Tourismfirst march issue by Cross Section Media Pvt. Ltd.

No.U(NDGPO)-01/2016-2017 Date of Publication: 14/03/2016 RNI No. DELENG/2015/62794 Posting Dt. 12-17/03/2016 Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6180/2015-16-17

Vo lu m e 1. I s s u e 11. m a rc h 2 016 . ` 5 0

Celebrating International Women Day with a social statement for the country, Air India had 20 flights with all-women crew on that day.

5/20 creates a T20 of its own

It’s a fight on its own, between two influencial groups. A new Civil Aviation Policy will decide who wins and who loses. A middle path may provide answers, or will it? …pg 6

World Culture Festival ushers a new standard for event-based tourism

World's largest cruise ship set to sail from May

20,000 international visitors from 55 countries is a bigger number than any regular conference known to the industry. Considering that the theme is world peace and harmony, the event assumes that much more significance. Read detailed report on page 4.

HICSA conference promises a busy April in the Capital

ICSA 2016 is round the corner. This time around, the annual event will feature the Government of Andhra Pradesh as the ‘Official State Partner’ and witness the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu deliver a keynote address on the day of the launch. Prominent industry insiders, from across the region, will share the stage and discuss the current state of affairs, critical challenges and future outlook for the hospitality business. Manav Thadani, Chairman HVS, Asia Pacific noted that gender inequality had surfaced as one of the most pressing concerns in the hospitality sector, in recent times. “At HICSA 2016, four very successful female leaders in the Indian hospitality business would share their thoughts on this topic a session that probes deeper into the question,” he informed. Another key area for brainstorm-

ing was going to be aggregators and technology-led innovations in hospitality business. “Are they merely hype or are they here to define a new future? We will commence with an interesting panel discussion, exploring the potential and pitfalls of the aggregator model, in the session ‘Hospitality Tech Innovators: The Aggregator Model’,” added Manav Thadani. The conference will also see other interesting subjects such as asset management, leasing, franchising and digital marketing being discussed and deliberated for the future course of action. Manav Thadani also pointed towards how strategic re-branding and hotel conversions had become an appealing alternative for owners and operators looking at reviving their under-performing asset. “Through a session on brand conversion, we will get owners and operators share their perspective, discussing the nittygritties of hotel brand conversions,” he informed.

A320neo touches down

The first of the new A320neo, the most fuel-efficient Airbus, touched down at IGIA in New Delhi, signalling a new phase of development for IndiGo Airlines. The first delivery in what must be the single biggest order in aviation history, A320neo supply was delayed causing considerable concern in the aviation market. Happily, these fears are now behind us … pg 8

he cruising industry has a taken a giant leap forward as the world’s largest cruise ship Harmony of the Seas has successfully completed its first trial-run. Weighing an unprecedented 2,27,000 tons, built by Royal Caribbean, the ship has 16 decks and stands 50 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower! The ship, once commissioned, will accommodate a total of 6,400 passengers and 2,100 crew members. The estimated cost of this ship is around a billion Euros. It is likely to start commercial sailing, after another round of testing, in May this year.

states

Delhi Government will ensure a tourismfriendly budget this year: Kapil Mishra (Page 11)

online/technology

Video content is the new growth tool for HolidayIQ; to bring in Asian destinations (Page 16)

hospitality

Wyndham looks at minimum 60 flags in India by 2018 end (Page 20)

global exchange

Indian hospitality strengthens presence with an Oberoi in Maldives (Page 25)

New York continues its all time tourism successes with record footfalls of 60 million

n 2016, New York City is expected to welcome a high of 59.7 million visitors, making it the seventh consecutive year for record-breaking tourism into the city.Visitation for 2016 is forecasted to comprise of 47 million domestic and 12.7 million international visitors, both all-time highs. New York City has U S's most active hotel development pipeline, with 107,000 hotel rooms this year, and a total inventory of 133,000+ rooms expected by the end of 2019. Noteworthy hotel openings in 2016 include Renaissance New York Midtown Hotel (April 2016); The William Vale (May 2016); InterContinental New York Barclay (Spring 2016); The Beekman (Spring 2016); Four Seasons New York Downtown (Mid 2016); Whitby Hotel (Fall 2016); and 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge (Late 2016). New York City has become

more accessible than ever, with extensive infrastructure improvements throughout the five boroughs. From the recent opening of the 34 StHudson Yards subway station on Manhattan’s Far West Side; to the Summer 2016 debut of the World Trade Center Transportation Hub (whose Santiago Calatrava-designed ‘Oculus’ opened last week); to the December 2016 opening of the Second Avenue Subway’s first phase; it is easier than ever to get around the City. By July 2016, 500 state-of-the-art LinkNYC kiosks will come to New York City’s five boroughs, offering free high-speed Internet, phone calls, and device charging for residents and visitors, with another 4,500 coming online by mid-2019.Later this month, the City will see the opening of The Met Breuer. The City’s retail industry is thriving, with the recently-

opened Barneys New York Downtown flagship in Chelsea; Westfield World Trade Center debuting in Lower Manhattan this summer; CityPoint opening in Brooklyn this year; and Nordstrom, expected to open in 2019. In years to come, New York City will see the openings of the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets in St. George, Staten Island (2017); Pier 17 at the South Street Seaport (2017); and extensive upgrades on Manhattan’s Far West Side, with the Hudson Yards development (2018). In 2015, New York City welcomed a record 58.3 million visitors, the City’s sixth consecutive year for record-breaking tourism. Visitation for 2015 comprised 46 million domestic and 12.3 million international visitors, both all-time highs.All these attributes add to the lure of the city, like few else in the world.

this issue : march , 201 6

Green signal to Inland Waterways Bill is good news for travel & tourism

his is a development which may have skipped the attention of many within the tourism and travel circles, or its singificance may have got overlooked. Nonetheless, it is quite significant in its own way. After the nod from the Lok Sabha during the winter session last year, the upper house, early this month,gave a g reen signal to Inland Waterways Bill, 2015 which paves the way for the creation of 106 inland waterways in the country. Going by the words of an expert, i nland w aterways in the country today stand in the same state where Indian Railways was in 1850’s. That succinctly sums up the gap and also the opportunity. As a mode to carry freight and passengers, the waterways in I ndia h ave remainedlargely untapped, certain pockets of excellence (e.g., Kerala) notwithstanding. Thisdevelopment is clearly epic-scale in nature for the promise it holds - it is not talking about the mere execution of a mega infrastructure project but opening up a new mode of transportation (of all kinds) altogether adding up to the air, railways and sea related infrastructure base which the country has built over the decades. The i ndications from government quarters s uggest that it is meant to ignite river-based economy and, therefore, turning the new waterways into non-freight hubs also as a critical element of the overall development plan. Promoting river-based travel and tourism activities is clearly a part of this agenda. In fact, much before this bill became a reality, a back-end co-ordinated research exercise was undertaken (supervised by Inland Waterways Authority of India) within the government quarters involving Union Tourism Ministry and its state counterparts and a tentative plan has already been formulated to link many religious destinations in the country with river ways. State governments are expected to take care of basic amenities around the terminals while the authority will ensure water draft maintenance and other facilities meant to keep the operations intact. In terms of facilitation of passengers, the authority is also looking at creating short connecting points within some of the largest locations in the country where river flows in the middle of the city. For example, in Kolkatta, it is examining the options to create ministations at some critical points on the beds of Hoogly river which will shorten the travel distance within the city. Needless to say, such developments are bound to help all kinds of travellers including tourists. European examples, where river waterways are formidable mode of transportation, clearly testify that tourism is a major beneficiary of suchaninfrastructure asset. Not surprising, they have so much to offer in cruise tourism and water-based adventure activities. With the decks cleared for Inland Waterways Bill, we can now look forward to emulate those examples - not merely as wishful thinking but as doable goals.

Contents Currents

4 Budget makes hefty increase for tourism infra; but Jaitley misses out the ‘t’ word 4 World Culture Festival ushers a new standard for event-based tourism 5 Air India continues to break new ground

Airlines & Airports

6 The 5/20 saga continues: warring sides take pot shots, await the final word 8 IndiGo receives its first A320 neo aircraft; 22 percent increase in fleet projected in 2016-17 8 Cirrus Aircraft sets shop in India, banking on facelift in regional and remote connectivity 9 Promoting inbound tourism should be a critical element of civil aviation policy

Infrastructure

10 Infrastructure gets a multi-pronged push as the govt. unveils mega projects

States/Destinations

11 Delhi Government will ensure a tourismfriendly budget this year: Kapil Mishra 12 `20,000 cr commitment for Maharastra tourism at ‘Make in India’ summit

Pranab Mukherjee

President of India after launching Muziris heritage tourism project in Kerala recently

The spice trade and ancient ports in the State have created many islands of heritage and history within Kerala, but the tourist experiences have always been discrete. This is where the Muziris project offers the best of heritage tourism to global travelers.

Mohandas Pai

Former top official of Infosys

What is the difference between Vijay Mallya who lost `10,000 crore and Air India which lost `30,000 crore? Bank money is lost (in case of KFA) and public taxpayer's money is lost (in AI's case).

Dr. Mahesh Sharma

Tourism and Culture Minister on the cultural festival recently organized in Delhi by the Art of Living Foundation

With the kind of feeling this cultural festival is being organised, it is a very good opportunity for India to showcase different cultures of the world. This will help different countries understand our tourism policies. Moreover, the tourism sector will also gain benefit out of the event.

A R Bardhan

Principal Secretary, West Bengal tourism on the proposition of a tie-up with Amitabh Bachchan starrer “Te3n” for a joint promotion

We will partner with the film but the manner in which we will be associated is being worked out. Our advertising and marketing agency O&M is having talks with the producers.

13 Kashmir to focus on trekking; highaltitude lakes may emerge as the next big draw

22 Ibis will continue its strong supply growth with a mix of debt and equity: J B Singh

14 Lavasa’s tourism offerings demonstrates the power of new cities, says CEO Rajiv Duggal

23 Delhi and Maharashtra lead hospitality business, says HVS report

Online : Technology

24 Oman’s niche offerings, robust marketing could create a pull for the outbound

16 Video content is the new growth tool for HolidayIQ; to bring in Asian destinations 17 Stand-alone hotels and small businesses benefit with the growth of online wallets 18 Hotels muscle up their online presence to counter aggregators' onslaught 19 India’s first charter online marketplace, JetSetGo eyeing $4.5 mn fresh funding

Hotelscapes

20 Wyndham looks at minimum 60 flags in India by 2018 end 21 Park Inn and Country Inn leading our foray into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, says Raj Rana 21 ‘Distress’ an over used word; new entrants mindful of market needs, notes Ajay Bakaya

Global Exchange

25 India invests in Maldives hotels; Minister Moosa Zameer assures more flights 26 Italy bets on its areas of expertise to boost bilateral trade and tourism

Navin Berry navin@tourismfirst.org contributing editor: ritwik sinha ritwik@tourismfirst.org features editor: Priyaanka Berry priyaanka@tourismfirst.org senior writer: Shashank Shekhar shashank@tourismfirst.org editor:

27 India is Bhutan’s top source market; Buddhist tourism powers footfalls

Niche

28 Boosting Golf Tourism: India Golf Expo 2016 29 Stakeholders moot comprehensive roadmap for sustainable wildlife tourism

The Last Page

30 Kashmir’s high altitude paradise remains undiscovered to tourism

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. Total pages 32

curre nts

Budget makes hefty increase for tourism infra; but Jaitley misses out the ‘t’ word

rom the standpoint of stakeholders in the tourism industry, budget 2016-17 was an opportunity for the union government to show its commitment to further fuel the growth in the sector after taking the drastic step of rapidly liberalizing the visa regime in the country since it came to power in 2014. However, after the union finance minister Arun Jaitely completed his one-and-a-halfhour long budget speech on 29th February, not many in the tourism circlesappeared to be enthused by the budget pronouncements. However, even though there was no direct c oncessionannounced for the sector (hospitality sector was particularly hopeful that the threshold limit for investment in hotel units for infrastructure status would be reduced), the industry were particularly miffed that Jaitely did not even use the ‘t’ (tourism) word in his speech, something which Prime Minister Narendra Modi

tourism ministry under the planned expenditure category, there is a further provision of `90 crore under non-plan head. The budgetary allocation to tourism ministry had stood at `932 crore last year but during the course of 201617, the ministry will have far improved resources in its hand – around `700 crore for Swadesh Darshan scheme and another `100 crore for PRASAD scheme. Both these schemes have been initiated after the NDA government came to power in 2014. Swadesh Darshan is meant to promote theme based tourism circuits in the country while PRASAD has been initiated to give a facelift to the spiritual tourism segment in the country. Of the total allocation of `1590 crore, the finance ministry has also

had once counted as a pillar for his future growth agenda. However, a close analysis of the budgetary paper clearly testifies that while Jaitely may not have given any noticeable concession directly, N orth Blockhas instead chosen to put more resources in the hands of Ministry of Tourism to push tourism development agenda. The enhanced allocation marks a significant increase over the previous year’s figure, by a staggering 70 percent to support tourism related infrastructure development – the forthcoming year budget has risen to `1,590 crore. Part of the allocation is also likely to be utilized in promotion and publicity initiatives. In precise terms, while `1500 crore allocation has been planned for the

earmarked over `400 crore for promotion – probably a signal that Ministry of Tourism will have the leeway to indulge in bigticket buzz creation in overseas markets. Additionally, the budget has also earmarked an amount of `160 crore for training and skill development in the tourism sector. Meanwhile, the immediate response to the budget from the tourism circuit may have amounted to severe criticism but the tone later somewhat changed when its details were probably grasped more comprehensively. For instance, the government’s proposal to infuse capital to revamp 160 non-functional airports has been praised as it opens more destinations for the tourism business. Emphasis on improving road infrastructure with massively increased allocation has been cited as another major positive move which will have a positive bearing on the tourism business in the medium to long-run.

World Culture Festival ushers a new standard for event-based tourism

e file this report as the World Culture Festival comes to an end. Some reports suggest that the first day's numbers may have fallen somewhat short of projected numbers. There were spells of intermittent rains, too, that dampened the sprawling grounds, but had little impact on the enthusiasm of hundreds of thousands who turned up to witness the three day saga that unfolded on theYamuna’s plains in the capital – which was studded with all the ingredients to make it a gathering of epic proportions. The world’s largest temporary stage – spread across 7 acres – a total of 3.5 million visitors, an ensemble of 33,000 artists from 55 countries, and several heads of state came together to celebrate the World Culture Festival hosted by Sri Sri Ravishankar’s Art of Living Foundation. The festival showcased the talents of traditional musicians through their performances, besides hosting a peace meditation led by none other than Sri Sri himself. With the underlying theme of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,

'Kumbh' of the arts served as a platform for leaders, business honchos, politicians and social leaders to moot ways, working in unison, for the welfare of the society. Politicians across the party-line were seen sharing the stage with Sri Sri. PM Modi, veteran BJP leader L K Advani; FM Arun Jaitley and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were some of the prominent names in attendance. That aside, the most remarkable aspect of this conglomeration has been the participation of over 20,000 international guests who were reported to have registered their presence – with a strong delegation from South American countries, Mongolia, Russia, the USA, Japan, Malaysia, European nations and Australia. Sri Sri Ravishankar

You should come together so that India's prestige on the world stage rises. Organising such an event is not easy. But people and artists have come here from all over the world with their own money.

It is true that certain sections raised some objections to the event, highlighting environmental concerns; NGT’s intervention, too, created ripples. But, instead of dwelling on such concerns, we as a platform would want to emphasize on the fact that event based tourism remain one of the most promising segment, world-over. The quantum of direct footfalls generated by them is tremendous and can also help re-position a destination’s product through projecting the soft power it entails. Over 20,000 international visitors in three days is a fair enough demonstration of the pull-factor that events have. India’s capability to successfully host such largescale gathering augurs well for the future of events in India. Given that we as a nation have a vast repository of uniqueofferings like Yoga, art and culture to showcase, such events contribute significantlyto the muscle of our tourism profile – propelling, both, domestic and international numbers. Incidentally, buoyed by the success of this gathering, many countries have shown keen interest in hosting the event’s next edition.

Bihar moots a tourism roadmap

Since the formation of government in Bihar, it has been busy times for CM Nitish Kumar. Known for having a soft corner for tourism, he has recently mooted putting in place a concrete roadmap to boost footfalls with an eye on generating employment and revenue. Besides, he has shown a keen desire to rope in professional experts from the tourism fraternity – which is a laudable step. The state has, now, focused on augmenting facilities and tourism infrastructure at The Buddhist circuit, Mahatma Gandhi circuit, Shiva Shakti circuit for kanwarias, Ramayana circuit and Jain circuit. These directives come at a time when the state is gearing up to host two important functions in 2017 - Prakashotsav, on the occasion of Guru Govind Singh's 350th birth anniversay, and centenary celebrations of the Champaran Satyagraha which was led by Mahatma Gandhi in 1917. In another important development, he has consented to setting up Indian Institute of Tourism and Trade Management at Bodh Gaya for promotion of tourism and has asked the tourism department to submit a proposal for the same.

Satellite Mapping of ASI Monuments

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for preparation of satellite based maps indicating prohibited and regulated areas clearly for the information of public and also to facilitate procedure for grant of permissions for construction related activity within prohibited and regulated areas of all 3686 centrally protected monuments. ISRO has a repository of photographs of various monuments/sites that have been taken at periodic intervals. Using these photographs that are taken routinely through satellites over a period of time and combining them with the map-plotted boundaries of plots for which permissions under AMASR Act have been given, a surveillance system is within the realm of technological possibility.

curre nts

Alliance Air to speed up regional connectivity; Washington next overseas, after Vienna By ritwik sinha

or the national carrier Air India, the forthcoming summer season would be the period to expand its wings both domestically as well as on international routes. With the cushion of a significant dip in the oil prices (which is believed to have brought down its operational losses considerably) and a significant projected capacity enhancement with the addition of 30 aircrafts over the next

13 months (refer to our story published in January edition: National carrier to embark on a major capacity addition; eyeing for more non-stop international options), the airline like its other private counterparts in the fray seems to be all set to scale up its operations in the coming months. Some of the initiatives planned in the near-run clearly reflects this expansionary mood. In terms of scaling up its operations within the country, the airline has planned to open three new routes

which will be served by its regional subsidiary Alliance Air. “As per our summer schedule plan, we will be opening new sectors between Bangalore-Vijayawada, Kolkata-Agartala and Delhi-Kullu. This initiative is part of our efforts to fan out robustly in the regional space,” a senior official of Air India recently told TourismFirst. While Bangalore- Vijayawada and Kolkata- Agartala operations will have a weekly frequency of five flights each, the service between Delhi and Kullu will be operated six times weekly.

☛ Air India to introduce three new routes in the regional sector in its summer schedule ☛ Frequency enhancement planned on some m ajor international routes like Delhi-Milan and DelhiMoscow ☛ Non-stop service between Delhi and Washington expected to commence this summer ☛ New plan envisages strengthening of Air India Express and Air India Regional (Alliance Air) so that a comprehensive regional, national and international footprint is ensured Alongwith opening new routes in the domestic s ector, Air India’s comprehensive plan for the summer schedule also includes enhancing frequency on some of the m ajordomestic as well as international routes. “Frequency upgradation is another critical element of our summer schedule plans. On the international side, our Delhi-Milan operations will go up from three to four flights per week, the flight on Delhi-Moscow route will become thrice weekly as against current two, a nd as you know we are starting a non-stop flight between Delhi-Vienna from April 6th which will be served by a Dreamliner. We are starting with three services every week on this route,” the official explained. On the domestic side, Air India has planned to increase the frequency between Delhi-Amritsar (from three to four), Bangalore- Trivandrum (from four to daily) and Delhi-Pune (three flights daily from two). Meanwhile, much of the buzz around Air India in recent weeks has been on its new nonstop service between Delhi and Vienna. This follows the a similar service which Air India had launched between Delhi-San Francisco late last year. According to Air India official, the booking trends of the new service is v erypositive. “The response from t he m arket is encouraging. We believe this sector would be particularly liked by the India outbound segment going out for leisure,” the official underlined. In the near run, Air India’s pursuit of introducing defining nonstop international service using its Dreamliner aircrafts is also likely to result in the addition of Washington on its route map in the next few months. “We are committed to provide more non-stop connectivity to the leading global destinations and here Washington is on the top of the list after the introduction of this service to San Francisco and to Vienna next month. The service between Delhi-Washington is likely to be introduced before the end of the summer season,” the official said.

airline s & airports

The 5/20 saga continues: warring sides take pot shots, await the final word

Possibly, this is the one loose end that is holding back the announcement of the new Civil Aviation Policy. In recent weeks, as the pressure builds up to the announcement, both sides have upped the anté. We bring you a snapshot.

Crossing Swords “K Ratan Tata Chairman Emeritus, TATA group

The lobbying for discriminatory policies between old and new airlines is reminiscent of the protectionist and monopolistic pressures by vested interest entities who seem to fear competition, as in a variety of other sectors over the years. These protectionist moves have held back progress in India compared to open economies where that have thrived on competition overseas.

eeping the national interest in mind, Tata Sons believes that the 5/20 rule must be abolished if Indian aviation is to achieve its full potential and improve India’s connectivity with the world. Apart from the fact that there are no global parallels to this rule, the rule is discriminatory to Indian airlines as foreign airlines that do not meet these criteria are allowed to operate in Indian skies, but Indian airlines cannot enjoy reciprocal rights. Indian carriers are best placed to promote India as a tourism destination and should be encouraged to provide international connectivity if they wish to do so. The 5/20 rule has thus far principally benefited only foreign airlines, who have captured 70% of the international traffic with India, taking Indian jobs and revenue with them. This has also resulted in poor utilization of bilateral air traffic rights by Indian operators. The removal of the 5/20 rule is estimated to boost international traffic to and from India to over 100 mn passengers by FY2021, compared to 43 mn in FY2014. This would stimulate the domestic market, and the resultant growth would help all domestic carriers. With forward-looking policies and steps to reduce the costs of doing business, the airline industry in India is likely to see greater activity and more competition in the years ahead. The impact of the entry of new airlines like Air Asia India and Vistara is already being seen in the superior customer service and on-time performance of these carriers and strong downward pressure on tariffs, all of which serve customer interest. The claim that air fares in India will go up as a result of removing the 5/20 rule is specious and unfounded. Not protectionism, but increased competition within the country will further contribute to lower prices and greater accessibility of air travel to common people. Tata Group detailed reply released on 24th February.”

Ajay Singh CMD, SpiceJet

Rahul Bhatia Founder, IndiGo

Wolfgang Prock-Schauet CEO, Go Air

Tony Fernandes Air Asia chief in a recent interview

The larger objective of 5/20 rule along with this RDG was that they would ensure connectivity to regional areas. The principle was that you first serve the country and then you get what are clearly the lucrative rights, profitable rights to fly internationally which we have all done. For airlines, especially airlines controlled by foreign partners, for them to come and now to say that we want a different yardstick is wrong.

At a philosophical level, we find it fascinating that the tweet comes from an individual who sort of represents the absolute pinnacle of corporate citizenry in this country. So if this whole issue of national is so close to his heart, how come he did not bring it up for all these years when he had no interest in this industry. How come he is bringing up his interest today when he has vested interest in two airlines in the country.

This is not only against the old principles of international aviation but would also result in traffic moving out from India into the surrounding hubs. If you ask me, the last thing I would change is 5/20 and RDG because that is functioning, it has helped India.

The sector is complicated with 5/20… Generally, India is a huge country with a huge market, massive potential, but aviation has lagged behind rest of Asia. I am so impressed with the new government and its ambitions, but aviation has lagged a bit. The aviation policy has been due 22 months and we haven’t had it yet.

fter a perceptible lull of nearly three months (the Ministry of Civil Aviation had closed the feed gathering exercise from the stakeholders on its draft policy around November end last year and since then there has been no official assurance from Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan on the possible schedule of the final unveiling of the new policy), it took a mere tweet from Ratan Tata on 21st of February to bring back the issue in the spotlight. And it sparked a serious row drawing battlelines, probably making the task much more difficult for the civil aviation ministry to strike the right balance in the final policy prescription. Going by a market perception, the civil aviation ministry already has quite a task in hand in synchronizing the pulls and pressures from different quarters. Ratan Tata, described as someone who is at the pinnacle of “Indian corporate citizenry” by IndiGo’s founder Rahul Bhatia, in his tweet had strongly accused the established Indian carriers of lobbying hard to sustain the 5/20 provision which will not allow new carriers Vistara and Air Asia’s Indian subsidiary (Tata group is a leading stakeholder in both these companies which are barely over a year old in the Indian sky), to fly abroad in the near future. Tata’s argument was given the changing dynamics of the aviation business wherein Indian carriers need to pick up more strength in their international operations, such a rule has no validity. And what followed almost amounted to unleashing a brouhaha with SpiceJet Chairman and the new poster boy of Indian aviation Ajay Singh first picking up the gauntlet on behalf of the established carriers and then within a short span of just 24 hours, all members of

Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) comprising Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Go Air, coming out in the open charging Ratan Tata of towing a line which is purely self-serving rather than in the larger interest of Indian aviation. “The Draft NCAP (National Civil Aviation Policy) creates an unfair playing field by asking existing airlines to continue to maintain the same level of regional and remote area deployment under the route dispersal guidelines (RDG), while allowing new entrants to build less encumbered and more cost-competitive networks as a result of the draft NCAP proposal to remove/dilute rule and prevent incumbents from redeploying capacity away from remote area routes (North-east, Andaman, J & K and Lakshadweep),” the FIA members maintained in a joint statement. But just a day after FIA’s putting up a joint front in favour of retaining 5/20, Tata Group in an elaborate press release emphasized how 5/20 has hampered the growth of Indian aviation. “The 5/20 rule has thus far principally benefited only foreign airlines, who have captured 70% of the international traffic with India, taking Indian jobs and revenue with them. This has also resulted in poor utilization of bilateral air traffic rights by Indian operators,” that was the crux of Tata Group’s rebuttal. The open war of words from both quarters has clearly created some kind of piquant scene. Ratan Tata’s demand for abolition of 5/20 is clearly not a voice in isolation. Many leading observers, both global and domestic, have also mocked at it calling it totally illogical with no parallel in any other country in the world. But then, it is also no secret to anybody that RDG has been a critical pain point

for carriers in the country in terms of commercial viability. The government, however, is unlikely to do away with RDG since it is fairly convinced that without this provision, many remote locations in the country would have never made on the Indian aviation map. The imbroglio simply raises more pertinent questions which are not easy to answer. For instance, can Ratan Tata be totally absolved of the charge that he is driven more by the interest of the carriers where his company has stakes? Conversely, is the other side trying to play the victim card? And in the process, very subtly using RDG as a bargain chip (some of them are on record saying that if 5/20 is abolished then RDG deserves the similar treatment). One of bound to ask, why are airlines like Indigo and SpiceJet making so much hue and cry on international rights. They have hardly shown any intent to emerge as a strong player in this segment in the past and given the kind of bulk aircraft orders which Indigo (the domestic market leader) has placed, it hardly reflects any ambition to crisscross globally on its own at a future date. Somewhere, the established carriers also seem to project this tussle as that typical war between home-grown Davids and Goliath calling Vistara and Air Asia’s Indian subsidiary entities that are controlled from overseas. Or this imbroglio is all about ego-clash between the incumbents and the potential challenger? The scene is mired in confusion galore and given the perplexing equations, it is certainly going to be a tough task for the civil aviation ministry to settle this battle royale. By ritwik sinha

airline s & airports

Ashok Gajapathi Raju Civil Aviation Minister in a recent interview

Mahesh Sharma Minister of State for Civil Aviation in a recent comment

Praful Patel Former Civil Aviation Minister and senior NCP leader

Ambedkarji once said that “consistency is the virtue of an ass” and I don’t want to become an ass. But I want the reasoning on why they think 5/20 should remain. Please try to convince me. I would also say that I am not be an expert in this matter but I am not confused either.

5/20 is going. In place of that, we will have something like 0/10 or 0/20 or 1/10 or 2/20. One of these options will be chosen very shortly. We are very close to the final decision.”

I am surprised to see Mr Tata’s tweet that older airlines are lobbying against a change in the 5/20 rule. While he is offering advise to the government to change the (civil aviation) policy, he himself is directly an interested party in the two new carriers. It is further surprising to see that he has said that the new airlines were formed in compliance with the prevailing policy. Then what is the need to change the policy mid-way.

Kapil Kaul CEO (South Asia), CAPA

5/20 is the most negative policy ever taken in this country. No matter who is lobbying for it, I hope it will be abolished.

RDG, `2500 fare likely to stay in new policy; regional connectivity to be the main thrust At a recently held summit in Delhi, the top government functionaries subtly indicated the possible provisions which the new Civil Aviation Policy will eventually prescribe. By ritwik sinha

ven as there is no formal indication from the Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan pertaining to the final unveiling of the new civil aviation policy (it was originally scheduled to come into the effect from April 1st), at the PHDCCI Civil Aviation Summit held last month, senior functionaries of Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) dropped enough hints to suggest the possible constituents which will eventually determine the fate of Indian aviation in the coming years. To begin with, from the government’s perspective, regional connectivity is the major thrust and backing it up with fiscal incentives (viability gap funding and 2 percent additional cess on normal scheduled operators) is the clear USP of the proposals incorporated in the draft policy paper. “We are trying to frame a policy which should benefit the domestic market. That is our prime concern,” said Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju in his brief speech at the inaugural session. “Regional connectivity is a major focus in many big Asian markets today and that is what our policy proposes to do in India. We have to bring in a regime which should allow operations of smaller airports and smaller aircrafts. We have proposed viability gap funding which responds to the need of incentivising regional connectivity,” Joint Secretary of Civil Aviation Ministry, Anil Srivastava added. Prima facie, no stakeholder has any reservation with the thrust on regional connectivity. Kapil Kaul of CAPA called it a ‘directionally positive move’ and the industry, by and large, seems to be have accepted the fact that regional connectivity will be a vital pillar of Indian

From (L-R): Kapil Kaul, Sanat Kaul, Gargi Kaul, Dr. Renu Singh Parmar and Amber Dubey

☛ MoCA top functionaries maintain RDG has been succesful in India and not outlived its utility ☛ `2500 fare on regional routes meant to divert AC-2 and AC-1 class railways passenger traffic aviation’s future wherein it is projected to become the third largest market in the world over the next decade. The reservations expressed is on the issue of modalities – how to achieve the tectonic shift in the existing mind-set which would entail creating required infrastructure in remote locations. “Indian aviation market in the past has been largely centered around select political and commercial hubs. The top ten cities contribution to the total domestic traffic in the country now stands at 78 percent – a significant increase from 67 percent in 2000-01. Certain one million plus towns which are also commercial hubs – Kota and Ludhiana – do not have an airport. It will need a huge shift in focus,” pointed out Manish Chedia, MD of Auctus Advisors, a management consultancy firm. While creating effective infrastructure at new regional locations is one extreme of the issue, another dimension sadly underlines that

putting up infrastructure has not really worked in many places. Jaisalmer airport is a glaring example today which is ready for past three years (with a an investment of `50 crore) but no scheduled operations has begun. “Since 2007, about 20 airports/airstrips which we have revamped are either under-utilised or unutilised,” admitted S Sreekumar, GM (Planning), AAI. Sanat Kaul, Chairman, International Foundaanil srivastava Joint secretary, civil aviation ministry

Regional connectivity is a major focus in many big Asian markets today and that is what our policy proposes to do in India. We have to bring in a regime which should allow operations of smaller airports and smaller aircrafts. We have proposed viability gap funding which responds to the need of incentivising regional connectivity.

tion of Aviation, Aerospace and Development (India Chapter) issued a cautionary note. “Regional connectivity is not always viable. You must not forget the example of Vayudoot which was touching 100 stations in 1980s but then went belly up. Now this policy seems to have a financial plan but for implementing viability gap funding, you need to get all the states on the board. Most importantly, its success would be determined by sustained efforts. Airports can’t be run on the basis of one aircraft a week frequency.” Even a new comer in the fray, Hyderabad-based True Jet which launched operations last year as a regional carrier, is of the opinion that initiatives to promote regional connectivity have to be holistic. “AAI has to give the waiver on landing charges. Flying to tier-2 locations in other regions should also be allowed for regional carriers so that they have an expansive network and offer more destination options to the domestic flyers,” demanded Umesh V, MD of True Jet. Equally entwined with the issue of regional connectivity is the validity of Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG) which compel all scheduled operators to put a certain percentage of their operations to connect remote

locations. The norm was imposed in mid-90s and according to some analysts, this norm is no longer effective in the era of dynamic changes. “RDG is simply unfair. We shouldn’t be telling our airlines where to fly,” observed Amber Dubey, Head- Aerospace and Defence, KPMG India. However, functionaries of MoCA made it clear that the government does not buy the argument that RDG has outlived its utility. “RDG has been successful in the country. Had it been not there, destinations in the north-east, Andaman would have never made it to the larger national aviation map,” Gargi Kaul, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation strongly emphasised. “We are planning to give a slight tweak to RDG norms by adding new locations, possibly hill stations which are not on aviation network,” Srivastava added. The assertions by top functionaries of the ministry on RDG clearly indicates which way the wind is blowing. Fixing a price cap of `2500 on regional routes covered in less than an hour is another major issue on which some analysts have expressed their reservation saying the government should not keep pricing levers in its hand. However, according to Gargi Kaul, MoCA’s rationale behind such a price band is simple. “To give a big-ticket push to the regional segment, we want to divert some passenger traffic from the railways – especially those who are travelling by AC-2 and AC-1 class. And that is the entire logic behind this cap. In internal discussions with us, some airlines are favouring this move.” The statement is probably another indicator that when the suspense is finally lifted from the new civil aviation policy, `2500 pricing band may emerge as a major highlight.

airline s & airports

IndiGo receives its first A320 neo aircraft; 22 percent increase in fleet projected in 2016-17

IndiGo’s first A320 neo aircraft at Delhi airport By TF Bureau

n December last year, Airbus had informed its global customers that that there would be delay in the delivery of its new A320neo planes. This had created some ripples within the aviation world. The new A320 neo planes are believed to be the most path-breaking offering from Airbus because of the fuel efficiency it is promising. With India’s market leader Indigo having placed the largest bulk order for the A320 neo, concerns were expressed w ith the airline's share price getting a beating on the stock market. However, the airline has n owannounced that delivery glitches s tood resolved with Airbus and Indigo will face no challenge in the capacity augmentation it has planned for the fiscal 2016-17.

In fact on 10th of March, the airline received its first A320 neo putting all speculations to rest. Indigo is the largest customer of A320 neo in the world having placed orders for a staggering 430 units on a cumulative basis – order for 250 A320 neo in 2015 after 180 units were contracted in 2011. Going by the original delivery schedule, Indigo was supposed to receive 26 planes by the end of March, 2017. But now, Airbus will be supplying it 24 A 320 neo aircrafts over the next 13 month period. Responding to the development, President of Indigo, Aditya Ghosh underlined that with the delivery issue resolved, Indigo will embark on the next phase of growth. “The new A320 neo powered by Pratt and Whitney’s fuel efficient geared turbo fan engines will enable us to structurally reduce our costs

are expected to be strong at as fuel continues to be the around 35% to 37% and at single largest element of last year’s levels. However, for our cost structure. This also the fourth quarter, year-overmarks the beginning of the next phase of our growth year revenue is expected to and will enable us to make increase by 6% to 8% and net air transportation far more profit will also be impacted accessible for the people of due to the exchange rate India.” movement in the Indian Rupee versus the US Dollar. The company recently Meanwhile, the airline has also issued its near to mealso recently added one dium run operational outlook more destination to its operawhich, among other things, tional profile (35th domestic clearly earmarks that for and 40th overall) connecting capacity augmentation, it is Dehradun with Delhi. The not solely relying on Airbus’ airline has also announced delivery but also keeping launching nine new flights lease options open. Considacross its domestic network. ering the strong passenger The airline has connected volume surge ( Indigo has Aditya Ghosh President, Indigo Chennai to Bengaluru and seen a staggering passenger Kolkata to Jaipur with its third growth of 35 percent in the For fiscal 2017, total fleet strength is expected to increase by about 22.4% flight beginning this month 12 month period ending on on a year-over-year basis allowing January 31st,2016), the comwhile also commencing adIndiGo to absorb the additional pany has also provisioned for ditional daily non-stop flights manpower in its operations that w as hired in expectation of taking delivery seven more A 320 aircrafts between Kolkata and Delhi, of 9 A320neo aircraft between which will be taken on the Hyderabad and Chennai, December 2015 and March 2016. lease. “For fiscal 2017, total Delhi and Bengaluru, Delhi fleet strength is expected to and Chennai, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram & Pune increase by about 22.4% on a and Thiruvananthapuram. In year-over-year basis allowing and March 2016,” the company addition, IndiGo will also connect IndiGo to absorb the additional release maintained. manpower in its operations Jaipur to Hyderabad with the On the financial performance that were hired in expectation launch of its second daily nonfront, Indigo has projected a of taking delivery of 9 A320neo strong fourth quarter of fiscal year stop flight, with effect from March 15, 2016. aircraft between December 2015 2016 wherein EBITDAR margins

Cirrus Aircraft sets shop in India, banking on facelift in regional and remote connectivity

By ritwik sinha

firm) and recently opened its sales account in the country he p romise of the with delivery of four units to Ministry of Civil Aviation a business house. “We have to invigorate domestic recently accomplished our regional and remote first deal in India and we connectivity with its soon to be believe that in the medium released policy has begun to to long run, our order book draw attention of major global from Indian customers will aircraft manufacturers who grow significantly. Though specifically specialise in smaller I can’t predict any sales airplanes. US-based Cirrus numbers in the Indian Aircraft, globally known for its market in the next five years, five-seven seaters, is one such we believe the number will manufacturer which seems to be double every year from upbeat w ith immense business this small base now. We prospects for its offerings. are getting good number of enquiries. However, much “We are quite bullish on India. The country has 400 airstrips and of this will depend on what all our single engine jets can opprecisely would be ultimately erate out of them. The promotion provisioned in the new civil of regional connectivity is good aviation policy to promote news for manufacturers like us,” regional and remote connecAdam Hahn, Director (Europe, tivity,” added Hahn. Africa, Middle East & India) told Minnesota based firm, TourismFirst in a recent exclusive now owned by a Chinese conversation. company, is known for its SR The company which is look20, SR 22, and SR 22T line of ing at India as a major future aircraft and is a major supplier in the regional and remote market for its products had set connectivity space in North up a marketing base in 2014 (in collaboration with a domestic America. Since its inception

adam hann director (Europe, Africa, Middle east & India), cirrus aircraft

The new policy is likely to open new windows of opportunity in the remote connectivity space and our products are aligned to serve in these sectors. Our planes are mostly used by the business clients from SME sectors and for leisure tourism by small groups. They are even used for medical emergencies as well as in aviation training academy.

in 1984, the company has sold around 6200 airplanes to its global clients across 60 countries. “Two-third of our aircraft which we have sold so far are deployed in the US market while the remaining 1/3rd is in Europe and Asia. But we are looking at newmarkets. We have built a base in Australia which is serving markets like Japan and Philippines. With Chinese owners, we are now growing rapidly in that country. And the emerging markets like India, Russia and Brazil are our next big targets. All of them have huge landscapeand as the airline industry has evolved in these countries, the focus obviously is shifting to regional and remote connectivity,” Hahn pointed out. The company believes that it has set up its base in India at an opportune moment as its multi-utility planes can be a perfect fit for services which will

be more in demand following the opening of regional and remote connectivity space. “The new policy is likely to open new windows of opportunity in remote connectivity space and our products are aligned to serve in these sectors. Our planes are mostly used by business clients from the SME sector and for leisure tourism by small groups. They are even used for medical emergencies as well as in aviation training academy. With the ability of airplanes to land or take off from any kind of airstrip, any point in a geographically diverse country like India can be touched,” said Hahn while pointing out at the success of Imagine Air in the US market. An air taxi operator based in Georgia, Imagine Air is presently covering around 1000 airports and airstrips in the US using Cirus SR22 planes. “The success of Imagine Air clearly shows that a serious player in the remote connectivity segment can make a critical difference with our offerings,” underlined Hahn.

airline s & airports

“Promoting inbound tourism should be a critical element of civil aviation policy" The Director General of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (a formidable trade body representing 16 prominent carriers in Asia Pacific), Andrew Herdman, recently visited Mumbai to attend a seminar and strongly advocated that the forthcoming civil aviation policy should have the inbound tourism considerations as a strategic cornerstone. TourismFirst caught up with him on the sidelines for an exclusive conversation wherein he also spoke on other critical issues. Edited excerpts... By ritwik sinha The low inbound tourists number in India despite its potential being so huge, could it also be a function of a flawed civil aviation policy? One of your recent remarks probably point in that direction.

That’s an open question. We need to analyse to what extent the restrictions to traffic rights affect the volume of inbound traffic and the nature of that traffic. What confuses the picture is a lot of international traffic to/from India is going to other destinations, over hubs outside India. From tourism point of view, I am one of those people who thinks that the Indian inbound market is much larger than the actual footfall numbers. And, therefore, it should be one of the key elements of the future plan of aviation. Promoting inbound tourism should be intrinsically linked to your new aviation policy. That would obviously entail liberalising the traffic rights situation so as to facilitate more carriers coming to the market. From an Indian carrier point of view that would mean more competition in the short-term. But it also means more opportunity. I am afraid, you can’t have a situation wherein you protect until you are ready because by

the time the opportunity arises, you are not fit to compete. It’s a delicate balance for policy makers here – to what extent should the bilateral advantage be given to the foreign carriers and to what extent it should spur innovation on the part of Indian carriers. When you talk to Indian carriers, you get different India has missed the opportunity to develop a hub in the past. But is it too late? I don’t think so. The size of the market is growing too fast and at some point, India will succeed in developing at least a couple of major hubs. It will result from government’s policy framework but more importantly you will need successful network airline to be part of that. That makes Air India’s attempts to become competitive more relevant. Jet Airways is a strong contender to operate more competitive international network. Vistara may have that ambition to not just carry passengers internationally but hub over India.

answers. There are those who would like to expand internationally, especially the new carriers. And then there are those who do not believe that this is not an opportunity they are ready for and they would rather prefer to focus on domestic markets and the

existing international markets. The tourism industry as such seems to be gung-ho with the rapid liberalisation in e-visa norms which this government has initiated. Do you share the sentiment that it will turn out to be a major catalyst to spur inbound tourism growth in India?

If getting visa to visit India becomes easier, it is definitely a good news. It also sends a strong signal to the global community which is as powerful as any marketing or promotion drive you can put in place. We saw it in America recently where after years of lobbying, the government decided to liberalise visa regime for Chinese travellers. It has resulted in huge surge in Chinese traffic. So this connection between liberalising visa and the signal it sends that the country is open for business and tourism could be a major catalyst for inbound traffic. Alongwith that, you also need to ensure that your visa charges are reasonably priced. Of course, e-visa benefits would depend a great deal on the kind of air connectivity you have. Now when we look at the Indian scene today, the fact that the balance of international connectivity has tilted in favour of foreign carriers is emerging as somekind

India can still become an international hub, says Andrew Herdman Can we still aspire to develop a major international hub or we have lost the plot? Going by a strong view point, India is seen as sandwiched between two major hubs – Singapore and Dubai. And more are emerging like Abu Dhabi with Etihad’s growing influence in the Indian market. You yourself mentioned that hubs for Indian traffic have come up outside the country.

iven the potential size of the Indian market, it’s a reasonable ambition that India should have one or two major international hubs. But building a hub takes time and it’s a combination of several factors. You need a strong base carrier network supplemented by other services and it has to be supported by efficiently managed infrastructure that can handle volume of traffic including connecting flows and not just the origin-destination flows. Merely creating hub capable airports will not work. It would be meaningless without networks that define a hub. You can’t just say we have built a world-class airport and everybody is welcome. Hubs rely on base carrier providing basic network. The base

My response to your question, India has missed the opportunity to develop a hub in the past. But is it too late? I don’t think so. The size of the market is growing too fast and at some point, India will succeed in developing at least a couple of major hubs.

carrier has a major incentive to maximise the hub flows. But even a strong base carrier on its own isn’t sufficient because the magic of the hub is it also attracts a lot of other airlines. And they connect to each other and even with the base carrier. And its consumers who play a big role in shaping a hub. So my response to your question, India has missed the opportunity to develop a hub in the past. But is it too late? I don’t think so. The size of the market is grow-

ing too fast and at some point, India will succeed in developing at least a couple of major hubs. It will result from government’s policy framework but more importantly you will need successful network airline to be part of that. That makes Air India’s attempts to become competitive more relevant. Jet Airways is a strong contender to operate more competitive international network. Vistara may have that ambition to not just carry passengers internationally but hub over India. But a lot of co-ordination will be required among the stakeholders. Please remember, hubs can’t be created artificially. It happens because the stakeholders envisage demand in a location and then other pieces are brought in place where government plays a supporting role. Artificially created hubs fail.

andrew herdman director general, AAPA

of emotive issue here. Do you feel it needs to be corrected?

There are two reactions to that. One is to say that we should be protected from further competition. Or you introspect as why you have been out-carried and how you can hone your competitive edge? What is it that makes passengers to prefer to fly by foreign carriers? Is it product or price or the wholesome experience? Customer look at his convenience and he does not mind opting for foreign carriers if they can respond to his aspirations. In general, the sooner you begin to benchmark yourself against the leading foreign carriers, better it would be for you to be successful in the future. Not just internationally but also in your domestic operations. So it’s a threat but also an opportunity. This is a vital lesson which carriers in ASEAN region have learnt. You grow on the basis of getting access to more markets even as other carriers will also get access to

markets where you have been traditionally strong. From a consumer point of view, more choices are better. And in terms of competitive dynamics of prompting carriers to think innovatively and become more competitive, the overall benefit is immense – both for the consumers as well as in having healthier and robust industry. So you can have domestic competition among domestic players and the segment has its own dynamics. But the competition in the international sphere is a bit more taunting because the world has some very strong and very competitive carriers.

You spoke about the bilateral restrictions. But we have our own restriction for domestic carriers to fly abroad. Is it also not a serious imbalance?

You are referring to 5/20. I don’t recall the rationale for introducing 5/20 rule here. If you as a carrier has been subjected to the restriction imposed by it, you would obviously be unhappy if they are suddenly lifted. You would also like others to cross those hurdles. So one can sense the argument currently going on in India related with 5/20. But I would come back to the purpose of putting the provision in the first place. I think one rational behind this rule was to ask carriers to prove themselves domestically in terms of operations, integrity, safety and so on. But we have seen airline start-ups at several places globally complying with the highest international regulatory benchmarks in a very quick time. So in the present business environment, I don’t think there is merit in asking the airlines to prove themselves for five long years domestically and then fly abroad.

AAPA’s take on draft civil aviation policy There is a broader discussion going on the draft civil aviation policy here is India. Do you find it a balanced package?

Aviation is a complex business and if you read the policy document, one is struck by the sheer number of topics which have to be covered. Some of the topics should not be part of this policy as they should not be under the government control. They should be decided by the market forces. Issues like products and services. I think the market players are well capable to take a call on that and it does not require policy intervention. Consumers too know how to choose between competing services. In terms of fundamentals, government should focus to provide proper regulatory framework and make sure that the rules of the game are consistent with global standards and are properly enforced. That’s for everyone’s benefit. They should ensure that the framework for the development in the industry is in place. That includes not just the evolution of the airlines but particularly airport infrastructure and navigation services capability where the government is often the operator. And in the case of airports, even if they are not operators, they have a key role to play in authorising the construction of projects, new runways, etc. As far as other elements of shaping the industry is concerned, the government should be careful not getting too involved in the commercial aspects. For instance, the general pricing issues which airlines are capable to handle.

infra struc ture

Infrastructure gets a multi-pronged push as the govt. unveils mega projects

The government has mooted wayside amenities on National Highways at every 50 kilometres which will transform the way we travel

National Highways to become free from railway crossing as ‘Setu Bharatam’ project rolls out

n a major boost to India’s quest for fresh infusion of highway infrastructure, the government, recently, rolled out an ambitious `50,800-crore Setu Bharatam project. The project is aimed at eliminating all prevailing railway crossings at National Highways by 2019, besides a complete overhaul of 1,500 British-era bridges. The Prime Minister at the launch ceremony re-iterated that his government was committed to speeding up all projects related to infrastructure, stating that “Our endeavor is for a quantum jump in infrastructure, for a breakthrough, for fast-tracking projects. Infrastructure plays the same role for the nation as arteries play in a human body and thus, making it sound is quintessential.” The PM lamented the lack of data collection saying that it indicated a dearth of proper system in place. “Nobody knows which bridge is where. Imagine how works were being done,” he said. “I am not blaming any elected body for this or any Prime

Narendra Modi Prime Minister

Our endeavor is for a quantum jump in infrastructure, for a breakthrough, for fast-tracking projects. Infrastructure plays the same role for the nation as arteries play in a human body and thus, making it sound is quintessential.

Minister or ministers. This is the flaw of the system. We didn’t accord priority to these things,” added the PM. As per the official statement, as many as 208 new roads, over-

bridges and under-bridges have been proposed for construction. To ensure authentic mapping, the Indian Bridge Management System has been introduced to map all 1,50,000 bridges in the

country using satellite imagery for precise location details. Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari noted that Setu Bharatam programme was going to make

National Highways safer for commuting by preventing frequent accidents and loss of lives. He further detailed that 208 railway overbridges and underbridges were to be constructed at a cost of `20,800 crore, including 33 in Andhra Pradesh, 12 in Assam, 20 in Bihar, five in Chhattisgarh, eight in Gujarat, 10 in Haryana, five in Himachal Pradesh, 11 in Jharkhand, 17 in Karnataka, nine in Rajasthan, nine in Tamil Nadu, two in Uttarakhand, nine in Uttar Pradesh, four in Kerala, six in Madhya Pradesh, 12 in Maharashtra, four in Odisha, 10 in Punjab and 22 in West Bengal.

Wayside amenities at every 50 km on NHs soon to be a reality

ayside amenities on National Highways, or for that matter state highway, are crucial to ensure smooth travel experience. India, sadly, has been long bereft of highway amenities; even hygienic working toilets are hard to find by. The existing vacuum is likely to be plugged, as National Highways, across the country, are shortly going to have wayside amenities like dispensaries, car-servicing centers, food-courts and shopping malls at every 50 kilometers. Modi government has launched a policy which will facilitate the construction of 15,000 such facilities under PPP and EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) mode on all existing National Highways. The issued directive states that NHAI will grant all necessary clearance, acting as the nodal agency for such undertakings. As per the policy, there is provision of incentives for petrol pump owners, if they provide

facilities like shower-area and multi-utility shops on their land. The ministry of road transport and highways is going to write to companies to provide basic amenities at NHs under CSR. The NHAI, as per the policy, will acquire land where there is unavailability of plots, or the private sector is disinterested in taking up the project. Given that these projects are of high returns on investment because of steady traffic, these are being viewed as highly viable projects by the larger industry. Once completed, the development will bring Indian roads at par with the best in the world, in terms of facilities and experience. Another major worry, for commuters, has been the high number of road-accidents and lack of medical facilities, causing high number of road fatalities; now, with dispensaries at every fifty kilometers, it is being hoped that these numbers will come down a notch, too.

With an extensive network of water-bodies, states like Kerala and Goa are most likely to benefit from the massive revamp of river waterways

Inland Waterways Bill cleared in Parliament; to propel river centric tourism growth

he recent budgetary session of the parliament saw the clearance of Inland Waterways Bill 2015 in the Rajya Sabha which has paved the way for its implementation. The bill which had received Lok Sabha’s nod in December is now all set to become an act resulting in the beginning of the process to create as many as 106 new inland waterways in the country. While, the creation of new waterways is meant to put in place a vibrant mode of freight transportation within the boundaries of the country, it is also slated to ignite other river centric economic activities including tourism (refer to our story: “Inland Waterways expansion also includes connecting religious sites; Eight locations identified along Brahamputra and Ganga” published in January). “We are looking at promotion of religious cruise services in a big way. Earlier, we had formed a committee which had representa-

tives from the Union Ministry of Tourism as well as state governments and the committee has identified religious sites along Brahmaputra and Ganga stretches which could be connected with cruise services. We have drawn a basic plan which enlists the basic improvement work on the site like putting up new pontoon bridges and also improving the road access.” Chairman of Inland Waterways Authority, Amitabh Verma had earlier told us. The massive project is also slated to give a big boost to river cruise tourism segment in the country especially in Brahamputra and Ganges basin in the initial phase. The development of National Waterways 3 which covers Kerala is believed to have given a major boost to the river cruise tourism business in the state and the same model is expected to evolve in some of the other river zones where new inland waterways network will come up.

state s/de stinations The lack of worldclass event venue in the national capital was quite evident when the global music maestro Zubin Mehta had to perform at JLN Stadium, late last year

Delhi Government will ensure a tourismfriendly budget this year: Kapil Mishra Delhi government’s budget for 2016-17 fiscal is likely to express the intentions of a big, bang revamp of the tourism scene in the national capital. Special allocation is expected for a high-octane publicity drive to be initiated in August.

☛ Delhi government plans to open two world class MICE centres ☛ Brand ambassador likely to be appointed before August By Ritwik Sinha

tional Capital of India is a heritage hub in its own rights, is a vibrant or those eyeing a facelift business and commercial center, of Delhi tourism,some has rich cultural assets and is positive, big-ticket the most formidable internadevelopments may just tional gateway for arrivals intothe be round the corner. According country (as much as 45 percent to Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil of the total arrivals). However, all Mishra, the state government (in these favourable factors are not the second year of its second translating into delivering the r ight inning) is now ready with a slew numbers. As per a ll India statistics of new initiatives which will give released by the Ministry of Toura major push to tourism in D elhi. ism for year 2014, while Delhi does Manyobservers are of the view not figure in the top ten domestic thattourism efforts have been tourism stateslist, it occupies somewhat dormant for quite fourth rank inforeign tourist arrivsometime. “I can assure you that als. Analysts point at a long litany the n ext financial year is going to of gaps ranging from high taxation provision in accommodation be a turning point for tourism in and tourism services to lack of a Delhi,” Mishra said at a recently held seminar organised by the connect between its myriads and Delhi cell of the apex chamber diverse assets to the lack of plan CII in the nationalcapital. to hardsell them holistically and While untapped potential is a also the lack of preparation to tap general tagline which is used to new segments like MICE. define Indian tourism by several “We are missing out on events observers, in Delhi’s case the in a major way. We also need to sense of disappointment seems ensure that the city has a sound to be more pronounced. The Nabase of mid-segment accom-

Global scale city festival planned in November this year

ome November and the national capital may just grab the attention of the world with an add-on identity. As per the grand designs of the state government, the national capital will host the first edition of Grand Delhi Festival which will be much on the lines of globally popular annual extravaganza s uch as those in Dubai and Singapore. “The grand Delhi Festival is going to be a major initiative which we have planned. It will be truly global scale and we are talking to agencies which are involved in such shows elsewhere to assist us. This will showcase the city’s culture and heritage,” Mishra said. It will a lso offer shopping opportunities to the visitors, w hich is a major draw for Dubai F estival. As per s ources, an effective strategy would be put in place to create adequate buzz for the Grand Delhi Festival as it will be aggressively promoted since the early stages of the new campaign which Delhi government initiates in August. The exercise would also entail bringing in diverse stakeholders of tourism business to join hands to make it a grand affair. “It is going to be a collective effort and we would like all stakeholders to make their contribution. We are welcome to all suggestions,” Mishra emphasised. For a citykeento make a mark on the tourism scene o n account of itsmany assets, an event of this scale could be an effective panacea. The annual festivals in Dubai and Singapore have emerged as a major draw in the tourism profile of these vibrant global cities which, by and large, result in tourism stakeholders complement each other in offering myriads of experiential choices to the visitors. Statistics clearly point out that during the festival period (usually over two weeks), a sudden surge is witnessed in visitors’ arrival in Dubai and Singapore.

modation,” pointed out K B Kachru, Chairman (South Asia), Carlson Rezidor Hotels. “The city does not even have a catchy tagline to define its tourism, nor does it have any brand ambassador – a tool which many states in the country have used so successfully. These are the basics now to promote your tourism,” rued Madhav Shriram, Director, DCM Shriram Industries. The stakeholders in Delhi have this common grudge that the city ends up being a transit point Kapil Mishra for tourists (particularly Tourism Minister, Delhi international) to Jaipur Delhi has the capability to emerge and Agra markets rather as a major global destination for than retaining them for events but lack of hosting facilities is a longer period and d o a serious issue. An event like Zubin Mehta concert does not deserve to be businessby serving them. staged in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. According to a report, We are giving finishing touches to a tourists using Delhi as plan to build two world class event gateway to visit Jaipur and centers in the city. Agra do not spend more than one night in the national capital. But according to Kapil Mishra, a noted brand ambassador. This the AAP government is commitwill be a high-octane publicity ted to propel tourism in Delhi in a drive,” Mishra said. new avatar and it will get increasDelhi government’s plans to ingly pronounced in the coming infuse a fresh lease of life in Delhi months. “Delhi has all the attribtourism particularly on the front utes to be a tourism powerhouse. of creating t he r ight kind of buzz What it lacks is in management globally also includes hosting and publicity. We are kick-starting a prolonged city specific festian aggressive brand campaigning val, much on the lines of Dubai this August for which a separate festival (read box piece: Global allocation will be made in the scale ciy festival in November this forthcoming state government year). Furthermore, to beef up budget (to be announced around the MICE preparedness, the state this month end). The campaign government has decided to build will have a brand tagline and also two new venues.

“Delhi has the capability to emerge as a major global destination for events but lack of hosting facilities is a serious issue. An event like Zubin Mehta concert does not deserve to be staged in Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. We are giving finishing touches to a plan to build two world class event centers in the city,” Delhi tourism minister informed the gathering. He further stressed that the AAP government has simplified the procedure to host events in the city (by facilitating single window clearance as against permission from multiple agencies) and the results have been quite encouraging. “We have clearly seen more events happening in the city now than what it used to be about a year back. We are committed to push this segment in a major way going ahead,” he said. Going by Mishra’s pronouncements, Delhi government’s 2016-17 budget would make AAP government intentions clear that tourism is a top priority for the state government. “Unlike the recently announced union budget, you will not find ‘t’ word missing in the state government budget,” he said taking a dig at the center. He further specified that while the forthcoming state budget will not only make provisions for the tourism department’s proposed initiatives, it will also contain some fiscal relief. “What I can tell you today is that our budget will definitely announce a rationalisation in luxury taxes imposed on hotels. The local hotel industry has been asking for it for quite sometime and we see merit in their demand,” he underlined.

Dilli Haat revamp to make it world-class

elhi government’s plans to infuse a fresh lease of life in national capital’s tourism scene also incorporates revamping some noted cultural centers which the city boasts of. According to Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra, some of these centers like the original Dilli Haat near INA market needs major revamp as they are now lacking in experiential deliverables. “Dilli Haat, INA market has been a prominent cultural center in the national capital in the past but now it is out of sync in terms of delivering world class experience. Its food court lacks in quality. We have planned a major revamp of this unit and a formal process will be initiated soon,”

Mishra said though he did not divulge the details on the possible constituents of the revamp plan. Dilli Haat, owned and operated by Delhi Tourism, has evolved as major cultural hub for citizens of the national capital as well as tourists coming to the city over the past two decades and following the success of INA, two more units have been added to the city’s landscape. The INA unit was opened in 1994 which was followed with an unit at Pitampura in 2007. Another centre was added to Dill Haat kitty in 2014 with the opening of Janakpuri unit which is the largest of all Dilli Haat centres.

state s/de stinations

`20,000 cr commitment for Maharastra

tourism at ‘Make in India’ summit

MoUs signed for some defining projects at the recently held mega summit and a new policy on the anvil promising ease of doing business norms and focus on niche verticals; Maharashtra Tourism is all set to put its development drive in the to gear. By ritwik sinha

or Maharastra, a state which is already firmly placed in the top echelon of tourism pecking order in the country, the week-long ‘Make in India’ summit could just have been the befitting prologue of its grand designs which is likely to be unveiled in the form of a new policy this month. The new policy has drawn a ten year development horizon provisioning not only for ease in doing business in the tourism sector but also opening new verticals with adequate scope for private sector participation. In a nut-shell, it envisions a quantum leap for Maharastra

crore for our tourism sector. Some of these projects will come up in Sindugurh coastal region, a major spa resort will come up in Raigarh, and another MoU has been signed to create a defining art village in Lonawala. Furthermore, three projects have been signed in the large amusement parks segment in and around Mumbai. One of them will be created in Goregaon. Maharastra tourism is quite happy with the outcome of the Make in India summit,” an elated Valsa Nair Singh, Tourism Secretary, Maharastra told TourismFirst in a recent exclusive conversation. From the perspective of Maharastra tourism, the posi-

☛ Maharashtra Tourism signs 11 MoUs at Make in India summit ☛ The new policy awaits state cabinet clearance ☛ New policy advocates major push to niche verticals Tourism tending to create opportunities for the state to enhance its tourism appeal significantly. But before the possible transformation which the new policy (to become effective from 1st of April after getting the final clearance from the state cabinet) is slated to usher in, here is a look at how Maharatsra Tourism fared at the recently held ‘Make in India’ week. Among other sectors, tourism potential of India too was aggressively promoted before a gathering comprising representatives from 102 countries and for Maharastra Tourism specifically, the event turned out to be a clear bonanza. “We have signed 11 MoUs amounting around `20,000

tive outcome of Make in India marks the beginning of a new momentum which will be further emphasised by the implementation of the new tourism policy. “Our new policy which is just waiting for the cabinet clearance will significantly expedite tourism development in the state in the near to medium run. We have taken into the consideration the key concerns of all stakeholders and we have accordingly fine-tuned the policy framework. For instance, the new policy proposes only 20 clearances for a hotel projects as against existing 72 (construction excluded). The new policy will have plenty of incentives for other stakeholders,” Nair informed.

The new tourism policy has set some ambitious objectives beginning with making Maharastra one of the leading global destinations in the world by 2025. The policy paper has called for “achieving a sectorial growth of 10% per annum and share of 15% in GSDP by encouraging Mega Project investments especially in less developed tourism zones. It envisages creation of one million jobs in the state tourism sector and has advocated identifying valsa nair singh Nagpur, Aurangabad and tourism secretary, maharashtra Sindhudurg as Special We have signed 11 MoUs amounting tourism districts. Specific around `20,000 crore for our tourism tourism zones will be sector. Some of these projects will created in other areas in come up in Sindugurh coastal region, a major spa resort will come up in the state. Furthermore, Raigarh, and another MoU has been tourism growth corridors signed to create a defining art village will be earmarked across in Lonawala. the state and the state will be further classified into separate tourist cities department will be education and tourist clusters which will tourism wherein Pune, Mumbai be promoted through identified themes. A critical highlight of the and Nagpur will be positioned as major education hubs through policy is the promotion of new which the tourism related studies verticals. “Tourism is all about offering new and enhanced expe- and research will be promoted. riences to the visitors. And that is The draft policy paper has also why in this policy, you will notice strongly recommended popularizing delicacies from the regions tremendous focus on some of Vidharbha, Malwan, Konkan, niche verticals which will make Kolhapur, street food of Mumbai, our basket of offerings unique etc. through special culinary in the medium to long-run,” events and festivals in the state. emphasized Nair. The policy has “The new policy, when it comes provisioned for big-ticket push to the nascent segments like mango into the place, will definitely pave the way for tapping huge opportourism (Ratnagiri), orange tunity in the new verticals. It will tourism (Nagpur) and wine tourcertainly lead us in the direction ism (Nashik). Another unique of more holistic development in tourism offering which will be the future,” Nair said. pushed by the state tourism

Aggressive promotion in the domestic circuit

n statistical terms, Maharastra has a strong positioning in both international tourist and domestic tourist arrival indices. As per India Tourism Statistics,2014 released by Ministry of Tourism, Maharastra occupied number two rank in the list of states with highest foreign tourist arrivals (4.3 million) and it was positioned at the fourth slot in the list of domestic tourist arrivals (9.4 million). While in the former category, Maharastra was quite close to the leading state Tamil Nadu (4.6 million); it is in the domestic category that Maharastra still has some catching up to do. As per government furnished statistics, Maharastra in 2014 had seen footfall of 94 million domestic tourists whereas top three states

– Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Karnatakahad posed higher numbers. In Maharastra tourism’s larger design to be driven by the forthcoming policy, special emphasis on domestic tourism is a critical element and it will find reflections in the future promotion drive of Maharastra tourism. “We have planned very aggressive campaign to further enlarge our domestic inbound numbers. As per our plans, we will be organizing Festival of Maharastra in ten cities across the country this year. Some of the cities identified are Kolkata, Chandigarh and major cities in South India. These shows will present the entire gamut of our tourism offerings including our cultural assets. Our focus on the domes-

tic segment would be probably more than the overseas markets,” informed Valsa Nair Singh. Maharastra Tourism has already kickstarted this exercise when in January it organized Maharastra Festival at Delhi Haat in the national capital. The move is much in sync with the forthcoming tourism policy in the state which has advocated identifying as many as 25 topnotch feeder markets in the country and up the promotional ante. “Promotion of domestic tourism in Maharashtra in 25 cities across in India; highlighting the state’s estates, cuisine, culture, etc” has been mentioned as critical pillar of the larger support system which the state will create to propel its tourism growth.

MICE scene will dramatically change, assures Tourism Secretary

ith Mumbai strongly positioned as India’s commercial capital, its business specific pull power is no secret to anybody. Several observers in the business will vouch that Maharastra’s top ranking in the international arrival segment owes more to the influx of business visitors than leisure traffic. However, in the same breath they would underline that Maharastra has not been able to translate this business magnet identity into making MICE a big tourism business segment for it. The lack of adequate MICE centers in the state is cited as the major spoiler. But according to Valsa Nair Singh, the scene on the MICE front in the state is likely to improve in the medium run. “India’s biggest convention center is slated to open in July,2017 in the heart of Mumbai. It will significantly improve Mumbai’s positioning as a MICE hotspot in the country,” Nair said. The Dhirubhai Ambani International Convention and Exhibition Center built by Reliance Industries at a whopping cost of $680 million is coming up at Bandra Kurla Complex on a sprawling land parcel of 75,000 square meter. Nair also pointed out that the new tourism policy contains progressive provisions to improve MICE scene across the states, particularly close to other business centers. For instance, to give a formidable shape to the MICE business, norms are going to be made easier for the venue operators. “We will be making a pre-approved list of venues all across the state wherein the operator will have the leeway to get all approval in one go for a specified period of time which could be one year or more. Plus, there will be plenty of fiscal incentives for the existing operators as well as those who want to put in greenfield projects in this segment. We are looking at MICE as a big segment for us in the future,” she summed up.

state s/de stinations

A panoramic view of Tsomorrari Lake

Kashmir to focus on trekking; high-altitude lakes may emerge as the next big draw Kashmir’s high-altitude lakes could emerge as the new hotspot for tourists heading to the valley. But a good dose of basic infrastructure needs to be added to capitalize on this unique and pristine product.

☛ Many of these lakes are located at treacherous altitudes, making them a paradise for adventure seekers. Most of them are seasonal in nature – which gives them limited exposure, ensuring their longevity. ☛ Kashmir intends to throw open high passes for climbers. The government is in constant discussion with the MoD to identify and operationalise those peaks. By shashank shekhar

&K’s tourism product has been growing steadily for some time now. It is centered around certain destinations, each with their own set of experiences on offer. Srinagar has Dal Lake, Shikaras and some awe-inspiring gardens. Golfing has picked up off-late; thanks to Gulmarg, it is fast emerging as the winter sports capital. Jammu and Kashmir, both, have strong pilgrimage pull with some revered shrines dedicated to multiple faiths. But, what may turn out to be the next big draw for the valley is the attraction of mountaineering and high-altitude lakes.

Take a look at some of the figures. It has over two thousand high-altitude lakes – 2,107 to be precise. Located in the back-drop of some of the most scenic mountains, these lakes may turn out to be the trump card in state’s quest for its lost Numero-uno position as a destination in India. Explaining what made a high-altitude lake, Mahmood Shah, Director Tourism Kashmir informed that there were three essential factors that determined it. “The lake must be located at a height of over three thousand meters. It must be fed by a perennial source of water and the bottom of the lake must not be frozen, irrespective of the weather condition,” he explained to us.

Mahmood Shah – who has been pivotal in bringing these lakes in the mainstream of public discourse and awareness – told us that he personally trekked to most of them, collecting data and fixing coordinates. “I was armed with a GPS and high-resolution camera. It took me almost three years to compile the data together. Since then, I have been assiduously pushing them as the USP which remains to be harnessed,” he said. He told us that he had been giving a string of presentations in Mahmood shah director tourism, kashmir

Our trekking destinations are unlike the Pangong where you can reach the lake on a four-wheeler. Our lakes are unspoiled, so the distance has to be footed. But, we do have ample ponies, guides and availability of equipment – which can be acquired in Srinagar.

Delhi, Mumbai and elsewhere to publicize this facet. “The idea is to go beyond our well-established seven lakes trek which includes Gadsar, Vishnasar and Gangabal among others. People go to Ut-

tarkashi and other destinations, why not Kahsmir?” he said. Most of these lakes are apt for trekking in the short summer that essentially spans from May to September. Given the remote location, rugged mountains, arduous climb, and little infrastructure in sight, it is indeed an undertaking not for the faint-hearted. “Our trekking destinations are unlike the Pangong where you can reach the lake on a fourwheeler. Our lakes are unspoiled, so the distance has to be footed. But, we do have ample ponies, guides and availability of equipment – which can be acquired in Srinagar,” he elaborated. He argued that with the advent of cellular phones, most of these locations were well-connected with the outside world. On the question of the availability of emergency medical rescue service, he narrated an incident about how some Kashmiri boys were stranded on a sheet of ice, but were evacuated with the help of IAF choppers. “There are good enough medical facilities available. However, these treks are to be carried out within laid guidelines and do’s and don’ts must be followed to the letter,” he said.

Mountain climbing to get a boost as state in touch with MoD to throw open new peaks for visitors

Some peaks in the valley have become quite famous among mountain-climbers, attracting footfalls from Europe and beyond

esides high-altitude lakes, mountaineering was another area that could be developed as a niche segment, believed Masood Shah. He shared that Kashmir had tremendous potential in mountaineering with some of the most rugged mountains in the region. “We have mountain ranges like the Shivalik, Pir-Panjal, Greater Himalayas, Zaskar range and Transhimalayan range, besides peaks in Karakoram range. So, when it comes to mountains, we have the whole gradient of the Himalayas with us,” he stressed. The recent rise in numbers of mountaineering enthusiasts does indicate that Kashmir is betting on the right horse. Stog Kangri hosted over two thousand trekkers in 2015, we were informed. “Stog Kangri is slowly getting very congested. So, we are in the process of inden-

tifying new peaks which can be opened for trekking. Most of these peaks are above 6,000 meters,” he said. The reason for this optimism also stems out of the fact that the state has witnessed 17 foreign expeditions to the treacherous Nun and Kun peaks. “Our climbers come from the USA and Europe, primarily. We have had Italians, Germans, Austrians, and interest is growing steadily,” he informed. Adding that most of these peaks needed clearance from the MoD (Ministry of Defense) before designating them as open trekking peaks which were then put onto the IMF (Indian Mountaineering Foundation) website, he told us that “once it is put on the IMF website, it is easier to get permission; the process itself is hassle-free. One can obtain

necessary permissions online.” The state is now intending on leveraging these elements through partnerships and associations. “J&K is going to partner with a number of adventure clubs dotted across India. We are hoping to rope in the wider fraternity. There are over 300 clubs in Kolkata. Pune and Mumbai have a healthy number of adventure clubs. We want to target them to put our message across,” he informed. Besides tourism, these new emerging niche segments have also lent a hand to the local youth who are finding gainful employment with increasing activities. Some local initiatives like the tie-up with the IMF is helping train locals in varied aspects of mountaineering and assisting climbers in expeditions.

i n bri e f Garden tourism gets a boost in the capital The three day long garden tourism festival, held recently at the Garden of Five senses, gave an opportunity to horticulture enthusiasts for sampling some of the best products and variety of garden equipments. In its 29th edition, the event was wellattended; over two lakh people visited the venue, as per some estimates. A number of stalls selling different types of tree saplings, organic manure and fertilizers attracted a number of visitors. Adding more luster to the event, some food-stalls serving authentic Rajasthani cuisines were also present. The only glaring loophole in otherwise well-attended event was the lack of proper management.

Telangana Tourism introduces luxury yacht rides at Hussain Sagar

Early this month, Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation (TSTDC), launched two new catamaran yachts for the Hussain Sagar Lake at Lumbini Park in Hyderabad. The yachts were inaugurated by Sania Mirza, brand ambassador for Telangana state. The new catamaran boats have been procured from the USA and are available to ferry the public at the Hussain Sagar Lake. The boats can accommodate 12-15 members per trip. TSTDC has introduced the luxury ride package with these two new boats, which will be priced at RS 100 per person. Additionally, TSTDC has also launched party packages priced at RS 2,000 per hour at these luxury boats. The party packages will begin post 8:30 PM and can be availed up to 12:00 AM. The boats will not only provide a luxurious ambience to tourists but also have a lower seating which is closer to the water during the ride. TSTDC owns the largest water fleet in India amongst the state tourism departments, about 95 which comprises small and big boats. The corporation operates leisure based cruises and water sports at different lakes and rivers of the state. Para-sailing activity at Hussain Sagar is very popular amongst the local crowd as well tourists coming to the state capital.

state s/de stinations

Lavasa’s tourism offerings demonstrates the power of new cities, says CEO Rajiv Duggal Lavasa’s ascent as a tourist destination underlines the power of creating new infrastructure and is in sync with the nation’s vision of having more SMART cities. An exclusive with the CEO.

☛ Inspired by the Italian town of Portofino, Lavasa will have four towns when construction finishes. It is emerging as a tourist spot in its own right. ☛ It has a number of distinct products; nation’s largest indoor golf course, over a hundred adventure activities and one of the largest stand-alone convention centre, to name a few. By shashank shekhar

reating new cities and constantly upgrading infrastructure is one of the key requirements for any developing nation to tackle issues that growth brings with itself with. Migration, dependence of larger population on urban areas for employment and accommodating an ever increasing influx are some of the prime reasons why new cities are created. A look at India tells us that there have, only, been a handful of new cities that have been created post independence. Chandigarh, Navi Mumbai – which happens to be the largest planned township in the world, Dhule and the latest entrant to this coveted list – Amravati – are some names that come to mind. But, taking into account the uniqueness of its product, nothing beats Lavasa. A township nestled in the Western Ghats, in proximity to Mumbai; it is one of the marvels of India’s quest for new cities. The project, itself, is spread across one hundred sq. km. and boasts of five towns, one of which is operational, as of now. Its inception was a result of the Maharashtra government’s attempt to create a new township through private funding. It was approved for a hill development project almost a decade ago. As the mega-city slowly comes to life, it now possesses a one of the largest stand-alone convention centre in India, a number of universities and top-notch hotels. With the infusion of various elements like leisure activities, IT parks and adventure sport, it is heading towards becoming a year round economy. Benefitting its infrastructure, it is host to a number of cultural events, vintage car shows, marathons and music concerts. Currently, the only operational town named Dasve has twenty five restaurants and a promenade like the ones in Europe. It has round the clock operational call centre and an Apollo hospital with 66 rooms to cater

strong pull factors for tourists. to medical issues. Lavasa has also Lavasa has over a hundred been laid with underground optic waterfalls. “People love going for fiber to ensure top-notch commuwaterfall safari where we make nication facilities. them experience waterfalls taking The town, itself, is governed them around in jeeps. Unlike in the by a manager, more like a North India, people here in MahaMayor. Rajiv Duggal, CEO, Lavasa rashtra love rains,” added Rajiv. Corporation Ltd says that with its Another noteworthy product growth, it has become a serious is the 18-hole Golf simulator centre for leisure in Maharashtra which allows players to enjoy the and, in, India. The city has its ambience of playing in 40 differown tourism centre which helps ent countries. “It is a 4,000 square travellers in chalking out the best feet space; one of the largest in possible itineraries based on their the country, I believe,” said Rajiv preferences. Duggal. “Currently, we have some 300 Lavasa was going unveil a family rooms to offer with brands like entertainment centre which was the Novotel, Holiday Inn and expected to be commissioned by IBIS. We hope to add another 400 2017, we were told. “With an area rooms by the end of 2017 – which Rajiv Duggal of one hundred and fifty thousand will then give us enough rooms to CEO, Lavasa Corporation ltd sq. ft, it will be a mega-center with push for large scale conferencing. We have ensured to accommodate almost every possible activity under Besides, we also have a unique highest density of population around the lake front. Our industries are all one roof,” he shared. hilltop resort named Ekaant, with non-polluting ones. We have schools The city has a unique hop-on20 rooms, for the luxury segment to teach under-privileged students of hop-off bus service which is half travellers,” he said. the surrounding 18 villages – who are open-air and half air-conditioned. Given its location and being given the best education facility. The only city in India to provide systematic infusion of related potable tap water, it has dedicated infrastructure, Lavasa also hapcycling and walking tracks. pens to be a formidable centre for Its proximity to the movie capital of India and scenic adventure based activities. “There are over a hundred backdrop has made it an attraction for film shooting, too. activities that travellers can engage in. We have jet-ski, “We have had a lot of large scale films being shot here; pedal boats, pontoons and bumper boats. We also have Salman Khan Starrer ‘Jai Ho’ was shot here. Besides, a advance sport activity like riding the Jetovator – which number of Marathi movies and TV series are routinely is very unique,” said the CEO. The Western Ghats brings filmed,” informed the CEO. with itself ample rain and waterfalls that have become

state s/de stinations

Responsible development must be all-inclusive; create cities with local ethos in mind

s four more of its planned towns come into existence, Lavasa will be home to over three hundred thousand residents. Sharing his understanding of the need for new cities, the CEO says that “we are on the right track as a nation, especially with the government’s focus on SMART cities, but we have to realize that a lot of these projects are Greenfield in nature. So, it will take time to get them on the ground. We are not building a hotel, but a city!” Reacting to the fact that a number of states like Gujarat and Chhattisgarh were in the process of creating new cities, he noted that “given the magnitude of investments, a lot of people have been, indeed, circumspect of venturing into such undertakings. But, things are beginning to

Given the variety of offerings it presents, its ascent as, purely, a tourist destination has been long expected. Rajiv Duggal told us that almost 95 percent of their inbound was domestic in nature. “Inbound from Gujarat and Maharashtra form almost sixty percent of the total numbers. And, we are happy to take care of our domestic clientele,” he said. When asked whether he would be keen to expand Lavasa’s outreach as a destination among foreign travellers, he quipped that not many foreigners were too keen on sampling a clean and organized India. “They have no interest in witnessing waterfronts and swanky infrastructure. They want to witness the chaos and dirt that, for them, defines us. Besides, domestic travellers are the best spending lot; they have a penchant for flexible itineraries and are very open to new experiences. If we can continue to attract domestic travellers and expand our market, we will be laughing our way to the bank,” the CEO asserted.

improve with joint ventures.” It is also true that certain sections of society have raised concerns about developing large-scale infrastructure in ecologically sensitive regions. But Rajiv Duggal argued that if the blue-print of the city, itself, had been envisioned with the ethos of all-inclusive approach and the execution carried out keeping in mind the local ecosystem, there was no reason to worry. “We have been successful to a large extent. We have ensured to accommodate highest density of population around the lake front, and as one goes up towards the mountains, it considerably lowers. Our industries are all non-polluting ones. We have even got schools to teach the underprivileged students of the surrounding 18 villages – who

are being given the best education facility,” he elaborates how Lavasa has been able to balance its business and duties to keep the fragile bounties of Western Ghats intact. He had a word of advice for new-age city planners. He believed that a new city would only do well when locals came back to their roots. “Lavasa and nearby areas had seen systematic migration to cities in search for livelihood. Now, we see a lot them heading back to their villages, as we have created ample job opportunities. You cannot hope to succeed as long as you do not intertwine them into your operations. I do not say that we have been a 100 percent successful, but we have reversed the trend which is noteworthy,” he said.

online : technology

Video content is the new growth tool for HolidayIQ; to bring in Asian destinations Bengaluru-based HolidayIQ, India’s largest online travel community platform, is moving to the next stage of its growth by adding video content to its offering list. Originally focused on domestic destinations, the platform also plans to add content on destinations in the Middle-East and South-East Asia where Indians leisure footfall is growing. By ritwik sinha

or observers in the Indian travel market place, Bangalore-headquartered Holiday IQ today simply stands as India’s response to Trip Advisor – the platform formed in 2000 in the US which has made rapid strides on the basis of user-generated content. The most credible travel review platform in the world generates a staggering 280 million unique visitors traffic monthly. Launched much later, about eight years ago, HolidayIQ has built quite a profile in its own way. According to Hari Nair, Founder and CEO of Holiday IQ, the platform is receiving about

to travel trends which is helping it to furnish micro-informative surveys every now and then (read the box piece: Data mining adds to Holiday IQ’s profile). Additionally, the platform is also acting as aggregators’ aggregator in some way partnering with as many as 18 large-scale platforms which are in the business of selling travel related products. “We have integrated with 18 travel agencies across the world which includes Makemytrip, Yatra, Cleartrip, Expedia, Bookings.com. Hotels.

☛ Video content on Varanasi launched last month, to add more cities ☛ HolidayIQ targetting 50 million visitors every month in the medium run

hari nair founder & CEO, HolidayIQ

This tool (video review feature) will help us at several levels. It will make things easier for our visitors who do not understand English well because seeing is believing factor comes into the play here.

Big data mining adds to Holiday IQ’s profile

oliday IQ’s growth journey has clearly resulted from subtly adding to its offerings profile while keeping its review functionality intact. Community wisdom shared on its platform in large volume on 24x7 basis has made it a strong hub of travel related data and the company has turned this into a unique opportunity to provide trend specific details. “In terms of information on leisure tourism segment in India, we have become the biggest data hub. Data amounting to hundreds of GB is being generated every day. Considering this kind of data inflow, we began big data mining about a year ago,” informed Nair. While big data mining is helping the company to minutely examine the specific consumer pattern in the travel and tourism space, it is now also releasing periodic surveys which are believed to be useful for the end-users hooked on to its network. For instance, there have been surveys underlining the major wedding destinations Big data mining and its within the country, safety indexes resulting deliverables was of different cities in the country by a logical progression to our growth. It further pinpoints compiling the data from thousands our pursuit to provide good of women respondents, seasonal quality content to Indian market trends predictions, etc. Earleisure tourism community. ly this month, on the occasion of International Women’s Day on 8th March, the agency had released an extensive report titled “What Women Want” presenting interesting aspirational details of solo women travellers. “Big data mining and its resulting deliverables was a logical progression to our growth. It further pinpoints our pursuit to provide good quality content to Indian leisure tourism community,” Nair underlined. Incidentally, Holiday IQ’s growing expertise in travel and tourism related number crunching (both in the quantitative and qualitative sense) as well as trends and patterns finding has also come to the attention of the state governments. Nair claimed that some state tourism departments have begun knocking on Holiday IQ doors for authentic research inputs. “State governments are now aware of our data mining abilities. Recently, we did a project for the West Bengal tourism department wherein they had sought information pertaining to a specific trend,” Nair said though he did not divulge the precise nature of the project.

Short trips becoming a distinctive trend in domestic leisure

G 12 million visitors every month (including those who are making use of its app) and has shown tremendous growth in the last couple of years. “There has been a rapid growth in the visitors to our platform in the last two years. About two years back, the volume of visitors on a per month basis was around 3.5-4 million. Now it has grown by at least three times,” Nair told TourismFirst in a recent exclusive conversation. Holiday IQ has taken a community based approach and today claims to have millions of Indian travellers writing authentic reviews on myriads of products – hotels, destinations, packages, transportation facilities, etc. In a nutshell, the platform has encouraged community wisdom within the travel and tourism space. “We are not a travel agency. We are in the business of selling, authentic information. And that is our strength,” emphasised Nair. During the process of its evolution, Holiday IQ has included several features to endear it with the leisure travel community in India including experts advise, photo features on different destinations, holiday planning (both online as well as offline) and now also involved in big-scale data mining pertaining

com, Oyo Rooms, Stayzila, etc. We have around 1,24,000 hotels on our platform and apart from travel related information, we also provide the opportunity to travellers to compare prices,” said Nair. Last month, Holiday IQ has introduced a new feature which it believes will help it in taking next big leap. Around the middle of February, it introduced a video review feature on Varanasi and it will soon be covering more destinations going ahead. “This tool will help us at several levels. It will make things easier for our visitors who do not understand English well because seeing is believing factor comes into the play here. We already have more than 1000 video reviews in our kitty and this is going to be major growth tool for us in the future in terms of attracting more traffic. It will further consolidate our position as there is no other platform providing this feature,” Nair stressed. The video content shared by the travellers community will be processed at the back end to ensure no objectionable content is shown but Nair emphasised that Holiday IQ will not tinker with any opinion expressed by the contributor. In Holiday IQ’s immediate scheme of things for further

growth, catering information on overseas destinations where Indian footfall is growing is also on top of the agenda. “Our primary concentration in the past has been to supply domestic leisure tourism segment with the good quality information. It has been an ignored area even as statistics reveal that there was around 300 domestic leisure trips registered in the country last year. At the same time, India outbound is also growing commendably. So we have decided to expand our ambit and cater community shared information on overseas destinations which are popular for India outbound. Over the next one year, we will be focusing on Asian destination especially in the Gulf as well as South-east Asia,” Nair informed. On the basis of these new initiatives, Holiday IQ has set up quite a target – a four- fold increase in its traffic in the next couple of years. “Having built a base of 12 million visitors per month, our obvious objective now is to take it to 50 million. It is quite doable given the growing internet penetration,” said Nair. Prima Facie, it may sound to be an ambitious target but considering the fact that Tripadvisor reports a traffic of 280 million globally, Nair’s confidence

oing by commonplace perception, Holiday IQ’s basic premise to deal only with the domestic leisure segment could well be called a contrarian approach at a time when business travel has jumped significantly. But Nair is quite convinced that this neglected segment actually offers a goldmine of opportunity. “Of the total 1.2 billion registered domestic trips in the country last year, about one-third of it was accounted for leisure travel. And believe me this is the backbone of Indian Tourism which has seen addition of some interesting sub-plots in the recent years,” Nair said. Based on its findings, the CEO of Holiday IQ underlined the emergence of regional markets as a big development. “Conventional wisdom would tell you that Indians traditionally have always preferred one long vacation in a year. But that is fast changing. Leisure tourists (especially those in metros) are now taking more short trips (4-6 every year) with curtailed duration not exceeding three days usually. These trips are mostly happening in the 250-300 km radius of the origin point,” Nair pointed out. This trend, according to Nair, is giving a major boost to regional markets and it is likely to get more pronounced in the coming years. Another recent trend and most interesting is the strong emergence of women travellers. “ Not many are realising that there has been a major spurt in women traveller volumesespecially from the metros. They are either moving alone or in groupswith other women. 25 percent of our reviews are coming from women travellers and our further research has clearly testified that this is fast becoming a major segment in the domestic tourism,” elaborated Nair.

can’t be simply brushed aside as unfounded. Holiday IQ also seems to be on a sound financial base with some modest funding from major players in the past. “So far, we have generated $25 million of funding,” informed Nair. In 2013, it had raised funds from Tiger Global and Accel Partners (undisclosed amount) and last year had received a big thumbs up from online travel leader MakeMyTrip

when it acquired 28 percent in Holiday IQ with a capital infusion of $15 million. Interestingly, this has also raised speculations in the marketplace that in a future date MakeMyTrip may make a move to take over the company. “So far, there has been no such discussions between us. Holiday IQ still has a long way to go and we are pursuing that objective singlemindedly,” Nair responded.

online : technology

Stand-alone hotels and small businesses benefit with the growth of online wallets

As more businesses and stand-alone hotels join the digital space through online wallets, the larger tourism industry is in midst of a major transition. This unfolding development is making travel more hassle-free by making transactions possible through cell phones.

☛ Online wallets are playing a crucial role in bringing millions of small businesses online. It has enhanced consumer experience and made travel more hassle-free. ☛ In 2014, India added 63 million new internet users. As more consumers join to the e-commerce space, online wallets will play a larger role in monetary transactions. By shashank shekhar

ndia has the second largest number of internet users on the planet after China. What is interesting, though, is the ferocity with which the numbers are swelling in India. A whopping 63 million new users were added in the fold in 2014 – which is almost double of China’s new users in the corresponding year. The latest figures, as per the data released by the International Telecommunications Union, pegs the total number of internet users, in India, at a hefty 400 million. With such numbers,

abhishek tripathi the consequential impact has been the head, payU money smb phenomenal growth of e-commerce. Many of these stand-alone owners As e-commerce grew, the need for were faced with high-cancellation and digital payment solutions came to fore, loss in their businesses. Now, they have an option validate the consumer and his too. In a matter of few years, a number transaction. They can ask the consumer of online wallet service providers have to deposit a token amount before their propped up who are eyeing a share in a bookings. It has certainly brought a multi-billion dollar business. “We wish to sense of surety to their business. be very aggressive in the SMB space, because of the tremendous volume they are in. They are in millions, in every nook and corner of the country, and are untapped,” alone hotels, he mentioned that, although, said Abhishek Tripathi, Head, PayU money registering with an OTA was an option, SMB. Referring to the abject absence of a but it involved a cumbersome process and system for processing payments for standa steep rate of commission. “The com-

mission, itself, ranges from 18-25 percent which is simply not serviceable for stand-alone operators or small businessmen,” he told us. To his understanding, PayU money had been able to tap into small merchants who dreaded the complexities of partnering with OTAs. “We give them the facility to go cashless and yet not worry about signing a 40 page document. We have kept our operations very simple and easy to grasp,” he noted. Adding that they also e-mailed the invoice to its service-users the moment they received the payment, he added “those who do not understand or want to get into these intricacies can opt to attach the pre-designed payment link onto their website.” There is also an option of SMS invoice, wherein a link is attached with the message which when clicked takes clientele to their website. “They can make payments and the service provider gets an instant confirmation,” he added. However, a number of these establishments who form the formidable majority of service providers remain bereft on any online presence. PayU plans to go the Smartphone way instead and there is strong logic in that choice. As per the report published by the KPMG, India will have over 500 million mobile internet users by 2017. “Now, we are also focusing on apps. We understand that a lot of these small businesses do not have websites,” he said, underlining the importance of Smart phones in increasing outreach. With the spread of online wallet into the hinterland, small businesses had been to better their profitability, opined Abhishek. “Many of these stand-alone owners were faced with highcancellation and loss in their businesses. Now, they have an option validate the consumer and his transaction. They can ask the consumer to deposit a token amount at the time of their bookings. It has certainly brought a sense of surety to their business,” he reasoned. Along with the service provider, its impact on consumers’ had been profound, too. According to him, it had great advantages for the end-consumers as well, as instead of paying 25 percent commission to OTAs, the service provider could pay a measly two percent to them, and transfer that benefit to his client. “It benefits the consumers by allowing them to avail services at a lower price,” he said.

Growing digitalization bodes well for the segment

iven the massive growth of the online wallet segment in the recent years, it is, naturally, expected to grow in terms of its reach. However, Abhishek said that it was difficult to envisage the scale and depth of the online wallet industry five years from now. He pointed out that the industry, itself, was in a nascent stage. “Right now, we cater to a mere 1-2 percent of the total online transactions which is nothing when you look at the scale of business that is being generated and conducted online. What is encouraging is that more and more businesses are heading online. Given that the government, too, is keen on digitalizing services, it will lend an impetus to our growth as a segment,” he said, referring towards government’s push for ‘Digital India’. “As more players come into the fray, the competition will create tremendous innovation to create better user interface. And, it will benefit the wider tourism industry, because it touches upon so many segments,” he propounded. Adding that hotels and restaurants, small shops selling antiques and handicrafts; family-run shops engaged in niche segments like embroidery and garmentmaking were all set to gain from the surge of online wallets, he said “it is the small businesses that will be able to improve their consumer interaction and provide better service. When that happens on a national scale, tourism will benefit like never before.”

online : technology

Hotels muscle up their online presence to counter aggregators' onslaught Driven by stronger online presence, loyalty programs and mediums like apps, to offer personalisation of service, hotels are going all-out to boost their sales through their own platform – giving a tough fight to growing numbers of online aggregators. By shashank shekhar

he growth and penetration of online segment in India has been a phenomenal one, to say the least. Online aggregators have created a niche for themselves with varied offerings, attractive pricing and, most importantly, the comfort of comparing prices of various service providers at a single click of the mouse. What truly kicked-off in the mid 2000’s has grown to be a formidable force to reckon with. And, despite the fact that hospitality has been the latest addition to the aggregators’ armoury, it has begun to change the dynamics of operations for brick-and-mortar players. A recent report commissioned by tech-giant Google testifies to this trend. “Consumer confidence to do online hotel bookings is on the rise in India, with an estimated 8.4 million Indians likely to book hotels online by 2016,” it reads. Given that the online hotel booking Industry will be worth USD 1.8 billion from the current valuation of somewhere around a billion USD, hotel operators are beginning to feel the heat. Looking at it from the consumer’s perspective, there is a certain advantage that online aggregators offer. They display a wide-range of products which caters to every segment of traveller, allowing them to compare prices and choose the best deal for themselves. Then, a frequent traveller may or may not choose to stay in a particular hotel during his recurring visits, so the idea of downloading a number of hotel apps is a cumbersome one, too. “People are able to compare. Online helps you get more information to make better decisions and do better planning for vacations,” Google India Industry Director Vikas Agnihotri had told PTI in a recent interaction, indicating how the ease of booking and confidence of choosing the most competitively priced product was fuelling this trend. The report also stresses the role of demographics, stating that users in the age group of 35-44 were the most tech-savvy when it came to booking hotels online. Although, aggregators do help hotels in tapping into a larger pool of potential buyers, but the high commission levied by them – which can range from 15 to a whopping 30 percent – is squeezing profits for hotel operators, forcing them to take on the might of online players by strengthening their own presence in the online world. A number of branded groups have already put in place a vibrant website; some have even created dedicated apps to cater to their clientele. “As a group, we are always committed to meet the expectations of our customers. We have a robust online presence with a vibrant website and app that has very personalised service on offer,” said Kumar Shubham, Director of Sales, Courtyard by Marriott. “In fact, we have clocked an upward of 17-18 percent of the annual total rooms’ night revenue through our website, so it is an important aspect of attracting more business to us,” he added. These apps are seeking to leverage through free upgrades, value-added packages, and doling out loyalty points. This behaviour is accentuated by the report published by e-travel marketing India which establishes that deals are an important motivation for customers to go online. According to their research 36% consumers make unplanned trips if offered a discount. Shubham, however, clarified that this trend had a profound impact on smaller brands and groups with lesser inventories than on hotels which had a large-scale presence and decent occupancy ratios. “If a brand has two hotels and 400 rooms, it is likely to feel the pinch of commissions than those who are running an inventory of say 3000 rooms,” he explained.

But instead of calling online aggregators competitors, Shubham viewed them as partners in increasing a hotel’s outreach. “Given that we generate an average of 7-8 percent of entire rooms’ night revenue, annually, from them; we see them as vital cog in our effort to enhance consumer experience and generate more business,” he reasoned. Noting that aggregators had more spending and marketing power than individual hotels, he said “their strength in terms of volumes and numbers is much higher. Their websites get lakhs of hits which is way more than any hotel’s.” He further added that “our philosophy is based on building relations and as we are aware that aggregators are here to stay; they may even become bigger entities by joining hands, and therefore, may have a larger clout in the future. So, it is important to leverage those platforms.”

i n bri e f Online luxury market on the cusp of a major growth, says ASSOCHAM report

Kumar shubham director of sales, courtyard by Marriott

Our philosophy is based on building relations and as we are aware that aggregators are here to stay; they may even become bigger entities by joining hands, and therefore, may have a larger clout in the future. So, it is important to leverage those platforms.

he luxury market in India is set to witness an unprecedented infusion of money in the coming years. The ASSOCHAM report predicts the figure to reach almost 35 billion dollars in 2016, and a whopping 70 billion dollars by 2020. It is also expected to grow at an average compounded rate of 27 percent in 2017-18. The report has cited several reasons for rapid growth of luxury segment. It has noted that growing awareness in the masses and increased internet penetration has made larger audiences aware of plethora of products available in the market. Growing disposable income and increasing influence of the western culture have also lent to furthering the trend. The report has highlighted that companies have begun using social media quite extensively to position their brand and reach out to new consumers. Also, attractive discounts, deals and a number of payment options have allowed consumers to indulge in this segment. As the Indian economy grows in the coming years, the prediction is most likely a reflection of the trend ahead.

online : technology

India’s first charter online marketplace, JetSetGo eyeing $4.5 mn fresh funding

After having built a business base since its inception in 2014, India’s only marketplace for private charter bookings JetSetGo is all set to add new products to its offering basket. The major emphasis is clearly on inbound tourism segment where yields are high. By ritwik sinha

“W

e are aspiring to emerge as Flipkart or Big Bazar of aviation charter business in the country. Like them, we are now also working on the wholesale model wherein we guarantee flying hours to charter operators who are in our loop.” The statement said in a matter-of-factly style by Kanika Tekriwal, CEO, JetSetGo may well stump you. For in an emerging economy like India, you may well cope with the explosive growth in general merchandise. But sales of private air charters like a wholesaler at this stage many appear out to be a far-fetched idea. However, this is what JetSetGo has evolved into the past two years since its inception in April, 2014 – India’s first online (and only till date) marketplace which is selling private charter capacity. Moving out of the low buzz zone, the platform has begun grabbing larger attention with some observers even calling it yet another marvel of technological enterprise which new age young entrepreneurs (founder Kanika is not even 30)

are capable of delivering. “When we had started in 2014, we had to be very lucky to get even one weekly booking. But last month, our platform resulted in over 200 charter flights. Today, we have 94 air charter operators who are enlisted with us and our network comprises about 170 charter aircrafts ranging from single engine turboprops to light medium jets. We are presently clocking a revenue in the range of `2-2.5 crore per month which is far cry from `10 lakh which we had earned in our first month,” said Tekriwal. On a cumulative basis, the country kanika tekriwal today has nearly 300 aircrafts ceo, Jetsetgo in the private charter busiThis business has been totally mired ness and another 250 units in ad hocism in the past. The clients which are exclusively used were subjected to pay different prices for the same aircraft by multiple by big corporate houses. brokers in the market. It was totally a Apart from this, the country sellers’ market before we stepped in. has about 250 helicopter units too, half of which are used for charter services. Kanika Tekriwal, an and delivery during her formaaviation professional herself, tive professional years. “This had stumbled upon the idea business has been totally mired of starting a marketplace for in ad hocism in the past. The charter services after analysing the critical gaps in the demand clients were subjected to pay

different prices for the same aircraft by multiple brokers in the market. It was totally a sellers’ market before we stepped in. On our platform, the client could even see the age of the aircraft offered to them. We have met with a fair degree of success in bringing in a transparent system,” she underlined. According to JetSetGo CEO, the platform’s moderate success has mostly resulted from word of mouth notes from its clients dominated by the corporate segment. “For the next fiscal, we have eight corporate clients who have made year long commitments (buying flying hours for their executives). One of them has made a commitment of $6 million,” added she. In terms of clientele base, 55 percent of JetSetGo’s present earning comes from the corporate client (company executives criss-crossing the country to visit their plants or to attend conferences). Meanwhile, with a contribution of over 30 percent, the inbound tourism segment has also emerged as a stronghold for the platform. “They are mostly

JetSetGo to launch four itineraries for inbound segment

ven as the corporate bookings dominate Tekriwal. Starting from April, JetSetGo has planned to launch four distinctive itineraries JetSetGo business, in its brief history comprising destinations which are popular of around two years, the platform has among high-end overseas tourists. The first also built a formidable inbound tourism base itinerary will cover Delhi and the popular – a segment which is catering to high-end destinations in Rajasthan (Jaipur, Udaipur, tourists mostly from the US and European Jaisalmer, etc.) The second itinerary, likely countries. This segment also comprises NRIs to be called “Explore Indian Wildlife”, will and domestic HNIs. Kanika Tekriwal concover the popular wildlife firms that inbound tourist sanctuaries in the country clientele is turning out to High-end inbound business like Bandhavgarh, Kajiranga, be a high-yield segment is quite promising. And the patterns which have evolved in Kanha, Ranthambore, for JetSetGo’s business our business have encouraged Satpura, etc. “In terms of and the platform is keen us to give a more structured to further tap this vertical shape to this vertical. Guided by wildlife sanctuary offerings, this assumption, we are soon we could be as attractive with specified, attractive going to launch a high-end as Africa. They are increasitineraries. travel portal. ingly becoming popular with “High-end inbound business is quite promishigh-end tourists and this ing. And the patterns package is meant to make which have evolved in our business have it easier for the global wildlife enthusiasts to reach out to our sanctuaries. Every trip encouraged us to give a more structured shape to this vertical. Guided by this assump- will include at least three domestic safari,” explained Tekriwal. The platform is also tion, we are soon going to launch a high-end looking at launching a distinctive Kerala travel portal as well as introduce some itinerary considering its growing popularity specified itineraries for the high-end touramong high-end European travellers which ists accessing our charter service,” informed

will be operated mainly from Mumbai and Bangalore. With popularity of Himalayas quite high among high-end overseas tourists, JetSetGo’s fourth distinctive offering would be a package connecting India-Nepal. To be operated out of Delhi as hub, the tourists will be taken to Nepal where the local partners of the platform will supervise the arrangements including the air visit to the distinctive points around Himalayas. “We have already forged an alliance with two private charter operators in Nepal. They have the latest charter aircrafts in their fleet,” added Tekriwal. JetSetGo founder is convinced that new offerings by way of distinctive itineraries will help the platform in consolidating its inbound vertical business. “We have planned these packages on the basis of the kind of enquiries we have been receiving in the past. Plus, the major clincher is the pricing – the charter operations in India can be accessed at half the price of what high-end consumers have to shell out in the US or in Europe. I don’t see any reason why it will not work,” Tekriwal emphasised.

top end clients – CEOs of leading corporations, rich NRIs, etc. The destinations which have been much in demand include Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and also Varanasi. The demand from domestic high-end tourists is, however, low. Probably just 5 percent of our business. They mostly demand for close family or friends trip to wildlife sanctuaries like Kajiranga, Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, etc,” informed Tekriwal. In JetSetGo’s reckoning, tourism is slated as a vertical which will grow more robustly and, therefore, the company is all set to launch some specified packages in the next couple of months (see the box item). Meanwhile, with growing business and increasing enquiries (recently a global publication has called JetSetGo the Uber of Indian sky), the company has also tweaked its business model. It is no longer just an intermediary connecting the buyers and sellers in the private charter space. It has selectively begun taking operations in its own hand. “To ensure that our clients don’t have to suffer from any last minute cancellation by the operator due to technical snag or any other reason, we have taken the inventory of five aircrafts assuring the operator the guaranteed utilisation of their units. They have been placed at four strategic locations – Bombay, Delhi, Bhopal and Bangalore – so that they can swiftly move in if there is any last minute cancellation. We will be focusing more on this model in the future,” said Tekriwal. The company already has nearly 15 pilots on its rolls who are supported by its own crew members. The company is also looking to expand its operations overseas (Africa and the Middle East) and is keen to receive a new round of funding. Initially, it had drawn investments from a couple of private investors including famous cricketer Yuvaraj Singh (undisclosed amount). “Considering our expansion plans, we will need a fresh capital infusion in the range of about $4.5 million. We have begun talking to some HNIs and we expect the deal to finalise by April end. We are not talking to any PE since they are not supportive to aviation centric business,” she concluded.

hote lscape s

“MICE+W is the new trend in hospitality”

Wyndham looks at minimum 60 flags in India by 2018 end After making a relatively slow start in India in 2000, the mid-segment global hospitality major Wyndham Hotels has made some quick moves in the recent years in expanding its footprints in the country. The company which operates through franchise model,claims to have a robust pipeline of new openings in the market and is aiming to have a sizeable presence in the country in the next couple of years. Deepika Arora, Regional Vice President (Eurasia), Wyndham Hotel Group shared details of the company’s growth agenda including the inorganic options which the company is considering in a recent exclusive conversation with TourismFirst. Edited excerpts: By ritwik sinha Let me begin with a simple question: how do you analyse Wyndham’s positioning in the Indian market today? The group is now 15 years old in India but is largely believed to have been a slow starter in the first decade of its operations in India.

I would say Wyndham’s position in India today is fantastic. Six years ago, we just had a handful of hotel units – sixto e ight hotels. And now we have close to 25 hotels operating in the market. We also have about 47 units under different stages of construction. So we have an inventory of about 2600 rooms operating and 5000 plus under construction. Six years back, the most visible brand we had in the market was Ramada. Now we have introduced five more brands – Days, Howard Johnson, Encore, and Ramada Plaza. Ramada Plaza are typically in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, Howard Johnson and Encore are in Bangalore(opened three years back), Days units are present in Neemrana and Panipat and seven more are under construction. The Wyndham brand is a vacuum for us presently. We are also looking to launch Wyndham Garden which is a mid-market upscale brand. If we have to talk about growth in percentage terms in the last six years, we have seen

250 percent growth in our portfolio. Our ambition now is to move from a challenger position to a leadership position.

why they have such a huge volume. There are other reasons too: in China, the supportive infrastructure is quite advanced. The construction timeline is m uch easier. And we have two master franchisee there who contribute heavily to the inventory. But our number two market in Asia would be India.

So has India become a critical point in Wyndham’s global scheme of things now?

In the last five-six years, there has been a momentum which really reiterates that India is one of the strategic markets for us. It is one of the key markets where they are looking to invest in human resource.Our team has commendably grown in size here. We are further strengthening our investments in India by looking at acquisition of existing management infrastructures. That would not only add footprints for us but also give us ready infrastructure to be offered to owners. We have been working very hard to promote some of our new technologies and doing a lot of promotion around our loyalty programme. Wyndham is really focused to ensure that we are in a position to contribute to the owners by investing whether it is through human resource, technology, training or any other facility that we want to do in India. How many hotels you have in China?

In China, Wyndham has 1000 plus hotels.

How many openings are scheduled for this year?

This is an unaccounted number but I feel we will have close to seven openings this year. Our second Deepika Arora hotel in Chennai (Days Regional Vice President (Eurasia), brand) is scheduled to Wyndham Hotel Group be commissioned. Our If we have to talk about growth in percentage terms in the last six years, first hotel in Darjeeling we have seen 250 percent growth in (Ramada property) and our portfolio. Our ambition now is to Trivandrum will be ready. move from a challenger position to a Plus, we will have anothleadership position. er opening in Bangalore. This will a Days property joining Ramada, Encore and Howard Johnson properties What a difference… The difference, as you rightly which are already there. With mentioned, stems from the fact Days property, Bangalore will that while we have been factually become the brand showcase city for us. A hotel in Kumbalgarh in in India for over ten years, the Rajasthan targeting leisure traffic growth momentum has picked will also be ready. We also have up in only last five-six years. As an Encore property coming up against this, the growth was from in Lucknow as well as a Ramada year one in China. And that is unit in Jammu.

“Mid-segment growing dominance has favoured our franchise model” The franchise model - is it the cornerstone of Wyndham in all markets? Or you have adopted it in India because you felt the need to grow at a faster pace?

It is a global strategy. The majority of Wyndham’s hotel are on franchise platform. It clearly gives you faster growth as well high momentum. There was no difference in our stance when we planned to pan out in India. For me it was quite challenging initially because I had come from a company which is a strictly management oriented hospitality firm. But I took up the challenge because I saw an upsurge in the mid-market segment happening in India about six years ago. A strict segmentation of hotels started happening. We capitalised on that segmentation, particularly in promoting the franchise model to owners telling them the precise benefits. With the mid-market segment getting more dominant, the inventory per hotel was also getting low. Hoteliers had begun planning 100-120 room units. That worked in our favour from a franchise perspective.

Puritans would like us to believe that in franchise model, it is difficult to manage the basic standards vis-à-vis when you are directly managing the property. How are you dealing with this issue?

This is a question I often get asked. And this is quite understandable because we are one of the leading franchisebrandsin this country. Yes, it is important to have consistency on the ground because your customer experience should be similar in Ramadain Delhi or Ramada in Goa. We do have very strict processes to maintain that consistency. Of course, one aspect is to do the audits. So we do have one annual audit which is done by an external agency. But apart from that we also encourage our owner partners to produce monthly self-assessment reports. Another critical element of maintaining consistency is training. Unless you educatethehotel GM andstaff, how to run and maintain the hotel and make sure that the guests’ experience is at par with brand standards, you will never be able to achieve the consistency. And this is our key concentration.

Realistically speaking, how many flags you expect to have flying here by 2018 end?

How would you explain the recent market trends in terms of occupancy rates and other critical parameters? Plus, have you noticed addition of any new sub-plot in the hospitality business?

I am referring to some of the recent research reports which says that there has been an increase in occupancy rates to the tune of 3 percent which is now 62 odd percent from 2014 figures. There has been an increase in RevPars to the tune of 8 percent in the midmarket and budget segments. Most ofour properties are in the mid-segment and I have seen such growths happening. Another growth aspect which we have seen is coming from MICE which is not exactly MICE any longer but MICE+W with ‘ W’ standing for weddings. They are becoming very strategic contributors. F&B and MICE+W are increasingly becoming the dominant contributors. MICE+W, in fact, is the new norm in the hotel industry. The supply side last year was low. Only 7800 rooms were added in the organised hotel inventory. Out of this about 51 percent has come up in the non-metro circuits. And 27 percent was added in the leisure segment. There is a clear growth momentum in tier 2 markets and these are good signs for us. We are very optimistic about the convention and MICE+W business in India. If we focus in retaining MICE+W in India and not letting it go outside, I think 2016 will be a good revenue generator for us. So many destination weddings are happening in Bangkok and now even in Colombo. We can grab this business provided high taxation can be diluted. Considering this new trend, we are telling our owner partners to provision for large convention facilities. Our upcoming hotel in Lucknow will offer one of the largest convention spaces in that city. It will have 30,000 square feet of pillar less convention hall. It will have 102 rooms and will be ready by the end of this year.

Realistically speaking, I think at least 60 percent of signed properties will get in the up and running mode by 2018 end. So we are basically looking at 35 odd hotels to begin operations in next couple of years. I think, by 2018 end we will definitely have 60 operating properties in India. We are very confident of this number because we have seen the delivery cycle in the last few years. We have been very conscious in choosing right owners. We are also conscious of the fact that we offer right product in the right segment in the right city.

your position. The company is reported to have been valued at Rs 500 crore and there have been some reports in recent past that you will be buying 30 percent stake in the company which belongs to investors.

What’s the scene on your interest in picking up equity stake in Sarovar Hotels? It is a much speculated move which you are likely to make to consolidate

So you are neither confirming nor denying?

I would not like to comment on this. As I said in the beginning, we are looking at large management set ups which can be acquired. That is part of our growth model and with India being a strategic market, we would be looking at several investment options. But I can’t say on a specific case which you are talking about.

I am not saying anything on this. I would not like to comment on industry speculation.

hote lscape s

Park Inn and Country Inn leading our foray into tier-2 and tier-3 cities, says Raj Rana Raj Rana remains bullish on secondary and tertiary cities. He cites first entrant advantage and ‘glassceiling’ on pricing as chief reasons for mid-segment’s strong positioning in India’s emerging markets.

☛ Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities provide comparatively higher returns on the investment. ‘Glass-ceiling’ on pricing major driver of this trend. ☛ The mid-segment category will continue to perform strong in these cities, given their early-bird advantage. By shashank Shekhar

ndia’s growth in the recent years and the trickle-down effect of economic prosperity into secondary and territory cities and towns have made them new hotspots of business, trade and tourism. Add to that the government’s intention of creating 100 SMART cities, prospects are more lucrative and promising as ever. One of the major beneficiaries of this phenomenon has been the hospitality industry which has cashed in on the abject dearth of inventory and facilities through expanding their presence into these cities and towns. Raj Rana, CEO South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Group believes that it will remain a key are area of growth, not only for his group but, for all brands operating, especially in the mid

segment. “At present we are having 36 hotels in pipeline in these tier-2 and tier-3 cities,” he said. “For us, Park Inn and Country Inn resorts are doing really well,” he added. We were told that almost 40 percent of operating portfolio in these cities comprised of Country Inns & Suites by Carlson’ and Park Inn by Radisson hotels. He attributes this trend to a number of factors. “One of the key reasons for that is there is simply a glass-ceiling on pricing which ranges from 80-100 USD in these cities and towns. It could be because of how the market receives those hotels. Therefore, the return on investments is comparatively higher,” he explained. Another major reason was the advantage of being an early-bird, he told us. Given that not many of these cities have a branded

hotel, so pole-positioning is an advantage,” said Raj Rana. On the question of occupancy rate, he said that it was difficult to ascertain the exact figure, simply because there were not many branded properties, he noted that “There is definitely a capacity to maintain sixty percent occupancy.” He believed that one underlying factor for each of these destinations was that of good air and road connectivity, and conducive environment for business and commerce – which was resulting in gains for the tourism and hospitality industry. Carlson Rezidor Group has been extremely successful in Latur, Rewa and Visakhapatnam, he told us. Given that the group is on course to having properties in Srinagar, Amritsar, Mohali, Jammu, Jalandhar, Aligarh and Dehradun, it is, rightly, confident

of a deeper foray into the mid-segment. Given that the group is aiming to add seven more hotels to its kitty in 2016, it will be a busy year for raj rana CEO - South Asia, Carlson Rezidor Group the Carlson group. “We have recently opened a One of the key reasons for that is there is simply a glass-ceiling on pricing property in Manipal and which ranges from 80-100 USD in will have properties in these cities and towns. It could be Karjat, Atria Point in Benbecause of how the market receives those hotels. Therefore, the return on galuru, Powai, Srinagar, investments is comparatively higher. Coimbatore and Pune. “By 2020, we envision to have a total of 170 operating and under development hotels in Inns & Suites by Carlson which our portfolio,” he shared. gives them an adequate range At present, Carlson Rezidor’s of products, their focus on these current operational portfolio in cities is quite understandable. It India boasts of 76 hotels in opera- also underlines the changing dytion and 42 under development, namics of Indian cities which are spread across the country under becoming more open to better various brands like Radisson Blu, exposure and, through it, more Radisson, Park Plaza and Country tourism.

‘Distress’ an over used word; new entrants mindful of market needs, notes Ajay Bakaya Ajay Bakaya contends that hoteliers wanting to sell off their properties must be realistic in quoting a price. He says that it is also a great time to buy smart, given the prices justify the property’s worth minus the land.

☛ Excessive supply and over-purchasing have caused the recent spate of sell-offs. ☛ New players build as per the absorbing capacity driven by the motto of optimizing revenues and minimizing expenses. By shashank Shekhar

ecent years have been tumultuous for the hospitality industry. Distress has been evident with piling debt and the inability to service loans for many of the big players, causing them to sell their properties. In the last decade, the period spanning from 2008 to 2014 have been especially bad. In the wake of the global slowdown in the economy, occupancy and, consequently, rates came down – which impacted the bottom-line. Then there were some hoteliers who wanted to make a statement through their hotels and spent exorbitant sums to create opulent structures, without considering the ability of markets to absorb them. The outcome has been a painful one for those brands. Ajay Bakaya, Executive Director, Sarovar Group, however, believed

that the word distress was an overused one. “There are a large number of hotels that claim to be distressed and say that they want to sell off their properties. I would put their numbers somewhere in the range of 150-200. And, indeed, there are a variety of reasons for this trend, from bad calculations to over-burdening with debt, but the fact is that only ten percent of these ‘distressed’ owners actually want to sell their properties,” he said. Explaining the reason behind this strong assertion, he noted that many of these owners put forth an absolutely absurd pricing. “They want to take out the cost of the land on the existing rate and often quote very fancy prices. They have to understand that they cannot charge for the land. The buyer would only want to pay for the structure,” he substantiated.

He also pointed towards a trend of non-serious players getting into hospitality as reason for rise in the trend for selling. “There were a lot of non-serious players who simply ventured into hospitality because they had resources to put in, but not the expertise to understand the complexity of the industry. That’s precisely why there has been a rise in the inventory in the past four years. Many of them are bailing out now. Also branded hotels form forty percent of the total inventory,” he detailed. There are lessons to be leant from these mistakes. And, given that new entrants have refrained from creating structures beyond the demands of the market is an indicator that the industry is already on a course correction mode. “Besides being true to the market, there has been a systematic infusion of technology like

having LEDs and optimum utilization of solar power to cut costs. Hotels will have to optimize ajay bakaya revenues and minimize executive director, sarovar group expenses without fiddling There are a large number of hotels too much with pricing. that claim to be distress and say that So, it is a delicate balance they want to sell off their properties. that hotels must be aimThey want to take out the cost of the land on the existing rate and often ing for,” said Ajay Bakaya. quote very fancy prices. They have to He noted that many understand that they cannot charge hotels had started for the land. The buyer would only strengthening their online want to pay for the structure. presence and beefing up their digital sales to become more price competitive. “With the opened their own OTA platform. He believed that if that margin advent of online aggregators, could be split between the hotels are forced to shell comconsumer and the operator, it mission ranging from 17 to 24 percent which flattens profits and was a win-win situation for both. “However, it is also a fact that homakes operations dearer. Hotels tel aggregators are a reality that are now looking at cutting that through more interactive websites hotels have to live with. And, this cannot be an excuse for being in and direct booking,” he said. He a bad shape,” he concluded. added that brands like Accor had

hote lscape s

ibis Aerocity, New Delhi has become quite an attraction for its breakfast buffet spread

ibis Mumbai is one of the top performing properties of the group

Ibis will continue its strong supply growth with a mix of debt and equity: J B Singh With over 700 rooms in the pipeline, in the next few months, IBIS will somewhat double its inventory by the end of 2016. Given that the budget and midscale segment are on a roll, strong supply will help rake up strong revenues for IBIS, said J B Singh. An exclusive:

☛ J B Singh attributed high revenue to his repeat clientele – which formed fifty percent of his total footfalls. ☛ Likely to continue on the 50-50 ratio of debt and equity, Ibis was wellfunded and keen on venturing into any market with enough space to grow.

B Singh told us that, from leased, J B Singh said. purely an investment point of He further substantiated view, they had learnt to make the brand’s positioning by their hotels efficient, both, in explaining that no other terms of time and cost. “We brand could bring about the understand how much space same level of consistency and we need and what sort of the tightness of the product technology works best for our that they did. He said that hotels, and given the kind of his main focus was their scale we have, it allows us to consumer and they went build efficiently. I can safely into great details of various vouch for the fact that our facets such as building and, construction is more efficient especially, services. “The way than most others; at, least 30 ability to bring on board the best By shashank Shekhar we build our hotels and the percent more efficient than of both worlds. Besides, we have class of service that we have others,” he proudly added. a deep financial commitment to BIS has done well for itself. put in from fire safety, airWhen asked about the the association,” he asserted. Given that the nation is conditioning, guest comfort, market segmentation and He credited the success of adding larger numbers of acoustics and quality of beds IBIS’s share, there in, he IBIS, as a brand, to the fact that is very detailed. We haven’t aspirational travellers who called it a tough exercise to they were able to develop a seen that being matched, wish to enjoy a high-class of j b singh collate data, because as an product that was best suited for so far. It reflects in the fact service and facilities at a reaPresident & CEO, Interglobe hospitality industry there was no total the market, and because they dethat over 50 percent of our sonable pricing, IBIS has amply We will continue to manage strong collation. “If I were to give you veloped their hotels themselves. clientele are repeat customer,” found its niche. The company is growth rates, at least, for the “We own the design, develophe stressed. IBIS maintained over ten years old now – which foreseeable 4-5 years. We have hotels some indicator, last year the total industry performed at an ment and asset, and through our an average annual occupancy is a joint venture with InterGlobe. in pipeline in Hyderabad, Cochin and Coimbatore – IBIS Coimbatore will average occupancy of around ventures operate them, as well. It in excess of seventy percent. InterGlobe being the principal have 125 rooms. So, in matter of few 59 percent, but we operated has helped us, more than saving “It is when we are in midst of share-holder with a majority months, we will add some 700 odd at 70 percent,” he shared. on investments, understand the a considerable expansion of holding of 60 percent. J.B. Singh, rooms to our portfolio. Adding that the budget space exact needs. I would refrain from our inventory,” he said. President and CEO, InterGlobe Detailing the product, and mid-market space were using the word save, and say that Hotels believed that the strucfancy segmentations which it has helped us to construct more J B Singh noted that IBIS turing of the joint venture gave efficiently, and, make sure that we had employed smartly designed them a unique advantage in their are well designed; they are pretty the world, at large, was moving public areas which were veryaway from, he said “peer reviews are enhancing the guest experioperations. “Our experience standard. Our breakfast offering urban and up-market. “We have become more critical. We in tourism, travel, aviation and ence at every stage of consumer –which we believe the very key have good Wi-Fi facilities in the technology with the pedigree that interaction,” said J B Singh. IBIS for the guest to stay in a hotel – is have created a space for ourhotel; the lobby, itself has a lot selves in terms of what other InterGlobe brings has gone on to had employed multiple means a big spread and, is, consistent of space where guests can work of acquiring land; some were budget segments hotels have to partner a top hotel player in the in all our hotels,” he said. Key on their computers. Our menus bought right off and some were offer are far inferior than we offer, world. That gives us the unique location was another crucial factor decided, primarily, keeping and if you look at the other end of the segment, of course, they in mind high levels of consumer have bigger rooms and so on, but satisfaction. “We do not want not in the same pricing. So, we anybody to get short changed. can say with absolute belief that if We have never compromised on any customer walks into our IBIS the location,” he said. hotels, anywhere in the country, hover around. In fact, we are forecasting more ttributing a long existing void of standard To make a budget segment the experience will be very conthan fifty-four percent growth this year,” said the accommodation in the budget segment, hotel run in profit requires high sistent. And, that itself has created President and CEO. J B Singh predicted that the segment was levels of efficiency in operations the product integrity that it was It is important, however, to understand that poised to grow the fastest in all segments. “Noand the ability to plug leakages meant to do.” body built those hotels; you had either large hotels despite any level of offering and service, high from construction to roll-off. J revenue generation would not have been posor you did not have anything after that. While, sible without some sort of market trigger. It is also there are a lot of hotels that are coming up in stressed by the STR Global Indian Hotel Review different shapes and sizes built by single-owners which operate, I think we have carved out a lucra- Report-2015 – which has indicated that an all-InNoida and Greater Noida remain challenging for hospitality dia level, the midscale and economy segment had tive space for ourselves,” he said. industry He said that the entire segment was completely enjoyed the highest segmental occupancy at 64.4 percent. Incidentally, the supply growth in this hinged to nation’s GDP, economic and per capita he overt dependence on corporate clientele is a challenge for the future of hospitality in Noida and Greater Noida, says the HVS report 2015. Continuing segment had been the weakest at only 8,700 new growth. Pointing towards the middle-class segits dismal performance as a hotel market, occupancy and average rate have rooms in the last two years. J B Singh believed ments growing appetite, he noted that they did been on a constant decline. Compared to previous years, the market suffered that their ability to pump in capacity, way above seek high-level service, safe, secure and wellthe steepest decline in occupancy at 10.3 percent; the average room rate what the market was able to do, was helping them appointed hotel experience at affordable prices. dropped by over 8 percent in Noida and Greater Noida. Another, major worry rake up revenues. “We will continue to manage “It is, indeed, true that tier-2 and tier-3 cities have has been the fact that it has recorded the lowest occupancy across all major been hotspots of hospitality in the recent years,” strong growth rates, at least, for the foreseeable markets in the country at a lowly 48 percent. The report calls it a clear reflection J B Singh added. 4-5 years,” he asserted. Adding that IBIS had a of the weak nature of demand within the market. It has, further, indicated that this trend is, also, being fuelled by the displacement of commercial and leisure Coming back to IBIS, the y-o-y revenue growth number of hotels in the pipeline, he told us that demand to neighboring areas such as Ghaziabad and East Delhi. they were on the verge of opening an IBIS in Goa, has been in excess of fifty percent, we were Although, the report mentions that almost 1900 rooms were going to shortly. “We have hotels in pipeline in Hyderabad, told. “If we look at the CAG (compound annual enter the market in the next five years, but only 13 percent of this supply was Cochin and Coimbatore – IBIS Coimbatore will growth) rate in the last ten years, we have grown under active development, owing to various hospitality projects being put on have 125 rooms. So, in matter of few months, we at an average of about thirty percent. These hold or delayed. Given the trends, despite limited supply increase in the next numbers could be off by a few percentage points, will add some 700 odd rooms to our portfolio,” he few years, it is expected that occupancy and average rates will remain under considerable strain in the coming months and years. elaborated. but by and large, these are the numbers we

Positioning as a brand has helped us carve out a unique space

hote lscape s

Delhi and Maharashtra lead hospitality business, says HVS report Usual states, well-endowed with diverse products and sizeable investments into tourism, have once again ranked in the top five of the biennial HVS hospitality survey 2015. The report has, however, red-flagged low supply growth of inventory and warned of demand overtaking supply in the near future, even if the demand continued to grow at the same levels as in previous years. By tf bureau

he HVS state ranking survey for 2015 is out. A biennial publication compiled by HVS in association with the World Travel and Tourism Council, India initiative (WTTCII), has once again analyzed the state-wise potential of tourism and travel in India, and assessed the relative competitiveness of different states. The only change in the otherwise, static, undertaking has been the inclusion of Telangana. The survey has focused

gible aspects. Intangible aspects included parameters that supported or hindered tourism. The three main factors were safety and security, availability of skilled manpower and political stability. The top five performers have been states that have been traditionally strong in terms of hospitality. Maharashtra, benefitting from a sizable number of branded rooms, decent infrastructure and strong economic activity, has claimed the first spot in the ranking, dethroning Delhi. It has scored perfect numbers in four pa-

☛ High luxury tax, tax on printed tariff and slow supply in the pipeline some of the major irritants to the future of Indian hospitality, outlines the report. ☛ The national average occupancy breaches the sixty mark after five years. Mid-segment and budget hotels biggest beneficiary of growing middle class. on the hospitality industry – of the many verticals of tourism – and indentified the best performing states in India form the viewpoint of the hospitality industry. Twelve key parameters were employed which were: luxury tax on hotels, state expenditure on tourism, tourist visits, presence of branded hotel rooms, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign, urbanization, road and rail infrastructure, aircraft movement, literacy rate, ease of doing business and, lastly, intan-

rameters – which are tourist visits, GSDP per capita, effectiveness of marketing campaign and aircraft movement. The only dark spot seems to be the drop in the overall expenditure in tourism and travel, as the state budgetary allocation for the same has dropped from 0.09% in 2013 to 0.06% in 2015. The capital has slipped from its Numero-Uno status and, now, sits at the second spot in the survey findings. However, its continuously strong performance can be attributed to the very fact that being

the nation’s capital, it serves as mix of leisure and corporate a major port of entry and exit traveler segment. The state from the country. It also boasts has also bettered its political of the highest number of hotel stability and shown promise rooms per square kilometre – in the terms of ease of doing making it an important center business. There are areas, for leisure and commercial travhowever, that demand serious el. Major impediment in terms attention. The report seeks of hospitality is, still, the luxury improvement in tourism tax –which continues to be expenditure, levy of luxury levied on the printed tariff. Tax tax, presence of branded percentage in overall terms has hotels, urbanization, literacy also seen an increase. Another rate and infrastructure among important concern that reflects others to maintain its recently in the findings is the lack of a gained momentum. single window portal in terms There is a tie on the fifth of ease of doing business. It is spot between Gujarat and true that its tourism budget is Tamil Nadu; Gujarat has fallen on the higher end, but continone place since 2013, though. ues to remain lower than states Gujarat’s success lies in its manav thadani like Goa, J&K and Gujarat. conscious effort to highlight Chairman, HVS Asia Pacific The 365 days destinatourism; its considerable investThe hospitality landscape has been tion Goa has continued its ment into tourism, a widely witness to green shoots this past year. strong show, on the back of publicized campaign ‘Khusboo The recoevery has been subtle, yet evident. As future supply tapers, future Gujarat ki’ and major infrastruca high literacy rate and the demand improves and recent entrants tural projects like the Sabarmati highest GSDP per capita in stabilise, we are likely to see further the country. It has, however, Riverfront Development Project growth in the performance of the scored relatively low in terms sector in the months and years ahead. in Ahmedabad, coupled by the of tourist visits. Despite Goa’s sheer presence of over 1,100 image of being a top leisure branded hotel rooms have lend draw, its falling tourist numto its consistent performance. bers has been attributed to the Goa, still, figures high in the wishTamil Nadu’s strength lies in slump in infrastructural augmenta- list of developers and brands for medical tourism, and they have tion, as per the report. The only opening new properties. harnessed it well. It generates operational airport is managed good number of foreign tourists On the fourth spot, Karnataka by the defence services, limiting seeking medical assistance, while has moved up a place since the the passenger traffic and lowering last year. A bigger picture that domestic numbers continue to traffic movement; adding to that signifies state’s significant stride grow. It is a coastal state with the uncertainty of development of in tourism and hospitality is several beaches, religious sites MOPA airport has cast a shadow that Karnataka has moved up of importance and a number of on the footfalls. On the positive a staggering eight spot to claim universities of higher education. side, the state government has the fourth position in the survey Thus, it has a large bouquet of taken several noteworthy measthis year. The growth of destinaproducts to leverage from. Its only ures such as easing the licensing tions like Coorg, Chikmangalur, glaring drawback is the dubious and procedural requirements for Hampi and Mysuru have added distinction of being one of the developing new hotels. It is why lowest spenders on tourism. more luster and created a heady

Demand may outpace supply, mid and budget segments will lead growth

market penetration. with average rate of `5,827 – these are the he HVS report has underlined In terms of demand and supply, the hotels that existed since 2011/12. some important trends and opreport revealed that existing hotels were The report has warned that with portunities in the hospitality sector. outperforming new hotels in, both, occulimited supply stacked up for the coming Looking at the positives first, there has pancy and average rate penetration. The years, and even if the demand were to been a growth in the nation-wide occuargument is substantiated by the figure grow at the same pace it had been historipancy rates which has breached the 60 that the hotels that had existed since cally, it would be outpaced by the sheer percent barrier after 2011. Growing two 2010/11 had clocked a percentage ocdemand of the market. percentage points, 2014/15 summed up at cupancy of 63.8 percent; similarly, hotels Looking at the broader picture on 60.3 percent. However, the average room that had existed since 2011/12 achieved the nation’s travel and tourism, the HVS rates have further gone down, pointing 62.9 percent occupancy. In terms of rates report has categorically stated that the towards an anomaly that needs to be too, they have outperformed new hotels domestic tourist segment, and not the urgently addressed. The nationwide average for this year slipped to `5,510 from last year’s `5,611. These figures are not even Proposed branded hotel rooms across major cities (2014/15 – 2019/20*) inflation adjusted from prices of 2005-06, indicating that creating profits have become more difficult. The report, while reflecting on the fall of prices, mentions that despite the average rates had declined on varying measures across the different positioning of branded hotels, the overall quantum of the spectrum of hotels had actually grown. Therefore, the trend was reflective of hotels that were not only underpriced in their inventory and, consequently, •The supply for 2019/20 has been computed by adding the active future supply to the existing base of rooms in 2014/15 room-rates with a fairly new Source: HVS Research inventory that had not yet achieved their fair-share of

foreign travellers, was going to be the real driving force for the industry for the foreseeable part of the decade. A major contributor to this trend had been fuelled by the depreciation of rupee against the dollar – which means that travelers are opting for destinations within the country than heading to foreign shores. Another definitive trend highlighted in the report mentions that leisure travelers were going to dominate the landscape, both, within and outside the country. The report stated that the WTTC estimated the segment spending at `5,502 billion – representing a whopping 83.5 percent of total travellers. The business travel segment stood at 1085.1 billion rupees with 16.5 percent share of the total traffic. Indicating that competitively priced alternative to the larger growing middleclass domestic traveller will help the mid-segment and budget category hotels lead the growth for the hospitality industry, the report calls them an encouraging sign. It attributes their success, also, to shorter construction time, lesser cost for development and, consequently, faster returns on investment.

global exchange: oman

A view of the glittering city of Muscat as the sun sets in the horizon

Ras Al Jinz is famous for green turtles which has become a major attraction off late

Oman’s niche offerings, robust marketing could create a pull for the outbound Given that Oman’s reputation as a wedding destination has grown in the last few years, and its strong adventure based activity segment has an attraction for young Indians, its share of Indian outbound could see a substantial growth in the coming months and years. By shashank shekhar

trategically located at the south-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf – flanked by UAE in the north-east, Saudi Arabia in the west and Yemen in the southeast – Oman is one of the fast emerging tourism destinations in the Middle East. Despite a major producer of oil, its economy has relatively diversified in the last few years; tourism sector, meanwhile, remains the fastest growing industry for Oman.

from Asia and Europe. Lubaina Sheerazi, India Representative, Ministry of Tourism, Oman shared her understanding of nation’s tourism offerings, stating that Oman was not a budget destination and neither was a mass tourist destination. “People who visit Oman come purely for the bliss of enjoying a rustic Arabian country that is still true to its roots. The traveller who comes to Oman is aware of its culture and heritage,” she said. Noting that a majority of the inbound had decent global exposure and explored Oman for at least 4-5

☛ Oman has grown as an attractive wedding destination. Short flying time and substantial Indian Diaspora are important contributing factors to this trend. ☛ A major chunk of its footfalls comes from the GCC countries. But, Oman continues to register double digit growth in footfalls from India. As per the data released by the Ministry of Tourism, the country has seen a steady rise in inbound in the last half a decade. With a percent change of 11.8 percent, Oman received 1.57 million visitors in 2014, compared to 1.40 million in 2013. In terms of region specific inbound, the country had received maximum number of tourists from the GCC Region – it comprises of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others. It is followed by the influx

days, she told us that different regions in Oman were popular for different activities among travellers. “Muscat, the capital city is popular for dolphin watching, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muttrah Souk; Daymaniyat Islands is famous for snorkeling and scuba diving; Nizwa is famous for the fort and cultural walks while Jabal Shams is famous for hiking and trekking trips; quad biking, dune bashing and desert camping can be experienced

in Sharqiyah Sands and Ras region as each destination Al Jinz is famous for turtle offers something unique and watching,” she elaborated on what Oman offers cannot the different experiences that be replicated by any other a tourist could soak in. She destination,” she said. further added that, now, the She further argued that focus was on marketing camone of the major upcoming paigns aimed at promoting markets for them was desexperiences which included tined to be India. “By 2020, nature or culture related activIndia is set to become the ities. “In most of our outdoor world’s youngest country or advertising campaigns, with 64% of its population in the communication is about the working age group. This experiencing a destination is a fast growing segment like Oman rather than just of Indian travellers – mostly visiting it,” she stressed. rich, hailing from India’s Betting on Oman’s greater larger cities, who have an assertion, in the coming appetite for adventure. For years, as a tourism destinasuch a segment, Oman is tion in the region, she told us of great value as it offers Lubaina Sheerazi that “we think in the future several adventure activiIndia Representative, years, Oman will be among ties to choose from,” she Ministry of Tourism, Oman the most visited destination argued. What justifies her People who visit Oman come purely in the Middle East.” Oman’s enthusiasm about India can for the bliss of enjoying a rustic prime focus in 2016 will be better summed up by the Arabian country that is still true to its roots. The traveller who comes continue to be promoting fact that it registered a 17% to Oman is aware of its culture and itself as a FIT destination in increase in Indian arrivals heritage. the leisure segment. MICE, in 2015, as compared to too, was an upcoming 2014. “India is a very imporsegment, she shared. “We tant emerging source market are anticipating the openfor Oman. We have seen a foray was not going to be without ing of Oman Convention and positive increase in the number Exhibition Centre (OCEC) in 2017. challenges. Lubaina, however, of tourist arrivals from India clarified that Oman was not a The new Oman Convention and to Oman over the years. Since mass destination or looking at Exhibition Centre will provide it’s a short haul destination quantity. “We are a niche destina- from India, Oman is becoming state-of-the-art facilities and tion focused on attracting quality convert Oman into a competipopular with the outbound tourtravellers. In that sense, even for tive venue for major global and ists from India,” she stressed. regional events,” she said, sharing MICE we prefer to have quality By her own admission, Mumbai, business travelers and incentive that the development would enaDelhi, Bangalore and Chennai ble Oman to host major meetings, groups visiting us rather than bewere their main source markets, coming a destination for all kinds besides receiving tourists from incentive, conventions and exhiof MICE movements. I wouldn’t bitions events. Given that there, Tier-2 markets like Hyderabad, already, were established markets like to compare Oman with any Ahmadabad and Pune that they of the other destinations in the like Singapore and Busan, their had ventured into.

Good air-connectivity works to our advantage; would focus on wedding segment through enhanced outreach

hat made India important for Oman was the constant drive of a fast emerging breed of travelers who constantly seek a new and a niche destination, felt Lubaina. She reasoned that Oman had a lot to offer in terms of culture, heritage and adventure activities. “In the Indian market, our main strategy has been to build awareness about the destination by providing detailed information and product knowledge to the travel trade industry. We are promoting the cultural heritage and natural diversity of Oman in India,” she described Oman’s strategy for stronger engagement in the Indian market. Adding that their engagement spanned from conducting road shows, participating in trade events and exhibitions to giving training sessions to trade agents, she told us “now we want to

and will hopefully increase more connecbuild the brand ‘Oman’ as a perfect shorttivity. Airlines such as SpiceJet, Indigo, Air haul holiday getaway.” India, Air India Express and Jet Airways Besides showcasing culture and natural also fly direct to Muscat,” she said. Noting diversity, destination weddings, too, had been a successful vertical for them, we were that Indians across the country would not informed. “We will continue to engage wed- face any problems travelling to Oman, she opined that better connectivity always lead ding planners by updating them about our to increase in tourist footfalls. offerings and showcase our nation to them In terms of through familiarization outreach, to deepen trips,” she added. lubaina sheerazi direct interface Given that Oman had We are one of the well with the consumer, a robust connectivity connected destinations from the tourism departwith major Indian cities, India. Oman Air currently ment has planned their strategy of attractflies from 11 Indian cities and will hopefully increase more to engage with the ing more Indians was connectivity. Airlines such as consumer directly with an advantage. “We SpiceJet, Indigo, Air India, Air though branding and are one of the well conIndia Express and Jet Airways also fly direct to Muscat nected destinations from tactical promotions India. Oman Air currently conducted jointly with flies from 11 Indian cities the travel trade. She

told us that they wanted, also, to increase their visibility and productivity in the travel trade through focus trainings- which included engaging in diverse mediums like online, offline, webinars, and participation in trade fairs, besides exhibitions and road shows in Tier II cities of India. “We will also engage in massive digital and social media presence through advertising and will explore possibilities of exposure on television to engage with the consumers directly,” said Lubaina. Refereeing to their online outreach, she told us that, “in mid-2013, we launched our exclusive ‘Oman Tourism, India’ Facebook page which has over 85,000 likes, so far. We regularly engage with our fans on this page and provide them valuable information. We are also present on Instagram and Twitter on the handle ‘Oman Tourism India’.”

global exchange: maldives

India invests in Maldives hotels; Minister Moosa Zameer assures more flights

Maldives has a similar culture and cuisine which binds both the nations, feels Maldives Tourism Minister. He hopes to increase footfalls through dynamic marketing and airport infra overhaul which will quadruple passenger handling capacity of its international airport in Male. By shashank shekhar

ocated south-west of India, in the Indian Ocean, Maldives remains one of the world’s most exotic destination. Truly an island nation, it is an amalgamation of 1190 islands out of which only 202 are inhabited. Spread across 90,000 sq. km, it employs a unique system of having only one resort in one island, lending more exclusivity into its offerings. Having its shores thrown open to the outside world in 1972 when it welcomed the first batch of 22 Italian travellers, it has clocked a million mark and is pushing for more. Its key tourism products revolve around leisure. It has cultivated a thriving wedding tourism segment, besides putting to good use the bounties of Indian Ocean. Given its pristine flora and fauna, it has put in place sustainable development policies which is an apt move. In terms of its products, it is a Moosa zameer Tourism minister, maldives

We are trying to establish direct connection between Delhi and Male, and Mumbai and Male; once that happens, there will be enhanced flow of traffic.

Mecca of diving and snorkeling; has a robust water-sport and surfing industry; and, sea-planes and sea-boats for local transfers and escapades. Probably the most unique and noteworthy attractions are underwater restaurants, museum, spa and a discotheque! Having long been associated with the luxury segment of travelers, it intention is to continue in the same manner. Moosa Zameer, Minister, Ministry of Tourism, Maldives explained the reason behind this posturing, saying that “If you take a look at the list of most expensive destinations, we are in the top five in the world.

We have world’s most exquisite brands. That’s how we have positioned ourselves and, most likely, will continue. It is good for us and also for investors who come to us.” He added that Maldives was a unique nation. He, however, tried to dispel the notion that it had nothing to offer to other segments of travellers. “There are certain products – like guest houses – which can be explored by other segments of tourists. They can explore our lifestyle in the most authentic and rustic way possible,” he said. He, however, conceded that marketing them well remained a challenge for them. “We will make it happen through creative marketing and liasoning,” he said. Its inbound is heavily dominated by China which accounted for a total of 35 percent in 2015, followed by Germany and the UK. Indian share hovers around 4.2 percent which has grown at a healthy rate of 13 percent on a year-on-year basis. Explaining the dynamics of footfalls, Moosa Zameer said that Maldives was, mostly, a wedding destination for Chinese outbound. “A look at the number of outbound from China, the numbers we get from them is absolutely nothing. We have not had any issues with regard to an economic downturn and, the recent, stock market crash. We want to have more tourists not to compliment other inbound markets, rather because we are building capacity,” he said, stressing on the infrastructural augmentation undertaken by the nation. “International and domestic airports are being upgraded under the current president’s leadership. In the last two years, we have undertaken some major infrastructural augmentation projects,” he told us. Pinning his hopes on higher influx with increased passenger handling capacity of domestic and international airports, he said “we will see a major boost

From (L-R): Moosa Zameer, Hon. Minister of Tourism, Government of Maldives; P.R.S. Oberoi, Executive Chairman, The Oberoi Group and K.N. Balasubramanyam, Chairman and MD, SCDCL.

Indian hospitality strengthens footing as The Oberoi Group comes to Maldives

ith a focus on tapping the abundant leisure to partner and assist SCDCL in the design and segment, the Oberoi group has signed a management of the proposed luxury resort. We MoU with the government of Maldives to look forward to bringing the Oberoi hospitality to build a luxury resort in MalMaldives.” Adding that the resort dives. The Oberoi group will be would reflect the legendary Moosa zameer partnered by the Subramanya Oberoi service delivered by an Tourism minister, maldives Construction & Development attentive and caring team, he said With growing demand of Company Limited (SCDCL). that “it would make it the preluxury hospitality services in Maldives, it is imperative to bring ferred choice for luxury travelers”. The investment for acquisition in the best in the industry and and development of the resort Moosa Zammer, Minister for our partnership with The Oberoi will be undertaken by SCDCL, Group will be a testament to this. Tourism, also expressed satisfaca Bangalore based Real Estate tion after signing the MoU, stating Development Company, and the that “With growing demand of management will be handled luxury hospitality services in by the Oberoi group. P.R.S. Oberoi, Executive Maldives, it is imperative to bring in the best in the Chairman, The Oberoi Group commented on industry and our partnership with The Oberoi Group the progress stating: “We are extremely pleased will be a testament to this.”

in number of travellers once that happens in 2018. Right now, our international airport can handle traffic of 1.5 million passengers in a year – which will quadruple after its upgradation. If we can build on creative marketing here, India can count for a major chunk of those numbers.” Given India’s relations with Maldives, the growth in tourism numbers was, both, necessary and inevitable, felt the tourism minister. “Why I say that I see tremendous scope for outbound from India that we are geographically very close to one another. Even the curries that you eat here are loved by Maldivians. We need to have enhanced bilaterals. Whenever there has been a

problem, it’s Indians who have come there for us,” he said, recalling the some difficult political moments for the nation. “We are like brothers. Even back in 1988, when we had that unfortunate political issue, India was there for us. There is a lot of talk about terrorism everywhere, but Indians understand Maldives very well. So, in case of a bad publicity, too, Indian outbound will understand that it should not stop travel, and of course tourism,” he added. Stressing on it was business as usual for Maldives, he said that “what happens in the capital has no bearing on resorts. Therefore, I believe that there is much room for us to grow here in India, and improve on the numbers we have

been receiving thus far.” Maldives is keen on creating more air-connectivity to leverage on these possibilities, we were told. “We are trying to establish direct connection between Delhi and Male, and Mumbai and Male; once that happens, there will be enhanced flow of traffic,” informed the minister. Noting that besides footfalls, the measure of investments into Maldives from India was also on the rise, and, one of the key area was that of hospitality, Moosa Zameer told us “The Oberoi group will open a hotel soon; The Leela group is negotiating for a resort hotel in Maldives. With all this euphoria that is there, we can further build on it.”

global exchange: italy

Large scale infra management is likely to be a top agenda, given Italy’s expertise in the same

Culinary business will be a major component of Italy’s foray into India

Italy bets on its areas of expertise to boost bilateral trade and tourism Bilateral trade has long been the most reliable barometer of engagement between nations. Going by that assumption, Italy is on course to becoming a formidable partner of India in the coming days. As the Italian government launched a campaign to promote business in India, we spoke with Trade Commissioner Francesco Pensabene to understand the contours of this mega move. By shashank shekhar

eflecting a sense of urgency to diversify and multiply its stakes, Italy has put in place a major bid to expand its presence in the Indian markets. Keen on leveraging India’s growing consumer base, large-scale infrastructural push and need for larger collaborations to boost industrial production, the government of Italy recently unveiled its first ever campaign in India – ‘Italy: The

you cannot think about global commerce and partnerships with India not in the loop. India is central to any such endeavor,” he said. He added that Italy did understand that there was a huge range of potential that remained untapped. “There is a huge range of channel which we have to nurture to build our partnership with Indian companies,” he mentioned.

☛ FDI inflow from Italy has risen considerably, making it the fourth important source of FDI in the European Union. ☛ The campaign aimed at bringing more Italian companies into India for collaboration in sectors like luxury consumer goods, heavy machinery and expensive furniture. Extraordinary Commonplace’. With a sharp focus on its innate strengths and areas of expertise, the campaign’s principle pillars include design, fashion, food processing, infrastructure, SMART CITIES, luxury and furniture. The campaign, itself, will be spread across two years with focused events and activities, in each sector, all across the country. Giving us an insight into Italy’s major push, Italian Trade Commissioner Francesco Pensabene opined that “This is a public and government undertaking which demonstrates the seriousness of our endeavor in taking this forward. India is a huge opportunity for business and trade. In a world where big economies have found hard to stay afloat, India has done remarkably well for itself. It has been growing at a rate of over seven percent in terms of GDP – which opens up a number of avenues.” He went on to call India a priority market for Italy, stating that in terms of the overall FDI coming into India, Italy was the fourth largest in the European Union and thirteenth largest in the world. “So, keeping in mind the prevalent trends and future expectations, we have launched this campaign; nothing more, nothing less. As I shared earlier, market trends are very clear. In today’s day and age,

Art and heritage, food processing are areas we will strengthen in coming months and years

francesco pansabene trade commissioner, embassy of italy

We have expertise in areas such as sophisticated machinery, infrastructural management and heavy engineering that can assist India in their quest for a very ambitious hundred SMART cities. It must be viewed in that light.

A look at the bilateral trade figures reveals that the total volume of trade has risen considerably in the past five years. The aggregate volume stood at 7,363 million Euros in 2015- which has grown from 2012 figures of 7,097 million Euros. Interestingly, specific sectors that have seen robust growth are those that have been handpicked by the Italian government for bilateral engagement. Specific sectors that have registered noticeable growth in export term is led by machinery – which amounted to 1063.48 million Euros – followed by chemicals, textiles and consumer goods. Given that India, itself, has launched an ambitious campaign – ‘Make in India’ – there were some concerns about how Italy was going to push for more exports. Francesco Pansabene, however, refuted the argument noting that Italian foray was to supplement India’s efforts and not to contradict it. “We have expertise in areas such as sophisticated machinery, infrastructural management and heavy engineering that can assist India in their quest for a very ambitious hundred SMART cities. It must be viewed in that light. If we can help India augment its low-manufacturing base through our expertise and technological collaborations, I

think we will be partners in India’s quest, and not competitors,” the trade commissioner said. Besides, Italy’s core areas of interest, it was also keen on exploring new avenues, we were told. “We are also keen on developing new areas of bilateral connect such as IT. We are constantly trying to have more Italian companies come and explore the vastness of the great land and search for more areas of engagement. These six segments that we are going ahead with are by no means only six areas of mutual interest,” he stressed. He went on to point that as India’s growing appetite for luxury goods, especially cars, jewellery and leather items presented a huge opportunity for both countries to work on. “Italy is known for its high-end cars, expensive brands that have world’s best watches and jewellery. Our own research tells us that we already have a market share of over ten percent of India’s total luxury car imports,” he said. He attributed this optimism to growing number of consumers in the Indian market. “We would want to see these numbers grow, especially when larger number of its population is entering this segment. In fact, luxury car segment in India, is one of the fastest growing segments in the world,” he added.

he only glaring omission in this otherwise noteworthy engagement seemed to be collaborations in the realm of art and heritage preservation. Italy being the cradle of western art and rich heritage – thanks to the array of work done by worldrenowned painters and artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci – has much to share with India. However, Francesco Pansabene said that all of these areas were to be explored in the near future. “We are extremely positive that as our engagement deepens through this two year long marketing push, we will see more collaboration in different fields. Given that India, itself, is a repository of ancient art and variety of art forms, it will be a win-win situation for both nations,” he said. He further added that culinary segment was another area that needed to be explored further. He dispelled the prevalent notion that Italy was only about Pizza and Cheese. “While it is true that we are the land of Pizza, but there are so many other dishes and varieties of food that can be explored. And, India, too, has such a huge diversity in food. I think it will be a great sector to work together on,” said the trade commissioner. Agriculture is also important connect between the two nations. Although, India and Italy have an age old linkage, much of the modern relation flourished post 1990’s when Indians took to settling down in Italy. A large number of Indian francesco pansabene Diaspora works on farms – The food sector in India is predominantly in northern huge, not only in volume, but and western Italy, in areas the sheer variety of it. More so, adjoining Rome and Milan. It as the Indian government is constructing more mega food comes as no surprise, then, Parks, it is a right time to engage that the government of Italy in this sector. In terms of trade has chosen agro-processing volumes, it is easily in hundreds of billions Euros. as an important sector for bilateral trade. “The food sector in India is huge, not only in volume, but the sheer variety of it. More so, as the Indian government is constructing more mega food Parks, it is a right time to engage in this sector. In terms of trade volumes, it is easily in hundreds of billions Euros,” he informed us. Taking a stock of bilateral tourism, this move is laudable to say the least. Enhanced corporate and trade exchanges will lead to more travel and boost the larger tourism industry. It will also better aware the discerning Indian traveler about the bounties of Italy as a destination. Coming at a time when the Indian government has rolled out some mega-schemes, Italy could not have time its campaign better.

global exchange: Bhutan

Monasteries like these are dotted across Bhutan

Unique culture and tradition remains its USP

India is Bhutan’s top source market; Buddhist tourism powers footfalls Bhutan’s uniqueness not only lies in its plethora of sites and temples that make it a delight for Buddhist tourists, but its management of delicate ecology by regulating footfalls at a time when the larger tourism industry, worldwide, is in midst of a tough competition to attract more travelers. By shashank shekhar

hen the famous British author James Hilton penned his masterpiece ‘Lost Horizon’, he mentioned a place named Shangri-la which is the epitome of peace, tranquility and happiness, tucked in the lap of pristine Himalayas.

Bhutan is the only nation that aptly fits that description, and more. Surrounded by India, China and some parts of Nepal, Bhutan is the only Buddhist country in the world, and thanks to its age-old tradition of Buddhism, it houses some of the most ornate temple structures. It is one of the cleanest countries, too; perhaps, the only nation that measures happiness!

☛ Bhutan's model is a highly-sustainable one; it has consciously restricted the number of footfalls, and its positioning as a premier destination has helped it in this attempt. ☛ The nation is dotted with numerous ornate temples and stupas that remain a major source of attraction for tourists. In the recent years, with exposure to the wider world, it is growing as a unique tourist destination in its own right. A bouquet of fascinating products on offer, a tourist can enjoy Paro’s famous

Kyichu Lhakhang monastery dating back to 7th century AD; whereas, motor enthusiasts can drive through the Chelela pass – which at an elevation 3,988 meters is considered to be one of the highest motorable passes in the country. Besides the capital, some noticeable mentions are Punakha and Phuntsholin. Punakha was the old capital and the seat of administration until 1955, now most famous for its rice-farming. Phuntsholin, on the other hand, is a border town and gateway into Bhutan for India. Its geographical location, because of a profound influence of the Indian culture, has given it a distant architectural and cultural positioning. With no major source of revenue, bereft of any mentionable manufacturing and service industry base, “tourism is among the top revenue generator of the country and the highest foreign currency generator,” shared Namgay Wangmo, Marketing and Promotion Division, Tourism Council of Bhutan. She noted that visiting Bhutan should be more about experiencing a country life. “Most of our visitors return after their tour of western Bhutan, but we would like them to explore the central and eastern Bhutan – as these places have more to offer in terms of happiness and experience,” she said. She stressed that Bhutan had myriad of offerings that included heritage, culture, natural beauty and a range of quality world class hospitality. Given the age-old friendly ties with India, Bhutan does share an umbilical cord us. It is no surprise that India has always been its top market in terms of arrival numbers. “The footfall for 2015 from India was 91733 which is almost 49% increase from 2014. India has always been our top market in terms of arrival and it continues to grow yearly,” shared Namgay. Bhutan’s other top markets were China, the USA, Thailand and the UK, we were told. Driven, mostly, by Buddhist tourism, almost all of the destinations in Bhutan have sacred connections to Guru, the second lord Buddha and many other great Buddhist saints and scholars, reflecting in its rich historical anecdotes and many sacred pilgrimage sites. “Majority of the visitors from India likes to visit Dzongs and temples in Bhutan, which stand as the symbol of Buddhism,” she said. Happiness and simplicity aside, Bhutan’s positioning as a destination will, in all likelihood, continue as a premier destination. Perhaps one of the few nations in the world to do so, it levies 250 dollars per tourist for each day’s stay–it includes food and accommodation. This demonstrates nation’s seriousness towards preserving its pristine ecology and virgin mountains and lakes. At a time when most nations are employing every trick in the sleeve to attract the outbound, Bhutan’s regulation of footfalls is, indeed, admirable. Having said that, the tourism department will continue to work very closely with media to create awareness on Bhutan as one of the most desirable destination, we were informed; and tourism events will be one of the many promotional platforms that it will constantly explore.

niche : golf tourism

Boosting Golf Tourism: India Golf Expo 2016

Suman Billa

Aakash Ohri

Cui Zhiqiang

ith an aim to increase the focus and grow the potential of Golf in India, the Indian Golf Industry Association (IGIA) supported by the Indian Golf Union (IGU) will host The 5th Annual India Golf Expo 2016 (IGE 2016) – South Asia’s largest exposition for golf –from

Gregg Patterson

Anil Seolekar

April 20-21 at DLF Club 5, Gurgaon. With the increasing popularity of the game and its significant impact on tourism and the economy, golf has garnered stupendous penetration and has ushered in a new era of growth in South Asia. The two day expo is India’s largest gathering of golf tour operators,

Harish Bijoor

industry experts, golf course architects & designers, golf course developers, captains & representatives of golf clubs, teaching professionals and corporates from all across the world. Shri. Suman Billa, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism stated, “Golf tourism has not been exploited to its true potential as at present India gets very miniscule tourism income that can be attributable to Golf. The ministry is keen on promoting Golf for the development of the overall eco-system of tourism and would like to emulate the success of neighboring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and UAE. The ministry of tourism is developing a separate section as part of the Incredible India website that would feature some of the best Golf courses and become a repository for details about various facilities.” He further stated, “The new tourism policy has been submitted to the Hon’ble Prime Minister and suggests creation of a ‘Golf Tourism Promotion Board’ to drive growth of Golf in India. We will also be focusing on marketing and advertising of tourist focused Golf events and become more tourist friendly.” The organizers have also scheduled a special half day session on April 21 devoted to Golf Tourism. This year will see participation from the Ministry of Tourism- Jammu & Kashmir, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Visit Scotland amongst others from the tourism fraternity. Mr. Aakash Ohri, President, Indian Golf Industry Association and Executive Director, Business Development, DLF Home Developers Limited stated, “The India Golf Expo is a way of representing India’s presence in the global golf industry. At present

Iain Roberts

Golf is still in a nascent stage of its development. Currently, there are about 15 courses under construction across India with an initial outlay of over Rs. 5000 crore, 50 new courses will be built in the near future. However, we have to take insights from the success of Golf in China and USA and replicate the same in India.” The 2016 edition of India Golf Expo has already witnessed 40% growth in the exhibition booking space vis-à-vis last year with the world’s leading multi-million dollar international manufacturers like TORO, Rainbird, John Deere, Ransomes Jacobsen and Yamaha amongst others showcasing their latest products and solutions. Golf’s leading consumer brands like TaylorMade, Footjoy, Titleist, Callaway and Cleveland will also be showcasing their latest products for their retail trade. With the theme of ‘Shaping the Future of Golf in India’, a two day seminar featuring speakers from India and around the world will be held with sessions on ‘Growing the Game’; ‘Real Estate Development’, ‘Golf Tourism’ & ‘Club Management’. The line-up of international speakers has gotten bigger & better than the previous year with the likes of Iain Roberts (Mission Hills Golf Club, China), Gregg Patterson (The Beach Club, Los Angeles), Cui Zhiqiang- (China Golf Association), James Prusa (Sky72 Golf, Korea), John Neylan (Turfgrass Expert) & John Gransbury (Water Management Expert, Australia) to name a few. Visitors may walk in free during the two day expo and get exclusive tours and travel packages and also explore great deals on apparel and equipment.

Visit w w w.indiagolfexpo.com for more details on the event

niche : wildlife

Stakeholders moot comprehensive roadmap for sustainable wildlife tourism As TOFT brought together top resort and hotel owners who have strived to inculcate best of sustainable and responsible tourism practice, the underlying concurrence on the need for a comprehensive roadmap – which involves all stakeholders – indicated the absence of a larger policy to balance tourism and conservation, in equal measure. By shashank shekhar

ildlife tourism is a delicate segment, given that it deals with the already overexposed flora and fauna. India, being a centre for multiple biodiversity hotspots, has ample jungles and wildlife to leverage from. The challenge in this endeavour is finding the right balance

between commercial gains through tourist footfalls, and infusion of sustainable measures to minimize any consequential impact emanating from tourism. What makes this balance hard to achieve, though, is the fact that wildlife tourism is a massively lucrative business; For instance, revenues from wildlife tourism forms five percent of Kenya’s overall GDP. As tigers, the nature travel action

charity, launched it‘s Good Wildlife Travel Guide to India and Nepal’ highlighting over 220 of India and Nepal’s best and most responsible service providers, the central theme of the larger discussion hovered around the need to adopt responsible measures. Speaking at the event, Chairman and founder of TOFTigers Julian Matthews said, “the need to drive the growing nature tourism sector along a

Julian Matthews Chairman & founder, TOFTigers

The need to drive the growing nature tourism sector along a more sustainable and supportive role for wildlife and conservation has never been greater, and there is no better way to do this than setting down a better and more comprehensive road map now for a future of the industry with all stakeholders involved.

more sustainable and supportive role for wildlife and conservation has never been greater, and there is no better way to do this than setting down a better and more comprehensive road map now for a future of the industry with all stakeholders involved.” He noted that a growing number of businesses that adopted green practices outperformed their competitors. Quoting some of the statistics gathered by his organization, he mentioned that as many as two-third of tourists wanted responsible holidays. “A whopping 93 percent of total consumers have preferred travel companies to be committed to preserving natural heritage. Whereas, 66 percent of consumers prefer buying products and services from companies that give back to the society,” he stated, signalling that awareness on the need for sustainable tourism was on the rise. He also mentioned that almost fifty percent of total numbers were in favour of shelling out more for services to companies having a good corporate social responsibility track record. Another important issue that surfaced during the course of interaction was the lack of adequate permits for jungle-safari in National Parks in Madhya Pradesh. Some lodge owners also mentioned the abject absence of transparency in granting permits and expressed their anguish saying that the system needed to ensure that adequate numbers of permits were being issued – which were in sync with the booking. They noted that it was difficult for them to attract tourists and improve their room nights, unless the local administration ensured that tourists got what they, primarily, came for. As wildlife tourism and, especially, tiger tourism is a seasonal business, lack of adequate occupancy hits the mid-level and budget segment hotels the hardest. However, the larger takeaway of the gathering was to use the limelight achieved through tourism to convert these sustainable measures into tools for conservation of wildlife. The broad consensus on using the knowledge systems of local communities in implementing sustainable measures was also a key takeaway of the event.

the l a st pag e

Kashmir’s high altitude paradise remains undiscovered to tourism

Sheshnag Lake: One of the most ancient Hindu pilgrimage sites, The Sheshnag lake is located 23 kilometers from Pahalgam in Anantnag district in Kashmir valley. It is situated en route to the Amarnath caves and is open, mostly, in summer.

Karzok Tso Moriri: With a surface area of over 30,000 acres, Tso Moriri lies, entirely in India, in the Ladakhi part of the Changthang plateau at an astounding 4,522 meters (14,836 ft). The lake is fed by springs and melting snow from neighboring mountains. Given its rugged terrain and altitude, it accessible, only, in summer.

Kygar Tso: It is a small saline water lake located close to the famed Tso moriri lake at a staggering altitude of 15,436 ft. It is located amidst sparsely populated villages and has a dangerous reputation among hikers for its volatile weather – which can turn upside down in a matter of hours.

The valley has long been equated with the paradise, and why not? But through the years, its tourism has largely been centred around some well-established products like shikaras, Dal Lake and winter sport activities in places like Gulmarg and Sonamarg. Though, not many would be aware of the fact that Kashmir also has 2,000 high altitude lakes, most of which remain unexplored – which, with the right dose of infra and basic amenities in place, may well turn out to be the thrust that propels valley’s tourism to new heights. Located in the upper trenches of Kashmir, most of these lakes are accessible for a few months of the year shielding them from over-exposure.

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