikesh and Haridwar have gained international prominence by the virtue of ‘word of mouth’ marketing and continuous excellence in its day-today operations. • Uttarakhand government is mulling on organizing a Yoga ‘Maha Kumbh’ as the nation gears up to celebrate ‘Aardh Kumbh’ in 2016 at Ujjain. yoga classes. These pre-packaged yoga tours provide an entry level experience to the reality of India.” Sharad Dhall, President, Yatra.com believes that Yoga tourism could be a new engine to the overall growth of the tourism industry, provided the branding is topnotch. He shares that, “People all over the world have moved to Yoga to help themselves and live a better life. The inbound tourism in India will receive a major boost, if Yoga as a brand is projected successfully, across international markets.

schools and ashrams. The government should certify yoga institutes and emulate the example of Kerala where yoga centers have to confirm to guidelines in order to promote it. We are very poor in branding what we have and I feel this is the opportune time to promote yoga.”

We have set the ball rolling but need a lot of catching-up The government has done well to grab the attention of the global market towards the power and possibilities of the Yoga practice in India.

now that through this sagacious exercise that a hope has emerged. It is, indeed, heartening to see that different states are competing to take a lead from the centre on this issue. Such a healthy competition will only help the tourism industry in opening up the endless possibilities that Yoga tourism has to offer – which we are only beginning to tap. PM Modi has set the ball rolling. Could we beat the west in their own game? It’s an auspicious start, but we have an awful lot of catching up to do. By SHASHANK SHEKHAR July 2015 TourismFirst

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Forget the Hype: this is Real

The Source of the Saraswati Mana village on the Indo-Tibetan border, treasure trove of cross-cultural folkways and beliefs

The cave-shrine of Vyas Gufa where the sage Vyas dictated the Mahabharat to Lord Ganesh

e beat Haryana’s re-creation of the Saraswati. We described the living Saraswati in our Incredible India: The Alluring North (Niyogi Books), winning a National Award in 2012. Twenty years earlier, too, we had publicised it on National TV. We had taken our TV team to Badrinath to film an episode in our travel series Take a Break with Hugh & Colleen Gantzer From there we decided to go on to Mana, sometimes called The Last Village in India, on the Indo12

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Tibetan border. After a fairly rugged drive from Badrinath we reached this tough little settlement with its stone houses, slate roofs, and cheery people. Mana was, once, on the traditional caravan route linking India with Central Asia. Such places are rich treasuretroves of cross-cultural folkways and beliefs. Generally, though their original legends could evolve to reflect the opinions of their visitors or even images seen on TV, their legends’ material core, their factual essence, remains unchanged. We kept that thought in mind when we heard

their tale about Bhim’s Bridge. And the road that led to it. The ‘road’ was a whimsical pagdandi trail that clung to the steep, scrubby, slope like a pale ribbon blown onto a scuffed, goatskin, cloak. Scree slithered away from under our feet as we teetered shakily. We were covered in a fine film of tension when we reached the end and heard the roar of a waterfall. Out of a cave in a frowning cliff, a cascade of water thundered down, flowed through a steep-sided ravine spanned by a massive, black, boulder,

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The surging source of Saraswati. The roar of this Himalayan waterfall caused the river to be banished undergreound

and gushed swiftly away into a valley. Touched by the cold spray of the waterfall, we spoke to a pujari sitting next to a small stone idol. After accepting our offerings he said “Bhim pushed this huge boulder across the river so that the Pandavas could cross it. They were journeying to the Kingdom Above. “ Then he added, “ This river is the real Saraswati” We were delighted. In our travels across the land we had been informed of other ‘Saraswatis’ but they had all been invisible rivers merging unseen into the conf luence of two

other surface streams. This was the first visible, tangible Saraswati. We recalled something we had read many years ago. According to the Rigveda, the Saraswati originates in the mountains where she bursts out of the ridges in strong waves. Here, very clearly, it was bursting out of the Himalayas surging through its ravine with great turbulence, We picked our way gingerly across the moisture slicked rock bridge, felt the spray of the river, heard its roar and were elated. This was not an indifferent trickle seeping out of the earth or a dried-up course

We recalled something we had read many years ago. According to the Rigveda, the Saraswati originates in the mountains where she bursts out of the ridges in strong waves. Here, very clearly, it was bursting out of the Himalayas surging through its ravine with great turbulence. that might have been a pre-historic Palaeolithic bed. It is a rushing, roaring, living river. But that wasn’t the end of it. The pujari had also added.” If you should want the full story you must visit the Vyas Gufa: the cave of the Sage Vyas. The pandit there knows it all.” We thanked him and crept along a pagdandi that was even more daunting than the last, but it was worth it. The Vyas Gufa was cut into a rocky cliff stratified like the leaves of a book pressed together. The enthusiastic young pandit intoned his story as if it was an incantation, punctuated with numerous interjections of Hari-Om!. Hari-Om! To paraphrase his chanted tale, the river was, indeed, the sacred Saraswati gushing out to join her sisters the Ganga and Jamuna. When, however, in this cave temple, the noise of the roaring Saraswati drowned out the sage’s recitation of the Mahabharat to Lord Ganesh, Sage Vyas was furious and cursed the river to vanish underground even when it is reunited with its sisters at Allahabad. But even that wasn’t the end of our story. Not far from Mana we met a man sitting on a rock above the village. He was tall with greyblue eyes, brown hair and freckles. He smiled and said in Garhwali-accented Hindi “Yes, we do believe that this rushing stream is the real Saraswati.” The lilt of his speech was also Garhwali. He smiled “The Aryans came from the North…. They made their first camp on the banks of the Saraswati” He looked at us solemnly and added “Which means that Mana is not the last village in India. It is, in truth, the First Village in Aryavarta: the Land of the Aryans” He turned his head, looked towards the village. We heard a faint call. He nodded, stood up, bounded down into Mana and was gone before we could ask him his name. Other states may lay claim to the lower course of this sacred river but we know that the Saraswati still emerges, and flows, in the high mountains of Garhwal’s Himalayas. Text & photographs by HUGH & COLLEEN GANTZER July 2015 TourismFirst

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Will the new aviation usher in a responsive r

India is projected to become the 3rd largest aviation market by 2029 with an estimated passenger volume of around 300 million

t the recently held CII’s Aviation Day Summit in Delhi, Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh while sharing his litany of woes said something which brought smiles all around. Yeoh who had come to India from Singapore in 2013 to spearhead the new venture pointed at his bald head saying, “My friends tell me there is no hair left because you are working in India.” It’s a joke, he was quick to clarify but the statement subtly underlined the prime concern which occupies the mindscape of the Indian aviation industry. The growth pressures are mounting; new interesting sub-plots are adding up with 14

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the entry of new players like Vistara and Air Asia; premier foreign carriers are consolidating their position; Indian aviation chip is slated to go up the order in the global market with the country projected to become the 3rd largest aviation market in the world by 2029 (as per an IATA estimate) from the 9th ranking currently etc. But the existing regulatory provisions are far outdated and there is an unanimous feeling that it will abysmally fail in supporting the growth in the coming years. The existing regulations (mostly set up 19 years ago) are believed to be a major hurdle in allowing ease of business and low cost of business – the two parameters

which are the basic building blocks of any sector’s growth. The government on its part is committing that the new civil aviation policy to be unveiled soon will take care of all basic concerns of the aviation industry. But nobody is sure whether it will really have the right prescription. The draft Civil Aviation Policy put up online for stakeholders’ feedback late last year has already come under severe criticism on several parameters. And that explains a strong feeling of nervousness even as government promises that it is re-working the draft on the basis of the feedbacks which have poured in from different quarters.

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n policy regime?

PHEE TEIK YEOH

NIKHIL VED

“The airport charges in some airports in India is next to Chicago and New York and landing charge in some places is 30-40 percent higher than Singapore. Some of the critical policy provisions are outdated and they simply weaken the economic viability.”

“Current regulation does not take care of technological compliance capability of operators. Globally, it is increasingly going in the hands of the operators.”

Vistara CEO

G V SANJAYA REDDY

Vice Chairman, GVK Power & Infrastructure “We have an opportune moment once again for the aviation business. At Bangalore airport, the passenger volume growth in the recent months has been to the tune of 30 percent. We are certainly at a good starting point again.”

TONY TYLER

DG and CEO of the apex air transportation body IATA

Concerns Galore But before looking at the existing concerns, here is a quick take on how Indian aviation business is poised today. The reduction in oil prices in the last one year has buoyed the global aviation business and India is no different in terms of showing its reflection. G V Sanjaya Reddy, Vice Chairman, GVK Power & Infrastructure, indicated at a pointer in these words, “We have an opportune moment once again for the aviation business. The oil prices are down and this trend is likely to continue for sometime. There are projections that many airlines will get back in the black due to this trend. We

“The global industry is expected to make profits this year which, for the first time in IATA’s records, will exceed the industry’s cost of capital. While Indian carriers’ collective losses have fallen – and a few are even profitable – and even though demand growth remains robust, overall sector losses in India are still expected to exceed $1 billion.”

Senior VP, Jet Airways

PATRICK DE CASTELBAJAC CEO, ATR

“If you don’t bring small cities on the aviation map, the growth of big hubs in the country will eventually come to a saturation point. This is a major concern which Brazil is facing today.”

R K SRIVASTAVA

Chairman, Airport Authority of India (AAI) “We have appointed consultant for city side development and also another consultant for examining the viability of existing airports. We have also decided to develop some airports by forming Special Purpose Vehicle, (SPVs) with the state governments. They will be stand alone units and we have started working in four locations – Shirdi, Khusinagar, Devgarh and Raigarh.”

July 2015 TourismFirst

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Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju with senior industry representatives on the occasion of ‘Aviation Day’ summit in Delhi

have noticed the impact of this trend in India as well. At Bangalore airport, the passenger volume growth in the recent months has been to the tune of 30 percent. We are certainly at a good starting point again.” Reddy’s theory of a good starting again is further amplified by another statistic. The growth in passenger volume in the domestic circuit has comfortably been in a positive territory since the beginning of this year, jumping to as high as over 18 percent in May. The period has also seen two new entrants – Vistara and Air Asia – expanding their wings at a rapid pace (Vistara has spread out to connect 10 destinations within six months of its launch) and even a troubled airline like SpiceJet has shown strong signs of a comeback. But despite this noticeable uptick, can Indian aviation market and its stakeholders look forward to the days of profitability much like their global counterparts? Tony Tyler, DG and CEO of the apex air transportation body IATA does not think so. “The global industry is expected to make profits this year which, for the first time in IATA’s records, will exceed the industry’s cost of capital. While Indian carriers’ collective losses have fallen – and a few are even profitable – and even though demand growth remains robust, overall sector losses in India are still expected to exceed $1 billion,” he said. Herein lies the rub. The whole gamut of structural issues which are holding back the Indian aviation business despite the improving business climate. “The cost of doing business 16

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ASHOK GAJAPATHI RAJU PUSAPATI Civil Aviation Minister

Both the government and industry are thinking alike in terms of changing the regulations. The difference could probably be in the possible modalities. There is a need for rules but they will not be kept just for the sake of rules. here is punishing or debilitating. It is not just the fuel cost which is one of the highest in the world, even ground handling charges and MRO are too high. The airport charges in some airports in India are next to Chicago and New York and landing charge in some places are 30-40 percent higher than Singapore. Some of the critical policy provisions are outdated and they simply weaken the economic viability,” said Vistara CEO, this time with utter seriousness on his face. IATA chief Tony Tyler also made no bones in emphasising that there are immense challenges on the regulatory front which need to be addressed urgently if the government wants to

maintain sanity in the future growth of Indian aviation. The three major recommendations which IATA has presented to the Ministry of Civil Aviation include: doing away with tax burden, making India’s fuel price regime competitive and allowing the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AER A) to function independently. “The true value of aviation to the government’s coffers is its ability to catalyse economic activity. Focusing on receipts through a layered web of taxes does a disservice to the country’s economic potential,” Tyler said while pointing out at the existing taxation oddities. The crux of all suggestions coming from IATA is: adopt smarter regulation which should be flexible in responding to the changing market dynamics and not edifice written on the rocks which can’t be altered even if there is an urgent need. Players are also cribbing about the lack of mutual trust between the regulators and the operators, a very crucial element in a growing market. “Current regulation does not take care of technological compliance capability of operators. Globally, it is increasingly going in the hands of the operators,” said Nikhil Ved, Senior VP, Jet Airways. And here probably comes the most critical issue when it comes to imagining the next wave of growth in the Indian aviation business – giving a major spurt to the regional connectivity. “If you don’t bring small cities on the aviation map, the growth of big hubs in the country will eventually come to a saturation point. This is a major concern which Brazil is facing today,”

tour ism cur r ents warned Patrick de Castelbajac, CEO, ATR. The Indian story is not too different. Despite the much touted figure of 300-400 airfields and airstrips existing in the country which can be conveniently charged up for operations, there hasn’t been a consistent addition to the 70 odd airports tally. 65 percent of domestic traffic is generating from six major airports and the share of smaller airports hasn’t moved up at the pace which should be commensurate to the growing volume. In the past, some new outfits have entered into the regional fray but they have hardly met with any considerable success. What does the government intend to do to rev up this segment which observers are so fond of describing as a gold mine? That is the larger question.

Government assures a progressive policy The government on its part is assuring the industry that its soon to be unveiled policy will take care of their major concerns particularly when it comes to bringing in easier norms and introducing measures which will help in reducing the cost of the business. According to Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati, the ministry is on the same page when it comes to creating a dynamic environment. However, it is critical to understand the extent of regulation which should exist given the fact that every market has its own peculiar characteristics. “Both the government and industry are thinking alike in terms of changing the regulations. The difference could probably be in the possible modalities. There is a need for rules but they will not be kept just for the sake of rules,” he said. Though the government is not disclosing all its cards vis-à-vis the new aviation policy, according to Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey, it will broadly be focusing on three major issues – reducing cost of acquisition of aircrafts and airports and working with states to moderating taxes on ATF at the state level. “We are working to see that all states can bring down the VAT rates to 4% on ATF. This is crucial as India has to import crude oil and moderate fuel prices are a key component to making the industry competitive,” he added. And then there are a host of concerned agencies which are claiming that they are getting ready for the big-ticket change. “We have appointed consultant for city side development and also another consultant for examining the viability of existing airports. We have also decided to develop some airports by forming Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) with the state governments. They will be stand alone units and we have started working in four locations – Shirdi, Khusinagar, Devgarh and Raigarh,” Chair-

R N CHOUBEY

Civil Aviation Secretary “We are working to see that all states can bring down the VAT rates to 4% on ATF; This is crucial as India has to import crude oil and moderate fuel prices are a key component to making the industry competitive.”

S MACHENDRANATHAN

Chairman, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) “When it comes to tariff determination, we would be seeking to create a balance between the affordability of the passengers and a fair rate of return to operators. To improve efficiency at the airports, we are looking at enhancing competition in the ground handling segment.”

G ASOK KUMAR

Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation There are other broader hints from the government quarters pertaining to what could be the exact constituents of the new aviation policy. “A major thrust area for the new policy would be to promote regional connectivity and will support both the existing as well as new players to accomplish this task.”

man of Airport Authority of India (AAI) R K Srivastava informed. “When it comes to tariff determination, we would be seeking to create a balance between the affordability of the passengers and a fair rate of return to operators. To improve efficiency at the airports, we are looking at enhancing competition in the ground handling segment,” said S Machendranathan, Chairman, Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA). There are other broader hints from the government quarters pertaining to what could be the exact constituents of the new aviation policy. “A major thrust area for the new policy would be to promote regional connectivity and will support both the existing as well as new players to accomplish this task,” G Asok Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation underlined. There are, however, also indications in terms of changes which industry may want to be included in the new policy but the government would not like to comply. For instance, Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which compel all scheduled operators to fly to some far-flung destinations. “It is important to keep difficult locations on the aviation radar. I don’t see any scope of a major amendement in RDG,” Choubey asserted. On the critical issue of hav ing easier norms to allow more Indian airlines to f ly abroad, the government seems to be keeping its cards close to its chest. The two models which have been in circulation for quite sometime – 5/20 rules (5 years of domestic operations and a minimum f leet size of 20 aircrafts) and Domestic Flying Credit formula (allowing a player to fly abroad on the basis of credit points generated through domestic operations) – have not only be panned by stakeholders but also created a divide within the industry. On 5/20, the established Indian carriers flying abroad would not like the threshold to be further brought down for the new players even as India’s international segment is now comfortably dominated by international carriers. The DFC, on the other hand, has faced severe criticism from all quarters and a global industry stalwart like Tony Fernandes of Air Asia has even equated it with the complex Duckworth-Lewis rule in cricket. So will the government do away with this proposition in the final policy as several media reports have suggested in the recent past? When TourismFirst inquired from the Civil Aviation Minister on the sidelines of the Aviation Day summit, Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati retorted saying, “If DFC is bad then which other country has followed a rule like 5/20?” Clearly, the suspense over this will only end when the policy is actually unveiled. By RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

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“Smarter regulation must to meet future challenges” Tony Tyler, the Director General and CEO of world’s apex air transportation body IATA indulged in some plain speaking while presenting his keynote address at the recently held Aviation Day summit in Delhi. While he acknowledged that Indian aviation business is inching towards the top three market league in the world, he expressed serious concerns on the regulatory bottlenecks. Here are the excerpts from his speech:

his day has been called India Aviation Day. In reality every day is an “aviation day” with, on average, 100,000 flights safely transporting 9 million people and 150,000 tonnes of goods from one place on our planet to another. Aviation accounts for about 1% of global GOP. The whole aviation value chain supports 58 million jobs and accounts for $2.4 trillion of economic output. It is the means to market for a third of the goods-by value which are traded internationally. A nd it plays a unique role in connecting business to markets, uniting families and friends, bringing people together to solve problems, build understanding and develop global insights. Aviation is a force for good in our world and it contributes much to India today. My opening challenge for today is to find ways for aviation to be an even more effective tool for India’s development. A lready aviation and aviation-related tourism support nearly 7 million Indian jobs and over $23 billion of its GOP. That’s with just over 100 million people traveling by air this year- to, from and within India. We see the potential for that to increase to nearly 280 million by 2029, by which time India would hold the rank of the world’s third largest aviation market. And by the end of our forecast period in 2034 we see a further rise to nearly 360 million passengers. That amazing growth will bring even more benefits to India’s development. Despite this potential, it is no secret that India’s aviation sector faces immense challenges. The global industry is expected to make profits this year which, for the first time in lATA’s records, will exceed the industry’s cost of capital. While Indian carriers’ collective losses have fallen-and a few are even profitableand even though demand growth remains robust, overall sector losses in India are still expected to exceed $1 billion.

Safety There have been some positive developments in recent months, for which I commend the government’s leadership. The most important 18

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is the restoration of India to Category 1 of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. That follows over a year of hard work to build capacity for flight operations inspectors and all the supporting processes and people for global standard safety oversight. Safety must be managed and improved every day. So it is important we continue this momentum as India undergoes the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP) later this year. We certainly would not want ICAO to raise any red- f lags in USOAP -as has recently been the case with some of India’s Southeast Asian neighbors.

The Aviation Business Now I would like to focus on areas where the government’s priority to make India an easier place to do business could directly address aviation challenges. In the World Bank’s most recent Ease of Doing Business Ranking, India comes in at 142 and lowest among the BRICS group. The difficulty of doing business in India is a real issue. The e-tourist visa initiative is a tangible

The e-tourist visa initiative is a tangible example of progress and signals that India is open for visitors. It should do much to create jobs by boosting visitor arrivals- currently 7.5 million people annually. Aside from opening the door wider for inbound visitors, what else could be done to make the airline business in India easier? The short answer is: a lot!

tour ism cur r ents example of progress and signals that India is open for visitors. It should it was a good decision to introduce competition in jet fuel supply at do much to create jobs by boosting visitor arrivals- currently 7.5 mil- some key ‘airports including Delhi, but what about opening access lion people annually. Aside from opening the door wider for inbound to the pipelines that get the fuel to the airport? The efficiencies of visitors, what else could be done to make the airline business in India a liberalized market cannot be realized unless all fuel companies easier? The short answer is: a lot! have access to key off-airport infrastructure that brings fuel onto There is in India a long history of government intervention on a the airport site. ministry-by-ministry basis but without a comprehensive plan. And the Let the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) do negative effects of this have been exacerbated by conflicting national it’s important work in the independent economic regulation of and state agendas. airport charges: There are a number of issues to deal with. First, while Among other things, I would strongly recommend that India pursue respecting the legal process, we must find a way beyond the current a joined- up approach across the many ministries and official bodies legal challenges which are preventing the implementation of AERA’s which make rules for aviation: the Petroleum Ministry, the Finance recommendation for a 78% reduction in airport charges at Delhi. That’s Ministry, the Environment Ministry, the various State governments, for the second control period which was meant to begin on 1 April and so on. The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) should take the lead 2014. And that follows and helps to address the 340% increase in the to meld the various agendas of these different elements of governments first control period. into a coherent national plan for aviation. A further issue is to protect AERA’s independence. A key guiding principle for this plan is to follow We are very concerned that stock exchange filings by global standards. Aviation is not only an Indian Hyderabad airport show that MOCA “instructed” industry-it is a global one guided by global standards AERA to use a hybrid till, and not a single till, for and best practices. The more that India aligns with its “independent” determination on the airport’s global standards and best practices in developing its charges. aviation policies, the stronger its airlines will be in . That leads to a third issue which is adherence to Another example the face of international competition. And, that will the single till principle for airport charges, the public of a uniquely pay dividends to individual consumers and to the benefits of which have been confirmed by the Finance Indian approach is wider economy. Ministry. The single till principle and AERA’s mandate to determine airport charges independently the 5/20 rule. This The Top Three should be firmly at the core of all discussions as was established The big issues can be summed up as: onerous regulathe government considers concession contracts for with the tion and processes: debilitating taxes; and expensive Jaipur, Kolkata, Ahmadabad and Chennai… understandable infrastructure that struggles to meet the demands The fact is that India imposes rules and requireaim of ensuring of its users. You are certainly more familiar with ments on its carriers that are not seen anywhere else. the details of these issues than I am. My members Some of them, like the route dispersal guidelines, that international constantly tell me about the high costs involved in stem from the understandable desire to see the benflights would operating in India. Let me suggest three points to efits of aviation connectivity extend to places which only be operated address this: would not be served if it were left to market forces to by safe and Sort out the tax burden: The true value of drive airlines’ decisions about networks and fleets. aviation to the government’s coffers is its ability to But the world was a different place over 20 years financially robust catalyze economic activity. Focusing on receipts ago when these rules were put in place. Is this really carriers. But there through a layered web of taxes does a disservice to the best way to achieve the purpose for which the are other ways of the country’s economic potential. There has been guidelines are still being implemented? achieving this. I’m a Tribunal decision on the application of Service Another example of a uniquely Indian approach now hearing about is the 5/20 rule. This was established with the underTax to the fees of Global Distribution Systems. It confirmed the principle that the tax should not standable aim of ensuring that international flights a new proposal apply to services rendered outside of India. So why would only be operated by safe and financially robust for Domestic aren’t all payments for services that don’t touch carriers. But there are other ways of achieving this. Flying Credits. Indian soil-including over flight charges and extra I’m now hearing about a new proposal for Domestic I have to ask: baggage fees unequivocally exempted by the same Flying Credits. I have to ask: what will be the long principle? And, in line with international standards, term effect of introducing another twist to the marwhat will be the international tickets should also be exempt from the ket? Are we sure we have thought through how the long term effect Service Ta x. And Service Tax should not be applied effects this system will have in the medium to long of introducing to taxes and charges collected- effectively being term? Why is it that no other economy has found such another twist to applied as a tax on a tax. Looking ahead, the incoma measure to be necessary? ing GST regime should also zerorate international I suggest to you that India needs “smarter regulathe market? air transport services in line with OECD guidelines. tion using some common-sense and proven principles. And on top of this, it’s time for India to implement standard double These include targeting regulation to address real issues, using global taxation provisions that would see profits from international services standards where they exist and satisfying a rigorous cost benefit analysis. taxed only in the location where the airline has its head office. We are A key process element of this is consultation with industry. not trying to avoid taxes, but airlines should not have to pay twice! As we can see from today, industry and government are aligned in Aim to make India’s fuel pricing regime competitive: There wanting aviation to deliver the best possible results for India’s develis a tax component to this as state taxes on fuel can be exorbitant-as opment. If we can work together to build regulations that meet the high as 30%. Granting jet fuel “declared goods” status would be a public interest, are consistent with global standards and which can be good start to addressing this far too onerous burden. Simultaneously, implemented efficiently then we are all winners. July 2015 TourismFirst

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“Room for one more carrier from India on Star Alliance” According to Mark F Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance; there is plenty to feel enthused about the one year old association between country’s national carrier Air India and Star Alliance (world’s largest airline group). In an exclusive conversation with TourismFirst on the sidelines of CII’s Aviation Day summit in Delhi recently, Schwab also confirmed that the alliance would like to welcome one more Indian carrier in its fold in the coming years. Edited excerpts of this conversation: Market observers here in India are sceptical about how Air India’s inclusion in Star Alliance (which has just completed its first anniversary) will help India’s national carrier. But you seem to be punch pleased with this association. How has this association unfolded in past one year on critical performance parameters?

It has been quite satisfactory. The connectivity and the number of passengers exchanged between Air India and our other members has increased by 30 percent in the first year. And this is what we had predicted just before Air India had come on the board. We had clearly said that once Air India joins us, there will a tremendous growth in the volume of passengers exchanged between India’s national carriers and Star Alliance partners from other parts of the world. Once we get Air India to our Heathrow terminal hub in London alongwith 23 other Star Alliance members which will happen soon, you will see the amount of connection between Air India and our members go through the roof again. It will jump up dramatically because it is going to be much easier path from India to rest of the world and vice-versa. Has Air India’s international load factor gone up too after becoming a member of your family? The figure you gave pertains to the exchange of passengers between Air India and other members of the alliance.

I do not have the precise data of Air India’s load factor. But in terms of value offered to the customers by way of exchange between Air India and our other alliance members, the trend is too encouraging. 30 percent is too hefty a growth. If we look at the recent trends, for passengers from India going to the destinations in Europe and beyond, the middle east has become the favourite transit point thanks to the rising might of Emirates and now Etihad in the Indian market. With Air India slated to use your Heathrow terminal hub, can it alter the existing trend?

We are already moving 20 million passengers to/from/within India. This is the number our members carried last year. We have 14 star alliance hubs which are connected now into India. And as connecting points to those airports improve, you will notice a larger volume of international passengers shifting to Star Alliance members via Air India. One of the major missing piece in our aviation growth story is believed to be, despite a host of modernised airports, we have yet to have an international hub. Do you think, we have missed the bus on this front completely or is there still some hope?

The two major connecting points in India today are Mumbai and Delhi. You have a strong base of local passengers who want to start or finish their journey in those key cities. And then what you do, you connect spokes from other cities in to these hubs. This is what hubs are all about. 20

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The connectivity and the number of passengers being exchanged between Air India and our other members has increased by 30 percent in the first year. And this is what we had predicted just before Air India had come on the board. We had clearly said that once Air India joins us, there will a tremendous growth in the volume of passengers exchanged between India’s national carriers and Star Alliance partners from other parts of the world.

tour ism cur r ents According to Mark F Schwab, one-year-old association between Air India and Star Alliance has produced desired results

As we see infrastructure improving in both Delhi and Mumbai, I think you will have more passengers coming to these hubs than going to any other intermediate point for connectivity outside in the world. Can we still hope to develop a hub on the lines of Singapore or Dubai airports?

I think one major plus of the present situation in India is that you can easily learn what works and what does not work in other parts of the world. And this is here that Star Alliance can play a major role because we can identify the best practices and we can work with partners and advise them what has been successful elsewhere in the world. We work with partners on all kinds of aviation projects all over the world. We are working with an airport company in Brazil. We have worked with airport companies in the United States and in Japan to enhance the connecting experience. You have got India’s national carrier on board. Would you like to have more members from India becoming part of the Star Alliance family going ahead?

As we see this market doubling and tripling in size over the next decade, there is room for the second carrier from India which can join Star Alliance. But let me clarify, we haven’t begun any formal conversation.

Yes, that remains our policy. But let me clarify, we do not have any active conversation going on in the Indian market right now. As we see this market doubling and tripling in size over the next decade, there is room for the second carrier from India which can join Star Alliance. But let me reiterate, we haven’t begun any formal conversation. Creating a robust platform and including more low cost carriers in its fold – is it the next big frontier for Star Alliance as several reports suggest? You mostly have full service carriers as your members.

One needs to understand the precise nature of our functioning. We connect the world and we offer standard services to the customers all around the world. So their expectations need to be met all through the entire network. On that front, we have members offering services that match the service products that we offer. Then it makes the complete

sense to work with them. But if any airline does not match our connecting services parameter, then it is incompatible with what we do. Our major expertise simply revolves around providing connecting services. Our selection of an airline is purely based on the compatibility factor. I will bring you back again to the issue of getting another carrier on board from India. Could that airline be Indigo? It has been the fastest growing airline here and is believed to have the most formidable operational base.

As I said, we don’t have any discussions going on right now with the management team of any of the Indian carriers. But any informal moves? For instance, are you involved in any shortlisting process?

We work with a lot of airlines all around the world. And what we primarily look in a potential member is its ability to add value to our network. We try to analyse if it will bring in new network and new destinations on our map. If any airline is capable of these, then only we get interested. My list of potential carriers who could become our members is always too long and we are engaged in a regular analysis process. Will you have any new member in the coming months globally?

From Delhi, I am going straight away to Brazil where we are including Aviance Brazil as our new member later this month. One more point. You said there has been a growth of 30 percent in the volume of passengers exchanged between Air India and other Star Alliance members in the first year. Any projection for the second and third years?

That is something which Air India officials can tell you. I do not have that kind of projection. by RITWIK SINHA

July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Foreign arrivals to touch 10 million in next three yearsâ&#x20AC;? It had taken precisely 50 years for independent India to touch the milestone of 5 million FTA (foreign tourist arrivals) when it had crossed this psychological benchmark in 2007. But the addition of next five million which will take the arrival numbers over 10 million may happen much sooner â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in 11 years to be precise. According to Lalit Panwar, Tourism Secretary; the rapid roll out of easy visa facilitation (since last November) for more countries will play the role of that critical catalyst in shoring up the incremental numbers. Panwar spoke to TourismFirst recently on the sidelines of a seminar in Delhi wherein he also highlighted some other major initiatives which have been set afoot. Edited excerpts: The present government has gone into an overdrive mode in terms of relaxing visa regime since November last year. Not only the list of countries has been significantly increased but the electronic visa facilitation has been rolled out in a major way. My question is: has it started showing some incremental impact? The rise in FTAs in the initial months this year is reported be in the range of 9 percent.

On 27th November, 2014, electronic tourist visa (e-TV) was launched. And I am happy to tell you that by now more than 1,51,000 e-TV have been issued. Largest number of e-TVs have gone to Americans followed by Russians, Germans and Australians. From our standpoint, these are all long-haul destinations. It proves our e-TV initiative has been welcomed by foreign tourists. So far 77 countries have been notified with China being the latest inclusion. When our Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gone there recently, he had announced including Chinese tourists in our e- TV facilitation list. As you know, we are targeting 150 countries in this list. So the facility has to be rolled out for 73 more countries. We are in constant touch with the Ministry of Home Affairs and before 31st of March, 2016, these remaining 73 countries will be notified in a phased manner. Those countries which are our main source markets will be notified earlier before the beginning of the next tourist season which normally starts in September. So we still have two months to go. We are hopeful that next list will come out before August end. As I said it will comprise names of some major markets from where we get tourists. Can you indicate some names which may appear in your next list?

We have sent a list to the Home Ministry and told them our order of priority. They will do their own security check and may re-prioritize the order. And it is their order of preference which will prevail because visa is the subject of the Home Ministry.

Presently, this facility is available at nine airports. And we have requested the Home Ministry to expand this network and include more airports so that the point of embarkation goes up. It will be important since we expect the footfall numbers to go up. 22

TourismFirst July 2015

tour ism cur r ents And you are also adding more airports to the list of entry points in the country with e-TV?

But this has to be notified. There are certain things you need to put in place before an airport really becomes the entry point for foreign tourists. You need to put up more stalls, increase the manpower,etc. You have to first create the basic infrastructure for ETA arrivals and then notify.

It was announced by the minister while unveiling the new promotional campaign which features Aamir Khan. The very next day the file was submitted to the minister to constitute a Medical Tourism and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board. Now he has to decide who will head this board. You have recently launched new commercials as part of Athithi Devo Bhava campaign. Will it help in refurbishing the “Incredible India” campaign? How would you explain your marketing strategy?

The new commercial is available on the youtube. To touch the foreign markets, we already have 14 offices. Every office has a media plan- for print, electronic and social media. Every office submit its plan to us So can we expect this process to be completed in next few which we examine and sanction. I am happy to tell you that after our months? prime minister announced #Incredible India, the Yes, it may happen. response has been tremendous. It has got 1.3 million hits on youtube. It has got 52 million tweets You have also set afoot a new initiative of and retweets. So our campaign of 10 days on social providing free wi-fi facility at the noted media from 4th of June to 14th of June has been monuments in the country. This is much in a roaring success. We are in touch with leading tandem with what is happening globally global media platforms. Just a few days back we had wherein technology play is becoming more a conference with CNN. And we also had similar integrated to the tourism business and also sessions with BBC and National Geographic as the government’s emphasis on a “Digital well. For our next round of promotion, we want to India.” You have already done it with Taj touch base with global icons. Incredible India is a As far as wiMahal. What about other monuments. Are global brand and it must join hands with credible fi facility is you pursuing any time bound target? global platforms. concerned, our As far as wi-fi facility is concerned, our target is to target is to cover cover 100 monuments by March 2016. I have had You seem to be involved in a slew of new 100 monuments by initiatives. Let me ask you this, when are we two meetings with secretary of telecom in recent weeks and we have presented them the list of the March 2016. I have going to touch 10 million foreign tourists important monuments where tourists footfall is high. arrival mark? After we crossed 5 million in had two meetings This practically includes the major ones in Delhi and 2007, this is the new psychological with secretary of monuments like Sarnath, Khajuraho, Bodhgaya, etc. benchmark. telecom in recent And he has said that it will be undertaken in a phased With e-TV coming, we are hopeful that we will cross manner. They also have to look into the basic infrathis mark in the next three years. weeks and we structure issues – telecom towers and the existing have presented network, etc. You have one more significant initiative in As per the proposals of the New Tourism Policy, you have to bring into existence a National Tourism Board and some other advisory bodies. Have you started the process of their formulation?

No. The policy has been put on the net for crowd sourcing. We are getting suggestions from the public and other stakeholders and then we will go to the cabinet. That phase is still not over?

them the list of the important monuments where tourists footfall is high. This practically includes the major ones in Delhi and monuments like Sarnath, Khajuraho, Bodhgaya, etc.

No. We have sent the draft to other ministries for inter-ministerial consultation. About 20 ministries have already responded. We are waiting for the response from other ministries. It will happen soon. Once we receive response from all of them, we will vet their suggestions and issues and try to address them. Then only the draft policy will be sent to the cabinet for the final approval. Last month, your ministry had also announced setting up a National Medical Tourism Board since the segment has emerged as a potential stronghold of Indian Tourism. How do you intend to take it forward?

the pipeline- setting up a National Tourism University. What is the broader objective behind it?

This university will be called National University of Tourism and Hospitality. It will be an apex body. In the last budget speech, the government had announced setting up University of Railways and University of Sports. Then why can’t we have a University of Tourism? We have prepared a proposal which has been approved by the HRD ministry in principal. The cabinet secretary has also given his green signal to it. Now only issue is: we have to get it approved under the Central Universities (CU) Act. This university will be functioning under the CU act. We already have a National Council of Hotel Management in Noida, Indian Institute of Tourism Management and a National Culinary Institute all three of them at the same place. There is a dedicated land parcel of 20 acres in Noida and each of these institutes occupy 5 acres. So we still have 5 acres left which will be utilised for setting up this university. All of them will merge in this university and become the faculty of the larger institution which will have five-six faculties. by RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents

Explosive expectations from new visa regime unwarranted

A recently released report prepared by a leading research agency underlines that the liberalised visa regime (a process which was initiated in 2010) has not really shored up the arrival numbers. Analysts and industry insiders, however, believe that the government had earlier indulged in a soft opening since it wanted to test its own machinery. ike other sectors, the representatives of the Indian tourism industry too are debating if the present NDA government which entered into its second year two months back has done anything worthwhile to push the sector on the growth highway. While there are a host of ifs and buts on several points in the analytical conversations, the government seems to have scored near a perfect ten when it comes to liberalising visa regime for tourists from distant corners of the world. In fact, it would be no exaggeration to say that the government has

been in an overdrive mode responding to that long pending demand of tourism fraternity. The push has simply come from the top, from Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself whose popular 5T growth formula has tourism as an intrinsic pillar. “Terrorism divides and tourism unites”- this statement made recently in Bangladesh is probably ref lective of his conviction wherein he envisages India’s greater integration with the global community with tourism being the linking bridge. And for this a clear tool he has chosen is to allow easy access to visitors from abroad. Nothing surprising, that the pace of liberal visa regime has picked up rapid momentum since November last year (visa-on-arrival was available to 12 countries then) and now a much modified and easier e-TV (electronic tourist visa) has been put in place for 77 countries, China being the 24

TourismFirst July 2015

last entrant in the expanding list. A popular theory doing the rounds is: wherever Modi goes, he announces relaxed visa norm. e-TV is considered as a major shot in the arm since it facilitates a prospective tourist to India (from these 77 countries) to electronically file his visa application to obtain a travel permit without having to visit the concerned Indian Embassy or High Commission. Of course, he still has the choice to visit the embassy and procure visa directly in the typical offline mode. With so much action unfolding on the stage, quite predictably, scanners in some

quarters have also begun revving up analysing some critical component of the easy visa facilitation process. Even in the past, analysts have been pointing at the issue of not granting easy facilitation to major source markets and these voices have become more pronounced with plenty of add-ons, now that things are being carried forward at a break neck speed. For instance, Observers Research Foundation (ORF), a noted research agency recently released a report titled “Athithi Devo Bhava” which though lauds the recent visa facilitation initiatives of the government, it also points

Performance of Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme Years

Tourist Visas on Arrival (TVoAs) Total (number)

Year on year growth rate (%)

Total Foreign Tourist Arrivals (TFTAs) Total (number)

Year on year growth rate (%)

TVoAs as a share of TFTAs (%)

2010

6,549

–

5,775,692

–

0.11

2011

12,761

94.85

6,309,222

9.24

0.20

2012

16,084

26.04

6,577,745

4.26

0.24

2013

20,294

26.18

6,967,601

5.93

0.29

2014

39,046

92.4

7,462,000

7.10

0.52

2015

25,023

–

Average

18,947B

6,618,452

9.24

0.27

59.87

represents data for January 2015 only. Data on several months for several countries for 2010 was not available. Therefore, the aggregate for 2010 was taken from a press release by the Indian government. 29B average excludes data for January 2015. C year on year growth rate for the period 2014-2015 is not calculated as the data available for 2015 only represents January 2015. Years (2010-2014) represent a calendar year, i.e. 12 months from January to December. A

tour ism cur r ents at serious structural issues which needs to be fixed to achieve the desired results. The report takes into account the scenario of past five years when India had begun to unveil a liberalised visa regime in 2010.

Performance of Tourist Visa on Arrival Scheme Over Time Across Countries Countries/Years

2010C

2011

2012

2013

2014B

2015A

Australia

–

1,124

2,210 (96.62)

The Global Scene

Cambodia

To beg i n w it h, t he repor t u nabashed ly acknowledges that liberal visa regime across the world has done wonders in augmenting the international traffic in the recent years. In 2014, international tourist arrivals reached an all-time high, with a record of 1,138 million overnight visitors – a 4.7 percent increase from 2013. This increase follows a sustained period of growth in international tourist arrivals since the financial crisis of 2008, and a 23 percent increase since the year before the crisis. Travel for holidays, recreation and other forms of leisure account for just over half of all international tourists (52 percent or 568 million), followed by travel for other reasons, such as visiting friends and relatives, religious

–

149

157

120

129

(5.37)

(-23.57)

(7.5)

1,335

914

1,030

990

–

Finland

1,263

–

(5.70)

(-31.54)

(12.69)

(-3.88)

Germany

–

570

Indonesia

–

2,063

2,426

2,758

2,776

(17.60)

(13.69)

(0.66)

Israel

–

448

Japan

1,457

2,344

4,604

6,448

5,289

–

(60.88)

(96.42)

(40.05)

(-17.97)

(-28.57)

(90)

(5.26)

110

145

126

(4.22)

(48.65)

(31.81)

(-13.10)

109

148

391

(53.52)

(35.78)

(164.19)

2,762

3,150

3,968

4,405

643

(42.08)

(14.05)

(25.97)

(11.01)

(-85.40)

1,792

2,702 (50.78) –

1,634 (186.67)

Laos Luxembourg

– 71

Myanmar New Zealand

1,944

OthersD Philippines

–

1,956

Russia

–

Singapore

1,814

South Korea

–

UAE USA

–

– – –

2,444

2,967

3,783

(24.95)

(21.40)

(27.50)

–

2,121

1,848

1,974

2,486

4,095

423

(1.87)

(6.82)

(25.94)

(64.72)

(-89.67)

–

6,631

4,569

–

443

–

3,417

5,933

–

1,149

2,500

3,518 (65.87)

reasons and pilgrimage, and health treatment (27 percent). Some 14 percent of international tourists reported travelling for business and professional purposes; the purpose of visit for the remaining seven percent of arrivals remain undetermined. The report attributes such an increase in international tourism to many countries across the world doing their bit in simplifying visa procedure. And this has resulted in a significant change in the scenario – while in 2008, 77 percent of international travellers had visited international destinations on the basis of traditional visa procured from the embassy prior to departure, this number came down significantly to 62 percent in 2014. These statistics clearly underline the point – easy visa facilitation (often referred as click and fly modality) is a major catalyst in pushing footfall numbers.

(-31.10)

(73.63) Ukraine

–

(117.58) Vietnam Total

–

145

186

205

238

(28.28)

(10.22)

(16.10)

6,549

12,761

16,084

20,294

39,046

25,023

–

(94.85)

(26.04)

(26.18)

(92.04)

–E

represents data for January 2015 only. B Apart from USA, Russia, South Korea, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Germany and the Philippines, data for the remaining country-wise distribution of TVoAs stands provisional as Indian government 33 does not mention the same. C Data on several months for several countries for 2010 was not available. Therefore, the aggregate and the total were again taken from a government press release.34 Figures in parentheses represent year on year growth rate.' - ' represents no information available either because the countries have not yet been granted the visa on arrival eligibility or because the ministry has not published the information. D Since the ministry does not publish TVoAs granted to all the 44 eligible countries, the remaining have been published in the 'other' category. E Year on year growth rate for the period 2014-2015 is not calculated as the data available for 2015 only represents January 2015. Years (2010-2015) represent calendar years, i.e., 12 months from January to December. A

July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents India’s brush with easy visa process India had kickstarted its liberal visa regime on 1st January 2010 by launching the “Visa on Arrival” scheme for five countries - Singapore, Finland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and Japan. In 2011, the scheme was extended to six more countries, namely Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar. While no additions were made to this list in 2012 and 2013, in April 2014 tourists from South Korea were extended this facility. The fresh impetus under the new government which has seen the enlargement of the countries’ list began in November, 2014 when in a single stroke the TVoA facility was granted to 32 countries. And since then it has been on a roll with the scheme now also being extended to Sri Lanka and China. On 1st May 2015, the scheme was further extended to 31 countries taking the total tally to 77 countries. By the end of this year, the government is expected to further enlarge this kitty, taking the total tally to around 150 countries. That TVoA has also been enabled with ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) now re-christened as e-TV (to avoid the confusion) is considered as a major value-add to the easy visa facilitation process. According to OR F, the volume of tourists entering India by availing TVoA

facilitation. “Since its launch in 2010, tourists from Singapore have consistently preferred to obtain their visas at the Indian mission in their home country… the average share of Singaporeans that obtained TVoA over the period 20102013 is less than two percent of the total arrivals of Singaporeans in India,” the report points out. Having established the basic premise that liberalised visa facilitation by India in the last five years has not exactly been lapped up by the end users, the report talks about some basic faultlines which are limiting its success. For instance, the report specifically pinpoints that the new visa rules fail to define casual business visit and its scope. As against this, the business visitors coming to Australia with ETA are covered by four broader category of activities. The report also holds similar view on short duration medical visa which it believes to have been more specific than just generic. It also makes a case for improvement in back end technological system as there have plenty of complaints from the end user quarters in using the ETA site including uploading of photos and making visa payments. The report then raises a host of pertinent issues veering round the point: has our approach in selecting countries for relaxed visa norms been pragmatic? Its analysis of 44 countries in the list estab-

• Has our approach in selecting countries for relaxed visa norms been pragmatic? Its analysis of 44 countries in the list establishes the fact that traffic generating out of them for India is in low single-digit trajectory vis-à-vis the total international footfall in the country. facility since its inception in the country has been on a rise. But the growth is not in synch with the kind of footfall enhancement which has been seen. For instance, the FTA (Foreign Tourist Arrival) number has swollen to around 7.5 million in 2014 from 5.8 million in 2010. But in the same period the number of tourist visa on arrival has gone up from 6,549 (2010) to 39,046 in 2014 which is a minuscule less than half a percentage of total arrivals. “Tourists do not appear inclined to opt for the “Visa on Arrival” facility. Both the growth of TVoAs over time across countries and the growth of TVoAs as a share of TFTAs over time does not present an encouraging picture,” the report says. The report has specifically cited the example of Singapore, the country which had figured in India’s first list for VoA 26

TourismFirst July 2015

lishes the fact that traffic generating out of them for India is in low single-digit trajectory vis-à-vis the total international footfall in the country. Another critical point earmarked in the report is that internet penetration in many selected countries is abysmally low and hence they are unlikely to stoke up India’s quest to shore up inbound numbers via electronic facilitation. The lack of substantial bilateral trade with most of the selected countries has also been highlighted prominently. “As a matter of fact, for the majority of the included countries, their individual export and import vis-à- vis India accounts for less than one percent of the total exports and imports of India. For instance, India's average trade with countries like Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Micronesia for the period

tour ism cur r ents 2010-2013 is negligible,” the report says.

Foreign tourist arrival number has swollen to around 7.5 million in 2014 from 5.8 million in 2010. But in the same period the number of tourist visa on arrival has gone up from 6,549 (2010) to 39,046 in 2014 which is a minuscule less than half a percentage of total arrivals.

The Counter Point The points raised by ORF report broadly summaries the issues (of course, with their own analytical inputs) which have been venting out from different corners every now and then. There are indeed valid issues like the technical glitches faced by an end-user which could be a major turn-off for him in the future. However, any process of finding the faultlines could also be driving from that larger impatience in terms of results – wherein we tend to reap rich dividends expeditiously. Since the government went into an overdrive mode in allowing easy visa accessibility to more countries, tourist arrivals to the country under the e-visa facility have jumped over 10 times year-on-year during January-May 2015 when 1,10,657 tourists used the ‘e-Tourist Visa’ scheme launched in November last year. In comparison, only 9,841 tourists used the earlier ‘Visa on Arrival’ scheme during January- May 2014, according to tourism ministry data. A commendable jump statistically but going by the popular perception, this is simply not enough. And hence there are a host of explanations as why this does not seem to be working in the quantitative sense. But talk to senior travel and tourism industry insiders and they have their own rationale to underline that the sudden or explosive result expectations are unrealistic. The basic accusation that the selection process of the countries for easy visa facilitation (a process set afoot by the UPA government) has not been pragmatic (majority of the countries not having a robust bilateral trade relationship with India or some of the countries picked up now having very low internet penetration) is countered with the theory that the government has never intended to see a sudden upsurge in foreign tourist arrivals because it would create immense pressure on the existing basic infrastructure which is yet to grow to international standards. “Most of the countries have been handpicked as part of a soft opening process. You also need to test your machinery before you begin handling a considerably larger footfall,” says a senior observer. At the recently held HICSA convention, a noted captain of the travel industry had minced no words in saying, “I shudder to think what will happen if this rapidly enlarging list of easy visa norms for countries start producing immediate results. Our airports will be cluttered and we do

not have enough hotel rooms to serve. We simply do not have the capacity to handle a sudden upswing in the arrivals.” Analysts also point out other critical factors which may have contributed to arrival numbers not shooting up to the desired levels despite the push from the government for easy visa norms in last five years. “Between 2010 till a year ago, there was hardly any big news which India had to offer to the world. The country was largely believed to have been stuck in a cesspool of stagnancy and some unfortunate incidents had projected the image of India as an unsafe destination for women. So there was clearly a dent in the country’s pull power,” says an analyst. The long and short of the arguments presented above clearly point out that in the past government had a gradual approach to reap incremental benefits out of visa regime liberalisation. And now it probably realises that the time has come to step on the gas. So the list of countries for easy visa facilitation is slated to go upto 150 by the end of the year (from 77) and alongwith this, the supportive infrastructure base is also being strengthened in the form of more airports being allowed to accept e-tourist visa. When the government had pushed the e-visa reforms last November, it had earmarked nine airports where one can land with an e-tourist visa: Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram. But now it has decided to add seven more airports to this list which includes Narendra Modi's constituency Varanasi and Ahmedabad in his home state, Jaipur, Amritsar, Gaya, Lucknow and Trichy. But again, as seasoned industry observers point out, expecting these fresh moves to result in unprecedented surge immediately would be unwarranted. “Our major source markets are the US, UK and some other European countries. But EU is in a financial turmoil as exemplified by the crisis in Greece which may have a cascading impact. It may impede the long-haul travel plans of Europeans which will affect Indian tourism market. But there is nothing to lose our heart and dub it as the failure of our visa policy which in fact is a cyclical external pressure. The easy visa facilitation is bound to bring benefits on an ongoing basis in the medium to long run,” says an expert. Once again a reiteration of the advocacy that what will ultimately pay in augmenting arrivals with easy visa procedures is that good, old virtue- patience. by RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents

India sets its eyes on infrastructu tourism could be the biggest be Infrastructure remains a non-negotiable aspect of national development and, consequently, tourism. As neither of them can grow in isolation; they remain complementary to each other. We take a look at some of the most significant developments in the field of infrastructure, ranging from roads, rail and sea connectivity along with rivers and Ghats rejuvenation and its likely consequence on tourism in the days to come. Diamond quadrilateral rail project and bullet trains on the cards Railway remains the undisputed lifeline of national connectivity, creating easy access and movement for people and goods. However, despite the usual populist measures, that includes announcing new trains as a ritual on the railway budget day, the progress in the 28

TourismFirst July 2015

field of railways has been below satisfactory. As per the available data, in 1947, when the British left India, we inherited a total of 53,596 kms of rail track. India has only been able to double it in the last sixty-seven years to a total of 115,000 kms. Identifying this major lacunae on the infrastructure front, the Modi government, upon assuming charge of national affairs, announced

an ambitious project of connecting the major metropolitan cities of the country with highspeed rail, popularly known as the Diamond quadrilateral project. Based on the lines of Golden Quadrilateral project, which connects the metro cities by expressways; the project envisages operation of semi-high speed rail on nine corridors and a bullet train project connecting Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The Diamond Quadrilateral project, with an estimated cost of over two lakh crores, aims to drastically reduce the travelling time between the metros with high-speed trains running at speeds of about 300-kmph. The proposed corridor will pass through 14 states and territories; which include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh and West

tour ism cur r ents other countries to seek their expertise and financial assistance in its mega undertaking. A Japanese firm, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), is currently undertaking a feasibility study for the 534-km-long MumbaiAhmedabad high speed corridor project, which is estimated to cost `90,000 crore. Whereas, China is undertaking a feasibility study of the Delhi-Chennai route, also a part of the Diamond Quadrilateral project; apart from cooperating on the redevelopment of the Bhubaneswar and Baiyappanahalli (in Bangalore) stations, as railways has proposals to revamp some selected stations to turn them world-class in standards and amenities. On the international connectivity front, the recent visit to neighboring Bangladesh by the PM has created hopes that the long stalled rail connectivity between the two countries would be revived. Bangladesh is also constructing a bridge on the Feni River, with the help of Indian authorities, that will connect with Sabroom, in south Tripura district, on the India-Bangladesh border. The bridge will provide direct connectivity between Chittagong port and Sabroom. This long overdue infrastructural overhaul is, in all surety, going to boost connectivity, reduce travelling time and spur growth in the nation.

Ambitious undertakings to augment water connectivity

ure revamp; eneficiary Bengal. Going by the latest media reports, infrastructure companies from six countries, including France, Germany, Italy and China are in the fray for the contract on the Diamond Quadrilateral bullet train project. Whereas, as many as twelve international companies are bidding for conducting the feasibility study for the three corridors of the Diamond Quadrilateral high-speed rail network project. India has also been actively engaging with

With a shoreline of over 7,000 kms and over 44 major rivers flowing through it, India has plenty of potential for developing tourism and related infrastructure on the water- connectivity front. India already has some established tourism products in the form of islands of A ndaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep and St. Mary’s, known for pristine beaches, activities like scuba-diving and coral reefs – that attract many to its shores. However, the government now intends to utilize the full potential of the abundant availability of water resources. As per media reports, the government is planning on developing as many as 1,000 islands and over 300 lighthouses – with an aim to bolster the tourism prospects in the respective regions. The government has plans to move ahead with a legislation in parliament to convert 101 rivers into waterways, paving way for the construction of numerous islands and lighthouses – which in turn could boost

“The Prime Minister has asked us to include the proposal to develop 300 light houses and 1,100 islands in a Cabinet note we sent him in connection with developing waterways.” Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India while addressing a national conference on Inland Waterways organised by FICCI tourism. The project is intended to be undertaken by the PPP mode, and a sum of `50,000 crores have been earmarked for the same. Out of the 101 proposed waterways, detailed project report (DPR) on a few of them have been already undertaken, suggest media reports. “The government is planning to develop these waterways through the public-private part-

• The Diamond Quadrilateral project, with an estimated cost of over two lakh

crores, aims to drastically reduce the travelling time between the metros with highspeed trains running at speeds of about 300-kmph. • The proposed corridor will pass through 14 states and territories; which include Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telengana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. July 2015 TourismFirst

tour ism cur r ents nership (PPP) mode, which is picking up after a slump,” said Gadkari, Minister of road transport and highways, in a press conference recently. He further added that: “The Prime Minister has asked us to include the proposal to develop 300 light houses and 1,100 islands in a Cabinet note we sent him in connection with developing waterways,” while addressing a national conference on Inland Waterways organized by FICCI, sometime ago. The government, in a bid to improve water connectivity, is also planning to establish a number of multi-nodal hubs at commercially significant Haldia, Kolkata, Varanasi and Sahebganj. The bill also seeks to construct shipbuilding yards and repair hubs in Andaman and Nicobar, Assam, and Kandla in Gujarat – all of which is sure to augment the rickety water infrastructure in the nation. The government has also looked at exploring bilateral ties to strengthen water connectivity. In a major boost for India in the Indian Ocean region, the government got its hands on the “infrastructure development rights’’ for two islands in the region – Agalega from

Mauritius and Assumption from Seychelles – in the recently undertaken visit to the island nations by the PM. While, on the PM’s much awaited trip to Bangladesh, India bagged the rights for using the Bangladeshi waterways for commerce; and also signed a memorandum of understanding for the commercial use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for movement of goods to and from India. It will reduce the time taken to ferry goods and bring down prices apart from increasing connectivity with the NE states– which has been in a precarious condition from times immemorial. Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar, described the significance of the agreement saying that: “As of now, the bulk of our trade takes place across the land border, and to the extent that we have sea trade this is done through distant ports. The goods are taken to distant ports and then they are reloaded into feeder vessels which then bring them into Chittagong. What this Coastal Shipping Agreement would do is basically enable direct regular movement of ships between India and Bangladesh.”

Ghats rejuvenation breathing life to city beautification On the Ghats front, thanks to the much needed stress on river rejuvenation and projects like Namami Gange, there has been some visible improvement on the Ghat management front. Most visible of them is the famed Assi Ghat of Varanasi, which is slowing inching back to its former glory. The stairs leading to the holy Ganges, lost in mud and muck, have been carefully restored and surroundings cleaned of litter. The evening aartis are drawing huge crowds and the government is pushing for similar steps throughout the region to restore Ganges Ghats to its former glory. As a part of Ghat management, some noteworthy steps have been undertaken. They include improving Ghat Infrastructure and Pilgrim amenities by providing basic amenities like dress change rooms, toilets, drinking water points and seating areas; augmenting inadequate lighting with solar photovoltaic plant based LED lighting and organizing sporadic and unorganized kiosks/ stalls. The government is also looking at inappropriate and ad-hoc development of public

The famed Assi Ghat at Varanasi is being restored to its former glory. PM leads the restoration work.

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tour ism cur r ents spaces on the riverfront such as chowks, squares etc. and plans to redevelop them to create suitable spaces, which are needed for pilgrims and visitors. While, in a bid to control the discharge of untreated pollutants in the river, the government is also planning to create a number of solid and liquid waste treatment plants along the cities dotting the Ganges shores.

Road Infrastructure gets a push with a clear focus on the northeast The minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari has been on an overdrive to create road infrastructure. As per the media reports, he plans to award road projects worth `3.5 lakh crore in 2015-16 to boost infrastructure crea-

tion in the country. Having awarded over one lac crore worth of projects for creating 8,000 km of roads, the ministry has also set its eyes on building better connectivity to the religious circuits including the Shriram circuit, Buddha circuit and Ajmer Sharif. To augment religious tourism and connectivity, the government is also looking at the 1,100 km Chardham project worth `11,000 crore connecting Kedarnath, Badrinath Yamunotri and Gangotri. While, the approach to creation of infrastructure has been radically changed with the creation of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) – which in the last year has taken over road projects from Border Roads Organization (BRO), mostly in the Northeast but also

• The government also plans to launch over 1200

projects to meet its target of creating over 37,000 kms of highways in 2015-16. While, Gadkari is also confident of achieving the target of constructing highways up to 30 km per day by 2016-17. in some other strategically significant areas. Its primary agenda is to create 10,000 km of roads by 2020 and rejuvenate India’s linkages with the immediate neighborhood. The government also plans to launch over 1200 projects to meet its target of creating over 37,000 kms of highways in 2015-16. While, Gadkari is also confident of achieving the target of constructing highways up to 30 km per day by 2016-17 as compared to a dismal average of 3 kms per day under the previous UPA government. The government has also focused on the infrastructure deficit in the NE states and planned a plethora of road projects to boost connectivity in the region with umpteen tourism assets and considerable strategic significance for the nation. In the ‘organic’ state of Sikkim, the plan is to create 324 km of roads, with a major project of 242 km of alternate highway connecting Gangtok with Bagrakot for over `2400 crores. In Arunachal Pradesh, an important project connecting Demwe to Hawai with a two lane road worth over a thousand crores is under execution. While with a clear focus to improve the existing ImphalJiribam highway in Manipur, a sum of 2200 crores has been earmarked. Assam has been allocated over 6000 crores to execute road projects of over 400 kms in length. On the international connectivity front, it is expected that the much discussed ThailandMyanmar- India trilateral highway will be finalized for operation by the end of 2016. Moreover, the government also seems keen on creating a seamless SAARC connectivity. With Pakistan

“As of now, the bulk of our trade takes place across the land border, and to the extent that we have sea trade this is done through distant ports. The goods are taken to distant ports and then they are reloaded into feeder vessels which then bring them into Chittagong. What this Coastal Shipping Agreement would do is basically enable the direct regular movement of ships between India and Bangladesh.” S. Jaishankar, Foreign Secretary creating hurdles in SAARC motor vehicle agreement that would have given the member nations’ access to each other’s roadways; India is now seeking to create an alternate road connectivity with likeminded countries. With the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India) roadways showing positive signs of fructification – India is on track for a much better and integrated regional connectivity in the days to come. By SHASHANK SHEKHAR July 2015 TourismFirst

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CM Chandy to head Tourism Investment Promotion Board

n order to shore up private investment and further galvanise its tourism appeal, the Kerala government has set up a Tourism Investment Promotion Board. After months of deliberation, the agency was finally approved early this month and the state government’s commitment to make the most of it is simply ref lected by the fact that the board will be headed by the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy himself. Tourism is one of the mainstays of Kerala economy and accordi ng to a n est i mate, the state had earned a revenue of `24,885.44 crore from its tourism business last year. This marked an over 12 percent growth in the earning figures registered in 2013. The Tourism Investment Promotion Board is believed to have been set up with an eye to attract investments in the new areas where Kerala Tourism is keen to build some strength. Among other things, it also includes state government’s intention of making Kerala a major destination on India’s MICE map. The Tourism Investment Promotion Board is likely to pave the way for single window clearance for tourism investment projects and apart from the Chief Minister who will act as the chairman, key cabinet ministers, secretaries, lead banks and representatives of the tourism industry will comprise the board.

VALLEY CONNECT

Railway Ministry to promote Jammu & Kashmir Tourism

lagging off four new trains between Baramulla in north Kashmir to Banihal on the other side of Pir Panjal mountain range early this month, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has said Indian Railways will play a more pro-active role in promoting tourism in Jammu and Kashmir. “We will do whatever we can do within our limits to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir,” Prabhu said. T he ra i l w ay m i n i s ter w a s responding to a demand posed by the state chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed that a product like “Palace on Wheels” will be a major addition to Jammu & Kashmir tourism portfolio. “We should have a Pa lace on W heels l i ke Rajasthan ... they have done well (in promoting tourism on train).

We can have stops for the tourists at various places," Sayeed had commented in his address to the gathering. Prabhu responded by saying that IRCTC of the railways can work out an arrangement with the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation for promoting tourism in the state. Prabhu a lso com m it ted to expedite the Katra-Banihal link of the prestigious 'Rail to Kashmir' project which was started during the previous tenure of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Meanwhile, the four new trains flagged off early July have been started with the aim of easing the heavy rush of passengers on the existing trains between Srinagar and Baramulla and Srinagar and Banihal.

CORPORATE SUPPORT

Karnataka Tourism to pave way for CSR funding of tourism projects

o facilitate basic amenities improvement at tourist destinations, Karnataka Tourism seems to have stumbled upon an out-of-the-box idea. According to a media report, it recently asked private companies to come forward and take control of basic facilities at noted tourist destinations within the state under their Corprorate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding programme. As many as six companies including JSW Steel and Biocon are reported to have given their consent to this proposal. Karnataka has 319 tourism destinations and the state tourism department has shortlisted 46 locations where they will initially allow private companies to assist in basic amenities improvement under their CSR activities. The list of tourism cen32

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tric CSR activities will include bu i ld ing toi lets, upg rad ing existing facilities, illuminating monuments, and also any kind of conservation and restoration drive of the existing monuments. Companies will have the leeway to finance, operate and maintain these facilities and their financial contribution will be counted as CSR expenditure. “Ou r pr ior it y is to g ive tourists a good experience… we hope corporates will build basic amenities, and this can change the experience for the tourists for the better,” a senior official of Karnataka Tourism has been quoted as saying in the report.

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Tamil Nadu retains its numero uno position in tourist arrival in 2014

he officially released tourist arrival (both domest ic a nd fore i g n) nu m be r s i n the states and union territories has some interesting surprises this time. The figure released by the market research division of Ministry of Tourism recently for the year 2014 underlines the continued growth momentum in arrival numbers with Tamil Nadu retaining numero uno position on both counts. However, the Indian tourism strongholds Rajasthan

compared to growth of 9.59% in 2013 over 2012. The top ten states in terms of number of domestic tourist visits (in millions), during 2014, were: Tamil Nadu (327.6), Uttar Pradesh (182.8), Karnataka (118.3), Maharashtra (94.1), Andhra Pradesh (93.3), Telengana (72.4), Madhya Pradesh (6 3 . 6), We s t B e n g a l (4 9. 0) Jharkhand (33.4) and Rajasthan (33.1). The contribution of top 10 states was about 83.28% to the total number of domestic tourist visits during 2014.

has entered into top 10 states list improving its rank to 9th in 2014 from 14th in 2013. Rajasthan, with 10th ranking this time, has barely managed to survive in the top ranking states list. In 2013, it had occupied the 7th rank. The growth trends in foreign tourist arrivals in the states in 2014 has been equally encouraging with a growth of 13.12 percent over 2013 as compared to a growth of 9.24 percent in 2013 vis-a-vis previous year. During 2014, the number of foreign tourist visits

• The contribution of top 10 states was about 88.8% to the total

number of FTVs in the country during 2014. The top ten states in terms of FTVs in 2014, almost remained the same as those in 2013 except Goa which was at 10th position in 2013 but got replaced by Haryana. and Madhya Pradesh seem to have somewhat been in a struggling mode last year with states like West Bengal and Jharkhand making gains in the arrival ranking. O n t he dome s t ic t ou r i s t arrival front, there has been a modest increase in the number of domestic tourist visits to the states/ UTs – 1282 million in 2014 as compared to 1145 million in 2013 and 1045 million the year before. This marks a growth of 11.93% over 2013 as

Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh have maintained the first and second rank respectively in terms of DTVs in 2014, whereas Karnataka and Maharashtra have come at 3rd and 4th position, respectively due to split of the state of Andhra Pradesh (dropped down to 5th rank) and Telengana (6th rank). Madhya Pradesh has slipped to rank 7th in 2014 from rank 6th in 2013 where as West Bengal has improved to rank 8th in 2014 from rank 9th in 2013. Jharkhand

(FTVs) to the states was 22.57 million as compared to 19.95 million in 2013 and 18.26 million in 2012. The top ten states in terms of number of FTVs (in millions) during 2014 were: Tamil Nadu (4.66), Maharashtra (4.39), Uttar Pradesh (2.91), Delhi (2.32), Rajasthan (1.53), West Bengal (1.38), Kerala (0.92), Bihar (0.83), Karnataka (0.56) and Haryana (0.55). The contribution of top 10 states was about 88.8% to the total number of FTVs in the country

Top 10 States (2014) – Domestic Tourist Arrivals l Tamil Nadu – 327.6 l Uttar Pradesh – 182.8 l Karnataka – 118.3 l Maharashtra – 94.1 l Andhra Pradesh – 93.3 l Telengana – 72.4 l Madhya Pradesh – 63.6 l West Bengal – 49.0 l Jharkahand – 33.4 l Rajasthan – 33.1 (Figures in million) Top 10 States (2014) – Foreign Tourist Arrivals l Tamil Nadu – 4.66 l Maharashtra – 4.39 l Uttar Pradesh – 2.91 l Delhi – 2.32 l Rajasthan – 1.53 l West Bengal – 1.38 l Kerala – 0.92 l Bihar – 0.83 l Karanataka – 0.56 l Haryana – 0.55 (Figures in million) during 2014. The top ten states in terms of FTVs in 2014, almost remained the same as those in 2013 except Goa which (at 10th position in 2013) got replaced by Haryana. July 2015 TourismFirst

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NGT diktat on Manali tourism brings life to a standstill Time for a rethink on sustainable tourism

The recent verdict by the NGT has brought the lime-light back on the need for a sustainable tourism model. However, a clampdown in the peak season has left many fuming and worried.

NGT comes down heavily, locals in disarray The scenic Rohtang Pass is a lifeline of sorts for Manali, in more than one way, as it not house a majestic flora, but is the magnet that draws a swarm of tourists to the hilly getaway. It is in limelight, again, albeit for reasons that do not bode well for tourism in the state. The NGT (national green tribunal), in a scathing order, imposed an immediate stop to any and all forms of commercial activities

includes a complete clamp-down on a number of tea-stalls, mini-eateries, adventure sports like skiing, cable-ride and river rafting. Taking a strict view of the increasing vehicular movement, over-exploitation and increasing population in the region the verdict, by the bench headed by the NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, read: “The increasing congestion in the form of mass tourism in and around Rohtang Pass affects the topographic fragility and ecological delicacy of this area.

The catchment areas of most of the rivers originating in Himalayas lie in Himachal Pradesh. Inter alia, the causes having a direct impact on Himachal Pradesh’s environment are deforestation, uncontrolled and unsustainable grazing, soil erosion, siltation of dams and reservoirs, industrial and human wastes, forest fires and other effects of climate change.” The move has led to the ban of vehicular traffic in the region and cast a gloom on taxi-operators. However the NGT, keeping

• Rampant over-exploitation, unregulated commercial activities and vehicular movement in fragile ecosystems like Manali could spell disaster for its long-term tourism prospects. • NGT’s order indicates the magnitude of the problem that exists. Instead of adhoc solutions, it is time that we seriously consider a national framework on sustainable tourism for such prestine destinations. in the vicinity of Rohtang glacier. The NGT has argued that the unabashed exploitation of resources threatened the Rohtang glacier and immediate clamp-down on all forms of commercial activities was the only way out, considering the gravity of the situation. This 34

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It affects the ambient air pollution levels in and around that area”. Commenting on the fragility of the ecosystem and degrading environment in the region, the bench, further, noted: “Its ecosystem is most fragile, sensitive and susceptible.

practicality in mind, has allowed battery-operated vehicles. “The Government of Himachal Pradesh may operate CNG/electric vehicles itself or may outsource the same but directly under its control and supervision in the public or public-private sector by following the

dest i n at ion i n di a procedure in accordance with rules,” read the NGT order. The order has created a furore and disappointment in the local community. Govind Thakur, MLA from the locality, was vocal in his opinion about the state’s lack lustered approach on the issue and sounded worried over the employment prospects for the locals. He said, “It is failure on the part of the present state government. They have been unable to convince the NGT about the significance of tourism in Rohtang for the locals. The government was ill-informed and sought little legal opinion. It is a matter of grave concern for us.”

Tourism the mainstay of local economy The move has sent jitters among the locals as they fear a complete loss of employment opportunity in an already poor state, almost entirely, dependent on seasonal tourism for their sustenance. They engage in a plethora of activities like renting out traditional costumes, work as ski guides to the ski enthusiasts, rent snow-mobiles for rides, rent snow apparel, act as Yak ride guides, apart from involving themselves in hospitality and taxi industry. All of this is showing a devastating impact on the hotel occupancy and taxi-booking apart from stifling the earnings of a number of selfmade entrepreneurs. A number of locals who had resorted to loans for setting up a small business are now facing a precarious situation. The regions most impacted are Solang, Marhi and Rohtang – which includes a number of small villages. But it is the long-term loss of perception that has worried the locals most.

Here are the important takeaway of the NGT order. We break it down to understand the various facets of the decree. On the damage to the local ecosystem

There are various factors which are responsible for degradation of environment and ecology in this eco-sensitive area. Vehicular emission is one of the major contributors to pollution. The impacts of vehicular pollution would seriously affect the ambient air quality due to the emission of high carbon content, Black Carbon, nitrogen oxide (NOx) and Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM). All these are polluting the clean and healthy air in that area. Vehicular pollution also adversely affects the glacier, effects of which are evident in blackening of snow, melting of glacier and other ecological disturbances in the glacier. The diesel, commercial and transport vehicles, which are over-loaded and even other vehicles – public and private – including two-wheelers which go to the glacier or pass through the glacier en route to further destinations, are damaging the glacier. Need for stringent pollution check norms for vehicles, regulation of vehicles the need of the hour

At present, Bharat Stage-III norms are applicable in Himachal Pradesh whereas BS-IV norms have been implemented in 20 cities in the country. Introduction of more stringent norms in that area, thus, would be desirable. The vehicular traffic has to be restricted as well as regulated. BSIV compliant fuel should be provided. Preferably, CNG or electrical vehicles should be used for tourism purposes, at 30 least at the initial stage. Only these vehicles should be plying on those roads and more particularly the vehicles going to the glacier for tourism or commercial purposes should be subjected to regular pollution checks. There should be free flow of traffic and over-loading of vehicles should be prohibited. The vehicles which are unworthy of plying on such terrain, should not be permitted to ply, particularly the vehicles which are more than 10 years’ old. Regulated tourism for source point control of dust and BC emission should be done. Roads for vehicular traffic should be maintained in a good condition to achieve the desired results of curbing vehicular pollution. Battery operated vehicles can ply

The Government of Himachal Pradesh may operate CNG/electric vehicles itself or may outsource the same but directly under its control and supervision in the public or publicprivate sector by following the procedure in accordance with rules. Growing pollution a worrying prospect

GOVIND THAKUR MLA

“It is failure on the part of the present state government. They have been unable to convince the NGT about the significance of tourism in Rohtang for the locals. The government was ill-informed and sought little legal opinion. It is a matter of grave concern for us.

The increasing congestion in the form of mass tourism in and around Rohtang Pass affects the topographic fragility and ecological delicacy of this area. It affects the ambient air pollution levels in and around that area. The Total Suspended Particulate (TSP) Matter below 100 µ in size, particulate matter (PM10) below 10 µ in size, particulate matter (PM2.5) below 2.5 µ in size, Black Carbon 9 (about 0.5 µ in size) monitored at Kothi village, on the way to Rohtang Pass for the period 2010-2012 suggests that highest ever TSP was observed to be 388.0 µg m-3 on June 6, 2010 followed by 382.8 µg m-3 on July 8, 2009 which indicates that during certain time, TSP level remains above permissible limit. Fragile environment a cause of concern

Its ecosystem is most fragile, sensitive and susceptible. The catchment areas of most of the rivers originating in Himalayas lie in Himachal Pradesh. Inter alia, the causes having a direct impact on Himachal Pradesh’s environment are deforestation, uncontrolled and unsustainable grazing, soil erosion, siltation of dams and reservoirs, industrial and human wastes, forest fires and other effects of climate change. July 2015 TourismFirst

dest i n at ion i n di a look into a ‘car-free’ system where the tourist movement is managed through more sustainable means like battery operated vehicles and cable cars.” Stressing on the need to develop a sustainable model for tourism, she further shared that “Matheran, is a great example for fast congesting hill stations like Manali, which has long imposed a complete vehicular ban yet retained an ardent tourist base.” Puneet Bhambi, General ManANUP THAKUR PUNEET BHAMBI ANUMITA ager, Manuallaya-The Resort Spa in President, Manali General Manager, ROYCHOWDHURY the Himalayas, too, agrees that we Hoteliers Association Manuallaya -The Resort spa Executive Director have been taking the local resources in the Himalayas (Research and Advocacy), for a ride. “Snow for cheap,” this is “The RTI reveals that, Centre for Science and how the tourist thinks of Rohtang. The future of an indeed, there was a Environment estimated `3,000-crore Indeed, for a country that lives and glacier on Rohtang, “We must understand tourism industry of but it was 15000 years works in the grueling heat of the that congestion itself is a Kullu-Manali looks ago. There is no glacier plains, the Rohtang Pass exposes dampener as far as tourism grim after the ban of there. So to argue that the collective chinks in our undergoes. Therefore, if we take commercial activity at the glacier is in danger standing and relationship with a fresh and sustainable Rohtang Pass by the is in itself absurd. I do nature. Passing through the Rohapproach towards National Green Tribunal not deny that there has tang Pass has increasingly become vehicular movement in the (NGT). I fear loss of been some degradation tourism centers, we would a primer to the sordidness often tourism to Kashmir and of environment but actual help preserve longseen in our city lives. Here, sudUttrakhand. outright ban is very tough. term tourism potential of denly, at glacial height, is a serpenRegulation and not clampthe region.” tine build-up of honking tourist down is the solution.” vehicles, erratically parked ones Anup Thakur, President, Manali Hoteliers was indeed in danger. He argues that, “The and some others blaring music at extreme Association shared that, “we are worried at the RTI reveals that, indeed, there was a glacier on volumes. Young, strapping men taking their prospect of dwindling incoming traffic, espe- Rohtang, but it was 15000 years ago. There is shirt off and waving it in the air, there is nothcially in the peak season. If the Hon’ble. NGT no glacier there. So to argue that the glacier is ing that will stop tourists from emptying their does not rethink about the order, people may in danger is in itself absurd. I do not deny that beer bottles and then relieving themselves on consider other destinations which will leave a there has been some degradation of environ- the snow slopes of Rohtang. All this had to be large section of locals without any other means ment but outright ban is very tough. Regula- stopped.” He, however, opines that the step of employment. This holds a serious conse- tion and not clamp-down is the solution.” was bit too drastic. He says: “But the orders quence for the long-term business prospect of Many locals and stakeholders of the region’s passed are very extreme. The main reason this destination.” tourism have also put forth this argument that being the general apathy of the government/ His fears are, certainly, not unfounded. As regulation instead of an outright ban would administration and their failure to control the per several reports in the public domain, tour- have been a prudent way forward. However, consistent degradation of the entire experiism is the mainstay of the economy of smaller one cannot deny that the NGT order has given ence.” He advocated for a balance that needs to villages in the region. This overt dependence prominence to the environmental needs that be maintained. “A complete ban will result in on tourism is also an outcome of fragmented are directly related to our survival. havoc to the locals. On the other hand if there land-holdings that makes the prospects Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Direc- is no concern for the environment, Rohtang, of agriculture redundant. Other vocation tor (Research and Advocacy), Centre for Sci- will be finished,” he argued. and, far fewer in numbers, is of manual or ence and Environment contends that the NGT It remains to be seen how the ongoing construction labour which pays little and is order is actually a blessing in disguise as it judicial arguments unfold as the case is being arduous in nature. A large number of women allows us to introspect and re-organize vehicu- reviewed and fresh petitions are being filed. folk found rewarding jobs in selling local lar movement in urban and tourist areas. “We However, the commotion has allowed us to handicrafts, woolen apparels and running must understand that congestion itself is a take stock of our environmental assets that are small eateries – which paid well. All of it is in dampener as far as tourism goes. Therefore, increasingly being subjected to over-exploitaa state of limbo. if we take a fresh and sustainable approach tion and find solutions that strike a fine baltowards vehicular movement in the tourism ance between economic needs and ecological Ecology V/S Economics: centers, we would actual help preserve long- preservation. The NGT order must be seen in Maintaining a deft balance term tourism potential of the region. It is time a national context and a healthy debate on the will remain a challenge when we look at sustainable tourism whereby future course of action – which includes all the Anup Thakur shares that he had filed an RTI we do not threaten the carrying capacity of an stakeholders – will certainly help in overcomin the Govind Ballabh Pant institute seeking ecosystem. People take their cars and congest ing this crisis. answer to the claim that the Rohtang glacier the best of our destinations. We will have to By SHASHANK SHEKHAR 36

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CINEM ASCA PES

Get hooked to new destinations to visit and explore. Cinema is the new medium to get glimpses, indeed some of the recent films released have a large share of local flavours of distant lands, both within India and around the world. The more exotic the location, greater is the appeal of the film to attract the masses. Cinema tourism is growing exponentially. The big catcher in this regard is, of course, Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own Bollywood. Reaching out to them, year on year, on behalf of destination promotion agencies and their line producers is Cinema Tourism Summit, capturing Cinemascapes for producers. The change in name ref lects the focus on conferencing as the major thrust, and also the presence of leaders, from government, industry, and also promoters of locations. Cinema Tourism Summit, 2015 is being held later this year in Mumbai at the prestigious JW Marriott in Juhu. It will bring together some 300 leading figures representing these verticals, to deliberate on issues concerning film shooting on locations, and also the larger growth of the subject, and its challenges, and also present new choices for Indian cinema producers, for Bollywood in particular.

For additional information, contact: Chander Tamang. Tel: 9818679125. Email: info@tourismfirst.org

July 2015 TourismFirst

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The complex around Humayunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tomb gets the coveted Unesco World Heritage tag Humayun Tomb was included in the world heritage list back in 1992, but the other monuments around it were left out. With six more monuments being awarded the Unesco world heritage tag, the Humayun complex is set to see an increase in the tourist footfall.

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elhi’s quest for a Unesco world heritage site tag has been a long and an elusive chase. However, in a recent development that could help better preserve the Humayun’s tomb, six monuments in the entire complex have been given a space in the coveted list. This, effectively, has increased the area under heritage zone to 54 acres from 26 acres. The feat has been made possible because of a boundary clarification and admission of the rest of the six monuments as “contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property forming a unique ensemble.” The Heritage Committee meeting document read that it now recognizes that, “Humayun’s tomb and the other contemporary 16th-century garden tombs within the property form a unique ensemble of Mughal-era garden-tombs. The monumental scale, architectural treatment and garden setting are outstanding in Islamic garden-tombs.” The statement for inclusion of the six monuments in the world heritage list also praised the conservation work on them. It read: “Humayun’s Tomb and its surrounding structures are substantially in their original state and conservation works have been of high quality – carried out using traditional materials such as lime mortar to recover authenticity by removal of 20th-century materials such as concrete.” Located in the eastern part of Deh l i, Hu may u n’s tomb is one of the best preser ved RATISH NANDA Mughal monuments. This mesProject director, Aga Khan merizing mausoleum is the first Trust for Culture example of Mughal architecture in India. It has been painstakingly restored to its old glory. This ratification of the Now, with the ratification and boundary proposed extension of, the area under by the ASI and heritage include Arab ki Serai, recognition of the site Afsarwala Complex, Bu Halima being an ensemble garden tomb, Isa Khan's garden allows steps to be tomb, and Nila Gumbad. taken for its effective Moe Chiba, programme spemanagement as well cialist for culture at Unesco's as future extension Delhi office commented on the to include other contemporary 16thdecision saying that: “Unesco century structures New Delhi welcomes the forwithin the World malization by the World HerHeritage property. itage Committee of the World Heritage Site property boundaries to include six additional garden-tombs in the Humayun’s Tomb complex on the basis of the revised statement of outstanding value.” She believed that the decision would help create a better environment for conservation and add to the pleasing aesthetic of the Mughal era building. “It is a significant achievement and provides due acknowledgement to the years of conservation effort at Humayun’s Tomb. This will serve as a basis of improved site management to meet World Heritage objectives and enhanced visitor experience,” she further added. Whereas, Ratish Nanda, project director, Aga Khan Trust for Culture, which is involved in the urban conservation project in Humayun's Tomb complex since the past eight years, said, “This ratification of the boundary proposed by the ASI and recognition of the site being an ensemble allows steps to be taken for its effective management as well as future extension to include other contemporary 16th-century structures within the World Heritage property.” The heritage tag will bring a lot more tourist attention, international recognition and expertise, from the UN agency, to better manage the site. It certainly gives us six more reasons to visit the grand monument complex. By SHASHANK SHEKHAR July 2015 TourismFirst

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Swamimalai TAKING HOTELS BEYOND ROOM AND FOOD

Guided village trail, Orange County Coorg

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teve Borgia, on his return to I ndia, was keen to explore how he could find, evolve or offer equal opportunities to rural communities. In his search, he found tourism industry to be one solution to allhis concerns. He has been among the real pioneers in creating an awareness for Rural Tourism in the country and today has created some of India’s mostoutstanding hotels in this niche. One of them also happens to be India's only winner of the Gl obal Eco-tourism award, another the 6th best idea to save Planet Earth. One isa collection of ideas to respect the coastal regulations.The story goes on. The fact is that all his INDeco hotels are not only rural centric and most popular in their respectiveregionsbut for the inbound market as well, for incoming visitors. These hotels just not sell food and shelter. They go far and beyond. They sell experiences, peace and happiness, helpthe global traveller see India with new eyes. As a bonus it has encompassed several issues for which we have been seeking solutions. Right from protection and conservation of our heritage, art, culture, life style, practices, beliefs, food, etc. All put together, hisbusiness initiative is a classic sample of social entrepreneurship and rural development. TourismFirst talks to Steve Borgia, the entrepreneur and hotelier. “So unlike the other hotel monthly review meetings, here is one, that reviews percentages and growth rates of a different parameter. • Amount and growth rate of the hotel expenditure spent in villages around. Needs to be 70% minimum. • Increase in the per capita income of the villages around. • Numbers and percentage of growth of local communities employment in the hotel. • Happiness and comfort levels of senior citizensin the locality. • Eradicate drop out percentages of primary school children. • Eradicate unemployment in the neighbourhood…. • Museum objects conserved for the month. • Stat us reports of heritage monuments in the locality. Well the INDeco Leisure Hotel Group in Tamilnadu translated its mission statement as above. Here is the mission statement of INDeco Leisure Hotels: Practice of low impact, educational, ecological and culturally sensitive travel that not only benefits local communities and host countries, but also protects, conserves and propogates their nature, heritage, art, culture,

Steve Borgia has been among the real pioneers in creating an awareness for R ural Tourism in the country and today has created some of India’s most outstanding hotels in this niche. belief, lifestyle and practices. All within the frame of what the villages around know, have and do. All for social and economical benefit. After nearly a decade, look at the evolution and the manifestation. • 94% of its employees are from the neighbourhood. • 76% of the hotels monthly expenditure is made in the villages around. • The region’s per capita income is nearly double of the district average. • Uses local material and locally produced materials for its operations and creation. • Does not buy or use any kind of fresh wood for its construction or operations. • All required fruits and vegetables are grown inhouse or in the local village. • For every 5 rooms, a cow is added to the dairy. • Half the milk is given away to the locals. • Senior citizens and handicapped are provided appropriate jobs. • Strictly says no to urban shelf and brand products.

• Recovers and offers medical support to birds and animals affected by man-animal conflict situations. Instead of the community begging to supply the operational needs of the hotel, the hotel tuned itself to absorb all that the community could offer. People, fruits, vegetables, menus, practices, talent, pulses, textile, building material, labour etc… After all what is the product…Authentic Indian experience and the pulse was here in the rural zones. Rightly,the hotel absorbed…. What they have, what they know and what they do. This became the experience. Interestingly the relationship started even during projects. Nothing was imported…including engineers and architects. Architecture was vernacular. So who knows best. It was the local masons, craftsman, carpenters etc. Surprised. Nearly 60% of the project budgets were spent on labour and wages. Similarly, nearly 70% of operation budgets are spent withi n the vicinity and are directly beneficial to the local communities. Today July 2015 TourismFirst

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the relationship has grown to the point of the hotel giving a wish list to the supply chain in the village to meet operational needs. In cases where talent or the product is not available …we have managed to infuse/train etc and to have it from the neighbourhood supply chain. Here are some typical examples… • When we chose to reinvent the Anglo-Indian architecture in Yercaud, decorative stuccos were unavailable. Instead of importing them from neighbouring states, we managed to produce them and had the village supplier produce the copies. Th e INDeco Hotel in Swamimalai changed the uniform to absorb all the excess Khadi produced in the neighbourhood. • Mirror frames for nearly all our rooms are cast by locaI women enterprises from appropriate designs. • INDeco Hotels Swamimalai chose to top all its roof with almost extinct country tiles. Potters from other regions were bought here to train local tile maker families. • Co operatives were formed for engaging the masons. Leadership emerged among the ranks and eventually that led to the locals emerging as contractors. Many interesting situations have emerged from this line of thought and have helped the hotel in offering a true authentic experience. The parents of the employees have volunteered to train our chefs in preparing authentic recipes. 42

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All INDeco hotels are not only creative but rural centric as well. Highly experiential. All INDeco hotels contain a Museum. These hotels radiate harmony and is a confluence of leisure, heritage, health nature, aesthetics, spirituality, fine arts and fun that creates harmony for the body, mind and soul offering each of the guest the authentic south Indian experience.

dest i n at ion i n di a A candid moment

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• Our towels are unique, locally produced and they are not the typical western turkey. • INDeco’s menus are not only regional, traditional et al. Yes, they are certainly that of yesteryears. INDeco not only searches for lost menus but also the utensils that made them. Typical example is, a mong others, the stand idly. A breakfast item that is like an idly but to the size of a soft dosa. We managed to restore a totally damaged vessel and took it beyond. Found a village tinsmith to work on aluminium and reproduce the utensi l. Today hundreds of these vessels have been reproduced and have found their way into the homes of many of our guests. Stand Idly will now stay. Sustainable Tourism is an attitude, a culture and its all about the business of sharing. The most important prerogative was to ensure that the hotel emerged from the existing village framework, its heritage, culture, traditions, lifestyle, practices and above all the information, talent and knowledge. • The very choice of location has not only to be on the tourism network,it had also to be in a underdeveloped region facing a bucket of survival issues. • Conserving the 1896 villa on the site was also a criteria. Today this villa is one of the few surving

INDeco is a pioneer on the leading edge of consciousness, where spiritual possibility, intellectual rigor, somatic practice, and sustainable living converge toward an integrated realization of the human potential. in its category and is a Museam object by itself. • Preserving all traditional features of the village was predetermined feature. Typically an abandoned temple tank in the property was converted into an ozonised swimming pool. • Most guest supplies were sourced from the vicinity benefitting rural suppliers. • The very design emerged from what existed on this land. Within the knowledge and knowhow framework of the local talent. Therefore, it eliminated external engineers and architects. All knowledge and most solutions came from the village. Its people. The flora and fauna. • There emerged a perpetual learning from the past. The reverse journey for the future. The past is our future. • A very honest pursuit survived, an attempt to avoid plastics and alien material even if they were cheaper. • Avoided buy i ng f resh wood f rom t he market,encouraged use of used wood, pulled out of existing structures in urban heritage. In most cases this was an expensive option…but extremely earth friendly.

• Teaches people to milk cows, ride a bullock cart, feed the birds and animals in the property, meditate, do yoga, take a ayurvedic massage INDeco is a pioneer on the leading edge of consciousness, where spiritual possibility, intellectual rigor, somatic practice, and sustainable living converge toward an integrated realization of the human potential. Finding ways and means to offer equal opportunities to all. Socially and geographically. Fortunately it has become a world phenomenon. It is on an upward trend. We are not social workers. We are aggressive tourism product creators. All INDeco hotels are not only creative but rural centric as well. Highly experiential. All INDeco hotels contain a Museum. These hotels radiate harmony and is a confluence of leisure, heritage, health nature, aesthetics, spirituality, fine arts and fun that creates harmony for the body mind and soul offering each of the guest the authentic south Indian experience. INDeco Hotel Swamimalai, in Kumbakonnam near Tanjore.” As told to TOURISMFIRST July 2015 TourismFirst

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Technology is changing the way we travel, and how? Traveling is increasingly becoming easier with apps and gadgets shaping the future of travelling like never before. But, in this continuous process, technology is also pushing service providers to innovate and personalize their offerings, creating by more content and wholesome travelling experience. ecently, on my sojourn to the famed Nalanda University ruins from Patna, I was frantically looking to book a cab. Unsure of whether I will be able to get a reliable service and unaware of the recent developments in the city; I was a bit confused and wary. However, to my pleasant surprise, with a little help from the internet, I was able to strike a deal with a recently launched Radio cab service. This is just one example of how omnipresent has technology become in our everyday travel needs. I must

the way we book our tickets and plan out our journey. Since the advent of the online service providers, there has been a sea change in the quality of travel experience. To grab a share of the highly lucrative online market and create a loyal customer base, companies are spreading out the red carpet for the customers with innovative loyalty programs, travel vouchers, extra discounts and coupling of services. So much so, that the online travel service providers are becoming a serious competition to the brick and mortar business companies. According

digits, we expect a huge upside from a growth point of view over the next few years. “Our hotels business has tripled in the last one year and we expect this growth momentum to continue going forward,” had shared Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com, speaking with us some time ago. He further shared that, “The two big takeaways in the last one year has been the growth of mobile bookings and the growth on online hotel bookings. Both traffic and bookings via mobiles have shown a tremendous hike in the past years. The second big trend is that travelers are starting to shift to booking hotels online. Our hotels and holiday packages business is growing very rapidly and contributes to over 35% of our revenue. We expect that this will go up to over 50% in the next 18-24 months.” You can compare the prices of tickets on offer, select the more economic option, club

• According to a recently published report by the global research firm eMarketer on the global smartphone penetration, India will exceed 200 million smartphone users, topping the US as the world’s second largest smartphone market by 2016 due to increasing penetration of affordable smart mobile devices in the country.” admit that the percolation of technology has been a tad slower in smaller cities, compared to the metros, but the change is ubiquitous. The online boom

One of the most frontal change has been in 46

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to the available data, in the public domain, online booking and travel accounted for a whopping 71% of the total e-commerce business in India, from 2009-13. “Online booking of hotels has taken off in the last 12 months, and with penetration levels still in low double

flight and hotel booking together to avail extra discounts and all of that with attractive payment options to soothe your budget. However, the online space is not confined to air travel itself. Start-ups like Redbus are a testimony to the growth of online booking in the realm of

dest i n at ion i n di a the bus travel as well. And all of that has now come within the reach of an average Indian, increasingly connected to the internet, thanks to the availability of inexpensive smartphones. Smartphone penetration fuelling growth

According to a recently published report by the global research firm eMarketer on the global smartphone penetration, “India will exceed 200 million smartphone users, topping the US as the world’s second largest smartphone market by 2016 due to increasing penetration of affordable smart mobile devices in the country.” These first time smartphone users are fuelling India’s online travel business like never before. The spillover effect of the first time internet users is not only benefitting the airline and the bus industry but also boosting hotel sales, which are increasingly roping up the service providers to enhance their visibility and sales. Sharat Dhall, further shared that, “With Smartphone penetrations growing rapidly, a huge mass of Indians are accessing the internet for the first time using their mobile devices.” He believes that, “this is also driving growth for online travel and particularly, online hotel bookings. We believe there is a very long runaway of growth for online travel as more and more Indians get access to the internet.” Hotels getting tech-savvy, paving the change

Hospitality industry is yet another important contributor and, also, a beneficiary of the changing landscape of travel and infusion of new technologies. Now, you can choose a room, take a virtual tour, select your packages, make an online payments and pretty much eve-

rything else – through the bounds in the recent times. internet. Taking the innoToday, hotels are providing, SHARAT DHALL vation a step further, some through a highly interactive President, Yatra.com hotels have even beg un website platform, the means providing online check-in to create a unique travel facility through the mobile experience for the customphones, leaving very little to ers. Be it the need to create the reception desk – apart a one-off wedding experifrom may be a customary ence, a corporate meeting greeting and handing of or a personal family affair, the keys to the customer. the hotels are going all out Prasad Iyer, director - ecomto fit to the need of each cusmerce and digital services, tomer. “We have created a Indian sub-continent and highly responsive and adapMaldives, Marriott Internative website that adapts to tional Inc., tells us that it has the device, our customer is become exceedingly imporusing, to provide a highly tant for hotels to create a rewarding and personalized seamless experience for the experience to our patrons,” customers, right from bookshares Prasad. “With Smartphone ing a room to checking out penetrations and everything in-between. Apps erasing language growing rapidly, “We have to create a hosbarrier and giving more a huge mass pitality experience encomhands-on information of Indians are passing all the requirements to the traveller accessing the of a customer, which starts I remember having to struginternet for the from ease in online booking gle in conveying my needs first time using to additional infrastructure to a driver, I had hired in my their mobile like a separate section for trip to Kerala some years devices. This is also keycard collection – once ago. We pretty much comdriving growth for the customer has checked municated through signs in,” shares Prasad. He furand some broken English, online travel and ther says that, “these are which was difficult for him particularly, online bigger changes, but there to fathom. This is a major hotel bookings. are minute yet significant issue, especially, if you are We believe there changes in the room infratravelling to a distant land is a very long structure as well. Like the where English is neither runaway of growth multimedia docking station spoken nor understood – for online travel as to enjoy seamless connecas, for most of us, it remains more and more tivity with the outside world our only link to communiIndians get access through one’s smartphone cate abroad. However, with to the internet.” without hindrance.” the advent of apps like the And these are just the tip Google translator, you can of the iceberg. With deepening internet pen- easily translate any word, sentence or omnietration, constantly innovating markets and present signboards to help yourself in a tricky cut-throat competition, because of a signifi- situation. These apps, which are easy to downcantly aware consumer – the hotels are looking load and use, are changing the way we travel. at some incredible ways to infuse technology Countries like Russia and Eastern Europe, in their day-to-day operation. Prasad believes which are different in language and culture are that enhanced guest service is on the cards now much easier to access and communicate to for every hotel seeking to maintain its reputa- and have, for some of us, eliminated the need tion in a dynamic market space. He shares to look for a translator. that some hotels have even begun providing It would be an interesting research to services like room service, laundry, ordering undertake to figure out the impact of such apps a cab through mobile app. “Service like web- on the growth of new travel destinations, spesite check-in allows people to walk in to their cially, for us Indians. However, we will touch rooms by flashing a barcode on their mobiles, upon more of it, probably, in a separate piece. taking out the plastic cards from the business Another area, worthy of a mention, is the altogether. It has already been introduced by weather app that prepares you for the unseen some hotels,” he tells us. and helps you pack according to your needs. Customization to suit ones travel needs is With accurate and prolonged weather forecastanother aspect that is growing by leaps and ing, a click away on the smartphones, one can July 2015 TourismFirst

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have a trustworthy knowledge of what to expect on their trips. GPS (global positioning system), which started as a militar y application to help armies and ammunitions gain precision in their operations, have also diversif ied and now are becoming a favorite tool of the everyday traveler. A space-based satellite navigation system that provides location and time information in all weather conditions, has eliminated the need to have prior knowledge or expertise of the terrain. It can be easily fitted in a vehicle, can be accessed through mobile phones and has the capacity to work in all weather conditions – has, altogether, carved out a new segment of travelers. People are far more comfortable undertaking a journey to the unknown and it has, to a major extent, also pushed road guides to the oblivion. Seeing is believing, apps molding public opinion

PRASAD IYER

Director - ecommerce and digital services, Indian sub-continent and Maldives, Marriott International Inc.

“We have created a highly responsive and adaptive website that adapts to the device, our customer is using, to provide a highly rewarding and personalized experience to our patrons.”

A lot of us are circumspect of new destinations, unsure of the facilities they provide, types and categories of accommodation available and, of course, the quality and variety of food availability. These issues have become passé with the advent of interactive apps like the Trip advi48

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sor and Zomato, which are always teeming with reviewers sharing their firsthand experience of the hotels, destinations and food. With millions of reviewers and an interactive platform, one can be rest assured of what to expect, minimizing the chances of getting duped. These review sites hold such enormous sway on the public opinion that it would not be wrong to say that they make or break businesses and reputation. “These platforms are extremely important and bring important business to the hotels. Therefore, creating customer satisfaction becomes all the more important in a digital age,” shares Prasad. Transparency in the business of travel, innovation a key to success

Si nce t he advent of t he internet era and consequent digitalization of services, t he big gest benef icia r y has been the traveler. The entire process has created a more competitive market, where facilities have been increased and prices brought down to make oneself visible in a very crowded market. There are a plethora of service providers and this intense competition to grab an eyeball has ensured the multifold increase in the bargaining power of the consumer. There is

no such thing as taking a customer for granted these days. In a bid to ensure that its existing foothold remains intact and it expand, its presence to newer grounds, companies have strived to evolve newer and more attractive mechanisms, leading to an overall spurt in innovation. Customer-centric approach with more add-ons in service, prompt grievance redressal, infusion of more technology in day-today operations are some of the flattering outcomes of the recent developments. Services connecting buyers and sellers

There is a more profound and intimate relation between the service provider and the customer in a digital age. Personalization of service to suit ones need, tailor- making travel packages, inclusion of specific services on demand and a more direct connection between the two, has created a more personal and a gratifying experience for the consumer. The service providers are more alert and adaptive to the needs of the consumer. This bonhomie has also wiped off middlemen, bringing down prices and, consequently, fuelling more travel. What to expect, ahead, as a traveller?

Well, firstly one can expect a lot of innovation and personalization of service, and the process has already begun. The world of apps will continue to drive the change, taking new forms, and integrating more and more services to give it a unified and one-stop shop look and feel. One can expect the growth of newer markets and territories as technology bring them closer to us than ever before. The interesting times have just begun. We can expect a more dynamic market and happier traveler in the near future. By SHASHANK SHEKHAR

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MP Tourism to invite bids for land parcels for tourism development Roping in private sector in developing new products in the state is an integral part of Madhya Pradesh tourism long-drawn strategy and the process will be set afoot by this month end.

adhya Pradesh (MP) tourism is all set to roll out the process of roping in private sector for the basic tourism amenities development in the state. The initiative is aligned to the amended tourism policy of 2014 which had doled out a host of incentives and concessions for the private sector participation in setting up hotels, resorts and other tourism products. As part of the process, the government has earmarked land parcels at over 15 tourism-centric locations in the state and around the end of this month bids will be invited from the private parties for land banks at three locations. “We are seeking aggressive private sector participation in

cels offered before the end of this month would amount to nearly 60 acres and they will be leased out to the players interested in setting up hotels, resorts and other wayside amenities. “The tender which we will float before the end of this month will mark the beginning of a long-drawn exercise. It will be an ongoing process from our end,” Lohani added. The list of land banks identified at over 15 locations by the MP government also include parcels around its capital Bhopal and its major business hub Indore and they are likely to comprise the next lot of land bank offering to the private sector. At the last mega Global Investors Summit held in Indore in 2014, the MP government had

• MP tourism which is celebrating 2015 as “Visit Madhya Pradesh Year” is all geared up to up the ante in the near to medium run with a new series of radio jingle and television commercials – something which has worked exceptionally well for it in the past. our tourism sector and for this we have identified land banks at nearly 17 locations in the state. Before the end of this month, we will be inviting bids for land parcels at three locations – Indira Saga r, M a ndu , a nd Sa nch i,” Ashwani Lohani, MD & Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) told TourismFirst on the sidelines of a seminar in Delhi recently. On a cumulative basis, the size of the land par-

informed the investors fraternity that a staggering 407 hectares of land bank has been earmarked for tourism related projects (five-star hotels, water-related activities, golf course, resorts, and amusement parks) at key destinations like Sanchi, Orchha, Khajuraho, Indirasagar, Gandhi Sagar and Ban Sagar which will be offered to the private sector on the basis of a competitive bidding process. While offering land banks to the private sector for tourism pro-

ASHWANI LOHANI MD and Commissioner, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC)

We are seeking aggressive private sector participation in our tourism sector and for this we have identified land banks at nearly 17 locations in the state. Before the end of this month, we will be inviting bids for land parcels at three locations – Indira Sagar, Mandu, and Sanchi jects is part of a long-term product enhancement process, MP tourism which is celebrating 2015 as “Visit Madhya Pradesh Year” is all geared up to up the ante in the near to medium run with a new series of radio jingle and television com-

mercials – something which has worked exceptionally well for it in the past. It has launched a new 60 second radio jingle composed and sung by noted Bollywood music director Anand Raj Anand. “We are working on the video version of this jingle and it will be ready in the next 45 days,” Lohani added. Meanwhile, as the state is bracing up to organise the mega Simhasta Mahakumbh next year in Ujjain which is estimated to see an additional footfall of a staggering 5 crore pilgrims, the urgency to strengthen the safety and security mechanism for tourists in key destinations has also become a top priority. “We have set up tourist police stations in 12 destinations in recent weeks and more such units are in the offing,” Lohani informed. The state which is driven by the vision to emerge as India’s topmost tourism state (refer to our story: ‘Madhya Pradesh positions for number one tourism state in the country’ published in June edition), is chasing another significant near-run target – to upgrade most of its hotels (around 35) to three-star category. Lohani said. “Eight of our properties are presently classified as three-star hotels. We intend to upgrade another 20 to 22 units to be classified as three-star properties in the net one year. This will make us the one of the leading three-star chains in the country,” Lohani remarked. By RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

Foreign tourists at Jai Palace, Jaipur

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Night products launched, new policy initiated in Rajasthan It may have been one of those usual busy days for S K Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Rajasthan Tourism when TourismFirst caught up with him at his first floor secretariat office last month in the pink city. His guest room was packed, some even waiting outside in the lobby and inside his chamber he was huddled in a meeting with the senior officials of Rajasthan Tourism. In short, the area around room no 4122 of the new secretariat building was a beehive of activities. Interestingly, Aggarwal spoke to TourismFirst with his meeting continuing (almost as if speaking on the sidelines) explaining how the traditional tourism powerhouse is seeking to rediscover its magic.

he usual judgement of Rajasthan Tourism’s performance could easily be equated with expectations from a player of Sachin Tendulkar’s calibre and class. During his peak days, spectators always wanted to see him touching the magical three figure mark every time he was out in the middle. Anything less than that was the reason for national disappointment. If things are viewed from this analogical prism, then the faring of Rajasthan Tourism in last five-six years is broadly looked upon as a lean patch. A traditional magnet of Indian Tourism, the observers often point out that in recent years it has not done enough to innovate and build on its inimitable tourism profile where history and culture are the major pillars. In a statistical sense, Rajasthan occupies seventh rank in domestic arrivals and fifth rank in the list of foreign tourists’ arrivals in the country (as per Ministry of Tourism arrival figures data, 2013). Those who know what Rajasthan tourism is all about, this certainly is not a satisfactory performance.

S K Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Rajasthan Tourism

PHOTO: RITWIK SINHA

Ready for re-invention Mention this perception to Aggarwal and he does not make any attempt to duck. “Probably it is true. Most of the outsiders would believe that not much has happened in last 5-7 years. May be we got complacent and did not do enough in marketing and promotion. It is so important to keep the buzz alive. But things will change very fast in the near run,” he says. The last bit of his statement holds a lot of significance, a confirmation of a fast emerging theory that the present state government which had taken over one and half years back has brought in a fresh impetus to pull the wheels of Rajasthan tourism out of the stagnant zone. There have been vibrant pointers to this in the recent past. The most formidable push seems to have been provided by this year’s state budget which provisioned for a staggering 68 percent jump in the allocation to tourism, art and culture. The total provision made was a commendable

“In a way, we are indeed seeking a re-invention. If I have to explain the cornerstones of our new strategy, it has three pillars – reinvention, aggressive marketing and tourist facilitation. July 2015 TourismFirst

dest i n at ion i n di a `244 crore, out of which `38 crore has been earmarked for promotion alone – something that has been perceived as Rajasthan Tourism’s Achilles Heels in the recent years. Another `35 crore has been set aside for development of tourism infrastructure at noted destinations and a provision of `20 crore has been made for development of new museums. Among the new attractions which Rajasthan intends to add to its portfolio include a new tiger safari in Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, new biological park in Bikaner, herbal garden at Jaipur-Pushkar bypass and Srimit Van in Nolakhha, Jhala-

aim to add valuable products supplementing its established base. “In a way, we are indeed seeking a re-invention. Going ahead, there would be a conscious effort to present the combo of our traditional as well as innovative products. If I have to explain the cornerstones of our new strategy, it has three pillars – reinvention, aggressive marketing and tourist facilitation.”

Expectations from the new unit tourism policy Rajasthan tourism is hopeful that a much liberalised New Unit Tourism Policy, 2015

Housing (UDH) & Local Self Government (LSG), Panchayati Raj, etc. It clearly has a primary objective of giving a facelift to the rural tourism segment in the state as it paves the way for heritage hotels in rural abadi/ panchayat areas. The new unit centric policy which replaces the guidelines issued in 2007 brings under its umbrella more categories of tourism products – budget hotels, heritage hotels, resorts, golf courses, adventure sports, health resort spa, camping sites, restaurants, amusement parks, animal safari, etc. The icing on the cake is: no land conversion charges will

The iconic Amber Fort is now also open for Night Tourism

• Rajasthan tourism is hopeful that a much liberalised New Unit Tourism Policy, 2015 which was formally initiated last month will be that critical catalyst which will invigorate the tourism sector in the state in the coming years. As the term implies, the focus of this policy is to facilitate creation of new tourism centric units in a seamless manner. war. The pro-tourism orientation of this year’s budget has been further carried in Rajasthan Tourism Unit Policy 2015 which was unveiled last month. It tends to further simplify the procedures to attract private investments in the tourism sector. These policy initiatives are indicative of the government’s intention to push Rajasthan tourism in the high growth zone in the near to medium run. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has set quite an ambitious target as one of her recent comments underline, “We expect a quantum jump in the tourist arrivals – with foreign tourists going up from 1.5 million to 2.5 million and domestic tourists from 33 million to 50 million by 2018.” According to Aggarwal, Rajasthan Tourism is clearly on a re-invention mode wherein it will 54

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which was formally initiated last month will be that critical catalyst which will invigorate the tourism sector in the state in the coming years. As the term implies, the focus of this policy is to facilitate creation of new tourism centric units in a seamless manner. It tends to address issues relating to time bound conversion of land for tourism units including new hotels and heritage hotels, time bound approval of building plans, grant of Patta to heritage hotels, allotment of land for tourism units on DLC (District Level Committee) rates, applicability of Rajasthan Investment Promotion Scheme, 2014 (R IPS-2014) for tourism units and smooth and speedy implementation of the provisions of related departments like Revenue, Urban Development and

be levied for establishment of a tourism unit in urban as well as in rural areas. Furthermore, no development charges will be imposed on the private promoters of tourism units. To push the development expeditiously, the new unit policy has fixed a deadline of 60 days for clearing an application for conversion of land for tourism unit. “We have brought in place a very progressive policy which will make private investment in tourism hassle free. We have taken care to remove the existing bottlenecks and this policy will definitely give a major push in improving the basic tourism infrastructure in the state,” Aggarwal says. Meanwhile, statistics prove that private investors in the past have usually looked favourably putting in their money in Rajasthan’s tour-

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Vasundhara Raje, Rajasthan Chief Minister

“We expect a quantum jump in the tourist arrivals – with foreign tourists going up from 1.5 million to 2.5 million and domestic tourists from 33 million to 50 million by 2018.” ism businesses. According to Aggarwal, MoUs worth `12,500 crore were signed for the tourism sector centric investment between 2007 to 2014. “Of course, the entire quantum approved did not come through. But total investments which materialised is in the range of `4,0005,000 crore and this is not a small number. And after this new unit policy, we are confident of attracting more investments in the coming years,” he adds. After new provisions in place, the tourism sector is expected to be a major attraction at the mega Resurgent Rajasthan summit to be held later this year. The state government has already made it clear that tourism alongwith textiles, mining and minerals, non-conventional energy and ceramics and electronics will be a thrust area at this summit which will see participation of leading investors from all corners of the world.

New products, partnership with Railways Rajasthan Tourism’s claim of product innova-

tion in the near run also seems to veer around the broader idea of further harnessing its existing strongholds. Jaipur, the fulcrum destination of the state known for its forts and palaces, is slated to witness opening of a new avenue in the form of facilitation of night tourism. The world renowned Amber Fort is now open for tourists in the night too (earlier it was closed in the evening) and the same facility would be extended to three other noted monuments. “The product innovation which we are seeking also includes making the most of the existing monuments. And we understand that night viewing facility would make them all the more experiential for the tourists. That is why we have started night tourism at Amber Fort and before the beginning of the next tourist season, this facility will be extended to three more products in the pink city – Albert Hall Museum, Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal,” Aggarwal informs. To improve accessibility to the far-flung areas for tourists, Rajasthan Tourism is now also getting the support from the Railways Ministry. Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu had v isited the state last month committing that the Railways Ministry will provide all possible support in connecting remote areas within the state which may have immense tourism potential. During his visit, the Railways Minister had also promised that his ministry and the state government together will be forming a company to explore the tourism potential in the state and address the rail-related issues in a better way. According to Aggarwal, the new partnership forged with the Railways Ministry is quite significant and the difference which it could make will soon become visible. “We are now closely co-operating with the Railways Ministry to improve accessibility within the state for tourists coming from the outside. As a part of this exercise, Railways Ministry has agreed to add special coaches for tourists in the existing trains plying between Mavli to Marwar Junctions and Kamlighat to Phulad. There would be more initiatives of this nature in association with the Ministry of Railways in the near to medium run,” Aggarwal points out. Rajasthan government is also keen to add a new vista to the pink city’s profile – turning it into an attractive MICE destination in the country. In fact, a beginning has already been made with the opening of Jaipur Exhibition and Convention Centre (JECC) last year. Built on a sprawling land parcel of 42 acres, JECC boasts of a 110,000 square feet exhibition centre and a 30,000 square feet convention space. Billed as one of the largest convention centers in the country, JECC’s management rights has been given to Accor Hotels. “Mak ing Jaipur a MICE hub is a

S K Aggarwal, Principal Secretary, Rajasthan Tourism

“The product innovation which we are seeking also includes making the most of the existing monuments. And we understand that night viewing facility would make them all the more experiential for the tourists. That is why we have started night tourism at Amber Fort.” clear priority for us. With this Sitapura unit (JECC), the city has already taken a decisive step in that direction. We are now also eyeing to have another unit in Jhalana- Doongri pocket with the help of private investment,” informs Aggarwal. Rajasthan Tourism is also waiting for the release of funds for nine major tourism infrastructure projects which was approved by the Union Tourism Ministry last year as part of its Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS). The amount approved is to the tune of `97.50 crore for some major projects including development of a Mega Desert Circuit ( JaisalmerJodhpur-Bikaner-Sambhar-Pali-Mount Abu); Sawai Madhopur-Karauli; Sahelion ki Baoli at Udaipur; and Hadoti Circuit by connecting Jhalawar-Baran-Bundi. “These projects will have long-term implications. We will kickstart them once the funds are released,” says Aggarwal. A sense of urgency is clearly visible to rejig Rajasthan Tourism and Aggarwal and his team seems to be committed to push the envelope to make it happen. But will the results (read incremental numbers) be as expeditious as the chief minister would like it to be – an increase of one million in foreign tourist arrivals and nearly two million more footfalls from the domestic circuit over and above the existing base in the next three years. Pose this question to Aggarwal and he presents an interesting take: “Footfall numbers can never be projected. But given our new focused approach, I have no doubt that we can attain those numbers. Last year, our total arrival numbers grew by nine percent and we can certainly further build on that with our new initiatives,” he concludes. By RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

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Kerala in the Mon

PHOTO: TANMOY DAS

As the rain rejuvenates the surreal beauty of the ‘God’s Own Country’, one more time, it wears a pristine look as seen from the quintessential boat house. Kerala, too, is catching up as a year-round destination which includes the monsoon season. After Goa, it is Kerala’s turn!

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i n t er nat iona l ADVENTURE SPORTS

Egyptian Tourism bets big on adventure sports

After political unrest during the early part of the decade and terrorism related troubles in its neighborhood impacted arrivals in the country in the recent years, Egypt is making a comeback of sorts. It is betting big on adventure sports to get back the right arrival numbers. A slew of initiatives in the recent weeks built around noted adventure sports legends have given the right vibrations. To begin with, the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism has decided to sponsor World Champion of Kiteboarding Karolina Winkowska will promote the country as a distinguished adventure tourism destination. An

agreement to this effect was signed between Egyptian Tourist Authority and kiteboarding world champion in Cairo recently. The agreement marks an extension of the association between Karolina and Egyptian Tourist Authority who was on board last year too to promote the country as an adventure tourism destination. Meanwhile, the famous Egyptian motorbike enthusiast Omar Mansour, has also been roped in by the Egyptian Tourism in its sports linked promotional drive. Mansour has embarked on a motorbike journey from Egypt to the Arctic spreading the goodwill message of the agency. The trip is supposed to pass

by a number of European countries including Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany and Austria. During his trip, Amro will participate in a series of workshops and lectures to highlight the huge attractions available in Egypt especially for adventurers,

divers, and sportspeople. Egypt is also sending all is normal message through unique events and activities helping it in drawing the attention of global travellers community again. The new offering which has been recently unveiled –a new eating table line which can accommodate 10,000 people – has also been a huge draw.

E-VISA

Kenya rolls out the red carpet, launches e-visa facility

MEKONG CALLING

Mekong tourism backs quality, seeks community engagement

eginning July, Kenya is set to launch an extremely friendly visa policy. Unlike in the past when Indians were able to get their visa on arrival in Nairobi or Mombasa, intending visitors will now have to apply for an e-Visa in advance, with processing days taking as much as a week. Upon a sustained intervention from tourism stakeholders, a grace period has been extended but only for two months, during which time tourists and business travelers arriving at one of the two international airports can still get their visa on arrival, but effective September 1, this dual mode will be scrapped and only the e-Visa process will be available. Travellers can apply for entry visas via a dedicated portal at www.ecitizen.go.ke from 2 July 2015. The e-visa process will then become compulsory from 1st September.

TourismFirst July 2015

“U

nlocking the potential of the GMS via innovative partnerships,” the latest edition of the Mekong Tourism Forum hosted by the city of Da Nang in Central Viet Nam attracted some of the best specialists of the region. They gathered to debate the future of tourism in the Mekong region. The four-day event included a marketing workshop, an investment summit, a social media boot camp, and the main symposium. Jens Thraenhart, Executive Director of the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO) said: “The new format aimed to bring experts together to collaborate in producing

engaging sessions to ensure a sustainable growth and responsible development of the Greater Mekong Subregion.” During the forum, there was good news on the visa front. In his welcome address at the official launching of the MTF Symposium, Viet Nam National Administration Chairman, Nguyễn Văn Tuấn, announced that five western European countries - France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK- would be included into the list of countries benefiting from a visa exemption for Viet Nam, joining a list of 18 other countries, which already enjoy no-visa-required status for the country.

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EXHIBITION

ROBOTS summer exhibition draws attention in Ireland

ne of Europe’s largest privately owned collections of robots, cyborgs and androids have arrived at Titanic Belfast for its ROBOTS Summer exhibition, which will run up to 13th September 2015. The collection of movie props and costumes, including Iron Man, R2-D2 and T-800 from Terminator, which are on loan from the Museum of Movie Magic, Scotland, have taken center stage at Titanic Belfast’s ROBOTS exhibition. It is expected that thousands will travel from far and wide to enjoy the eclectic collection from props used on-screen to personal robots, toys and sculptures. With over 50 robots on display, the exhibition has something for children and adults alike. Film fans won’t be disappointed with Sonny from I, Robot, the B9

robot from Lost in Space and the cyborg RoboCop on the bill. Enduring family favorites such as the stars from Star Trek, Red Dwarf and Robby the Robot from Forbidden Plant are also on display. For those who prefer ‘the dark side’, robots like ABC robot from Judge Dredd and a Sontaran from Doctor W ho are awaiting Northern Ireland visitors at the largest ROBOT exhibition in Northern Ireland. Don Jack, curator of the ROBOTS exhibition, “We are delighted to bring ROBOTS to Titanic Belfast. People find our collections totally fascinating. Folks just love to see the items, particularly the iconic pieces. I can’t imagine a more spectacular setting for the blockbuster ROBOTS than Titanic Belfast.”

ART EXHIBITION

Louvre to showcase its latest additions in Abu Dhabi

RWANDA CALLING

Rwanda woos Indian tourists and Investors

he High Commission of Rwanda in India and RDB - Rwanda Development Board organized a “Remarkable Rwanda” evening, its first business seminar in India for travel agents and potential investors at Hotel Eros in Delhi. The seminar showcased Rwanda, the land of a thousand hills and a million smiles, a country located in the heart of Africa, known for its unity, political stability, good governance and promising future and one of the greatest wild life experiences. In 2014, Indians were the 2nd largest visitors to Rwanda after Americans”. Joseph Kabakeza, the first Counselor, Deputy Head of mission, High Commission of Rwanda, said “We want to tap the potential of Indian tourists and investors to Rwanda. He highlighted Rwanda's eco-

nomic progress in the last decade as well as the policies put in place to stimulate tourism in the country. He mentioned Safety, Cleanness and Zero tolerance on corruption as the main reason to visit and invest in Rwanda. The diplomats at the Q & A session promised to be more pro-active with FAM trips, media promotion of the destination and road shows in major cities in the near future. The event also showcased traditional Rwandan music and dance performances. Abraham John, Executive Chairman of Inspiration Unlimited stated “We are very happy to be associated with the High Commission of Rwanda in India and RDB in Kigali, Rwanda … this association is just the beginning of many more exciting ventures in the days ahead.”

ontinuing the display of its collection to the public ahead of opening, Louvre Abu Dhabi will show the latest additions in Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories. Taking place at Manarat Al Saadiyat from 21 June to 30 August 2015. The showcase of the new acquisitions will be divided into two displays Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories: Al Qalam (21 June – 25 July 2015) and Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories: Immortal Figures (28 July – 30 August 2015). Both presentations will include the important Fayoum portrait, a fine example of an Egyptian funerary painting that would traditionally have been placed on the face of a mummified body. The first display, Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories: Al Qalam, will run from 21 June to 25 July 2015 and will explore the art of the written word, featuring a broad selection of textual artworks including a Qur’an bifolio, miniatures, and a manuscript. The second display, Louvre Abu Dhabi Stories:Immortal Figures, will run from 28 July to 30 August 2015 and is a celebration of sculptures from across the globe. This selection will include a wooden carving Uli statue from New Ireland, a Nepalese gilt copper figure of Maitreya, and an Italian bust of Saint Peter Martyr. The selected artworks that will be shown during the two displays were acquired in 2014 as part of the ongoing acquisitions for Louvre Abu Dhabi. Dr. Celine Pouyat, Senior Project Manager, Louvre Abu Dhabi, commented that: “The objects on display exemplify how artworks created by different civilisations can complement one another in their composition, style and representation. Together, these artistic creations can be considered as a harmonised symphony.” July 2015 TourismFirst

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Hilltop Carcassonne, in southern France’s Languedoc region, is a medieval citadel famous for its 53 watchtowers and double-walled fortifications. The first walls of the upper town, Le Cité, were built in Gallo-Roman times; major additions were made in the 13th and 14th centuries. Château Comtal, a 12th-century fortress within Le Cité, offers archaeological exhibits and a tour of the inner ramparts.

TourismFirst July 2015

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The French Midi

THIS TOURIST AREA IS AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT OF THE COMPOSITE TOURISM PRODUCT OF FRANCE idi is a less formal word for the South of France and best describes some of its simpler, more secluded corners, beyond the f low of mainstream tourism. The department of the Hérault in the region of LanguedocRoussillon offers an attractive starting point for a journey to discover the tranquil beauty of the Midi in springtime and early summer. This is an area which enjoys a Mediterranean climate and a wide diversity of geology and landscape. It is traversed by many rivers, which start their journey in the mountains of the Massif Central or the Pyrenees. They carve gorges in the craggy rocks, spread out and slow down in the valleys, meander across the plains and finally make their way to the Mediterranean coast. Three important rivers are the Aude, the Orb and the Hérault. The Gorges of the River Hérault in the Cévennes mountains

are the most spectacular and well worth a visit, while the valley of the River Orb offers a scenic route to the picturesque old villages and hamlets perched among the foothills. Of these Roquebrun is one of the most beautiful, popular with local visitors who come to swim in the river and picnic on its banks. One can climb up the winding streets, past the colourful village houses to the church, or up to the tower, all that remains of the 9th century fortress built to guard against invasions from the south. That danger has passed but many of the towers are still there, watching over the villages. Bridges are another common feature but most are more recent, dating from the 19th century. An exception is the Devil’s Bridge, built in the 12th century. It is one of the historic monuments to be found in Olargues, considered to be the most perfect example of the medieval villages.

July 2015 TourismFirst

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Panoramic view of Carcassone Fort from the viewpoint on the expressway that connects the town with the rest of France.

St. Pierre cathedral in Montpellier with its impressive canopy porch supported by two monumental cylindrical pillars (4.55 m in diameter!), which formerly bore the coat of arms of Urbain V. a must to see.

A french speciality cheese maker at the Saint Chinian farmers market.

Olargues

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Idyllic pony cart ride down the memory lanes of historic town of Bezier.

Wine tasting at a local vineyard near Montpellier as the ritual of wine tours in France.

Up the pretty, steep and historic lanes and biplanes of Roquebrun.

For more than 20 years, France has consistently been the most visited country on Earth. And while few would deny its allures – the beauty of Paris, the charms of Provence, the country’s well-respected wines and legendary cuisine – it is perhaps less evident why it has stayed so far out ahead of the pack for so long in a world that is now arguably full of equally wonderful travel destinations. “France has become synonymous with romance, worldclass cuisine and history and culture with travelers around the world,” Michael Gehrisch, president and CEO of the Destination Marketing Association International said. "But to say this happens by chance would be an insult to the work of organizations like the France Tourism Development Agency. The government has made tourism investment a priority, and the country has one of the world's most robust transportation infrastructures because of this.” France is the world’s top tourist destination (with 84.7 million foreign tourists in 2013) and tourism is a key sector of its economy, accounting for more than 7% of GDP and two million direct and indirect jobs. The French Foreign Minister has set the next target at 100 million foreign tourists a year by 2020. France ranks third in terms of tourism-related revenue, totalling over €42 billion a year. Strengthening and expanding the tourism offer to increase revenue is therefore a major issue. The tourism sector also needs to adapt to rise to the competition of other countries and benefit from the growth in global tourist flows. These are set to double in 20 years, from 980 million to 1.8 billion international tourists a year in 2030. In this context, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development is seeking to strengthen France’s attractiveness and outreach. July 2015 TourismFirst

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Panoramic view of Roquebrun town from across the river Orb.

Languedoc-Roussillon is an area soaked in history and this is nowheremore evident than in Carcassonne, whose fortified medieval Cité is a World Heritage site. As one approaches the town by road the Cité floats over the landscape in all its splendour as if rising from the mists of time.

The French entertainer at the Saint Chinian market reminds the spring is here.

The old stone buildings reflect the local colours: deep ochres and reds and purplish grey. This is the earth of the hills and valleys where winegrowers have been producing their grapes since feudal times. Good red wine is still the main product of the region. In April the vines are sending out their first shoots and green is the prevailing colour: bright new leaves and stalks and the luminous green of the rivers. Springtime also brings the pinks and purples of wild flowers, the fragile white of cherry blossom, yellow gorse, scarlet poppies and blue morning mists rising over the valley. The towns too are filled with colour, especially on market days when local products and craftwork attract people from all around. The French know how to enjoy life and are famous for their excellent cuisine. Good cooking demands good, fresh ingredients and the market stalls are filled with fruit and vegetables in season. The Midi is known for its olives, which are well displayed and offered with pride, alongside stalls with wide selections of loaves and cheeses. Languedoc-Roussillon is an area soaked in history and this is nowhere more evident than in Carcassonne, whose fortified medieval Cité is a World Heritage site. As one approaches the town by road the Cité floats over the landscape in all its splendour as if rising from the mists of time. It tempts us to draw near, enter its walls, and walk back into history along its busy, cobbled streets. Montpellier, on the other hand, feels like a place with a future. Its economy and population are growing fast and this is reflected in its lively atmosphere. It is a thriving cultural centre and a university town with a large student population. Its graceful architecture lends harmony to the life of its inhabitants, by day or by night. Text by GRACE Mc CORMICK, photographs by TANMOY DAS

TourismFirst July 2015

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China registers strong growth in International Outbound

A recent Hotels.com Chinese International travel monitor highlights that affluent travellers’ are fuelling a twenty percent growth in Chinese outbound segment. The growth in numbers indicate China’s growing prosperity, as the young and rich flock to high-end destinations.

he Hotels.com Chinese International Travel Monitor 2015 has given the global hotel industry a reason to cheer. As per the Hotels.com’s latest major annual study – which gives a detailed insights into how outbound travel movements by mainland Chinese are impacting the global travel industry – the tech-savvy, younger and more aff luent Chinese form a substantial part of the twenty percent growth in outbound mainland Chinese travellers. The number in 2014 was 107 million. The report – which is a combination of data from more than 3,000 Chinese international travellers and 1,500 Hotels.com hotel respondents – also brings forth some suggestions for the hoteliers. The wish list of the travellers’ include the need for Chinese-speaking staff, Chinese-language tourist guides and dedicated websites. Abhiram Chowdhry, Vice President and Managing Director Asia Pacific for the Hotels.com brand, touched upon the need for a more enriching outreach, he said: “Hotels.com’s latest report reveals several themes

emerging, not least the expanding influence of Chinese ‘millennial’ travellers, an increasingly more affluent Chinese traveller, and the explosion in the use of technology, in particular mobile, as part of the accommodation research and booking process. Many Hoteliers have already recognized the benefits of free Wi-Fi as well as Chinese-language information and booking websites.”

Increasing influence of ‘millennials’ The Hotels.com CITM identifies the growing influence of Gen Y travellers – the so-called techsavvy ‘millennials’ aged 18 to 35. Fifty-nine percent of hoteliers surveyed say they’ve experienced an increase in Chinese guests aged 35 or under in the past year and they expect this trend to continue to grow. T he g row t h i s es pec ia l ly strong in the Asia Pacific region, where 78 percent of hoteliers reported an increase. Using the internet to research and book overseas trips has become the nor m for Ch i nese travel lers,

while the use of mobile phones for planning and booking their travel has skyrocketed. In the past 12 months, 80 percent of Chinese travellers have used an online device including mobiles, desktops and laptops to plan and book travel, compared with only 53 percent last year. Half of all Chinese international travellers now use apps on their smart phones to plan and book trips, up from just 17 percent the year prior. S ome ot her k e y f i nd i ng s include the fact that Australia, Japan and France are the top three

ing May 2015 was conducted. Responses were received from A rgentina, Austra l ia, Brazi l, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK and the USA. Additionally, according to report Chinese length of stay by destination per outbound trip is around 10 nights in India per visit. The ref lections of the report are worthy of a serious considera-

• The reflections of the report are worthy of a serious consideration. The report gives an opportunity to understand the emerging consumer behavior of one of the biggest markets in the world. countries Chinese travelers intend to visit in next twelve months and the top 10 percent of Chinese travellers spent an average of per night on hotels alone. For the opinion of hoteliers, a global survey of more than 1,500 Hotels.com hotel partners dur-

tion. The report gives an opportunity to understand the emerging consumer behaviuor of one of the biggest markets in the world. It also, should, make us think harder to understand and eliminate the reasons for India’s omission from their itinerary. July 2015 TourismFirst

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CROATIA

Indian outbound to grow in the near future, says Ambassador Amir Muharemi

Croatian Ambassador to India, H.E Amir Muharemi is optimistic about Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tourism outbound to his country. He believes that the growing middle class will fuel the market which has enormous opportunity for growth. An exclusive with him on a plethora of issues, his plans for the Indian market and the scope of bilateral ties ahead.

JEAN-MICHEL CASSE

Senior Vice President, Accor India

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i n t er nat iona l What is the profile of Croatia as a tourism destination? What do you promote as a product, to whom, and with what success?

Croatia is a Mediterranean country at the Adriatic Sea. Croatian coastal topography has an undulating coastline with 1,247 islands. Due to very good road infrastructure in place lot of European tourists are frequenting Croatia with their cars as the Croatian coast is just 3-5 hours’ drive from Central Europe. Croatia has very good touristic infrastructure. Hotels in Croatia are located in center of towns and villages so that the tourists are not only enjoying natural beauty and climate but simultaneously mingling with the locals as well. Croatian tourism is very successful and we are expecting growth levels of 5-7% this year comparing to previous year figures. Yearly Croatia is visited by 12 million tourists. How has tourism been doing in Croatia? How is the present Euro crisis affecting tourism to your country?

Like mentioned earlier, tourism is doing very well. Present European crisis has not affected tourism at all. Unfortunately, due to problems in Greece, it is possible that some tourists prefer to come to Croatia. What is India's contribution to your tourism arrivals? Are we growing as a market? What do you see as India's potential and for what reason?

India’s contribution is very low and there is a huge potential of growth that exists between our two friendly nations. India is growing as a market for Croatian tourists. India’s potential is enormous because of its wider emerging middle class. We see outbound growth both to be prominent and significant in future as Indian tourists will more and more discover Croatia additionally to their traditional visit destinations. We know that up to 10,000 Indian tourists are coming to Croatia in different ways either through organized ship cruiser tours, or group tours and so on that run across different European countries that includes Croatia as one of the listed exotic places to visit. Cinema is a big attraction for destination promoters. Are you also in this business of promoting Croatia as a location friendly country? And which producers have been frequenting your country for film shootings?

Yes. As a location friendly nation this year Yash Raj Films were shooting in Dubrovnik, Croatia their forthcoming movie release “FAN” starring Shah Rukh Khan releasing April 15, 2016. In fact, we have put several Indian film producers to connect directly with the Croatian film community for providing

India’s contribution is very low and there is a huge potential of growth that exists between our two friendly nations. India is growing as a market for Croatian tourists. India’s potential is enormous because of its wider emerging middle class. them with future possibilities to this regard. Croatian Ministry of Finance provides very good rebates to filming fraternity. So I believe that financial incentives will be playing an important part for the future of Bollywood film producers coming to Croatia. This is a cash rebate scheme for film and television productions made in Croatia, available from January 2012. The rebate applies to Feature Films, Documentaries, Short Films, Television Drama and Animation and does not apply to Commercials, Reality, Game Shows and Soaps. Projects can derive a benefit of up to 20% of their qualifying expenditure, which is based on the cost of Croatian cast and crew working in Croatia, as well as goods and services purchased in Croatia. What are your plans for the India market?

We are confident that the Croatian National Tourist Board will be more present in India and I hope that our Croatian tourist agencies and the Indian tourist agencies who are already actively working on establishing direct contact with each other will be providing products which would be of interest to discerning Indian travellers. What about investment opportunities

for Indian tourism industry to do business in Croatia? What are the policy highlights that may benefit Indian investment?

I sincerely hope that in future maybe the Indian hotel chains will invest, buy and build hotels on the Croatian coasts because it is very natural to do so in order for developing and enhancing the existing hotel chain brands. Direct investments into Croatia are stipulated by favourable laws that are promoting investments into the Republic of Croatia. Your country and India have enjoyed age old ties. How do you see this relationship going forward when the world is renewing old associations and forging new ones?

Since times of former Yugoslavia, we inherited good relations but the new world, new products and new relationships are asking for newer approaches for the next generation. I am confident that our business communities not only in tourism but also in other sectors will find expansion of sound business to business relations for mutual benefits and future successful cooperation and collaboration. by NAVIN BERRY July 2015 TourismFirst

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NEPAL TOURISM THE CHALLENGE TO RISE FROM THE PERCEPTION RUBBLE There is no truth. There is only perception. Gustave Flaubert

s Nepal in general and Nepal Tourism in particular has begun picking up pieces after that devastating earthquake on April 25th which left 9000 dead, it is increasingly realising the veracity of what the noted French novelist of 19th century Gustave Flaubert had said pertaining to truth and its inability to defeat perception. For over a month after the earthquake, the images of a destroyed Himalayan Kingdom flashed across millions of drawing rooms in the world catered by a section of media (including Indian agencies) creating the impression that the country has been pushed to a point of no return. But as Nepalese government and its tourism ministry in partnership with stakeholders in the business braces to put up a determined fight to dilute the perception, they seem to have plenty on their platter today to showcase that the nation can come back much expeditiously than what anybody in the outside world would imagine. Extent of Damage

With tourism being one of the mainstays of the Nepal economy, the impact of earthquake 70

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and the negative perception resulting from it has obviously meant getting hit where it hurts the most. In 2014, Nepal had received about 8,00,000 foreign tourists earning around $1.6 billion. Nothing surprising, as the recovery process picks up the momentum, there is a major concentration to send the message loud and clear that Nepal tourism assets are by and large intact. Nepal Tourism has undertaken an evaluation of the state of its tourism products two months after the earthquake and the results clearly defy the general feeling of gloom. “The popular perception is that Nepal and Nepal tourism are not in good shape. But as our evaluation exercise underlines, this impression is far from the ground reality. Out of our 75 districts, only 11 have been affected by the recent earthquake. There has been no damage to any highway or airport or even a road bridge. Out of our eight heritage sites, only one has been completely damaged. So the abject devastation which you have seen on your television screens does not exist there,” said Tulasi Prasad Gautam, Director General, Nepal Tourism while speaking to Indian tourism stakeholders in Delhi recently (refer to the graph). The evaluation results have some other significant pointers. For instance, only 3 out of 35 trekking routes have been affected; only 3 out of 18 national parks have been damaged, and

when it comes to the hospitality section, only a handful of units have been forced to a closure. “95 percent of all hotels are functioning normally,” points out Ashok Pokharel, President, Nepal Association of Tour Operators (NATO). Nepal Tourism’s conventional strongholds – Lumbini ( the birthplace of Lord Buddha), the eclectic Pokhara valley, the Chitwan National Park, and the famous Pashupati Nath Temple which is the major attraction for Indian tourists are also unscathed. “We in Nepal are calling it a miracle that nothing has happened to Pashupati Nath Temple,” Gautam adds. There has been another specific survey undertaken by Miyamoto International, a global earthquake engineering firm, which says that the accommodation facilities along the popular trekking trails of Annapurna and Everest have been partially affected – to the tune of a minuscule 4% in the case of Annapurna and 15% for Everest. These facilities, in the past, have been very popular with the high-end tourists from long-haul destinations coming mainly to participate in adventure sports. These recent findings highlight that there is a big gap between the perception and reality pertaining to the extent of damage due to April earthquake and aftermath shocks. Krishna Prasad Dhakal, a senior official in Nepal Embassy in Delhi, explains the divide

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in these words: “I had gone to my country a month after the earthquake fearing to see devastation all around as Indian channels had reported. But while travelling a stretch of 16 km from the airport to my destination, I could notice only two tilted buildings.” Betting big on India

Nepal tourism, therefore, has the empirical evidence today that all is not lost for the Himalayan nation and its tourism stakeholders. “From tourism standpoint, I would say that the impact has not been too grave. Some damages can be fixed expeditiously. But more than physical infrastructure, the bigger battle for us at least in the next one year is to fight the negative perception. We have almost begun our fight from a zero base level,” Pokharel says. As part of combating the perception exercise, Nepal Tourism has kickstarted the process of reaching out to its main source markets and meeting with Indian tourism stakeholders recently organised in Delhi was its first port of call. “Delhi is our first destination where we have come with this message that Nepal is as safe and secure as any other destination in the world. And this is not by accident. Indian government has not issued any advisory for its citizens to visit Nepal. Flights are still in operations. What we believe is that India outbound to Nepal will be the first to recover given its proximity, ease of travel and no hassles in currency regulation, etc.,” Pokharel elaborates. The reliance on India to contribute in the footfall recovery is quite understandable: with a hefty share of 26 percent in the foreign tourist arrivals (led by pilgrims segment) in 2014, India is firmly positioned as the topnotch source market of Nepal. In fact, to encourage Indian visitors

in the near run, the national carrier of the country Nepal Airlines is contemplating to increase frequency to Mumbai and Bengaluru in the next couple of months.

Everybody concerned with Nepal Tourism obviTULASI PRASAD ously has this question in GAUTAM his mind today – how much Director General, Nepal time will it really take for Tourism the Himalayan Kingdom to get back in the fine fetVisible green shoots t le aga i n? Emboldened Out of our 75 districts, and projected recovery by over 8,00,000 arrivals only 11 have been While Nepal Tourism prein 2014, the country was affected by the recent pares to ward off the negaaiming to achieve the one earthquake. There tive impression, a major shot million figure for the first has been no damage to any highway or in the arm has come in the time in its history in 2016. airport or even a road recent weeks from some of W h i le reac h i ng to one bridge. Out of our its coveted long-haul marmillion in the medium run eight heritage sites kets which have relaxed the may be a distant possibilonly one has been advisory issued immediately ity now, the major concern completely damaged. after the earthquake. The US, is to get back to a normal New Zealand and the UK have state – somewhere close to been in the forefront of relaxing their advisories the pre-earthquake situation. “Our aviation now asking their citizens to ignore certain pock- hardware is in place even as the operating ets within the country. “This is a major positive airlines have drastically cut down on their development for us,” says a hotel owner in Nepal frequencies due to lack of occupancy. But who was part of the delegation which visited their permit stands intact and they can come Delhi. Nepal Tourism is now eagerly waiting back full throttle anytime. With the kind of for China, its second most important source awareness efforts we are putting in, we expect market, to lift its advisory which prohibits group to get back 70 percent of our 2014 arrival visit to Nepal. numbers by 2016 end. And by 2017 end, I Meanwhile, Nepal Tourism is also work- am predicting that we will get back to 2014 ing on an extensive social media exercise to levels. It is based on our analysis of other desreach out to the world. According to Pokharel, tinations which have been similarly ravaged this has become very critical in the digital age in the past. We have looked at the examples and Nepal Tourism will be using it to the hilt. of typhoon in Philippines and earthquake in “When it comes to changing the perception, Turkey and how long it had taken tourists to using the mass media will not be very easy. get back. So if those examples are taken as So we will be using social media extensively. trend, then it will take us two to two and a half In good, old days we used to say that one per- years to completely recover,” Pokharel says. son can tell ten others the good or bad things Those who have been hooked to the amazing about a destination. But now one facebook user tourism assets of the Himalayan nation for can tell thousands of his friends. It has a huge decades would only wish that nothing goes multiplier effect. We are planning aggressive off from this projection. social media marketing campaign,” he informs. by RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

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DAZZLINGLY DIFFERENT KISHORE AND SMITA IYENGAR size up eight of the most remarkable cities in the world, each uniquely stunning for their tourism appeal and unbeatable features.

hey cannot be measured with mediocre and clichéd yardsticks that determine their singular allure to visitors from across the globe. For tourists or business visitors alike, each of these dazzling cities magnetize with their one-of-their-kind charms and steadfast, world class excellence few cities can boast of. Let’s check out what makes them so irresistibly preferred.

Champs Elysees, Paris

PARIS – FRANCE

Irresistible iridescence City Highlights

One of the most enigmatic cities in the world, capital of style, haute couture and high-end lifestyle. Creates nostalgic and romantic magic on minds, endears to tourists for a lifetime, hotspot for culture, arts, creativity and oomph. Nourishing home to some of the world’s most reputed fragrances and grand culinary traditions. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Most preferred tourist city in Europe. Excellent transport facilities, efficient underground metro network, superb cabs and buses connectivity, well planned tourist base. Loads of attractions suiting all budgets of tourists, business

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networking destination par excellence. The globally active Paris Visitors and Convention Bureau attracts large M ICE and B2B numbers with competitive offers, business and luxury five star and four star hotels and budget accommodation are a plus-AAA for this city. Local sightseeing tours add to the excitement of a visit. Salient Attractions

Grand historical Neo-Classical, Baroque and Art Deco monuments to visit, scores of museums, galleries, quaint neighborhoods (St. Germain, Opera Garnier, Republique, Gallerie Lafayette, Montmartre (art and theatre quarter), Champs Elysees, Notre Dame, Arc de Tri-

omphe, Les Invalides, the Louvre, Jardin des Tuileries….are sheer delight to explore. A great gourmet city with endless cafes, wine bistros and little eateries, ideal for twosomes, couples and adventurers. The iconic river Seine throbs with music, genteel flow and witness to the city’s chequered history with indefatigable aplomb. USP

World class fine wining and dining, home to the finest designer and lifestyle brands and boutiques, wide angle windows to French culture, music, arts and literature. The Parisian style of living is light-neasy and visitors can feel it under their skin! By night, the city transforms into a grand iridescent spectacle along the Seine, night shows, entertainment and bars come alive with some celebration or the other.

Grand views of Paris, France

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The Rathaus - Town Hall - Marienplatz, Munich, Germany

MUNICH – GERMANY

Regal resplendence City Highlights

Gateway to the panoramic Alps, seat of Bavarian culture, royalty and art. The most affluent city in Germany retaining its old world royal resplendence along with hyper modern architecture and international allure. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Well established, reliable and very punctual urban transport network within city limits and beyond. Rail and air connections to all centres in Germany and the world. Boasts the most awarded, most modern international airport in Europe-Franz Josef International Airport. Excellent connectivity to

nearby Bavarian and German metros on the finest freeways, country roads, the efficient Deutsche Bahn (German Rail Network) and well established local tourist centres. Salient Attractions

Is famed for its legendary ‘Biergartens’ (beer gardens), Beer Halls (Hofbrauhaus), the world biggest, most famous Oktoberfest –beer festival and home to super luxury auto brand BMW. Also home to celebrated football team Bayern Munich, the fairytale Palace Nymphenburg, the Chinese Beer Garden, world’s finest, fabled Bavarian beers, the English Garden, Isator Gate, the

Grand Cathedral and the world renow ned S t a t o p e r (O p e r a Hou se). G re at c u isine options available, s o a re g r a nd s up e r delu xe f ive star and boutique hotels and resorts, while budget living is also popular. Shopping is high on the agenda with GerShopping for yummies at man and global brands Viktualienmarkt, Munich making their mark in shopping districts like Marienplatz and the bustling spoken and accepted. Sights and Viktualienmarkt. sounds well planned for optiUSP mum experiences. City of events, A grand city to discover, afford- festivals and local celebrations, able yet classy, appeals to the high- one of the world’s most exciting level premium visitor as well as Christmas Markets with Bavarthe budget tourist, English widely ian charm. July 2015 TourismFirst

PHOTO: KISHORE IYENGAR

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The iconic Opera House on Sydney’s circular Quay Waterfront

SYDNEY – AUSTRALIA

Unmatched magnificence City Highlights

The world’s finest, most scenic harbor. Spectacular location on the Pacific with grand sea view vistas, dazzling waterfronts and sprawling prosperous homes and villas. Friendly and easy going population, east to discover sights and

sounds, suited to all levels of visitors. Has international appeal with great local accents. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Tourist and business friendly city with stunning skyline and harbor delights. Sound rail, road network and city infrastructure, scores

of global gourmet outlets for all pockets. Excellent five star luxury to budget accommodation, premium global fine wining and dining to affordable Asian, modern Australian, Continental f lavors and choicest shopping features. Sightseeing locales conveniently accessible in and around the city. Salient Attractions

The city’s waterfront attracts all and

CAPE TOWN – SOUTH AFRICA

Seaboard sophistication City Highlights

Most strategically located on the southernmost tip of the African Continent mainland, straddling the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Blessed with excellent mild and salubrious year-round climate, this fantastic city also boasts one of the finest harbors in the world. Easy-to-relate layout for local navigation with endearing attractions around the periphery. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

A tourist’s delight and a v isitor’s awe and amazement are few words to cap the Cape Town appea l. A world class cit y of many colorful events, festivals and wine promotion initiatives, it has global connectivity through its international airport and seafaring mercantile base. Affordable, business- friendly and commercially well placed, its many myriad shopping outlets foster repeated visitor footfalls round 74

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the year. Excellent world class luxury five star hotels and convention facilities, sound budget accommodation and interesting local and international cuisine choices add to the ease of visiting the city. Salient Attractions

Home to the historic Cape of Good Hope –the “Fairest Cape of Them All”, this amicable city packs in the tourism punch like none other. The iconic Wonder of The World Table Mountain dominates the city’s identity with grandeur, the many panoramic beaches add to the relaxing engagements. The drive along the dramatic seafront through Camps Bay, Hout Bay, Muizenburg and onto to the Table Mountain National Park, Boulders Penguin Reserve, the Cape Point National Park, Simon’s Town and its old world charms, Fish Hoek with its many breezy seaside restaurants and onward

to the Cape of Good Hope is unforgettable. The modern city’s heritage monuments, the gaily painted homes of the Cape Malay Bo Kap neighborhood and the weekly local crafts markets add to it’s intrinsic allure. The Cape Winelands nearby are the world’s most picturesque wine route with quaint villages and world class vineyards. USP

A Shopping paradise offering high-end boutique and global designer labels to fantastic local products, textiles, handicrafts, wines and spirits. One-of-theirkind attractions in the city and around it, weekend getaways to the Cape Winelands and Cape Dutch Heritage Homesteads, nostalgic wine tastings, country trips and iconic harbor front café-style and fine dining add up to memorable times in this grand city.

sundry, Circular Quay with the leisure and luxury cruises and ferries, modern restaurants and boutiques, the iconic, world famous Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge with the dramatic Bridge climb and the adrenaline shooting Jetboating spree. Darling Harbor with its markets, casino and specialty dining outlets, Victoria Market for high-end lifestyle shopping, Rose Bay for merry seaplane flights, the art galleries and museums of culture, cheery neighborhoods like Pennant Hills, Watsons Bay, Manly (across the harbor) and The Rocks for street art, weekly markets, knick knacks and collectibles. The famed Hunter Valley Wine Region and the mystical Blue Mountains are just under two hours from the city. USP

Cheerful, mild climate year round, easy to get around, ultra-modern MICE and business infrastructure, scenic and picturesque cityscapes, unassuming and light hearted people, multi-linguistic identity and global accents for all visitors.

Sky Tower, Auckland, New Zealand

AUCKLAND – NEW ZEALAND

Alluringly aristocratic

The cheerful V&A Waterfront at Cape Town Harbor

City Highlights

This ‘City of Sails’ is New Zealand’s largest, one of the world’s most beautiful and scenic, friendly and easy going. Its Polynesian and Maori cultural accents, modern globa l population, charming sights and features make it one of the best cities to live in.

PHOTO: KISHORE IYENGAR

Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Sound urban transport network, easy accessibility around the city and surrounds. It has several global luxury hotel and resort brands adding to its hospitality framework. The SkyCity Auckland Convention Centre and other five stars size up annual business events with up market features. The harbor front and many beaches allure to all, the city’s lively café and restaurant scene is well known and best of all, -panoramic country locales are within thirty minutes from the city. Salient Attractions

Sightseeing covers a leisurely lunch in scenic Devonport, visit to Mount Victoria or dormant volcanoes like Mt. Eden, Mt. Hobson

or Mt. John for grandstand views. Vineyards and wineries are next door for choicest wine tastings. Sailboat leisure cruises, harbor walks, café chats, shopping jaunts, Maori arts and culture orientation or a Sky Jump from the iconic Sky Tower if that thrills you, or maybe a Helilink flightseeing aerial tour of the cit y seem adventurous options. A city of sharp and welcoming contrasts with a supermodern city centre, volcanic hills in the neighborhood, sprawling wine regions, walking and trekking trails in the vicinity. USP

One of the rare cities in the world with ultra-modern, contemporary living blending with mindstilling natural beauty, country life and eco-friendly attractions round the bend. The freshest, purest, cleanest city air to breathe in the world, a fabulous destination for city tribes and adventure buffs looking for action across the hills, underwater or above it or on a tower’s summit! July 2015 TourismFirst

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Hong Kong’s stunning Victoria Harbor from the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong

HONG KONG – CHINA

Everlasting enigma Centuries-old international city with strong commercial and cultural accents. Blends colonial English, modern European and quintessential Chinese flavors in an upward ascent of appeal. Vantage location as the financial Gateway of AsiaPacific region. Grand futuristic edifices with old-world historic charm. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

This dazzling city creates awe and wonder with its sheer magnificence on the fabled, every busy Victoria Harbor and Kowloon business mainland. The HK Central geography radiates world class architectural wows. The city has the finest super luxury five star hotels, budget and residential facilities, ultra-chic business and convention attractions, the finest financial hub in the region with the International Commerce centre (ICC) and a major global diamond trading El Dorado. International and Chinese cuisine are unbeatable here, visitors and tourists can revel in myriad fine dining and street side fare with equal thrills. World class shopping from designer wear and pedigree prod76

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ucts to night market bargaining. Salient Attractions

Kowloon with Tsim Sha Sui and Mongkok are a huge shopping Mecca with super fabulous malls, designer boutiques like Langham Place and Elements, the Ladies Market, the Temple Night Market and scores of local boutiques. Hong Kong Central with its high, premium residential precincts and sprawling acres up to Stanley, the iconic Peak and Ocean Park make up a tidy experience for tourists and visitors. Other must-dos are visits to Hong Kong Disneyland, The Big Buddha and Po Lin Monastery, the dazzling waterfront and skyline. USP

Irresistible allure as a super modern, dynamic city that never sleeps. Fantastic shopping options and bargains for all budgets, excellent accessibility from the swish international airport through metro rail and underground, buses, taxis and road transport facilities. Mouth-watering dining culture of global platters, safe and stress-free exploration of attractions. Strong cultural base with upwardly progressive commercial edge.

PHOTO: KISHORE IYENGAR

City Highlights

Inviting patisserie – Le Premier Poisson, Montreal, Canada

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DUBAI – UAE

Futuristic fantasy

Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Tailor making its entire urban and geographic sprawl to magnetize round-the-year visitors and tourists by the plane loads, this city of gold has created concepts and phenomena that rival conventional tourist hubs anywhere. Utilizing its super-zoom infrastructure to optimum tourism and MICErelated inbound traffic, the city

showcases astounding commercial success on all counts. Endless grand luxury five and seven star hotels and resorts, varied lifestyle options, Visitors and Convention venues, The Dubai International Convent ion Cent re, t hemed luxury accommodation, concept ‘Cities’ hyper sized uber chic malls and designer shopping arcades. Its themed attractions like Wild Wadi, I-Fly Dubai, Ski Dubai, blue blood annual events like the Gold Cup derby, golf tournaments, sailing regattas, art events, cuisine festivals and loads much more add to the glitz and dazzle. Salient Attractions

T he her itage preci nc ts gets assertive push as a living legacy of culture and tradition. Jumeirah Mosque, the Old Bastakiya conclave, Sheikh Zayed’s home,

MONTREAL – CANADA

Quebecois class City Highlights

This vibrant French-English speaking city located on the eastern fringe of Canada in Quebec Province is a quaint legac y of endear ing French cu lt ure honed to Canad ia n modernism. Its character and identity is distinct with its easyto-discover urban planning and very friendly people and progressive attitude. Tourist and Visitor Appeal

Excellent local infrastructure fine tuned with their hosting the Montreal Olympics, easy to discover sightseeing options. The city boasts some of the finest fine dining places, lively food and culture scene. English is widely spoken and public transport facilities rank high on the visitor scales. Accommodation in five star hotels, modern convention centre and medium to budget range is diverse and moderate, B&B options are available and eating out is exciting. Salient Attractions

The bustling and colorful Jean Talon Market with fresh and

inviting daily produce, plenty of stand alone and award-winning restaurants. Worth enjying are their local Montreal Poutine delicacy, Bagels, Maple syrup and jams, local cheeses and fine Quebecois wines. Can’t miss the Notre Dame Cathedral, Art Museums, Rue Sherbrooke, the enlivening Places JacquesCartier, the quaint Old Montreal neighborhood, charming Canal countr y Lachine, the cheery waterfront on St. John’s, the imposing Olympic Park and Stadium and the bracing Cantons de L’Est villages with their vineyards, skiing thrills and gorgeous apple orchards. USP

Unique Quebecois identit y, fabulous gourmet experiences, easy going lifestyle, University students’ haven w ith young population, welcoming disposition and unique French flavor which radiates in all walks of life. Rated highest on the Congress and Convention front with the ultra-modern Montreal Convention Centre.

the gold souk, local spice markets and Old Baladiya Road add to the vivid scene. Modern design behemoths shout grandeur and opulence to the shimmering hilt like the world’s tallest tower, Downtown Dubai and the orchestrated fountains, themed mega malls, the world’s most luxurious hotel – Burj Al Arab, a stunning beach front, grand resorts, swank residential neighborhoods, excellent metro rail and land transport facilities, extremely safe at all times, world class roads and freeways. USP

It’s the most international city on earth attracting all nationalities which have contributed to its evolution and success. Has the finest and most iconic dining outposts, world cuisine and commanding culinary repertoire -a strong tourism aspect. An all round family destination and honeymoon location with themed entertainment, leisure attractions, romantic offerings, the best hyper mega malls and ample brilliantly landscaped green spaces, golfing acres and gardens. Among the top five super shopping destinations in

Spectacular view of Dubai musical fountain from Armani Dubai Fountain Suite

PHOTO: KISHORE IYENGAR

Enviable reputation and endorsement as the world’s most futuristic, jet age city and undisputed international connectivity hub with the maximum, frequent air connections to far corners of the world. Hyper efficient core of world finance and banking, commerce and trade. Rapidly and progressively changing urban profile, enveloping cultures from all parts of the globe.

PHOTO: KISHORE IYENGAR

City Highlights

Water cascades - Atrium, Burj Al Arab, Dubai

the world. Fabulous worldwide air connectivity with a futuristically designed international airport and cruise terminal. And most of all, has one-of-their-class, incomparable features, -the tallest tower in the world-Burj K halifa, the biggest mall in the world-Dubai Mall, largest man-made marina, the finest luxury five star hotels and resorts and much more. July 2015 TourismFirst

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UNIQUE DESIGN

Sarovar debuts with a first Dashavatar hotel in Tirupati

ith a uniquely conceptualized and design based on the Dasavatars of Lord Vishnu, the hotel gives the devotees, travelling from across the world to the holy

feet of Tirumala hills, a special reason to cheer. The Marasa Sarovar Premier was formally launched by Anil Madhok, Managing Director, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts at a press

conference recently. Speak ing on the occasion, Anil Madhok, remarked, “The holy hill of Tirumala is, on any given day, filled with tens of thousands of blissed-out devotees, many of whom have endured long journeys to see the powerful Lord Venkateshwara here, at his home. It’s one of India’s most visited

pilgrimage centres. The existing demand-supply gap in this temple town offers huge opportunity for hospitality brands. Every brand which was earlier in the luxury segment now wants to have a piece of the business here. We believe that Tirupati Yatra is no longer about an arduous journey to meet Lord Venkateshwara, it is nirvana luxe.” Stressing on the importance of pilgrimage tourism and on his plans for expansion, Madhok shared that, “The root of tourism in India can be traced to pilgrimage. Places of pilgrimage provided a firm ground to tourism in the beginning and still continue to be one of the most effective factors of promoting tourism in India. Sensing the importance of Pilgrimage Tourism, Sarovar group is moving at fast pace and adding more properties to our tourism circuit. We already have hotels in Haridwar, Shridi, Pondicherry, Badrinath. We are now open in Tirupati and will be soon reaching out to more pilgrim cities like Vrindavan, Amritsar and Ajmer.

executive officer, Pushpam Group expressed hope that customers will enjoy unparalleled resort experience.“We are pleased to be partnering with the leader of India’s hospitality industry. This partnership indicates the seriousness with which we are entering the hospitality sector. With

Carlson Rezidor’s experience and expertise, we are confident that Radisson Resort Hosur will deliver an unparalleled resort e x per ience a nd successf u l ly capture the growing demand in meetings, incentives, conventions, events and weddings and weekend leisure segments."

RESORT PROPERTY

Carlson Rezidor expands in South India with Radisson Hosur

ezidor Hotel has announced t he s ig n i ng of R ad i s son Resort Hosur, in Tamil Nadu, expected to open in 2018. With the launch, the company hopes to increase its market share in the South Indian territory. “This latest signing underscores our commitment to strengthening the R adisson brand 's presence in India and demonstrates our focus on accelerating our growth in the emerging cities of South and West India,” said Raj Rana, chief executive of f icer, Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, South Asia. “Radisson Resort Hosur is an exciting addition to our portfolio and we are honored to be partnering Pushpam Realty on their first hospitality development. We look 78

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forward to growing our relationship with them.” A new build hotel is going to have 120 guestrooms and suites offering scenic views of the area and a man-made lake. The hotel is adjacent to Pushpam Ranches, a 55-acre, high-end residential township that is being developed by the Pushpam Group. It is less than a 20-minute drive from the Hosur city center and less than 30 minutes away from Electronic City and will have large meeting spaces, including a ballroom, meeting rooms, boardrooms and a business center. It will have an all-day dining restaurant as well as a plethora amenities and recreational facilities. Dr Manjunath Reddy, chief

hotelsc a pes Theatre style conference hall at HICC

NEIL PATERSON

“Conferencing in Hyderabad to witness a strong 2015” says HICC chief

he latest rating by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) of global MICE hubs has prominently put Hyderabad on the world convention map. While India notched 35th rank in the recently released report, Hyderabad was adjudged the 2nd best MICE destination city in the country. Neil Paterson, General Manager, HICC speaks with TourismFirst explaining what has propelled Hyderabad’s fortune in the MICE segment and HICC’s unique positioning as a catalyst in this market: What in your reckoning has led to the significant emergence of Hyderabad as a MICE hotspot in the recent years?

The city has emerged as one of the leading metros in India for MICE destinations, ranking only behind Delhi, and is on the fast track to becoming India’s Convention Capital. The government has also actively been promoting this sector and is working on providing the best connectivity, facilities and infrastructure to promote the sector in the city. Today, hotels are placing more emphasis on the MICE business which furthers the importance of getting big conventions to the country. How much of credit goes to HICC in turning the tide for the city as a MICE hub?

Over the last few years, HICC has been the proud host to many prestigious events. The World Metropolis Congress, Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) World Congress, The International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD), International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), Cochrane Colloquium, BioAsia, etc were a few events that were held in 2014 alone. The city hosted 18 prestigious meetings in the year 2014. The significant contribution of

Hyderabad International Convention Centre is highlighted by the fact that 13 of these 18 meetings were hosted here. How much does size matter in this business? Do you feel that the success of unit like HICC testifies the fact the country is now maturing in terms of holding large scale conventions?

NEIL PATERSON GM, HICC

“ 2 015 i s poi sed to be another strong year for Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), with many large national and international events and enquiries for the coming year, including the 19th Indian Plumbing Conference, 29th IEEE International Parallel & Distributed Processing Symposium, FIMPART 2015, National Conference on Per iodont ics, Building Simulation 2015, 50th Indian Orthodontics Conference, 2015, International Union of Crystallography & many more.

The market for convention centers capable of handling over 1000 delegates is quite small, as opposed to those handling less than 1000. HICC has cemented its status as the most soughtafter purpose-built convention venue in the Asia Pacific region offering world-class facilities, state-of-the-art infrastructure and unparalleled hospitality, while being strategically located in the tech-hub of Hyderabad. A city that offers an inventory of over 10000 rooms across various categories establishments in the vicinity. HICC has facilitated bringing national awareness and also fostered international exposure and cultural exchange by offering the city an opportunity to host both national and international events, subsequently benefitting the local economy as well. How does your 2015 calendar look like in terms of activities?

2015 is poised to be another strong year for Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), with many large national and international events and enquiries for the coming year, including the 19th Indian Plumbing Conference, 29th IEEE International Paral-

lel & Distributed Processing Symposium, FIMPART 2015, National Conference on Periodontics, Building Simulation 2015, 50th Indian Orthodontics Conference, 2015, International Union of Crystallography & many more. Following your success, Andhra government is keen to have more convention centers in other prominent cities of the state. Do you envisage any serious competition emerging in the medium run?

We view this development with a positive outlook, as it helps spread awareness in the local and domestic market about convention centers, and allows us to showcase the world-class facilities that are brought to the table. It would also help project the state as a global convention destination, which is bound to create a louder buzz in the market for us to leverage on. Any further expansion/addition of the center which you are contemplating? Any special offering from HICC on the occasion of its 10th anniversary next year?

We have no plans of expansion at the moment, as most conventions invite about 1500-2000 delegates, while HICC is well-equipped to handle over 5000 delegates. With the establishment all set to turn 10 years old in 2016, one can look forward to many celebrations and offers in the coming few months to mark a decade of successfully hosting some of the largest events that the country has seen in the recent past. By RITWIK SINHA July 2015 TourismFirst

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Starwood Hotels strengthen its inventory with Sheraton in Hyderabad In a bid to increase its foot-print in the country, Sheraton has recently unveiled a new hotel in Hyderabad. With this centrally located property, the hotel aims to attract leisure and business travelers in an equal measure.

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tarwood recently announced the opening of Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel, a newly renovated property, with an eye to get a toehold amongst the tremendous number of business and leisure travelers visiting the world-renowned heritage city that has quickly become one of India’s leading industrial hubs. Owned by SAMHI hotels (Ahmedabad) Private Limited, Sheraton Hyderabad hotel is the 44th property in India. While, it is the third Starwood hotel in the south-central Indian city, and the third Sheraton in India. Commenting on the launch of the hotel, A sh ish Ja k ha nwa la Fou nder & CEO of SAMHI Hotels said: “We are pleased to bring the Sheraton brand to the city of Hyderabad which is a fast growing business epicentre. The hotel is a testament to our successful partnership with Starwood and our commitment to building premium hotels that are successfully run, deliver great guest experiences and create value for our shareholders. We are eager to further strengthen this association with Starwood.” Sheraton Hyderabad is strategically located that could well make it a hot property. It is situated in the heart of the city’s financial district and conveniently adjacent to the area’s key convention centers, such as HITEX Exhibition Centre and the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Surrounded by multinational corporations, the property is also within walking distance of numerous upscale restaurants, retail shops and business offices. Only a 30-minute drive from Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (HYD), the hotel is easily accessible for business and leisure travelers alike. In an attempt to cater to the wide variety of consumer needs, the hotel has 272 modern and stylishly designed rooms. The property also features a spa for guests to unwind, a pool and the state-of-the-art Sheraton fitness center. Feast, the brand’s signature all-day dining venue, offers an interactive dining experience with live cooking stations and show kitchens. In the coming months the hotel will also open Azia, a Pan Asian speciality restaurant, and chimes, a rooftop bar offering captivating panoramic views. The hotel includes more than 950 square metres of ballroom, boardroom, and meeting room space. All venues are equipped with audio-visual technology and are backed by an outstanding events team. “The Sheraton Hyderabad hotel is a highly anticipated addition to the Sheraton brand’s global portfolio and marks an increased demand for hotels in emerging markets within India’s bustling metropolitan cities,” said Dilip Puri Managing Director India and Regional Vice President South Asia, Starwood Hotels

DILIP PURI

Managing Director India and Regional Vice President South Asia, Starwood Hotels

The Sheraton Hyderabad hotel is a highly anticipated addition to the Sheraton brand’s global portfolio and marks an increased demand for hotels in emerging markets within India’s bustling metropolitan cities.” and Resorts India Private Limited. “It is also yet another example of our conversion friendly strategy that highlights our ability to convert hotels successfully within a short period of time and have them join our system as we continue to deliver value to our partners and create compelling experiences for our guests,” he further added. Dietmar Kielnhofer, Complex General Manager, Sheraton Hyderabad hotel also hoped that the property would become a local centre of attraction and bring travellers seeking leisure and business in an equal measure. “We look forward to welcoming our guests to the new Sheraton Hyderabad Hotel and expect the hotel to become a local hotspot, attracting both savvy travelers and tech professionals to experience the global hotel brand of choice,” he said. July 2015 TourismFirst

footnote

Modi’s foreign visits augment tourists’ footfall PM Narendra Modi frequent foreign visits have not gone down well with his opponents. But according to Ministry of Tourism, it is helping in shoring up arrival numbers from the countries visited by him.

f you are hooked on to Aaj Tak’s popular “So Sorry” segment, a 7 per cent rise from Canada, 49 per cent rise from Uzbekistan, and 30 short animated presentation mostly taking a dig at personalities per cent rise from Myanmar in the recent past. in the news, you would have hardly missed it. After his recent While the numbers from Myanmar and Uzbekistan may not hold Germany and Canada visits, Narendra Modi was shown cruising that critical an importance given the fact that the arrival numbers in a ship and using binoculars trying to spot countries which should be from these countries presently have a very small base, the incremental his next port of call. Clearly a hilarious take on what some detractors impact as witnessed from the US, Germany, Canada or even Brazil of the Prime Minister find a very serious issue. He has even been called markets (which rubs shoulders with India in the prestigious BRICS “NRI PM” who often takes the trouble of visiting India. league) is definitely noteworthy. These countries are India’s leadIn his short tenure of over a ing trade and business partners year so far, the Prime Minister and an augmentation in arrivals has officially made 26 foreign from these countries after Modi trips till date visiting over 50 visited them points at a larger countries. This has resulted in picture. If a prime purpose of plethora of criticism veering the prime minister’s innumerround the point that he is conable visits have been to assure cerned with his international the world that India is a hapimage rather than settling the pening place and that it is on a domestic issues. However, Modi, rise again after a brief spell of by and large seems to have been stagnancy, then the incremental ma n on a m ission t r y i ng to arrival figures stand testimony impress the world with his ideas to the fact that the hard-boiled of a transforming India. Hard matured markets are believing selling his ambitious “Make in him. And nobody in his right India” and “Smart Cities” promind would say this is not good gramme and trying to cement for the country. India’s bilateral and strategic At a time when European relationships with other counmarket is in doldrums again tries have been the driving force and now Chinese economy PM Modi with the President of Brazil, Ms. Dilma Rousseff, behind these visits. too is showing signs of serion the sidelines of the Sixth BRICS Summit, in Brasilia, Brazil One may well ask- what has ous fatigues after moving at been the outcome of these visits? a brisk pace since 1980’s, the Have they brought in any major There has been a 10.3 per cent increase in improving Indian GDP numinvestments? Surprisingly, those tourists from the US, 13.7 per cent rise from bers clearly provides an opporseeking for immediate results, tune moment to bring back the Brazil, 5.7 percent rise from Germany, the response seems to be coming confidence of the world in the from an unexpected quarter – 7 per cent rise from Canada, 49 per cent rise Indian economy. And that is tourism. Speaking at a meeting what Modi’s trips seems to have from Uzbekistan, and 30 per cent rise from of Indian tourism stakeholders in accomplished to a considerable Delhi recently, tourism minister Myanmar after Modi visited these countries extent as reflected by increasMahesh Sharma firstly empha- in the recent past. ing foreign footfall. Not to forsised that the present governget, Modi’s direct emphasis on ment under the stewardship of Narendra Modi is committed to push using tourism as a bridge in the international forums (probably he is tourism to the center stage. “It has been the vision of our Prime Minister the first prime minister who is laying so much emphasis on tourism). Narendra Modi to see tourism as the backbone of the economy of the He has successfully sold the idea of what tourism can achieve in terms country.” And then he surprised the gathering by furnishing a new of bringing the world communities together (remember his “terrorism statistic which underlines that Modi’s foreign visits are also helping in divides, tourism unites” quote) and backed it up with a concrete action adding up the arrival numbers from the overseas. Especially from those plan of expanding the list of countries for liberalised visa regime at a countries which have been visited by him in the last one year. Accord- break neck speed. So going by the tourism centric outcome of Modi’s ing to Sharma, there has been a 10.3 per cent increase in tourists from foreign visits, there could hardly be any reason to complain about. the US, 13.7 per cent rise from Brazil, 5.7 percent rise from Germany, By RITWIK SINHA 82

TourismFirst July 2015

July 2015 TourismFirst

Date of Publication: 20/07/2015

RNI No. DELENG/2015/62794 Posting Dt. 12-17/07/2015 Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6180/2015-16-17