Express Travelworld September, 2012

VOL 7 | NO. 8 | PAGES 44

September 2012 ` 50

Fortnightly Insight for the Hospitality Trade

Contents September 2012

Vol 7 | No 8 | Pages 44

Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka Editor

Reema Lokesh* Assistant Editor

Steena Joy Associate Editor

Sudipta Dev CONTENT TEAM Mumbai

Sayoni Bhaduri, Kahini

Agri Tourism Development Corporation promotes and develops agri tourism in India ......................................................................6 'Maharashtra should have various regional tourism boards' ...........................8 IATO says ‘Maharashta Mazha’ after 20 yrs .................................................10 Maggie White reminisces on her experiences of working with travel trade in India ....................................................................................14

Fastest Growing Airline in South Africa

Interview with Indra Kesuma Oesman, consul general of the Republic of Indonesia, Mumbai .........................................................15 ICPB eyes international markets to develop MICE tourism in India ..............15

New Delhi

Alaska explores opportunities to enter India market ....................................16

Kolkata

Indians flock to NZ during their lean season ...............................................17

Joy Roy Choudhury

NYC focuses on Indian incentive tour segment ............................................18

Advisory Board

JNTO aims for 100,000 Indian visitors in 2012 ............................................19

Ankur Bhatia, Vijay Chadda, Saroj Datta, Ashok Fenn,

Airline in South Africa

MARKET

Chakraborty Heena Mahajan

1 Time Airline

For booking and ticket issuance

MANAGEMENT

Subhash Goyal, Cyrus Guzder,

1 Time Airline

Zubin Karkaria, Ashwini Kakkar, Khursheed Lam,

Tel :- (022) 22840443 –

Tej Sahni, Alok Sawhney, Prem Subramaniam

Fax:- (022) 22830461

MARKETING

E-mail:-

Deputy General Manager

Harit Mohanty

1timeairline@griffontravel.com

Chief Manager

Emmanuel Fernandes Manager

Sunil D'costa Deputy Chief Manager

Zahid Ali Khan

Meandering through Mumbai ......................................................................26

CIRCULATION

Mohan Varadakar

GRIFFON, 4 Cusrow Baug, Colaba, Mumbai 400001.

PRODUCTION

Announcing

General Manager

B R Tipnis

Introductory Fares for INDIA

Production Manager

Bhadresh Valia Layout

Pune: Road to perdition? ....28

Ratilal Ladani, Kiran Parker

Cashing on MICE................30

Asst. Art Director

Domestic South Africa JNB – DUR

Rs.3200 onwards (including all taxes)

JNB – GRJ

Rs.3900 onwards (including all taxes)

JNB – PLZ

Rs.4950 onwards (including all taxes)

JNB – CPT

Rs.5150 onwards (including all taxes)

Surajit Patro Chief Designer

EDGE

Pravin Temble Senior Graphic Designer

Chennai checkers... ....................................................................................

33

Rushikesh Konka LIFE

Photo Editor

Sandeep Patil

Express TravelWorld Reg. No.-MH/MR/SOUTH156\2010-12 RNI Reg. No. 15993/05 Printed by The Indian Express Limited and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208,TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and Published from Express Towers, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021. (Editorial & Administra-tive Offices: Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021) Editor Reema Lokesh* Copyright @ 2011

The Indian Express Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.

September 2012

and many more....

SimpliFying training in social media

..................................................46

International JNB – LVI

REGULARS

Editor’s Note ..........................................................................................4 Appointments........................................................................................37

Rs.7500 onwards (including all taxes)

and many more....

Weekend ..............................................................................................38 www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Directing a new story

I “The IATO convention’s theme mentions the word ‘Together’, which is profound. It is time the tourism industry thinks and acts together as a common force”

have always been a reasonably proud Mumbaikar, born and brought up in a city that is known for its safety (for women), spirit and of course its street food (the famous vada pav). On a serious note, the city has so much to offer and has its charm, which is lost in the Mumbai madness. Amidst the hustle and bustle there exists pockets of taste and tranquillity that is seldom explored. There are some interesting walks and trails, which transport you to a Mumbai that belies common perception. The 28th IATO Convention 2012 is being held in this city after 20 years, which should help give the city and the state of Maharashtra its much needed tourism impetus. Apart from Mumbai, Pune which is just three hours away, is also worth exploring. Express TravelWorld and Express Hospitality recently conducted an editorial round table discussion with industry leaders from Mumbai and Pune, highlighting Pune’s tourism potential under the title, Knowledge Exchange: Positioning Pune - Waiting in the Wings, excerpts of which you will find in this issue.

Maharashtra has a plethora of tourism offerings for the discerning travellers, from the forts and caves to wineries and wildlife, from beaches to Bollywood, from textiles to adventure from pilgrimage sites to hill stations. This is truly a product that is waiting to be explored - all it needs is some serious commitment from the authorities in the tourism department to make it happen. This IATO convention, on a positive note, may become the beginning of a success story that Maharashtra tourism needs to script. Speaking about scripts, our cover story highlights the strong connection between films and tourism. Cinema plays a decisive role in building the desire to travel to visually appealing destinations that are reflected in its reels. Today, international tourism boards are bending backwards to a large extent to invite film makers to shoot movies in their towns and cities to attract the robust Indian outbound.

Incentives like single-window clearances and seamless post and pre production processes, etc are all being offered.

On the home turf, there are states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan who have put into place pro-film shooting initiatives and packages. Producers have gone on record highlighting what it takes to shoot films both in India and abroad. The cover story speaks about this interesting relationship.

Finally, the IATO convention’s theme mentions the word ‘Together’, which is profound. It is time the tourism industry (that includes hospitality, aviation, car rentals and other stakeholders) thinks and acts together as a common force. The government on the other hand should seriously address the issues that the industry is hoping to resolve since decades. Together also means working in tandem with public-private synergy.

Reema Lokesh Editor editorial.etw@expressindia.com

CHENNAI:

Head Office Express TravelWorld Sunil D’costa Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd, 1st Floor, Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400021. India Tel: 67440496 Fax: 22885831 E-mail: sunil.dcosta@expressindia.com

Branch Offices : NEW DELHI: Zubair Ahmad The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division, Express Building (Basement) 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 Tel : +91 - 11- 23465670, Mob: 9811153487 E-mail:zubair.ahmad@expressindia.com

Vijay Kulkarni, The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division, New No.37/C (Old No.16/C) 2nd Floor Whites Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014 Tel Direct : 044 - 42285520, 42285518/42285534 Board: 044 - 28543031 Ext Mktg : 218, 219, 220, 222, 234 Editorial Ext : 207 Fax: 044 - 28543035 Mob. 09940047667 E-mail:Vijay.kulkarni@expressindia.com

BENGALURU: Dr. Raghu Pillai, Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd. 502 Devatha Plaza, 5th Floor 131 Residency Road Bangalore - 560025 Ph 080-22231923/24 Fax: 22231925.

E-mail: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com

HYDERABAD: A K Shukla, The Indian Express Ltd, Business

4

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Publications Division, 6-3-885/7/B, Ground floor V.V. Mansion, Somaji Guda Hyderabad - 500 082 Tel: 040-23418673 /23418674 / 66631457/ 23418675 (Tele-fax) E-mail: ashwinkumar.shukla@expressindia.com

KOLKATA: Prasenjit Basu, The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division, No. 5, Pannalal Banerjee Lane (Formerly Fancy Lane), 2nd Floor, Kolkata-700 001 Tel No. (Direct) +91-33-2213 8567 / 8573 Board No. +91-33-2213 8587, 2231 8879 / 80 Fax: +91-33-22138582, Ext. 329 Fax: 22138582 E-mail: prasenjit.basu@expressindia.com KOCHI: Dr. Raghu Pillai, Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd, Sankoorikal Building, 36/2248, Kaloor, Kadavanthara Road, Opp. Kaloor Private Bus Stand, Kaloor - 682 017

www.expresstravelworld.com

Tel: (0484) 2343152, 2343328 Fax: 2343153 raghu.pillai@expressindia.com

JAIPUR: The Indian Express Ltd, C-7, Dwarika Puri, Jamna Lal Bajaj Marg, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001 Tel: 0141-370002, 371272 Telefax: 91-141-376606

BHOPAL: The Indian Express Ltd, 6, Vidya Vihar, Professors Colony, Bhopal - 462002, Madhya Pradesh Tel: 0755-2661988 AHMEDABAD: 3rd floor, Sambhav House Near Judges Bungalow Cross Road, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad - 380 015.

Tel: (91-79) 26872481/ 82/ 83 Fax: (91-79) 26873950

IMPORTANT: Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its contents. The Indian Express Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications. We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

September 2012

Travel www.GoTravel.co.in

More Reasons to Fly this Season

Let the precious time you spend on a holiday mean so much more!

Choose from our Hotel & Breakfast packages starting 1 Night/2 Days (3*/4*/5* Hotels) Airport Pick-up & Drop Services and Car Rentals offered

All this at great value prices

Market

T H E B U S I N E S S O F T R AV E L & TO U R I S M

LEAD STORY

Agri Tourism Development Corporation promotes and develops agri tourism in India SAYONI BHADURI - Pune

une-based Agri Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) is working with different Indian states to develop and promote agri tourism in India. Pandurang Taware, president and MD, Agri Tourism Development Corporation said, “We had 20 district collectors from Bihar come to our Baramati farm to undergo training and understand agri tourism.”

He added that the state of Bihar is keen on developing a similar format there. He has also worked with Punjab Tourism to develop their farm tourism projects. MTDC has also shown interest in the project and have considered bringing it under the MahaBhraman programme, where they will promote agri tourism with dedication.

Explaining his venture further, Taware informed that he trains farmers in skills required to manage and run farms for tourism purposes. “To train in agri tourism, a package of five

P

days cost approximately `3000,” he said. The benefits to farmers are immense, Taware explains, “A farmer can earn up to `two to three lakh in a year from such a set up. These funds can easily be put back into his farmland.” There are 357 talukas in Maharashtra, and there is

a potential to develop threefour centres per Taluka, according to Taware. Such units allow the country's culture and environment to grow sustainably. It provides respect which is due to farmers, and tourists understand the situation. At the same time he informs that is

something that not all farmers can do, it takes a lot of time and personal involvement.

The pilot project was set up at ATDC in Baramati, Maharashtra in 2005. In 2007, ATDC trained 52 farmers to set up similar units across the state.

Newly elected GTA to focus on tourism infrastructure of Darjeeling JOY ROY CHOUDHURY -Kolkata

fter assuming office, the newly set up G o r k h a l a n d Territorial Administration (GTA) has decided to focus on improving and creation of the tourism infrastructure of the Darjeeling hills.

The executive committee which met in Darjeeling recently under the chairmanship of Bimal Gurung, chief executive of the board discussed several measures to restore Darjeeling to its past glory. Among the main issues discussed, one of them was turning the liabilities in tourism into an

A

6

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

asset so that revenue could be generated and drawing a blueprint to boost tourism.

“A team of GTA members will shortly meet the governor of West Bengal, the chief minister and also the central government. We will request them after assessing the situation we are in right now and the development work that needs to be done. After adopting a resolution, we will ask for whatever help we need from them in terms of overall development of the hills,” said Gurung. “We are committed to the overall development of the Darjeeling hills

and turn it into one of the most sought-after hill stations in the country,” said an executive committee member.

The GTA, the hill governing council armed with more powers than the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC), was formed recently following the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM), the State and the Central Governments last year and subsequent passing of the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration Act, 2011 in the West Bengal State Assembly.

September 2012

‘Maharashtra should have various regional tourism boards’ Sudhir Patil, president, Maharashtra Tour Organisers' Association (MTOA), highlights the role and function of MTOA and addresses the immediate need to bring in some serious action related towards tourism promotion in Maharashtra and the role of MTDC in the same. By Reema Lokesh As president of MTOA what is your immediate agenda with respect to the association?

The first important goal is to bring big and small tour operators present in Maharashtra under one umbrella. There are many associations but they do not tender their service to tour operators effectively.

Maharashtra Tourism will be on top priority and all members are committed to promote Maharashtra at the state, national and international levels. We will try our best to be associated with MTDC for proper marketing of Maharashtra Tourism in near future. The association is trying to develop good relationship with Indian Railways and IRCTC. Railway and aviation sectors are important to all tour operators. We will try to take various issues to these authorities to solve problems and improve our association for better tourism.

What according to you are the challenges that Maharashtra tourism is facing and are there any pointed solutions to the same?

It is very important for MTDC to be associated with private partners such as tour operators, hoteliers to

8

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

promote destinations jointly in various exhibitions, roadshows and seminars. Often there is no information available or signboards on highway to promote the nearby tourist destination. It is very important to have various signboards on national highways stating the nearest tourist attractions and various service providers such as hotels, tour operator and information with history of location. For such promotion we should form local tourism bodies who can be able to handle the growth in the business. To print regional tourism brochures along with presence of private hotels and local transport, guides, restaurants etc, information. All these information should be readily available at various centres.

Infrastructure facility such as clean toilets, shower facilities at beaches, garbage collection centre, wide road and parking facilities should be on top priority.

To create employment for locals we must organise various workshops and at the same time promote them to tender various services to tourist including souvenir shops, restaurants, fast food corners, etc. www.expresstravelworld.com

Is the PPP model in tourism in Maharashtra a success or is there more that can be achieved?

The PPP model in tourism will be successful if we implement it properly. At present all such PPP model are on papers only the selection of private partner is very crucial and all such project should be with special time bound.

Who are members of MTOA and what is the criteria for membership?

All tour operators located in Maharashtra and conducting tour Indian and international can be member of association.

What according to you should be the road map for Maharashtra tourism keeping in view its diverse tourism products?

As Maharashtra is a vast state we strongly feel that it should have various regional tourism boards which can focus specific region and start promoting based on pros and cons of Places.

We expect following regional tourism boards to start with: a) South Konkan including Sindhdurg, Ratnagiri, Raigad

b) North Konkan -Thane district c) Nashik d) Pune e) Kholapur f) Aurangabad g) Nagpur.

This will provide an opportunity for local entrepreneurs to start tourism ventures in their region. They will be more focused on promoting their destination and will get more political support from MP's and MLA's. All such regions should be part of MTDC and it should be marketed by MTDC. It is also very important that MTDC should stop selling rooms with immediate effect or do this activity in other names. This staff should not be associated with destination promotion team.

MTDC's core focus business should be promoting destination. It is high time now that all tour operators, tour agents and service providers to start selling Maharashtra with MTDC or without MTDC more proactively. There are lot of attractions in Maharashtra - beaches, temples, forts, craters and wildlife sanctuaries. We are optimistic and confident that we will do everything to promote Maharashtra in the near future.

September 2012

IATO says ‘Maharashta Mazha’ after 20 yrs IATO's 28th annual convention is being held in Mumbai after 20 years and the association is all set to give the city and state the much needed tourism impetus. Reema Lokesh presents highlights of the convention he Indian Association of Tour Operator’s (IATO) 28th Convention opens doors on August 30, 2012 to its delegates in the country’s gateway city Mumbai. With the inaugural session being held at the iconic National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), the next few days till September 2, 2012 will witness action at Trident, Nariman Point, Mumbai. The convention theme namely ‘Moving Forward in Challenging Times – Together’ will highlight and address issues and concerns facing tour operators in the travel and tourism sector and also try and seek solutions to the impending issues. Rajeev Kohli, chairman, IATO convention 2012 said, “This year's convention promises to be different from the past.

We will have a greater focus on interactivity, on learning and on building skills. You will see a greater attention being paid to how you can grow your business and to learning about new products across the country.”

Speaking about the convention and his expectations, Subhash Goyal, president, IATO added, “This year we are expecting 1,500 delegates of industry stakeholders, foreign delegates, eminent speakers, top officials from the ministry of Tourism –

T

10

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Subhash Goyal

Rajeev Kohli

Lally Mathews

Government of India and from various state tourism boards, etc, for the convention.

Every convention organised by the association has been different and has always aimed to raise new and existing issues with a difference. This year all the prevailing issues like service tax, VOA, increasing cost of air travel, and more will be raised.”

Apart from pending issues the state of Maharashtra will be in the limelight. Lally Mathews, cochairman, IATO Convention 2012, informed, “The primary focus of organising the convention in Mumbai is to bring the city back in the limelight which has remained as a one night stay destination. Apart from this the state has a lot to offer and it is time we need to build the awareness of the tourism offerings that can be included in the itinerary.” He further added, “It is the first time in the history of IATO that over 200 active members have registered for the convention.”

This year Maharashtra Tourism put the highest bid and was very keen to promote new areas amongst tour operators. The main area of focus is Sindhudurg and Ganpatipule, which will be covered in the post convention tours. From Bollywood to pilgrimages, MICE and wine tourism to beaches to wildlife, the convention aims to highlight the

various facets of Maharashtra. A special session with MTDC called `The Treasures of Maharashtra’ will highlight some of the facets of the state as well as new initiatives being taken by the state government to give tourism a boost.

Over and above this there are other sessions namely, ‘The Affairs of the Industry a panel with IATO and members of the Government’, which will aim to discuss the current status of the tourism industry vis-à-vis government policies. Further, A Tale of Two India's, which will be presented by Nakul Anand, executive director, ITC and chairman, CII National Committee on Tourism & Hospitality will narrate a story of India and the opportunities she presents in the face of adversity. The session - ‘New Dynamics in Tourism Development’ is self explanatory-highlighting dynamics in tourism.

The session Standing out in a Crowded Market" will aim to highlight techniques to survive the economic downturn and how to stay afloat during trying times.

Further, a special session will narrate the story of the famous Mumbai Dabbawalas, which will be followed by the `New Incredible India' vision. `Tour Operators & Hoteliers Bridging the Gap’ will be worth a listen. This year’s

convention will also see the formal launch of the IATO Code of Conduct in the session `IATO - it’s your association’. Sessions such as `The move to specialisation- is that the future?’, `Customer Service - Moving from transactional engagements to lifetime relationships’, `Managing your business in a changing world Economy’ would bring in the much needed `Gyan’ to survive the downturn and improve profits. ‘Working towards a better and more inclusive India’ will be a session that will highlight, MOTs (The Ministry of Tourism) two initiatives the 'Clean India campaign' and the second is the 'Hunar se Rozgar’ initiative will be presented by Usha Sharma, assistant director general tourism, ministry of Tourism, government of India. `The Travel Industry Global Overview incorporating the WTM Vision Conference, 'Presenting the Euromonitor International Report’ will also be presented at the convention.

Finally, the interesting addition is that of the first time the association will be organising the 'IATO Run for Responsible Tourism' which will be held on the morning of August 31. To this we say let us have a healthy and thought provoking, issue solving 28th IATO Convention 2012.

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

‘I have spent a decade interacting with travel agents from India and it has been an enjoyable and enriching journey’ Following her decade long tenure as Tourism Australia's general manager for South East Asia and Gulf countries, Maggie White will be leaving the NTO and returning to Melbourne by this year end. She reminisces her experiences of working with travel trade in India. By Sudipta Dev How do you perceive the growth of the Indian market in the last decade for Tourism Australia?

received from many Indian travel agents during a very tough time. Your reflection on that.

Australia has always been an aspirational brand and features prominently in the wish list of desirable destinations to visit for travellers from India. The past decade has seen a steady rise in visitor arrivals from India to Australia. Starting from a low base of 41,000 in 2000, Indian arrivals have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 12.3 per cent to reach 148,200 visitors in 2011. India is currently the 11th largest inbound market for arrivals.

It has been a satisfying experience watching the visitor arrivals graph rise. There is a sense of gratification when I think back about the kind of work on the trade and media front that we have done in this market. It has been a crucial decade not just statistically but also from the viewpoint of building and strengthening our foundations in this large and complex market.

I have spent more than a decade interacting with travel agents from India and it has been an enjoyable and enriching journey. Starting out at a time when outbound travel was still in its nascent stage, it has been a great learning experience gaining insights from veterans of the Indian travel industry and working together towards building preference for travel to Australia. Through the years, we have worked jointly with the travel agents using several mediums including training programmes, cooperative advertising and trade events to help them develop itineraries and sell Australia better to their customers. We were amongst the first NTOs to have started a specialised training programme for the trade – the Aussie Specialist Programme – that has today grown enormously enrolling over 2800 agents. There have also been several trade events including the India Travel Mission (ITM), Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), India Mega Famil and Workshop (IMFW) that we have organised for the Indian travel agents and that has enabled us to create long lasting synergies between Australian and Indian travel trade representatives and bring Australia amongst the top choice of outbound travel destinations.

Tourism Australia has always enjoyed the faith and goodwill of the Indian travel fraternity and this has been a great reassurance for us during some of our challenging times as well. Our close associates among the trade and media have made an immense contribution towards building brand Australia in India. During the many years that I have spent

In an earlier interaction you had told me about the unstinting support that T o u r i s m Australia had

14

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

What are your growth expectations from India?

Maggie White working in this market, in addition to great business supporters, I have also been fortunate to make some great friends for life and am thankful to all my associates for making this journey a memorable and inspiring one.

How has South/South East Asia emerged as a source market for Tourism Australia?

Asia is Australia’s main source of international arrivals, representing 42 per cent of total arrivals in the 12 months to March 2012 and 43 per cent for the first quarter of 2012. Strong growth from Asia is expected to be particularly important to the performance of international arrivals in the short and longer term. In the first quarter of 2012, key source markets in Asia continue to drive overall arrivals to Australia including China, India and Indonesia. According to the Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC), inbound arrivals from Asia are expected to increase four per cent to 2.5 million in 2011/12 and by a further 5.6 per cent to 2.6 million in 2012/13. By 2020/21, Asia’s share of inbound arrivals is expected to increase to 45 per cent (Source TFC, 2012 Issue 1).

India is a market of strong future potential for Australian tourism given this nation's rapid rise in outbound travel. India is currently Australia’s 10th most valuable inbound tourism market, with 148,000 visitors spending AU$ 867 million in 2011.

Tourism Australia recently unveiled an India 2020 plan – a new strategy aimed at tapping into the future tourism potential of India by identifying the main opportunities and setting out the approach required to build Australia’s appeal and to win future market share.

This plan predicts arrivals up to 320,000 visitors and up to AU$ 2.3 billion in spends. Average growth to 2020 is forecasted at 8.6 per cent.

Any interesting trend / change in travel profile that you have witnessed in the Indian market?

Outbound travel is evolving and Indian travellers are being seen as more willing to experiment and indulge in newer experiences. We see an interest in moving beyond the typical and a desire to soak up the local culture.

Whilst Indian travellers are extremely value-conscious, they do not mind splurging on travel experiences that are of top quality, unique and have a “bragability” factor.

What will you miss most about South East Asia / India following your return to Melbourne?

It has been an absolute privilege to work across the region and interact with so many diverse cultures and make friends. I will miss the warmth and hospitality of the people plus the great cuisine of the different countries. However I will take back many great memories acquired over the years.

September 2012

‘Indonesia is expecting to achieve a target of around five lakh Indian visitors in the next five years’ Elaborating on many cultural and interesting facets of Indonesia, Indra Kesuma Oesman, consul general of the Republic of Indonesia, Mumbai says there is more to the country than just Bali and Jakarta. By Sudipta Dev Bali and Jakarta are the most popular destinations of Indonesia. Which are the other destinations that you are trying to promote in India and why?

Indonesia can offer many things as far as tourism is concerned to an Indian tourist with its rich culture, wonderful nature, friendly people and much more that will make as once-ina-lifetime experience. Besides Bali and Jakarta, other areas of interest are West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, West Nusa Tenggara, Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Riau Bengkulu, Lampung, South Sulawesi, North Sulawesi, Southeast Sulawesi, East Kalimantan, West Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, Maluku and Papua.

What are the greatest strengths of Indonesia as a tourism destination?

Indonesia is the world's largest archipelago with more than 17508 islands and thousands of ethnic group each with its own rich and unique cultural heritages and traditions.

Indonesian arts products and culture has been noticed worldwide for its quality, craftsmanship and originality.

The diverse cultures have given

Indonesia as rich heritage of traditions and art resulting in festivities throughout the year in different parts of the country. The tourist can experience throughout the year the highly sophisticated music and dances developed by the royal courts listed with folk arts, religious ceremonies and festivals in the main tourist destination areas.

Craft, temporary music, exotic dances and rituals are just a few of delights to be discovered in Indonesia. Indonesia have rich and diverse culinary traditions, and might be considered as one of the richest and the best in the world.

What kind of growth have you seen from the Indian market recently?

India is an important market for Indonesia with the number of arrivals from India increasing year after year.

In 2011, the figure was around 168122 visitors. However, the total tourist coming to Indonesia in year 2011 was 7.6 million. Indonesia is expecting to achieve a target of around 500,000 Indian visitors in the next five years.

What are your plans to lure MICE business from India?

Indonesian MICE sector looks at

India as an emerging market. In Indonesia's major cities MICE venues, facilities and services have been developed according to international standards. These destinations also offer maximum prime space, latest technology and manpower support for international-standard events. In addition, Indonesia also presents highly attractive and competitive offers for meeting planning featured exclusively in travel business event, since Indonesia has a tange of accommodations and venues available at attractive prices.

Which are the fairs, festivals and other cultural events which would attract Indian visitors?

To enhance the Indonesia-India relations, this year our mission is promoting two major events titled 'Trade Expo Indonesia 2012' and 'Pasar Wisata 2012' or 'Tourism Indonesia Mart and Expo (TIME)'.

Trade Expo Indonesia 2012, held from October 7-12, 2012 at Jakarta, sees a selective range of products for exports, from natural-based commodities, technology to creative industry. TIME will be held at Bandar Lampung from October

9-12, 2012.The event will present all tourist destination, inlcuding popular travel destinations, tourism objects and new product development. We hope that the valuable presence of Indian for both the events in long run shall strengthen the bilateral and cultural relations.

How is the Consulate of Indonesia enagaged in tourism development activities here?

We are participating in various ourbound travel and tourism expos across the country. We also conduct FAM programmes for travel professionals from India. We promote Indonesian culture by participating in events like 'Oberoi Melting Pot' and cultural events organised in Surat and Thane.

Could you throw some light on visa procedures for Indonesia?

Indian nationals travelling to Indonesia can acquire visa on arrival for a period of thirty days, provided are in possession of passport valid for at least six months from date of arrival and have proof of onward or return passage.

ICPB eyes international markets to develop MICE tourism in India HEENA MAHAJAN - New Delhi

he joint official press conference by Convention India Conclave (CIC) and IT&CM in Greater Noida, saw the presence of Martin Sirk, CEO of International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA); Chander Mansharamani, vice chairman of India Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB) and Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media. In his keynote address Sirk stated, “There is a lot happening in the international MICE space.

T

September 2012

India needs to develop the same competitiveness and gear up to explore the opportunities available.”

He stressed on the fact that the stakeholders need to leverage the power of the destinations available here, develop the services and technology, and efficiently use the human resources to.

Chander Mansharamani gave an introduction to ICBP, the initiatives taken so far and the future plans. He said, “The ministry of Tourism is aware of the opportunity in MICE tourism and has taken a number of initiatives to www.expresstravelworld.com

make India a preferred MICE destination.” He informed there are plans to form an agency that will bid on the international platform, and also a research body that can educate on the impact of holding such events in India.

He accepted that there are many problems, ranging from lack of budget to human resource issues to absence of professional training. ICPB has come up with the Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme that will educate organisers and state governments.

Addressing the subject of

Indian visa application process, he said, “The government has taken many proactive steps to make it easier for visitors from many countries to obtain visa on arrival. These changes will be put into effect very soon.”

Apart from the single window clearance, there are also other areas that are being looked into.

Ng stated that the collaboration between TTG Events and ICPB showed great promise as the 7th CIC opened to a turnout of over 300 IT&CM India and CIC delegates.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

15

Alaska explores opportunities to enter India market SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

epresentatives from Alaska's tourism industry have been increasingly meeting with India based tour operators to assist with product development. “While Alaska's international marketing effort is on the top five producing markets (Australia/New Zealand, UK, German speaking Europe, Japan, Korea), opportunities to enter the market are being explored,” said Jesse Carlstrom, international marketing manager, Alaska Tourism Industry Association.

Some of the key destinations in Alaska that are of interest to Indian visitors are Inside Passage, national parks, etc. “Indian market travel patterns are similar to the domestic US market in that the majority of Indian visitors first come to Alaska’s Inside Passage via cruise.

Some take pre and post cruise tours inland and explore the different attractions available in each port city. For those who travel far-

R Jesse Carlstrom

ther north to the interior region, Denali National Park is a very popular destination and offers a wide variety of tours and attractions for all ages,” said Carlstrom. He mentioned that tourists can enjoy wide variety of activities while visiting Alaska.

Depending upon the region and time of year, activities are available for all ages ranging from dog mushing, hiking, kayaking, flightseeing

to bird watching, riding on the Alaska Railroad, skiing and wildlife viewing. There are many events in Alaska that attract international visitors and could be interesting new products for the Indian market, e.g. Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Fur Rendezvous, World Ice Art Championship and the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics.

While Indians have mostly opted for Alaska as a cruise

destination Carlstrom informed about the other options of travelling around in Alaska. “As the state is quite large in size, travelling on land is predominantly done via personal vehicle (cars or motorhomes), tour buses and riding on the Alaska Railroad.

If visitors do not come by cruise ship, they can enter the state by commercial airplane or drive in from Canada,” he explained.

Philippines to target Bengaluru, Chennai markets ETW STAFF – New Delhi

he tourism board of Philippines had earlier rolled out a tourism campaign titled, 'It's more fun in the Philippines' and it has high hopes that this will help in extending the destination's reach in the Indian market.

The country already logged nearly 50,000 Indian visitors in 2011 and has been witnessing a growth of 23 per cent from India. Hailing the campaign as a 'people's campaign', Verna Covar-Buensuceso, director and group head for Europe, India and the Middle East, Department of Tourism said, “The Indian market is an impulsive market and for this reason we have worked with the Department of Foreign

T

16

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

Affairs to offer visa free entry to Indian travellers.” This was announced in June this year and allows Indians with a valid visa to Australia, the UK, USA, Canada, Japan and Singapore to travel visa-free into the Philippines. Asked what was the plan beyond Delhi and Mumbai, CovarBuensuceso said, “A big bulk of arrivals come from Delhi and the air connectivity between the two countries is also getting better. This year we will be targeting Bengaluru and Chennai.” She added that the strategy for the India market was a step-by-step approach.

Destinations being promoted include Manila as a vibrant metropolis for its shopping opportunities, Cebu for

its tourist sites including Magellan's Cross and Fort San Pedro, Bohol for its eco cultural attractions, Boracay and Palawan. Tess H Mauricio, officer-in-charge, marketing and promotions, Department of Tourism Philippines, added that the average length of stay for Indian visitors was seven days. Meanwhile Guldeep Singh Sahni, president OTOAI said, “Philippines is one destination that offers everything from nature, to sports and river cruising. Everyone will find something to do here.

English is also widely spoken.

Self-drives is also growing and in the Philippines the signage are all in English making it an added advantage. We should try and grow the numbers from India.”

September 2012

‘Turkey is still identified with Istanbul’ Ozgur Ayturk, culture and tourism counsellor, Turkish Embassy talks about the challenges they face while promoting Turkey as a destination as Turkey is still identified with Istanbul. He also talks about the current trends in the tourism industry and recent developments. By Heena Mahajan What are the latest trends that you witness in the tourism industry, with special reference to Turkey?

Off late, Turkey has seen a change in the profile of its visitors in terms of their expectations and aspiration.

Today, more number of wedding tourists have started visiting the country. They are high end customers who spend a lot more than leisure or business traveller would do. Hotels in Istanbul and Antalya are going an extra mile to woo them in a big way. These are the two most preferred cities due to their scenic beauty and cosmopolitan culture. This set of visitors generally spend more on food, accommodation and sightseeing. The other set of visitors who are visiting the country are the young educated with a high disposable income. These generally visit the country for entertainment, special interest visits, adventure and sports like golf. These set of visitors generally spend more on activities rather than on accommodation and sightseeing, as for them exploring the place and knowing about the local people and their culture is more important instead of staying in the finest of hotels and travelling in style.

What are the key challenges that you face while promoting Turkey in India?

India is one of the largest growing markets for us and

every year we receive increasing number of visitors. However, we have faced some hindrances in terms of making Turkey the top overseas destination for Indian tourists.

1)Limited direct flights: Turkish Airlines which is our national carrier presently operates flights from both Mumbai and Delhi on a daily basis. However, a number of other cities from where we expect good number of tourists are not directly connected.

Cities like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bengaluru can generate good traffic for us if direct flights are operated from these places. For this, our government is in talks with the Indian counterpart to get permission to fly to more no of cities for better connectivity.

2)Limited cultural awareness: Majority of the first time Indian visitors still perceive Turkey as a traditional and deeply conservative country which is far from the truth. To break this myth we are using both electronic and print medium, besides various cultural events that we organise to build awareness about the country as a secular, modern republic that has a cosmopolitan touch in its appearance and behaviour.

3) Limited destination knowledge: Turkey is still identified with Istanbul

which is the international face of the country.

Although, off late we have witnessed greater number of Indians exploring other cities of Turkey which have more beautiful natural landscape and culturally rich tradition to showcase like Pamukkale or Izmir etc.

4)Limited food options: Indians, as we all know are very particular about food and a huge number of them are vegetarians. The options for vegetarian food they feel is limited outside Istanbul. To overcome this hindrance we are trying to create awareness about Turkish vegetarian cuisine that are available in great numbers and variety.

We are using cultural events like food festivals, cultural festivals, FAM trips.

How important is the India market for Turkey?

Indian tourism market is a fast moving market which consists of consumer segments like family, honeymoon couple, wedding events, and sports etc. The dynamics of the market changes every year due to changing demographics, taste, preferences etc. When we started the operations in 2008 we had only 48,000 visitors in which 70 per cent were leisure travellers, 20 per cent were business travellers and 10 per cent were transit travellers.

Within the leisure travellers, 50 per cent were family and

20 per cent were married couples. Today, the figure is at 74,000 approximately wherein 80 per cent are leisure travellers, 15 per cent business, five per cent are transit travellers. Within leisure travellers, 45 per cent are family members, 10 per cent are married couples, 10 per cent are honeymoon travellers, and five per cent each are wedding travelers and youth travellers Which are your target segments and the most favoured destinations among Indians?

We have been receiving a lot of leisure travellers from India consisting mostly of family members or married couples. But off late a lot of leisure corporate travelers, wedding travellers and special interest tourists are also visiting the country. The most favourite destinations include Istanbul, Antalya, and Cappadocia .

What are the future plans of the tourism board?

As every year we have plans to participate in B2B B2C trade shows besides hosting road shows for the trade which happens in the beginning of every year.

Apart from that, we also plan to carry out joint trade promotion with select companies apart from doing consumer promotion from time to time in order to create greater brand value and destination awareness about the place.

Indians flock to NZ during their lean season SAYONI BHADURI - Mumbai

e saw total inbound from India come up to approximately 30,000 last year. Of these around 15000 were pure leisure holiday makers. We hope to see these numbers increase,” said Mischa Mannix-Opie, regional manager South and

“W September 2012

South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand. These travellers come in an important time for the New Zealand market. The season time for New Zealand are the months from November to March, the remaining months being lean. “Indians most often travel to New Zealand during April and May which is right in the

middle of the lean season, bringing in much needed business to the country,” said Mannie-Opix. She added that New Zealand saw a slight dip in numbers last year but that picked up post October last year and the growth has been positive.

Keeping this in view she informed that for 2012-13, www.expresstravelworld.com

the key segments New Zealand is trying to promote in India are honeymoon, family and incentives. “Adventure is still one of our biggest draws and can be well accommodated within these three segments as well,” she added. The tourism board works closely with Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and

Cathay Pacific which are the primary choice of carriers for Indians to New Zealand. Working with the travel fraternity is a priority for Mannie-Opix. “We are committed to working with the travel trade. We trained around 1300 travel agents to specialise in New Zealand last year,” she said.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

17

NYC focuses on Indian incentive tour segment SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

YC & Company has been increasingly focusing on the Indian MICE business and has hosted MICE groups from the auto industry, IT, pharma and finance, etc. “The main focus on long haul markets like India is the incentive tour segment. Education is another large part of it as the US is a relatively new MICE destination for the Indian market and there are both real challenge and misconception on visa process. Also, we are promoting longer stay pre or post conference attendance and add a family vacation to the conference trips,” said Makiko Matsuda Healy, vice president, Tourism Development, NYC & Company. She pointed out that this year, the US decided to waive personal interview for Indians who are renewing their visa within four years of expiration of their previous visa and within the same classification as the previous visa. “Further facilitation for the MICE business

N

segment is expected. NYC & Company are working closely with US Commercial Service as well as Homeland Security to improve the visa situation,” she said.

NYC & Company recently hosted the first MICE FAM from India. Healy feels that NYC is able to produce 'wow' moments for not just luxury groups, but also small, midsize groups. “Large, medium and small scale unique venues that fit organiser’s needs just right are available in all five boroughs of NYC i.e.

Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island. Part of what we do is introducing many ways to add more bang to the buck for organisers so that groups that have not considered NYC for their incentive tour for price point reasons can actually bring tours to the city and wow their guests,” she stated.

What makes NYC an attractive MICE destination for Indian businesses are factors like - access (non-stop flights from Mumbai and Delhi, and countless one-stop access

Makiko Matsuda Healy options from many cities in India), vibe and 'wow' aspect.

“When the incentive tour destination is New York City, attendance rate goes up. The impact that stays with each attendee is much higher compared to other destinations and the impact is what the organisers are looking for.

NYC has a wide range of shopping choice to cater to every budget. “The city has dynamic, multicultural entertainment options including dining, shows, attractions, etc.

Due to its dynamism, there are varied experiences and cuisines to cater to everybody’s needs. Authentic Indian cuisine is easily available for those who want a feel of India,” she added.

Some of the key convention centres in NYC are: The Jacob K Javits Convention Centre - one of the largest event venues in the US and can accommodate up to 85,000 people at six different events - all at one time; NY5000 - a convention complex of 5,000 guest rooms, 100 meeting rooms and a total of 225,000 square feet of meeting space - all in the span of one square block; Madison Square Garden that can accommodate 18,200 spectators; and many unique MICE venues of the city ranging from Madame Tussauds New York to American Museum of Natural History to the Empire State

Building.

Healy gives details of a few marketing programmes Meet Me on Sunday (book a meeting with at least 75 per cent of the room block falling over a Sunday and get valuable concessions from NYC's hotel partners); Save the Date (a two-year interactive calendar that highlights key concerts, parades, festivals and US public holidays' identifies 'need periods' when visitors can take advantage of better hotel value and availability and enables users to create sharable itineraries); Third Night Free (this programme gives visitors a complimentary third night at participating signature hotels after booking and paying for two consecutive nights). “In the current economic climate, corporations are looking for cost efficient ways to achieve their goals. NYC brings these corporations cost effective way to make the impact they need to drive their sales force and achieve their goals by the programmes they are organising,” she said.

Rail Europe hopes to double Swiss Passes sold in India this year KAHINI CHAKRABORTY - Mumbai

ith an aim to increase tourist arrivals in Switzerland, Rail Europe, Swiss Travel System and Switzerland Tourism have introduced Swiss Pass Promotion for the Indian market. This 2-for-1 promotion offer is valid from September 1, 2012 to October 31, 2012. It is valid on both the variants of Swiss Saver Pass – four days Swiss Pass and the four days in one month, Swiss Flexi Pass.

Talking to Express TravelWorld on the reason for launching this product and how has the Indian tourist arrivals been so far to the country, Kunal Kothari, executive director, Rail Europe India said, “Switzerland has been a popular destination among

W

18

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

Indians. Last year the travel trade sold around 2,500 passes and this year we are hoping to double that number to 5,000. The tourist arrivals from India last year saw an increase of 21 per cent from 2010 and this year from January to June 2012 it has been 12.3 per cent. The Swiss passes also grew by nearly 15 per cent (passenger numbers) from JanuaryJune 2012 over 2011. The India sales stood at over Euro 16 million in 2011.”

Elaborating on how the promotional offer will benefit the travel trade, Kothari added, “For every three 2for-1 passes sold, agents will earn a gift voucher worth `1,000. For every six 2-for-1 passes sold, they earn one nomination to the trip lucky draw, two nominations for 12 passes sold.

While the grand prize will

be a FAM trip for 10 winners selected from a mix of GSAs and retail travel agents, including partners of GSAs.” Apart from this, the tourism board is also going to aggressively promote Switzerland in the Indian market through B2B and B2C campaigns through print ads, video banners on websites, advertisements, etc.

Ritu Sharma, deputy director and media manager (India), Switzerland Tourism said, “We are happy to be a part of this promotion. Although we cannot divulge details on the investment set aside for the B2B and B2C campaigns, we hope to continue attracting more number of Indian tourists. We are also looking at promoting the autumn season with this special campaign.”

September 2012

JNTO aims for 100,000 Indian visitors in 2012 Looks at increasing share of leisure travellers SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

ndia is one of the 15 focus markets for Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO). In 2011, JNTO has also established its presence in the Indian market by appointing a local representative here. In 2011, Japan received 59,354 visitors from India as against 66,819 visitors in 2010. “In 2012, we are targeting approximately 100,000 visitors from India. Due to devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011, the total number of visitors to Japan got dropped to 6.2 millions reflecting a drop of 28 per cent. However, the Indian market was more robust and resilient when compared to our other focus markets with the negative growth of Indian visitor arrivals to Japan contained to just 11 per cent,” said Motonari Adachi, executive director- Singapore Office, JNTO, adding that the average spending by Indian visitors to Japan is 177,315 Yen which is the third highest spending followed by France (232,668 Yen) and Russia (223,052 Yen).

I

Motonari Adachi JNTO is optimistic about the rise in number of Indian visitors to Japan. In the past, majority of the Indian visitors to Japan were business travellers, the current strategy is to increase the market share of leisure travellers. “We are also focusing on building relationships with our travel trade and media partners in the Indian market,” stated Adachi, adding that JNTO is putting in place a sustained promotional

campaign for Japan in India.

Recently JNTO had launched the 'I like Japan' Facebook contest exclusively for Indian Facebook users. “This fan page is created to introduce Japan to potential visitors and share interesting travel tips and information on Japanese culture, food, history and popular visitor attractions,” said Adachi.

2012 is a landmark year due to the 60th anniversary celebrations of Japan-India diplomatic relationship. JNTO will be actively supporting both travel agents and media under various commemorative activities this year. “To commemorate the 60th anniversary of Japan–India diplomatic relations, we are planning to organise travel agent and media FAM trips, and organising seminars in the near future. Along side, we also plan on promoting latest developments such as Tokyo Sky Tree, theme parks and shopping destinations,” stated Adachi.

Visitors to Japan are attracted to natural scenery, historical and cultural sites, and urban sightseeing.

Japanese food is also quite

popular. “Most of the Japanese destinations in the Indian travellers’ agenda are included in Japan’s popular Golden Route. Tokyo is still the most popular and recently the Kanagawa area is also seeing a growth mainly because of an increase in visitors to Yokohama, Hakone, and Pacifico Yokohama convention hall,” stated Adachi. Other popular destinations include Osaka, Kyoto, Aichi (Nagoya), Chiba (TDR), Fukuoka and

Hyogo (Kobe). “Mt Fuji as a symbol of Japan, the number of visitors to Yamanashi prefecture also see an increase in visitors from India. In addition, the historically-rich Hiroshima, known for the site of the atomic bomb landing, is also in top 10 ranking. We have also noticed a gradual increase in interest towards Okinawa – the southern-most island of Japan and Hokkaido – the most-northern island,” informed Adachi.

Jet Airways partners with HDFC to extend reach of JetPrivilege across India Looks at increasing revenue from ancillary sources SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

et Airways has tied up with HDFC Bank to come up with a new range of JetPrivilegeHDFC Bank co-branded credit cards. Founded in 1994 JetPrivilege frequent flier programme has a two million strong membership base and a tier-based recognition and rewards system.

The cardholders will be able to pool their reward points into JPMiles. “As we speak we are changing the structure of JetPrivilege so that consumers get what we

J

September 2012

promise,” said Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways.

Acknowledging that the airline industry is vulnerable to any change that happens across the world, Raghavan stressed on the need to find new sources of revenue and new partners to do business with. “This is one such initiative,” he added. He pointed out that there are a lot of aspiration based travel in the tier II and tier III cities and the airline wanted a partner that has a strong presence in those markets.

Raghavan mentioned that in the US, partnerships that US legacy carriers have established with banks and other partners consists of 50 per cent of ancillary revenues, which is a significant amount taking into consideration the fact that 25 per cent of these airlines' earnings comes from ancillary sources.

“This is not a number to scoff at, it is huge, and is a global trend. Across the world there is a growing trend of carriers selling optional services at a price. The downturn in 2008 gave a boost to this in www.expresstravelworld.com

the US, but in India we have lived in the time capsule. In a price sensitive market like India where it is not easy to increase the cost of the ticket, we need to look at other avenues of generating ancillary revenue,” stated Raghavan.

Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways averred that the JetPrivilege-HDFC Bank cobranded credit cards will bring value to the customers and also bring in revenue. This is the very first time that HDFC is doing co-branding and it is a non-exclusive arrange-

ment for both sides.

Kardassis said, “We conducted a survey with JetPrivilege members to know their preference and HDFC came on top of the list. We see HDFC as a better partner with better reach.”

Following five quarters of losses the airline has posted a profit for the period April-June, 2012. Reiterating the airline's strong presence Kardassis stated, “We are the best airline in India. We have a strong foundation and will be there are 50 years also.”

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

19

Management

INSIGHT INTO THE TRAVEL MARKET

COVER STORY

Screenplay success ‘Seeing is believing’ and in most cases what one sees definitely sells. What our cinemas offer whether on big screen or small are visually appealing sites and locations that generate an aspiration to travel and be a part of that panorama. By Reema Lokesh

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was shot in Spain

inema plays a decisive role in building the desire to travel to visually appealing destinations that are reflected in its reels. There are innumerable examples of films that have converted destinations into travel hot spots.

Film tourism is about

C

20

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

to establish itself as a powerful destination marketing tool on one hand and as a niche tourism product on the other hand (e g film location products). Regions that have already recognised the power of films for tourism and have encashed on it, a few which include: Great Britain, Australia (the film Australia), New Zealand (Lord of the Rings and others), regions in the US, Tyrol in Austria, the city film of Salzburg (The Sound of Music) and Scotland (Braveheart, Rob Roy, etc) amongst others.

It is a well known fact or rather an interesting case study of what film director and producer Yash Chopra did Switzerland as a destination for Indians. Since the 80s to the present, it is probably still a first choice as a honeymoon destination.

Today, he apparently receives a red carpet welcome into the country for being instrumental in bringing in foreign exchange into www.expresstravelworld.com

the Alpine region. He hit bulls eye and this strategy has been followed by a host of tourism boards.

Eye on India outbound From Krissh in Singapore, to Don in Malaysia, Dostana in Miami, Gangster in Korea to that of both the South Indian, Bengali and other regional film industries, it is an established trend to shoot in international locales.

The small screen and television audience is also readily accepting serials shot abroad. Kaho Na Pyaar Hai made in 2000, became a hit and Tourism New Zealand saw an unprecedented wave of Indian tourists making them expand their immigration counter area from 500 square feet to 5,000 square feet. Kiran V Shantaram, producer, director and chairman, V Shantaram Foundation says, "International destinations have gone all out to capture the attention of the Indian

film fraternity. From user friendly rules and procedures to a hassle-free functioning method, shooting abroad is far more pleasant than in India. Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, etc, have provided attractive packages."

Films are indeed a fantastic vehicle to promote a destination. One, they are free advertising for the destination; two, they are not accompanied by the hardsell factor of official media campaigns; three, they reach a wide target audience and four, they address deep, intrinsic feelings and connect them with a real place.

In terms of promotion value, for around 40 per cent of potential international visitors to the UK, the destination image is influenced by films. For visitation, there has been an increase of around four to six per cent of film-induced visitors who actually visit specific film locations in the UK. Film tourism is still neglected by September 2012

Kiran Shantaram

Mukesh Bhatt

Prakash Jha

Madhur Bhandarkar

Manoj Gursahani

many destination marketers despite the fact that mediainduced tourism is a growing trend.

year saw 53,000 arrivals - an increase that is on no small measures attributed to the success of the blockbuster ‘Zindagi Na Milagi Dobara’, which managed to capture the true spirit of Spain and showcased it before the Indian audience. Spain is being promoted in India as a year-round destination, and according to Arturo Ortiz, director, Tourism Office of Spain, Mumbai, they are expecting a 40 per cent yearon-year growth in tourist arrivals from India for the next five to seven years.

Ferrando further pointed out that an important part of the marketing strategy will be movie partnerships and the Indian film industry will be given priority. According to

Ortiz, “Spain Film Commission has been set up to work together with all regional and local film commissions. Since the release of the movie 'Zindagi Na Milagi Dobara', there has also been an increase in fly and drive segment.”

Dublin and Trinity College.

We are excited and hopeful that it will do a lot for Tourism Ireland in India.

That it will bring Ireland to a big audience in India. We have been working in India for a long time but Bollywood can create a great impact. We are here with the Irish Film Board who are meeting many production companies. We are hoping we have demonstrated through this film what a good location Ireland is for filming. We also offer very attractive tax incentives and are flexible.” He further added that the Film Board of Ireland has been working in India for eight years. They facilitate and provide the mechanics and connect with local production companies that help in scouting locations and sourcing talent.

There is a tax incentive of 28 per cent of all expenditure that takes place in Ireland there. This special rebate is given in advance, which helps the film producer to maintain good cash flow. The sales tax is also waived. The other benefits add up to the cost of shoot in Ireland being reduced by almost 47 per cent. Tourism Ireland is launching a big media campaign - online and television, linked with Ek Tha Tiger.

Spanish flamenco One of the latest success stories that got the concept right was Spain Tourism and the film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. A story woven seamlessly around a destination and ‘Hola’ it got what it wanted, more tourists wanting to see very inch of Spain and of course the La Tomatina festival. Speaking to Express TravelWorld in an interview in October 2011, Joan Mesquida Ferrando, deputy minister of tourism, Spain, said, “While in 2010 as many as 70,000 Indians visited Spain, the first half of this

Cocktail had UK and South Africa locales

Tiger tails 'Ek Tha Tiger' was yet another film that displayed interesting elements of Ireland and Tourism Ireland is hopeful that this movie will do a lot for its tourism sector from India. Expressing his views, Simon Gregory , directorInternational Markets, Tourism Ireland says, “ This is the first time that a Bollywood movie has been shot in Ireland - in

Cocktail culture Hanneli Slabber, country head, South Africa Tourism India, too has faith in the film medium for tourism promotion. She says, “Films are a great way to reach mass audiences and create awareness about the destination.

The best thing is that it is not a flat promotion. Travellers September 2012

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

21

Simon Gregory

22

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Hanneli Slabber

Mischa Mannix-Opie

Vijayeswari

Arturo Ortiz

can see the experiences that a destination has to offer.

South Africa has been lucky in this respect, especially Cape Town. The recent Hindi film Cocktail has given South Africa tourism a great boost.

Not only have we seen an increase in leisure travellers, we have actually had MICE groups come and ask for the Cocktail itinerary. Films and television are very big consumer influencers in India.

The good thing about Cocktail was that the destination was not a prop but it had a role in the film, it was a part of the story.” Tourism New Zealand too has a story to narrate. Mischa MannixOpie, regional manager South and South East Asia, Tourism New Zealand, adds that the film The Hobbit is slated to launch in November this year and the world premiere will be held in Wellington. “This is will be a big moment for us as N e w Zealand's popularity shot up after the Lord

of the Rings films released.

We have had so many travellers curious to know where the film was shot. Some time closer to the release of the film we will be planning a campaign with the release of the latest film,” she says.

Noted film maker Prakash Jha has never shot any of his films abroad and probably does not even feel the need to do so. He comes from a school of thought that believes in making hardcore Indian based thematic films and does not find it appealing to shoot such films in an international set up as the ambiance does not gel well with the concept. Jha has shot most of his films in Satara district of Maharashtra and was probably one of the first film makers who set base there. Today the region is established as a film shooting zone.

After Satara, Jha discovered Madhya Pradesh and especially the city of Bhopal.

He found the place, people and temperament of the place suitable to his plots and films and is all praise both for the government as well the locals of the place. He says rather candidly, “I work in a very structured and systematic fashion and we start the ground work for months before starting to shoot. My team started doing the ground work on the film Rajneeti easily a year in advance. I firmly believe that it is crucial to work with the local population and along with their support. One has to be true to them. For Rajneeti my team travelled across Madhya Pradesh to get the people in place, train them for months together for their role. We have actually conducted acting workshops for them during the film and in return the support given by the locals was tremendous.” He proudly adds, his films have always been completely shot few days before the stipulated time frame

even though he works with a large number of people across genre.

Madhya Pradesh government also provides Jha with single window clearance for his work and the chief minister also appoints a special secretary for the project. Jha is also playing to set a unit which is in lines of a film city in the state.

Madhur Bhandarkar adds, “If you have seen all my films then you would know that most of them have been shot very much in India and especially Mumbai. And every time I have shot out of the country, which is rare, I arrange everything on my own.” His upcoming film, ‘Heroine’ has also been shot in Mumbai except for a few scenes in Bangkok.

In the past things were better as Patnitop in Kashmir had become a major honeymooner's resort due to the love songs picturised in the cinema of the 60s and 70s and remained so till the terror of early 90s bared its fangs. People from all over India used to throng to Mumbai and head to Marine Drive and Chowpatty, which symbolised Mumbai in films.

But the situation did change over the years. Though films are being shot in various parts of the country, filmmakers feel that shooting in India is a very difficult process. Some have confessed that state tourism boards and the government in India barring a few are extremely rigid and unreasonable with permits and facilities when shooting in Indian regions. There is no single window clearance for the innumerable permits and other criteria that one has to

Picturing India It is a well established fact that international tourism boards have worked with the film fraternity to set foot in their region and shoot films and have in turn provided them with tax rebates, sops, support, single window clearance and at times even paid the producer to shoot films in the region. Cut to India and the picture may not be all that perfect. India is blessed with one of the world's most diverse topography, comprising of breathtaking landscapes and rich culture, heritage and art, has not even looked at this potential. Each state has a plethora of diverse attractions and can easily catapult India as a top destination for film shoots both for the domestic and international market. Ideally, India should have done what the NTOs have been doing, using Bollywood as a tool to promote the country domestically and internationally.

Princess Padmaja Kumari Mewar, joint MD, HRH Group of Hotels, says, “Tourism and Bollywood have a relationship.” It was felt that if a mix of cricket and Bollywood could happen through IPL, why not for tourism and Bollywood.

Though the trend is picking up to shoot films on international soil, there is a section of society that has only shot films in India. www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

Madhya Pradesh was part of Rajneeti

get into place before starting work. Mukesh Bhatt, managing director, Vishesh Films says, "It is a sad affair when it comes to shooting in India, especially in Mumbai.

Bureaucracy, corruption and basically the entire system, is a nightmare for producers.

Shooting abroad is comparatively economical and the product on offer is much more superior, such as beautiful streets, and clean and picture perfect locales as compared to the unclean streets of Mumbai. An international destination with their attractive packages is a dream for Indian film makers."

According to Shantaram, it is the high number of permits which one requires from various agencies for a film shoot that is painful. He says, "To shoot in a city like Mumbai, for example the Gateway of India, one needs

to have permits from the following authorities: ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), Navy, Police, the local police station (Colaba), MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation), BMC (Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation), RTO (Regional Transport Office), Traffic Police and host of others. Co-ordinating with all the authorities and the process of getting these permits can be lengthy and highly de-motivating." Bhatt goes a step further and totally blames the system for its bureaucracy, red tapism and corrupt practices. He says, "It is extremely frustrating to film in India especially in Maharashtra and Mumbai.

We receive zero support from the authorities and over and above that one has to part with extra money to receive the permits, which hikes up the cost of production.

What NTOs offer Indian film makers ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

September 2012

Single window clearance for all permits and rules for shooting Exclusive policy designed specifically for Indian film producers Free locations for shoots, concessions at sites State-of-the-art equipment and technical support provided free or at a highly subsidised rate Free airfare and accommodation Waiver of visa fees Support from airlines in terms of baggage allowance

www.expresstravelworld.com

Unfriendly infrastructure, badly maintained locations also add up to the agony. It is high time we take a serious call on the system and have a straight and user friendly system in place, like it is prevalent internationally."

Bhandarkar also agrees, “It is not always a cake walk. For instance, to shoot in Delhi there is no single channelled system where one can get all the permissions and suitable requirements for shooting. It is important for every possible shooting locale to have one body which gets all the process done, instead of running in ten different directions.”

Echoing a similar thought is filmmaker Ashok Pandit.

He says, "The beauty of Kashmir is unmatched and used to be the most sought after destination for film shooting through the 60s and right till the time the state was rocked with insurgency problem. When the conditions were right, the destination was overpriced, but then filmmakers had to succumb to the demands. Today the destination needs to make serious efforts to rope in filmmakers. While the Kashmir government has invited film producers to shoot in the region, they have not sup-

ported the move with providing the necessary confidence.

I am extremely keen on shooting my next film there as the script requires a Kashmir background, and I am hoping for complete support from the authorities."

Sharing her experience, Deepti Bhatnagar, actor and television presenter, says, “When I approach foreign tourism board regarding my concept for shows, I am invited and given full support. Here, getting permission is very difficult. For Italy, I received 40 days of free shooting as they recognise the power of Indian cinema as a strong motivator for tourism.” Shooting in India has its own set of woes to be dealt with from bureaucratic hurdles to that of overall expense factor. Though India has the most varied of natural locations, forts, and palaces, the logistics in some locations are not film friendly.“Depends on where you are shooting, how long are you shooting and what are the changes that have had to be made from the daily life of that location for your shooting. And this is applicable world over. At least shooting in India reduced one problem, and that is the language barrier, which one might face EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

23

Delhi’s namesake film showcased Old Delhi

in outdoor locations,” says Bhandarkar.

Waking up to reality There are few states in India that have awakened to the reality that films are a major influence on the Indian traveller’s choice of destination.

Within Rajasthan, a few Hollywood and Bollywood films are known to have been shot because of its heritage offerings. Apart from the palaces, temples, museums, forts and havelis, the forests

24

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

of Ranthambore, Bharatpur, Ramgarh and the Desert National Park in Jaisalmer have also been popular.

According to a senior member from Rajasthan tourism, for shoots in Rajasthan, films are now exempt from entertainment tax, to the extent of 50 per cent for a period of one year subject to the condition that the film does not have anything which is against communal harmony and national integration, and that the film doesn't have any objectionable scenes in it. The producer of the films required to submit, in advance, copies of the shooting schedule to the director, art and culture and the deputy secretary, finance (tax) Department, Government of Rajasthan.

Also, the minimum 50 per cent of the film time needs to be shot in the state of Rajasthan and be verified by a committee comprising the director, art and culture, the director, public relations and the deputy secretary, finance (tax) department.

India can adopt the thought process of the NTOs, marketing the country through the medium of cinema in conjunction with the highly successful Incredible www.expresstravelworld.com

India campaign. This strategy would not only work wonders in providing the country much needed exposure, but also help increase the visitor numbers. Suresh Chablani, CEO, Rose Travels, which has been the official travel agency for a host of film producers and banners, opines that Bollywood and the regional cinema can be a vital tool in building brand India and destination marketing to boost tourism. "Today while the world is looking at India, it is the best time for India tourism and the state tourism boards to realise that films can be highly instrumental in showcasing the potential of the country to the world. We too have good locations and facilities like Ramoji Film City, for international film makers to come here and shoot," states Chablani. He further adds, "It is also a great business avenue for the trade as on an average a film unit comprises of 50 people depending on where the shoot is taking place. On an average there are about 24 films which are shot per year, if not more, and this can be a good mode of business. The increase in tourist traffic, both international and domestic, once

destinations are popularised by films will also be a big boost of revenue for the trade.”

In an attempt to capitalise on the tourism boom caused by cinema, Centre for Media & Entertainment Studies (CMES) in the past had organised a cinematic conclave to promote Chandigarh and the northern states of Punjab and Haryana as ideal destinations for film shoots in 2006. Attended by stalwarts of the film industry, the conclave sought to ignite the imagination of the Mumbai film and television industry in opting to shoot in these regions and provide an impetus to cinematic tourism. A host of measures were announced which included setting up of an office in north India providing a single window clearance for film projects, access and information on the web so that production houses in Mumbai can initiate and get clearances processed online, joint promotions by Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh in the form of consolidated cinematic tourism packages, etc.

According to sources from Uttar Pradesh Tourism, the film policy of the state called ‘Film Bandhu’ provides a rebate of 40 per cent in the tariff of government tourist bungalows and 25 per cent discount on Public Works Department (PWD) cottages.

Free security arrangements, entertainment tax exemptions or films, which are shot 75 per cent or more in UP and nominal charge for using the air strip for shooting are some of the other incentives offered by the film policy. Maharashtra also set up subsidies four months ago but only for Marathi films shot in Maharashtra. For a 35 mm cinemascope colour Dolby Digital Sound (DDS), the Maharashtra government gives 30 lakhs to the producer, while 25 lakhs are offered for non-DDS films.

Jammu & Kashmir Tourism has also announced special benefits for shooting in the state and Rajasthan is yet another state, which has a film tourism policy in place.

Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (MPTDC) initiative on single window coordination approach which will offer proSeptember 2012

The film Kahaani had Kolkata as the backdrop with a focus on Durga Puja

ducers a value proposition with comprehensive and customised packages has also been announced. Though states have their policies in place, how effective and streamlined they are is yet to be seen. Pandit says, "All these policies are there, but they seem to be workable only on paper. We want policies that are real and completely free from bureaucratic hassles."

Experiential film tourism Ramoji Film City that has been a major tourist hub in Hyderabad is now emerging as a unique destination for organising large scale corporate events and grand destination weddings, attracting clientele from across India and overseas. According to Vijayeswari, managing director, Dolphin Group of Hotels, in recent times Ramoji Film City has become a much sought-after destination for high-end weddings and MICE events. The many attractions and ambiance of the campus, along with the focused expertise of organising innovative thematic events offer a one-of-a-kind experience, to both corporate and wedding clientele who return again September 2012

and again. Today Ramoji Film City has created a niche as a grand thematic wedding destination for high networth personalities. The wedding clientele is not just from India but also Kathmandu, Dubai, Japan and the US. "We did not actually market ourselves as a wedding destination, it was discovered and explored. Today we offer the complete wedding experience from pre-wedding events, the main event and post wedding celebrations with a thematic experience and support functions,” says Vijayeswari. The USP is film themed weddings. There are different events with tailormade themes like 'Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham' and `Kaho na Pyar Hai'. Vijayeswari points out that the families have to just come, relax and enjoy. “We teach them choreography also. Our specialist team of events will conceptualise themes and execute the different functions. A strong manpower from diverse functional backgrounds works in tandem while executing the events. With a state-of-the-art communication setup, strong inhouse set making department, extensive props and costumes that can handle any www.expresstravelworld.com

theme. Film-making infrastructure, event conception and execution is a natural forte here.”

Bollywood Tourism has started film based tours, an exclusive product aimed at the inbound travel businessin India. Harish Kale, director, Bollywood Tourism informs, “We have tied up with a number of partners within the Indian film industry to take this project forward.”

The tie-ups include Big ND Studios in Karjat (an alliance between Reliance and art director Nitin Desai), Balaji Films, B&D (a company owned by make-up artist Bharat and hair stylist Doriss), Whistling Woods Film and Animation Institute, Anupam Kher’s Actor Prepares and Jitu Savlani Photography. According to Kale, the tour is charted in two formats – half day at US$ 125 and full day at US$150.

The group has to be a minimum of two people and a net rate is offered for a group of more than 15. “The full day tour consists of an excursion to Karjat on the sets of Big ND Studios, post which, on the return, is a visit to the Balaji Telefilms sets in Powai, followed by a workshop on

acting at Anupam Kher’s Actors Prepare, make-up, hairstyle and portfolio creation,” informs Manoj Gursahani, chairman, Bollywood Tourism. The package would include movie making with a film crew on sets, fashion show, portfolio creation and song and dance programme, amongst others. He also informed that Bollywood Tourism is also open to special deals for corporate and MICE events. “We customise tours according to the needs specified by the group.”

However, he clarifies that at no point does Bollywood Tourism promise glimpses of Indian film actors and personalities, as it depends on whether there is a shoot fixed on the sets. He says that previous attempts at promoting Bollywood as an intrinsic part of tourism in Mumbai hadn’t worked because of the lack of proper alliances. India has tremendous potential to project and position itself as a world class destination for filming. All it needs is some political will and people’s power to drive the change.

(With inputs from Sudipta Dev and Sayoni Bhaduri) EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

25

Meandering through Mumbai The city of Mumbai has a unique charm. Within its fast paced hustle and bustle are pockets of taste and tranquility that need to be explored. There are some interesting walks and trails which transport you to a Mumbai that belies common perception.

Reema Lokesh highlights a few which are worth a 'dekho’

f there was someone who knew every iota of Mumbai city, she was the late author and historian Sharada Dwivedi. In one of her conversations she spoke about the city with passion but also pessimism as there is so much to see and explore, both hidden and obvious

I

in Mumbai, which is going by unseen and unnoticed.

Mumbai is undoubtedly the gateway to the country for most international travellers and apart from the typical tourism highlights the city has a rich history and heritage which both the local as well as the international traveller will find interesting enough to explore.

worth exploring especially the unique ceiling painting of Buddha.”

2) Creative handicrafts

in Andheri, a northern suburb of Mumbai is founded

by Sr Isabel Martin Creative Handicrafts is a charitable

1) Nature walks and trails in Sanjay Gandhi National park, Kanheri Caves and the Sewri Mudflats are special trails which are worth exploring.

According to Hector D’souza, president, L’orient Travels, “The city has so much to offer but there are hurdles and issues. But on a positive note the chief warden of the park is a proactive officer hence visits to the parks are easier than earlier. We have been successful in conducting trails with both national and international clientele.

The Kanheri Caves are

26

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

organisation. It is a social enterprise based on the principles of fair trade. In its centres, self-help groups of women of all ages and religious backgrounds work together. They manufacture a variety of articles, embroidered or stitched, bags, tablecloth, napkins, bedcovers, plush articles, decorative objects such as letter holders, wall hangings, collections of dolls and of packed lunch pouches for sale at offices.

3) Fort walks: Pick up the book written by Dwivedi and Rahul Mehrotra named 'Fort Walks' and get going to explore the quaint, curious and fascinating areas of the Fort in South Mumbai. The walks can be done in segments exploring the hidden jewels of the city. The walks can be structured as follows, 1) Town Hall walk, 2) Dockyard Road walk, 3) Gateway Precinct walk, 4) Kala Ghoda-walking in the art district, 5) Ballard Estate office district walk, 6) Walk around the civic hub, 7) Walk through Bazaar Gate, 8) Walk to Crawford Market, 9) Walking along Dadabhai Naoroji Road, 10) The Gothic and the Deco walk.

September 2012

4) Chor Bazaar: This is probably one of the most chaotic areas of an already chaotic city. But if there is fun in the madness then it is also at Chor Bazaar. From a pin to a piano that Chor Bazaar is home to all and more. Go there with a free mind and with not too much baggage as you may be surprised with what you may land up buying. The areas around Chor Bazaar are also interesting for its local life and flavour. Deepa Krishnan of Magic Tours of India conducts tours around the area.

5) Maharashtra Nisarg Udyan (Maharashtra Nature Park) is spread over an area of approximately 37 acres of land. This is situated near Mahim and is a treat for those who enjoy nature photography or have an interest in botany.

Here one can find a variety of plants, butterflies, etc.

6) Khotachiwadi: A heritage village in Girgaon Khotachiwadi is arguably the city's oldest settlement that is preserved but under threat of being taken over by the new age Mumbai.

Khotachiwdi has its own charm which cannot be replicated or redesigned.

One has to walk through

the village to see and experience what Mumbai would have been many years ago.

Wasim Shaikh, director, Active Holidays has designed interesting tours around the place which can be explored at leisure.

7) Masala Trails: If you wish to explore a unique food in Mumbai then you can do so with Masala

www.expresstravelworld.com

Trails. Rushina Munshaw Ghildiyal, offers tours that help explore Indian home cooking tours in Mumbai.

Market tours with cooking experience and market tours with restaurant experiences are what she offers.

There are thematic tours, for example a Gujarati cooking experience will begin in a Gujarati domi-

nated market and end at a Gujarati restaurant.

Similarly, one can explore south Indian cooking and modern Indian cooking experiences.

There is more to this city of seven islands than what meets the eye. Walk around and savour the sights, sounds, sense and spirit of Mumbai.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

27

Pune: Road to perdition?

Express TravelWorld and Express Hospitality brought together hospitality and tourism leaders in the city of Pune for a Knowledge Exchange titled, ‘Positioning Pune: Waiting in the wings’. The aim was to brainstorm on what was going wrong with the tourism product in the city and what can be done to rectify it. By Sayoni Bhaduri

Express Exclusive

iving in the shadow (literally) of the financial capital of Mumbai in Maharashtra, the city of Pune has its own claim to fame. Not only as the 'Oxford of the East' with its various institutes of higher education, as a hub for the automotive industry and ITes or even as the cultural centre of the state, Pune has many facets which makes it unique.

L

28

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

But when it comes down to the business of tourism, has the city been able to leverage its real potential? In an effort to gauge the travel and tourism potential in Pune, Express TravelWorld and Express Hospitality organised a Knowledge Exchange on 'Positioning Pune: Waiting in the Wings'. A panel of nine industry leaders brainstormed as to why Pune, despite having the potential has not been able to promote herself as a destination to be reckoned with. Speakers included Shubhada Joshi, director of Girikand Travels; Ajit Luthra, VP, asset management and finance for The Westin Pune Koregaon Park , Sun-n-Sand Hotels and Shangri La Mumbai; SK Jain, VP and chairman, Civil Aviation Committee of Maharatta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA); Punit Sheth, EAM, The Westin Pune Koregaon Park; Rajendra Kelshikar, director, Inn-Venue Hospitality Management; Nikhil Thakurdas, CEO, Uniglobe Odyssey Travel; Yogesh Dossa, CMD, Galaxy Travels; Sudhir www.expresstravelworld.com

Patil, president, Maharashtra Tour Operators' Association and Noshir Irani, head of Pune chapter of TAAI. The session was moderated by Reema Lokesh, editor, Express Hospitality and Express TravelWorld,

Troubled times Something is amiss with the development of travel and tourism in the city of Pune.

Tackling the subject first Joshi said that most people who travel to Pune, do so not for tourism but for business.

“While Maharashtrians are avid travellers themselves, they don’t welcome tourists to their own state. It is a mindset challenge which needs to be addressed first,” she added. At the same time there is definite potential in the city to capture the interest of the tourist. “But ‘we don’t care’ attitude has to change,” she affirmed. It is also true that no one has taken any initiative to look at Pune as something beyond a business city. The ability to convert a business stay into an additional night of leisure is sadly lacking. Thakurdas revealed that the luxury train

Deccan Odyssey is also skipping Pune as a halt in its 2012 itinerary. As an hotelier Luthra added that at his hotel in Pune, 90-95 per cent of the guests are corporate with very limited leisure travellers.

Kelshikar was vociferous that no initiative to promote Pune as a destination will be a 100 per cent success without the involvement of the state government. The challenge is that even while there have been initiatives taken up in the past, they never come through. “As I see it, the tenure of a bureaucrat or a government official is never long enough for them to see a project through. There is no questioning the ability of these officials but they are never given enough time,” he said.

An important factor to promoting any destination is air connectivity. Jain who has been pushing for the Pune airport project as part of MCCIA said, “It is the corporate and private sectors which have been pushing for the growth of the city. The tragedy is that the state isn’t even promoting Pune as a commerce hub!”

September 2012

Nikhil Thakurdas

Yogesh Dossa

S K Jain

Noshir Irani

Punit Sheth

Rajen Kelshikar

Ajit Luthra

It took two years to decide on a location for the airport and a feasibility study was conducted. He adds that the lack of an airport is a huge drawback with corporates spending twice the amount of travel time to get to Pune. It has taken years of effort and communications to add three slots during the undeclared curfew at the Air Force airport at Pune. “Without an independent airport in Pune, we are losing out on as much as 3.5 million passengers in a year,” Jain he added. He further said that there is a ray of hope with AAI’s assurance

and full support for not just commercial flights but also cargo in the future. Dossa who has been working hard to include Pune as part Silk Air’s route informed, “In principle, Silk Air has agreed to fly in and out of Pune, but the plans are currently stuck in the bilateral agreement talks between the two nations.”

For hoteliers in Pune these are troubled times with oversupply of rooms being one of the biggest challenges. Luthra threw light on the haphazard way plans are made and executed in the public offices.

MTDC’s Tourism Policy of

Shubhada Joshi

Sudhir Patil

2006 had provided hoteliers with an incentive scheme.

“But when we try and claim the exemption,” he said, “we are told that this policy has not been approved by the state government.” Kelshikar added that what makes it worse is that as entrepreneurs, we do not know who to approach to clarify or rectify the situation. While Pune has been established as a business destination and hotel business during the week does reasonably well, it is the weekend which has become a sore point, as Sheth pointed out. A high-end hotel in the city has an ARR of Express Hospitality Express Hospitality `3000 `4000 with an average occupancy of 40-45 per cent. The situation will become worse as 2,000 rooms are slated to be added by 2015. The hospitality scene in the future is only going to get gloomier, predicted Luthra, who is quite clear that Pune is not a place where he will plan any future hotel investments.

Bringing all these facets together, Joshi made an observation, “Tourism is a complete finished product. While private sector with different efforts are bringing in people to the city there has to be adequate infrastructure development to cater to all of that.

And this is not in the hands of the private players.” Kelshiker added that there is a need to get the product – Pune – right.

lethargy is undertsandable, Patil pointed out that even the private sector players are not pushing themselves.

“Hoteliers do not network.

Local tourism service providers need to come together to create awareness and promote Pune,” he said.

Mumbai is a captive market for Pune; with economic slowdown it is a great opportunity.

While five-star hotels are continuously reaching out to newer audiences to create business, it is the two-, threeand four-star hotels who need to work closely with travel agents, tour operators and other distribution channels.

Sheth gave an example as to how his hotel promotes small leisure trips in and around the city. “This is one of our efforts to create repeat business for the hotel,” he explains. Patil further added that despite the connectivity challenges, Pune has a great potential to be a MICE destination.

Leading the pack with a plan for way forward was Thakurdas who said, “There are so many small niche categories that can be tapped. The Derby season, music concerts, wine tourism, etc, are just examples that make the city vibrant. We can come up with an informal calendar that we can share with our clients and guests enumerating events that create a buzz for Pune.”

Irani added adventure tourism and heritage as part of the calendar. Pune chapter of TAAI too will take proactive steps to promote Pune as a destination, he assured. Dossa added that different segments within the city’s travel and tourism fraternity need to come together and have a greater interaction to understand and plan what more can be done for Pune.

Beyond the blame-game “Of the six economic divisions in Maharashtra, if one leaves aside Mumbai and Konkan region, as much as nine per cent of the country’s GDP comes from Pune and the rest of Maharashtra,” Dossa said with pride. While the blame on government September 2012

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

29

Cashing on MICE An analysis of the emerging trends in MICE and how Delhi/NCR is growing into an important hub in north India. By Heena Mahajan

Parmeet Nayar, general manager, Radisson Blu MBD, Noida.

Key strategies

ollowing Hyderabad as the MICE capital of India, Delhi/NCR is fast emerging as an important MICE destination.

With advanced technology and facilities, warm hospitality, personalised services and rich cultural heritage, the city has tremendous potential to capture this niche segment.

The capital's growing strength in the information technology arena has prompted few prominent international bodies to host trade shows and convent i o n s .

F

30

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Similar prominence in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors is also expected to host their convention here bringing in revenue in the coming years.

MICE tourism has immense potential and a tremendous growth opportunity in an evolving and dynamic market the size of India.

“The importance of the MICE industry lies in the fact that it converts annual business meetings and conferences into a glamorous and enjoyable event for the delegates and attendants. Be it a meeting to bring people together either from within one company or from a broader spectrum or an international conference or product launch party or exhibition, MICE tourism finds itself being inevitable in all the occasions,” says Aman Kumar Sayal, CEO, Laurent & Benon.

“The capital city has been the favourite MICE destination for quite some time now. The numerous charms of the city vary from ancient monuments to excellent shopping options, making business meetings and conferences here an absolute pleasure. As a city hotel located in the midst of a www.expresstravelworld.com

busy commercial hub like Bhikaji Cama in New Delhi, we have been hosting meetings and conventions on an international scale for more than a decade now. Spread over 464 sq m (5,000 sq ft), the pillarless convention hall at our hotel is a favourite venue for corporate and government officials,” says Anuradha Kumar, directorSales and Marketing, Hyatt Regency, Delhi.

MICE business is the focus of every hotel’s agenda to increase revenue and recognition. For large MICE events revenue can be earned not just from the banquets but also for the rooms and F&B and hence have a lot of business potential. “A major chunk of the business comes from the corporate houses in the vicinity and other business units or investors who are on the move. From a business perspective, banquets are important for holding large MICE events and also social events for revenue generation. They need to be technologically equipped along with flawless services to stand tall in a very competitive market since the independent banquet halls have been eating into the business of especially tailored business hotels,” adds

With the emerging and existing players in the market, there is a growing need to set strategies. Laurent & Benon, as an experienced hospitality player with a well-designed pan India presence, offers customised housing and accommodations solutions for corporate and individual business travellers. “Our hospitality solutions are fully equipped with world class amenities capable to cope with demanding clientele and big international occasions. We have laid out strategies to promote and strengthen MICE bookings in four areas: adventure, experiential, historical and luxury through our hotels across India. Our sophisticated business venues, convention centres and banquet halls are ideal for MICE with the stateof-the-art conferencing and audio visual equipment, high speed internet for video conferencing etc. Special attention has been paid to provide tailor-made packages encompassing complete conference and recreational activities.

Instead of individualised corporate rates, packages including conference, recreation, gala dinners, and special rates on rooms will be on offer,” adds Sayal.

On the other hand, Hyatt Regency, Delhi focusses on product enhancement through renovation of the existing products, and addition of banquet and meeting spaces in the vicinity.

“Together we will concentrate on designing Indiancentric, customer-focused packages. One of our recent introductions of the sort, the corporate summer package, has been helpful in tapping business even during lean seasons,” says Kumar.

Hilton Worldwide highlights the role of technology and varied MICE facilities they offer: ● The availability of September 2012

the first place that they seek information about services.

On the other hand, customers are also sharing invaluable information online about their thought processes and feedback after using certain services. If utilised correctly, these insights can potentially help in business development.

Constructive feedback is extremely useful for us service providers, enabling us to better our products and services as per customer needs,” she adds.

Green conferences cutting-edge audio and visual equipment and the latest technology ● Every meeting or conference is assigned a dedicated point of contact to ensure personalised service and technical support before, during and after the event ● Hilton Worldwide’s proprietor system LightStay, that analyses, reports and assists to improve sustainability performance at each hotel, offers the facility of a Meeting Calculator that measures the impact of any meeting or conference held at any one of its 3,800 hotels across the world. Customers can use the data toward their own sustainability goals and reporting.

The chain operates the largest number of hotels in Delhi NCR. Its network extends from the recentlyopened upscale DoubleTree

by Hilton hotel located on the Golf Course Road in Gurgaon; the Hilton Garden Inn hotel in Saket and Eros Hotel – Managed by Hilton in Nehru Place (South Delhi); to the DoubleTree by Hilton and Hilton brand hotels adjacently located off the DND Flyway in Mayur Vihar (East Delhi); and the Hilton hotel in Janakpuri (West Delhi).

Two of these hotels i.e.

Hilton New Delhi/Janakpuri and Eros Hotel – managed by Hilton in Nehru Place offer the largest conference and banqueting facilities in the city. The two DoubleTree by Hilton hotels in Mayur Vihar and Gurgaon feature facilities that are ideal for corporate meetings, business events, conferences, social gatherings and private receptions September 2012

and can accommodate up to 300-750 persons.

Changing trends in MICE As connectivity and infrastructure improves, the development of exotic locales for MICE will grow. The focus will shift to being able to attract larger groups specifically for this. The segment has huge potential and could soon be the largest contributor of business to most hotels. This will therefore increase the focus on developing MICE infrastructure across the country. The development of the sector also needs specialised manpower that should have the right training and motivation to set international benchmarks. Customers are well-travelled and technologically experienced and expect meetings, conference and banqueting facilities to feature upto-date technology, and the complete array of amenities and services. The evolving customer needs 24X7 business technologies along with comfortable and recreational opportunities and looks forward to a global appeal in hospitality.

Some trends are obvious, some less so. One leading trend is that organisations are downsizing the larger, highly visible meetings and events that are produced on an annual basis. Another interesting trend is the attention being placed on those that book small meetings.

This market is globally beneficial and represents a great opportunity. This provides the opportunity for hotels to be creative with what they can offer the smaller meeting planner.

“We are seeing the revival www.expresstravelworld.com

of upscale meetings and events. Four-star and fivestar demand is increasing. At this moment in time rates are still very flexible. If you have flexible dates the property is prepared to be flexible with rates and package offers as well,” says Kumar.

Laurent & Benon is encouraging virtual conferences that provide a costeffective, environmentally friendly alternative or supplement to traditional real life conferences.

The benefits are: ● Eliminate travel costs ● Reduce venue and event costs ● Secure business environment ● Reduce carbon footprint ● Support pre- and postconference activities ● Social networking and team building ● Virtual exposition and interactive display booths Hyatt Regency is not concentrating at the virtual conferences at the moment.

Kumar believes that in today's virtual world social media conversations are having a direct impact on sales and brand reputations. Every day a marginal number of potential customers are questioning options and making product choices based on online conversations. This practice will increase over time and will become a common practice. “With the increased popularity of tools such as Twitter, Facebook and other online communities, customers and their service providers in various fields are able to interact with each other. They are doing so in unprecedented numbers. For many online is

Climate changes and carbon emissions in particular are high on the MICE agenda.

Companies are trying to steer the industry to adopt a ‘greener’ policy. The industry is definitely now turning towards a greener approach as associations are cooperating and promoting conferences centres, hotels and airlines which adopt environmental – friendly practices. Surveys indicate that companies who adopt a ‘green’ policy can actually save money using methods which can reduce costs and drive to a lowering of carbon emissions.

The industry is definitely now turning towards a greener approach as associations are cooperating and promoting conferences centres, hotels and airlines which adopt environmental– friendly practices. Speaking on their contribution, Sayal talks about their policy of 'Refuse: Reuse: Reduce: Recycle'. “We are using electronic advertising, promotion and registration wherever possible.

Waste reduction is the most effective to minimise waste at source. We will buy reusable, refillable or recyclable products and avoid using disposable items by looking for products made from recycled materials. All our work places provide an acceptable working environment and implement greener practices wherever possible like enforcing a ‘no smoking’ policy and ensuring adequate air circulation.”

Similarly, Hyatt, wherever possible tries to restrict the usage of paper and use compact fluorescent lighting systems in the boardrooms that enhance visibility and lessen the consumption of electricity.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

31

Event Tracker Travel Trade Shows in 2012-13

32

September 19 – 21, 2012

Luxury Leisure

Moscow

September 19 – 21, 2012

MIBExpo Russia

Moscow

October 2 – 4, 2012

Corporate Travel World

Bangkok

October 2 -4, 2012

IT&CMA

Bangkok

October 11 – 13, 2012

Ukraine Travel Market

Kiev

October 2012

World Heritage Travel Expo

Macau

October 11 – 13, 2012

INWETEX - CIS Travel market

St. Petersburg

Ocotber 17-19, 2012

ITB Asia

Singapore

November 1 – 4, 2012

The Luxury Travel Fair

London

November 5-8, 2012

World Travel Market

London

November 12 – 15, 2012

IGTM - International golf travel market

Loulé (Portugal)

November 15 – 18, 2012

Creativa Lausanne

Lausanne

December 3 – 6, 2012

ILTM - International luxury travel market

Cannes

December 12 – 13, 2012

Brussels Travel Expo

Brussels

January 12 – 20, 2013

CMT- International Exhibition for Caravanning, Motoring and Tourism

Stuttgart

January 17.- 20, 2013

GO International Travel Trade Fair

Czech Republic

January 30 – Feb 3, 2013

FITUR

Madrid

January 25 -27, 2013

Dublin Caravan & Camping Show

Dublin (Ireland)

February 2 – 3, 2013

Travel Expo

Sydney (Australia)

February 5 – 6, 2013

I.M.T.M.(International Mediterranean Tourism Market)

Tel Aviv

February 5 – 6, 2013

Travel Technology Show

London

February 14 – 17, 2013

BIT – International Tourism Exchange

Milan (Italy)

February 15 – 17, 2013

Hanse Golf

Hamburg

February 2013

Eastern Mediterranean International Travel & Tourism Exhibition

Istanbul

February 2013

BIT - International Tourism Exchange

Milan

February 2013

Intourfest

St. Petersburg

February 2013

Travel Technology Show

London

February 2013

Meetings Africa

Johannesburg

March 2013

Travel Industry Sports and Recreations

Yekaterinburg (Russia)

March 2013

Guangzhou International Travel Fair

Guangzhou (China)

March 2013

Seatrade Cruise Shipping Convention

Miami

March 6-10, 2013

ITB Berlin

Berlin

March 20-23, 2013

Moscow International Exhibition Travel and Tourism

Moscow

May 6-9, 2013

Arabian Travel Market

Dubai

June 8-12, 2013

International Pow Wow

Las Vegas

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

Edge

T H E C U T T I N G E D G E I N T R AV E L T R A D E

CITY WATCH

Chennai checkers The Chennai hospitality market has a story to tell which is both intriguing and realistic. Currently, facing a demand supply imbalance, the market is predicted to correct itself in the coming years. By Reema Lokesh hennai has witnessed an evolution of sort. From a traditional and rather close set-up the change over the years has been quite vivid and contemporary.

Investments in sectors viz automobiles, IT, etc, has brought in a new dimension to the city and has also changed its demographic set-up to some extent.

Further, the expatriates brought in their preferences and globalisation did make an impact on the city’s. The new age Chennai as Kumar Sitaraman, chairman and CEO, Auromatrix Holdings describes it as ‘greater Chennai’ is predicted to witness action in the future especially the OMR and ECR belts.

Vikram Cotah, senior vice president, Radisson Blu Hotel GRT and Radisson Blu Templebay Resort, feels the potential is immense both in and round Chennai, which can be developed into a tourism hub for both business and leisure. A developing city always reflects a certain growth in infrastructure, which is visible in Chennai from airport to hospitality development. If one tracks the growth of the city, there has been a definite gush of hotel brands making their inroads over the last five years. From a small sized

C

Manish Dayya

Roop Chadda

Lemuel Herbert

Akshay Kulkarni

hospitality sector the development has been noticeable and noteworthy. Sitaraman, who has studied the market closely over the years describes the city as a flexible one which has a good industrial and IT base along with a vibrant trading community. It also has two seaports and a well connected airport which strengthens its infrastructure base further.

Some feel that secondary demand areas like Egmore, OMR, ECR and Sriperumbudur will capture reasonable market share as compared to the city.

Throwing light on the new areas of growth Vineet Verma, CEO, Brigade Hospitality Services feels

that the location on the new developmental belts will also work as an influencer on the business. Certain catchments on the OMR and ECR belt may do better. The growth is a given along with rate stabilisation which is predicted for the future.

According to FHRAI’s fourteenth annual edition of the Indian Hotel Industry Survey, in cooperation with HVS Hospitality Services, Chennai also witnessed a steady increase in occupancy in 2010/11 and a marginal growth in average rate as well. The city saw a resurgence of demand from the IT sector as well as the automobile sector, which witnessed a record year-on-year vol-

ume growth of 26.0 per cent in total units produced due to revival in demand and easy availability of financing. City hotels, however, continue to cater to demand emanating from traditional sectors like banking and finance.

Going forward, as the city expands further, significant investments into hotels primarily in the budget and mid market segments in the Sriperumbudur and OMR areas is estimated to result in these areas converting to individual micro markets within Chennai. OMR is the IT corridor of the city and Sriperumbudur, Oragadam, is fast becoming an industrial hub with manufacturing

and automotive sectors playing a key role. As these areas continue to witness additions of major companies, HVS expects hotels to benefit from increased demand from the commercial and extended stay segments.

Additionally, new hotels that are planned with large meeting facilities are expected to increase demand for MICE as well. A total of 2,500 rooms are expected in the next three years in the upscale and luxury segments, adding to an existing base of approximately 2,000 rooms in the same segments.

The large amount of supply entering the market is bound to put pressure on occupancy levels in the short to medium term, but the citywide average rate is expected to witness growth due to the luxury and upscale products entering the market.

Demand-supply dynamics

Kamlesh Barot

September 2012

Vineet Verma

Kumar Sitaraman

www.expresstravelworld.com

Vikram Cotah

If one takes into account the current scenario, business has taken a beating with drop in rates prevailing across the board. Though the present scenario is witnessing a demand-supply mismatch, with supply being in excess as compared to demand, experts feel this is a transitional phase that will pan out and push up the occupancy and also ARRs to EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

33

E|D|G|E a pragmatic level in the next two to three years. The city may not witness the kind of unrealistic rates that Bengaluru commanded few years ago. Sharing his take on the market, Kamlesh Barot, director VIE Hospitality, president – FHRAI and president – HRAWI says, “There is a rate correction of around 2.7 per cent from 2009-10 to 2010-11.

Sentiments are not upbeat as of today but there will be a definite revival in the future.

However, supply will need to get into a consolidation mode.” There are few who

feel, the business might take longer to gain strength but it is definite. According to Manish Dayya, ex-GM, The Raintree, Annasalai, “200910, Chennai hotel market had 3,500 rooms and achieved 60 per cent occupancy with an average city ARR of `6,300, followed by 2010-11 supply went up to 3,800 rooms and the occupancy saw a six per cent growth and ARR grew by `100. Further 2011-12 saw an inventory of 4,000 rooms and the occupancy was stable at 66 per cent but ARR grew up to `6,600. The next

five years will see a growth in rooms up to 5,300 which will see a severe occupancy pressure due to the huge increase in supply but the same will definitely stabilise by 2017-18. It will be the rate of the day till the occupancy stabilises and will come handy to capture last minute travel booking incentives while the preferred rates will get diluted forcing a certain inclusions like internet and airport transfers which form a good miscellaneous part of income.”

Hence, the present demand-supply mismatch

will continue for a while, the situation will undergo a transformation, bringing back business on track.

Arun K Saraf, MD, Juniper Hotels and owner of the Hyatt Regency, Chennai, also expressed faith, he feels their decision to take over the real estate project was completely based on the market.

Luxury boom If one tracks down the hotel categories that are scheduled to open doors, there is a visible bend towards the upper scale and

luxury hotels opening doors as compared to the mid market segment. Dayya shares some statistics on the same, with Park Hyatt – 200 rooms, Holiday Inn – 275 rooms, Taj Gateway – 160 rooms, ITC Grand Chola – 600 rooms, Leela with 300 rooms, West In – 250 rooms, Ramada – 100 rooms, Park Plaza – 140 rooms, JW Marriott – 370 rooms, Somerset Service Residencies – 130 apartments. He feels the average investment per room should be from `85 lakhs to one crore as mostly all upcom-

Chennai City Inventory Status S.No. HOTEL

LOCATION

DISTANCE FROM TPCH

2007 08

2008-09

2009 10

2010 11

2011 12

2012 13

2013 14

1.

THE PARK

NUNGAMBAKKAM

-

214

214

214

214

214

214

214

2.

TAJ COROMANDEL

NUNGAMBAKKAM

400 meters

213

213

213

213

213

213

213

3.

PARK SHERATON

ALWARPET

3.5 kms

283

283

283

283

283

283

283

4.

LE ROYAL MERIDIEN

GUINDY

10 kms

242

242

242

242

242

242

242

5.

TAJ CONNEMARA

MOUNT ROAD

1.5 kms

150

150

150

150

150

150

150

6.

CHOLA SHERATON

RK SALAI

500 meters

92

92

92

92

92

92

92

7.

TRIDENT

GUINDY

12 kms

167

167

167

167

167

167

167

8.

RADISSON

GUINDY

12 kms

101

101

101

101

101

101

101

9.

COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT

TEYNAMPET

800 meters

236

236

236

236

236

236

236

10.

RAINTREE

ALWARPET

4 kms

105

105

105

105

105

105

105

11.

TAJ MOUNT ROAD

MOUNT ROAD

1.5 km

-

220

220

220

220

220

220

12.

ALOFT

OMR

18 kms

-

-

129

129

129

129

129

13.

RAINTREE

TEYNAMPET

2.5 kms

-

-

-

230

230

230

130

14.

ASIANA-OMR

OMR

14 kms

-

-

-

114

114

114

114

15.

HILTON

GUINDY

10 kms

-

-

-

-

209

209

209

16.

HYATT REGENCY

TEYNAMPET

1.5 kms

-

-

-

-

330

330

330

17.

ASIANA – ASCENDAS

OMR

12 kms

-

-

-

-

57

57

57

18.

SOMERSET ASCOTT

SANTHOME

8 kms

-

-

-

-

67

80

187

19.

GINGER

OMR

10 kms

-

-

-

-

87

87

87

20.

RADISSON BLU

EGMORE

2 kms

-

-

-

-

-

160

160

21.

GRAND CHOLA

GUINDY

9 kms

-

-

-

-

-

350

650

22.

PARK HYATT

GUINDY

9 kms

-

-

-

-

-

202

202

23.

THE LEELA

SANTHOME

8 kms

-

-

-

-

-

329

329

24.

ROYAL ORCHID

RK SALAI

800 meters

-

-

-

-

-

130

130

25.

RAJ PARK – GUINDY

GUINDY

10 kms

-

-

-

-

-

200

200

26.

WESTIN

VELACHERY

12 kms

-

-

-

-

-

80

300

27.

SRM – GUINDY

GUINDY

9 kms

-

-

-

-

-

30

200

28.

TAJ GATEWAY

OMR

16 kms

-

-

-

-

-

50

150

1801

2021

2150

2494

3244

4788

5826

-

12%

6%

16%

30%

48%

22%

TOTAL GROWTH% YEAR ON YEAR

Courtesy:The Park Group

34

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

E|D|G|E ing hotels are in the luxury segment.

Sitaraman is of the opinion that there is definitely a deficit in the middle level mid-scale sector, whereas there is a need for this slot in the future. The ITC Grand Chola which is waiting in the wings to open its doors officially may result in some interesting market behaviour. With its mega convention facility offering, the property is focused to tap the MICE market in a large way. According to Akshay Kulkarni, regional director, South & South East Asia, Cushman & Wakefield Hospitality, feels that the inventory size will lead to some interesting outcomes and strategies. But markets have thrown in surprises in the past and one needs to wait and watch how the markets react to these future inventories.

He also expressed his view that there is a need to build the city and its surrounding as a tourism product. Barot is also of the opinion that needs to build its image as a tourism destination.

Chennai is not marketed as

September 2012

tourism destination in the international circuit.

Tourism products from entertainment to nightlife needs to improve to retain the traveller in the city.

Tariff troubles One of the major bone of contention that hoteliers in Tamil Nadu are facing is that of luxury tax being charged on printed tariff than on actuals. Most hoteliers have expressed their grievance on this issue and have been appealing to the government from time to time but to no avail. Lemuel Herbert, associate VP and area GM, The Park Chennai, is of the opinion that this form of taxation is rather unfortunate and needs a correction. Dayya also feels that the government should be reworking on the subject. “The current taxation norms, property taxes, etc, are quite high and this definitely is seen as a big block in growth and development and further restricting good investments coming into the city not only in hotels but also in restaurants and other hospitality developments. There is a

tremendous scope for leisure segment to grow which is not visible in the state development plans. The license costs, power shut down hours, VAT on imported liquor, are some of the long time burning issues, that needs to be addressed,” said Dayya.

In fact hotels are using innovative methods and packages to attract clientele and increase room nights and repeat customers. Roop Chadda, director-operations, The Residency Towers, Chennai says, “We are happy in our space and get our share of business but we provide our clients facilities and services which are convenient and in demand. We offer 24 hours check-in, check-out facilities, day rate room tariffs from morning 8 am to 8 pm to meet the needs of our business travellers.” He adds that, the hotel caters to long staying guests and provide them with service that can help retain our clients. Ajai Kacker, vicepresident-hotels & resorts MGM entertainment is also of the opinion that it is cru-

www.expresstravelworld.com

cial to offer the client an experience that converts into regular business to meet and tide over other external challenges such as taxation issues and government regulations which are not favourable to the hospitality sector.

Positive Picture In a recent development, the Tamil Nadu government has provided a major relief to the hospitality sector in the region by easing out the liquor and bar license rule that was applied to threestar category hotels and above and also to the clubs in the region. The initial rule which allowed liquor bars to operate only till 11 pm in the sector have been granted further extension through a two pronged strategy. Bars can operate 24 hours by paying a premium on the existing rate or one has the option of paying an additional amount to receive an extension for an hour ie from 11 pm till midnight. This new rule has been well accepted by the hospitality sector and is only hoping to receive more

benefits from the government.

It will be interesting to watch the Chennai market in the coming years and all to witnesses all the predictions of today either in practice or not. Perkin Rocha, GM, Raintree Annasalai, Chennai, expresses huge faith in the market wherein he feels this market cannot go wrong. Rocha adds, “The mandatory rate revision in October will increase the rate marginally and the FDI in retail and aviation will definite affect this region just like any other in India.

Further, Chennai receives around 56 per cent of the expatriate population that visit the country highest as compared to any metropolitan. There are 160 Japanese companies in Chennai presently which are pitched to go up 1,500 companies in the coming three years.

Hence, there is a positive trend.”

The conclusion is that though the current scene is not as robust, the future is that of revival and growth which will be realistic and consistent.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

35

Travel

Life

TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT

SimpliFying training in social media Headquartered in Singapore, with offices in New York and Vancouver, SimpliFlying has worked with 25 airlines and airports across the world conducting training workshops on social media to help their executives engage more effectively with the new age traveller. By Sudipta Dev ingapore headquartered consultancy firm SimpliFlying advises airline and airport professionals on how to understand and engage with their customers, and achieve business goals by leveraging the platform of social media. There are MasterClasses for vice-presidents, directors and executives in corporate communications, eCommerce or marketing in airlines and airports. “For a successful customer engagement strategy, the understanding between the upper management and the executives who will be executing the strategy needs to be aligned from the very start,” says Shashank Nigam, CEO and founder, SimpliFlying.

In India, SimpliFlying has worked with Jet Airways and SpiceJet. Globally, the company has been associated with over 25 airlines and airports, including Lufthansa, Emirates, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines, LAN Airlines, airBaltic, Airbus, Toronto Pearson International Airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport. “While we have very close relationships with major Indian airlines and airports, we have a global focus for our consulting and training practices,” mentions Nigam.

S

Understanding the customer Nigam points out that while the airlines and airports are traditionally conservative when it comes to marketing, technological advances in social media have disrupted the industry. In an era of the connected traveller it is important for airlines and airports understand this new traveller and get ahead of their competition by engaging these customers profitably. In The Connected Traveller Lifecycle developed by SimpliFlying, he goes through four stages: he dreams of a trip, plans the trip, books the trip and finally travels. “At each stage, he can influence his friends by sharing information on his social networks, thereby amplifying the potential contribution to an air-

36

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

line’s bottom line,” mentions Nigam, not forgetting to add that to airlines, the social era may be frightening for an industry that has traditionally held strict control over marketing and operations. But it has also given airlines the unique opportunity to understand what drives customer actions and repeat purchases better than ever before.

SimpliFlying's research with Cranfield Univerisity has shown that there is a strong indication of frequent fliers' being almost twice as active on social media as regular users. “In fact, 72 per cent of frequent fliers said they would join a social loyalty programme.

This has great implications towards airlines' current customer service and loyalty initiatives. To stay relevant to this new customer behaviour and to grow profits for the organisation, airlines need to start innovating their customer engagement strategy,” states Nigam.

Personalised MasterClasses SimpliFlying has topical MasterClasses that are a one to twoday hands-on workshop. These include introduction for participants who may be unfamiliar with social media, real-world case studies, highlevel discussions, interactive group exercises and simulations. “There are over 50 innovative airline case studies

and 10 hands-on social media tools that the participants try themselves.

The topics of our MasterClasses include Crisis Management, Loyalty, Social Customer Service, Social Media Benchmarking and an crash course covering all grounds for agencies,” says Nigam.

Not surprisingly, the MasterClasses are personalised for each airline. “In our MasterClass exercises, participants will discuss and adapt specific case-studies that are relevant to their airline and market, then open it to the floor for a more compelling discussion,” states Nigam, adding that very often, these discussions go on to form the basis for new programmes under the airline's customer engagement strategy.

The company has recently launched a special MasterClass for agencies, specifically for account managers and creative directors. “This is especially useful for agencies that are currently serving airlines or airports, or agencies that are looking to pitch new businesses to potential airlines or airports as it gives them a deep-dive into the world of aviation,” adds Nigam.

India focus The company's most successful projects have been consulting for Jet Airways and SpiceJet in India.

“SpiceJet engaged us as a trusted advi-

www.expresstravelworld.com

sor for customer engagement optimisation for the launch of its Bombardier Q400 aircraft in the Indian market.

SpiceJet wanted to convince Indians, who typically have not been the most keen to fly turbo-props, to overcome the entrenched mindset. In addition, there was a need to create destination awareness as SpiceJet was not flying these planes on major routes within India. Over a period of six months, SimpliFlying helped SpiceJet to specifically target niche segments through social media and leverage on a customer-to-customer education model.

As a result, SpiceJet achieved 88 per cent load factor for five newly launched destinations, all within the first two weeks of launching Bombardier Q400 in India,” he states.

Considering the fact that most Indian travellers are well educated, carry mobile phones and are constantly connected to the internet, Nigam feels that while airlines in India have some sort of social media presence, but are not necessarily driving results from their efforts - like building loyalty or providing customer service. The Benchmarking MasterClass can help them assess how they are doing in comparison to their competition, and at the same time look to help them drive specific results from social media by engaging the connected traveller.

September 2012

T|R|A|V|E|L| L|I|F|E

Holiday Pacific

Kuoni India

Holiday Pacific has announced the appointment of Bijal Thanavala as country manager for India. She comes with an experience of over 13 years in the tourism industry out of which the last eight years she was in the employment of Qantas Airways.

Kuoni India has announced the appointment of Rajeev G Wagle as new managing director with immediate effect. He succeeds Rajiv Duggal.

Wagle joins Kuoni India from UTV Software Communications where he was responsible as group CFO. Wagle was associated with Kuoni India from 2000 till 2008 as CFO. In his new role as managing director at Kuoni India, he would be responsible for steering the company to greater heights.

MSC Cruises – India

SilkAir

Amit Mathur has been appointed as country head India, MSC Cruises, based in Mumbai. He assumes responsibility of driving MSC cruises business in India and establishing them as one of the leading cruise players in the country. He has over 15 years of experience with GDS and airline business in India.

SilkAir has appointed Leslie Thng as the new chief executive. Thng takes over from Marvin Tan, who will be returning to parent company Singapore Airlines.

Thng joined SilkAir as a board director on April 1, 2012 and is currently SIA’s vice president Network Planning. He has been with SIA for more than 13 years, during which time he has held positions in head office as well as overseas. Before taking up his current post in Network Planning in December 2011, Thng had been based in Frankfurt as general manager Germany since June 2009.

September 2012

Travel Designer India Group

Vijay Puthran has joined the team RezLive.com as national head sales – India.

Puthran has extensive 34 years of experience in travel trade, in depth functional knowledge in overall functions of the organisation including sales, marketing, operations and PR work pertaining to cruise lines, leisure outbound and inbound.

PATA

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the promotion of Puangthip Chotipantawanon as director of operations and will be reporting to Sheila Leong, chief operating officer. She is responsible for operations across all departments to provide an association-wide support structure to actively and regularly engage with members.

www.expresstravelworld.com

Emirates

Emirates has announced management changes to its commercial operations department. The airline has promoted Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, as vice president India and Nepal and Orhan Abbas as senior vice president commercial operations - The Americas. In addition to this Ahmed Khoory, has been appointed as the senior vice president commercial operations West Asia and Indian Ocean.

RateTiger, eRevMax International

Greg Berman has been appointed as COO of eRevMax International. In his role as COO at eRevMax, he will be responsible for developing the commercial operations and product delivery in support of the business’ global expansion and market penetration.

Prior to joining eRevMax, he spent seven years at HBSi, a US-based Hospitality Electronic Distribution provider.

TUI India TUI Travel India has announced the appointment of Shashank Shekhar Mishra as assistant vice presidentSports. As AVP - Sports, Mishra will assume the leadership position and be responsible for developing and implementing strategic initiatives for the sports division of TUI India. Prior to joining TUI, he was heading SOTC Sports which is the sports vertical of Kuoni India.

In his other previous roles he held many distinguished positions at travel companies like Kuoni,Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, etc.

TripAdvisor TripAdvisor has announced the appointment of Cindy Tan as vice president of Display Advertising Sales, Asia Pacific. Based in Singapore, Tan will lead a team in continuing to drive the growth of the business in Asia Pacific, including China, India and Japan. She brings with her 14 years of experience across sales, marketing and business development in the media industry. Prior to this, she was at BBC Worldwide.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

37

New chapter

WEEKEND E

V

E

N

T

S

Soiree to celebrate

Lufthansa welcomed its new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental with a grand water canon salute at Terminal 3 of Delhi’s India Gandhi International Airport Christpher Fordyce, regional commercial manager, South Asia, British Airways and Sir James Bevan the British High Commissioner together with the winner of the raffle draw during the celebration of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games

Excellence award

Proud distinction

EM Najeeb, chairman, Great India Tour Company receiving the Best Outbound Tour Operator Award instituted by the department of Tourism, Government of Kerala, from Oommen Chandy, chief minister, Kerala

Eastbound Tours & Travels was felicitated for its contribution in various segments for the second year by the Taj Group at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi

Flying high LAMA Tours announces innovative concept to promote Dubai 'Lama Flight To Dubai' set for mid August 2012, New Delhi

Contributing value Maharashtra Tour Orgnaisers' Association organised special event to honour members of the travel trade for their contribution towards travel and tourism industry in Maharashtra

38

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

September 2012

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

39

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

40

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

Ethiopian now takes you further 3 times weekly to Cotonou September 2012

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

41

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

42

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

September 2012

TTBAD

GODDESS MAZU'S BIRTHDAY, GUANSHAN, EAST RIFT VALLEY

Discover hidden Taiwan The goddess Mazu is venerated for her dominion over the sea, and each year her birthday is celebrated with a symbolic tour of Taiwan, escorted by her exquisitely dressed devotees all around the country. Taiwanese culture is rich with festivals and celebrations, each of which adds unique colour and excitement to daily life.

To get an authentic glimpse of traditional Taiwan, nothing beats an encounter with a procession in full flow, the colours of the swirling dancers set against the crackle of fireworks and the smell of delicious food offered up to secure the blessings of heaven.

Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Representative office in India: Delhi: C-41 Gulmohar Park, New Delhi- 110049, India Phone: +91 11 26531733 Fax: +91 1126531735, Email: noel@ttbrep.in Mumbai: Ismail Building, Ground floor, D. N. Road, Flora Fountain, Mumbai - 400001, India Phone: +91 22 61424925 Email: nitya@ttbrep.in

www.taiwan.net.tw

Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Singapore Office: 30 Raffles Place, Chevron House #10-01, Singapore 048622

REGD.WITH RNI UNDER MAHENG/15993/05, MH/MR/SOUTH-156/2010-12 PUBLISHED 11th OF EVERY MONTH AND POSTED ON 12, 13 & 14 OF EVERY MONTH POSTED AT IND.EXP.PSO.