Travel and Hospitality (TnH) - March 2021

ISSUE 5 / VOLUME XII / MARCH 2021 Rs.350 / Pages 42

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THE

There is no place like home!

At exactly the same time last year, I remember writing my editorial in the conference room at work. It was just a normal day in the office, all of us were unsuspecting that within a few days our entire team would have to begin working from home, and our industry would change forever. At first adjusting to this new work routine was tough, as working from home meant there were more distractions.

Besides there is something about the team sitting together brainstorming ideas and telling stories, that zoom meetings couldn’t mimic. Of course, this was the least of our worries. Millions of people became the victims of the pandemic and on the economic front, the tourism industry became its worst victim.

FROM

EDITOR Undoubtedly though, while there have been hardships, there have also been silver linings. We learned new things, about each other and ourselves, and most of us were reminded just how lucky we are to weather this pandemic from the comfort of our own homes. Another silver lining was the sudden spotlight on domestic tourism. With international destinations out of bounds, the prevailing situation forced India’s tourism industry to look inside. The focus on domestic tourism was long overdue. Now tourism stakeholders need to tap into the country’s vast domestic tourism potential by working on offering world-class tourism experiences to discerning Indian travellers for future tourism growth. To delve deeper into what can be done, read our story, ‘5 focus areas key to reimagining India’s domestic travel experience’ (pg.9).

In addition, there are other articles in the issue, most of them focused on domestic tourism, to keep you informed and updated. Hope you find the content interesting and useful.

Publisher & Editor Srishti Jindal

CONTENTS 09

5 FOCUS AREAS KEY TO REIMAGINING INDIA’S DOMESTIC TRAVEL EXPERIENCE

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DWARKA: A SPIRITUAL AND AN AESTHETIC JOURNEY

‘TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION TO EMERGE AS POWERFUL CHANGE ENABLERS’

WELLNESS TIPS: 7 NATURAL TECHNIQUES TO COME OUT OF YOUR DARK EMOTIONS

‘NEED TO BOOST DOMESTIC DEMAND TO SURVIVE THROUGH THE CURRENT CRISIS’

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KICK-START MARKETING NOW TO REGAIN PRE-COVID FTA NUMBER

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09 Strategy

5 focus areas key to reimagining India’s domestic travel experience A comprehensive roadmap and its robust implementation that focuses on 5 key areas can reinvent India’s domestic travel experience, giving a much-needed boost to the country’s domestic tourism sector.

Words by Prem Kumar

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India’s tourism sector can play a far greater role in the socioeconomic development of the country. Being a labour-intensive sector, it has immense potential to generate jobs. For a vast country like India endowed with rich resources, this potential is much higher, therefore, tourism can emerge as a major sector of the Indian economy, provided bottlenecks hampering its growth is removed.

In the last one year, all sorts of tourism, from domestic to international, were halted due to the Covid pandemic. One year later, while domestic tourism is showing some green shoot in the country, international tourism (both inbound and outbound) is still on hold, and as most parts of the world remain under the grip of the pandemic, there is no sign of the recovery of international tourism anytime soon. This has forced every stakeholder of India’s tourism industry to look inside and focus on domestic tourism (Indian travellers visiting places inside India). With international destinations out of bounds, Indian travellers have little options but to visit domestic destinations to satiate their wanderlust.

For India’s tourism industry too, domestic tourism is the only hope, at least for now and for a foreseeable future. It is in the interest of everyone - the industry as well as travellers - that domestic tourism flourishes. From the industry perspective, inbound and domestic tour operators have a high stake in promoting domestic tourism as both are ultimately promoters of domestic destinations.

For our governments, tourism is a key source of revenues; therefore, a prolonged cessation of tourism activities is bound to affect its revenue generation target, besides aggravating the unemployment issue in the country. On the other hand, our governments will benefit immensely if domestic tourism flourishes in absence of inbound tourism. And even when

inbound tourism starts, a sustained and systematic focus to transform domestic tourism will immensely help our economy in terms of job creations and revenue generations. There would be a lot of new opportunities for skilled manpower and local communities.

For India, there are many cogent reasons to focus on domestic tourism, like we are a large country with huge diversity. India, officially a country, is more diverse than a continent, having something for every kind of tourists such as nature, culture, monuments, and beaches and so on.

Besides the country’s rich and diverse tourism potential, we are the second most populated country in the world, with a large middle-class population and 65% of our population is less than 35 years. To understand the size of the Indian tourism market, in 2019, more than 20 million Indians visited foreign destinations; this figure is expected to grow further when normalcy returns. Many Indians prefer to travel abroad rather than domestic destinations because Indian destinations fall short of their expectations in terms of overall experiences.

Fortunately for India, the country has immense tourism potential and a huge domestic market for it. An Indian has lots of options to travel within the country for seeking incredible and exhilarating holiday experiences. But there are some structural issues and challenges that deter its citizens, especially the affluent ones, to travel inside the country for holidays, thus, India; its tourism sector loses to other countries. If these issues can be resolved, there would be a huge boom in our domestic tourism; and people would really be vocal for local; the country’s industry would not need to depend on foreign tourists, although they will supplement our overall tourism growth.

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Seen from a wider perspective, domestic tourism can play a vital role in the development of the India economy in terms of creating millions of additional jobs and immense revenue generations. The focus on domestic tourism will also be in line with the Government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Mission, and its call to be vocal for local. The benefits of domestic tourism are that it is mostly insulated from the impact of external factors.

In order to tap the immense potential of India’s domestic tourism, making India the preferred destination for Indians, as well as for foreigners, phenomenal efforts are required.

Piecemeal approaches did not work in the past; they will not work in the future. A holistic and transformative tourism policy with a focus on domestic tourism and structural issues related to it and its effective implementation will go a long way to promote tourism in the country. In our assessment, the following are major areas of concerns that are hindering India’s tourism growth (Domestic & Inbound), and to reinvent and transform domestic tourism experiences, the stakeholders need to address them: Health & Hygiene In a world afflicted with the pandemic, health and hygiene have become a paramount concern among every section of the society, more so among the health-conscious middle-class.

Even in pre-Covid time, health and hygiene was an issue for travellers. This concern has become more important in the wake of the pandemic.

When it comes to India, the first impression of Indian tourist spots is that they are not clean or that they lack the standard of hygiene. This diminishes their touristic appeal. A high standard of hygiene and sanitation is vital to offer pleasant travel experiences. It ensures a healthy and gratifying atmosphere for tourists and also adds to the beauty of attractions, making them more welcoming. When travellers feel safe from any kind of disease caused by lack of hygiene and have a pleasant experience, they return home with sweet memory, speak good about a destination and visit again to the place.

On the contrary, poor hygiene and sanitation standards at tourist places adversely affect tourism activities. But despite the clean India campaign, we have not seen much improvement in our hygiene and sanitation standards at our tourist attractions, civic facilities, along approach roads and nearby places. Unhygienic condition and inadequate sanitation facilities dent the allure and appeal of our destinations, spoiling the overall experience of travellers. There have been efforts towards this end, but the results have not been very encouraging. Governments and all stakeholders should accord topmost priority to health and hygiene concern, collaborate for this. This will make our tourist spots more appealing and travellers will have gratifying experiences. India’s destinations should have world-class sanitation infrastructure; hygiene and sanitation standards should be improved at all tourist places. It is important that areas not just in and around destinations but at every point that is touched or seen by tourists are clean so that overall tourist landscapes are incredibly healthy and beautiful. An effective monitoring mechanism should be put in place to ensure that basic hygiene and sanitation standards are achieved and maintained all across the value chain. Maintaining an ambience that is clean and welcoming to tourists will go a long way in bolstering domestic tourism, and inbound tourism as well.

Safety & security Safety & security is unarguably the biggest factor that influences the choices of travellers with regard to destination. Few would like to travel to tourist places that are perceived to be unsafe.

After all, people travel for joy, not to risk their life and security.

On this consideration too, Indian destinations do not inspire much confidence in travellers.

It is one of the main concerns among Indian and foreign travellers when it comes to travelling to Indian destinations.

There is a strong perception that Indian destinations are not safe to travel to. Untoward criminal incidents involving tourists deter many Indians to travel inside the country for leisure purpose. At a time when the trend of solo women travel is rising, most tourist places and streets in India are unsafe for women.

People staring at women are a normal occurrence. There have been many instances of women getting molested and travellers getting cheated and robbed with little help coming from concerned authorities. Sometimes touts and miscreants are hand in glove with police. Inadequate lighting facilities and the absence of police personnel on streets frequented by travellers encourage crimes against travellers. All these things spoil travel experiences, the image of a destination and discourage tourism.

This situation does not auger well for the country’s tourism sector. Sometimes unruly behaviours of some travellers disturb others. This should also be discouraged. Crowds at tourist spots should be properly managed.

As law & order is a state subject under our federal structure, it is the primary responsibility of state governments to ensure safety and security of travellers, and deliver timely justice to victims of crimes. It is imperative the industry constantly raise this issue with state governments; explain to them the loss a state’s tourism sector suffers due to poor law and order.

When tourists visit a place, they contribute to its economy; therefore it is essential for concerned state governments to ensure all visiting travellers return safely to their homes. In order to make the destination safe and travelling experience joyful, India’s tourist police should be revamped and expanded, made more efficient and responsive, women representation in state police should be significantly increased. Our whole police administration should be made sensitive and responsive to tourists. This is a must to infuse confidence among travellers and position India as a safe destination. Tourist spots and streets frequented by tourists should be well-lit. Advance technology should be used to detect and prevent crimes against tourists.

People employed in unorganised tourism activities around destinations should be sensitized through regular counselling so that they always respect tourists, never cheat or harass them. The ancient Indian ethos like Atithi Devo Bhava should be inculcated to every citizen, more so to travel professionals in a systematic way.

Road safety, passenger safety, fire safety and safe adventure tourism are some of the other areas of concern, the country and tourism stakeholders need to work on to make India a safe and welcoming destination for Indians.

With the use of modern and cutting-edge technology and administrative measures, India can definitely be made a safe destination.

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Low-cost airlines

Infrastructure

India has not been able to connect well its tourist places with flights. Many such places are unserved or underserved. The government’s regional connectivity scheme, UDAN, is making some difference, but much needs to be done. Lack of adequate air connectivity is hindering domestic tourism. This is one of the major constraints for domestic tourism.

Underdeveloped infrastructure remains a challenge for the tourism sector. Despite the focus on infrastructure development, the quality of roads in most part of the country remains poor.

Wayside amenities along roads are missing, which should be improved drastically. This bottleneck is not allowing the country to fully exploit its tourism potential. The country still has much to do on the infra front. Public transport like buses and railways should be made tourist-friendly. Last-mile connectivity should be improved.

Domestic tourism is lagging behind for the want of a vibrant network of low-cost carriers. Due to cheaper international air travel, and higher domestic airfare, Indians prefer to travel to international destinations. ATF should be brought under GST, and there should uniform and reasonable tax on airfare. Today business travel is the largest component of domestic travel.

Almost 50 per cent of hotels ‘occupancy comes from business travellers. There is huge potential for growth in the leisure segment.

Role of ASI Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) under the Ministry of Culture has an important role in preservations and maintenance of monuments/archaeological sites; but the organisation does not have had a stellar track record. India has lost numerous monument and archaeological remnants due to the apathy of the ASI. ASI, local administration and concerned authorities should make sure that no monuments are defaced or damaged.

It would be pertinent to mention that while ASI does not have an impeccable track record in maintaining monuments under its control, however, they are better-maintained as compared to those managed by the state governments.

Therefore, while improving the functioning of ASI, it is important that monuments coming under state authorities should also be maintained well. For this purpose, ASI should have a role in the preservation and maintenance of all monuments. It can partner with a state government for this purpose. States should also take help from ASI in maintaining and managing monuments coming under its control. While preserving the archaeological and historical sanctity of monuments, all necessary tourist amenities should be provided in the vicinity, so that visitors do not face any inconvenience.

Destination development Having some historical or natural tourism sites is not enough.

For a destination, apart from being well-connected with other places, must have adequate tourist facilities. In addition to tourist attractions, there should be accommodation, civic and recreational facilities nearby destinations so that tourists besides doing sightseeing can also have options to enjoy other things. They should have options to stay in nearby places. Basically, visitor experience should be enhanced at destinations and all facilities are provided to them. India has top-class tourism products like the Taj Mahal, but there are little recreational facilities nearby this archaeological marvel. The country has huge coastlines but most are underdeveloped from tourist perspectives. The government has some programmes to develop destinations but the pace of development is slow and the outcome has been lacklustre. This needs to be expedited.

Almost every region of India has one or other kind of spot that can attract tourists, but not all are frequented by tourists. There is a huge regional disparity in terms of tourism development.

Some states are doing quite well, while others are lagging far behind. Many places having tourism potential are yet to make their places on the tourism map for want of connectivity, tourism amenities and promotion.

CONCLUSION Few countries are as blessed as India in terms of vast tourism potential, large markets and a huge young population. This is a perfect recipe for vibrant and thriving domestic tourism. We just need to develop a tourist-friendly ecosystem to leverage this potential. An ecosystem that is seamless, welcoming and reassuring for tourists.

India’s domestic tourism is largely driven by the unorganised sector. There is a lack of professionalism among local stakeholders. An appropriate policy for domestic tourism should be formulated to tap the immense potential of domestic destinations and domestic markets. Every destination whether a state or city will have to transform its tourism landscapes to attract domestic as well as foreign travellers. Law enforcement agencies and stakeholders of the tourism industry should co-ordinate their efforts to improve safety and security not just in and around tourist attraction but across the country. At a government level, coordination between various departments is essential to address all challenges. Local people need to be involved and made stakeholders.

While pro-domestic tourism initiatives should be implemented effectively in a time-bound manner, it is important that environmental considerations should not be overlooked while developing and promoting domestic tourism.

DWARKA

17 Destination Guide

Dwarka: A spiritual and an aesthetic journey Suddenly plan was made, tickets booked and I ventured out from the home after a year.

For a traveller like me, it was difficult to sit at one place. Taking all the precautionary steps, I took early morning flight from Delhi to Rajkot. And from there I hired a cab for Dwarka, almost a 4-5 hours ride, if you don’t stop at Jamnagar, as I did to have my breakfast.

Words by Suman Bajpai

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Suddenly plan was made, tickets booked and I ventured out from the home after a year. For a traveller like me, it was difficult to sit at one place. Taking all the precautionary steps, I took early morning flight from Delhi to Rajkot. And from there I hired a cab for Dwarka, almost a 4-5 hours ride, if you don’t stop at Jamnagar, as I did to have my breakfast.

Dwarka on the western tip of the Kathiawar Peninsula is clubbed with the holiest sites in India – the Char Dhams that include Badrinath, Puri and Rameshwaram. It is believed that Lord Krishna arrived here from Braj in Uttar Pradesh to build the city.

In Jamnagar I had tasted some street food like Ghugra and Handvo. By the time I had reached to my resort it was 2p.m and after freshening up, and lunch, in the evening I had reached to Sudama Setu. It is a bridge at the base of the Dwarkadhish temple takes one across the Gomti creek towards the beach.

From here I soon get my first glimpse of the temple. The exquisitely carved tall, conical steeple of the main temple towers over the adjacent temple domes.

Dwarkadhish Temple The main draw for tourists and devotees coming to Dwarka, the Dwarkadhish Temple (Jagat Mandir), which is more than 2500 years old and built by Lord Krishna’s great grandson, Vajranabh.

It has been renovated several times, especially leaving imprints of 16th and 19th centuries.

As it is at the cusp of the Gomti River and the Arabian Sea, temple provides a scenic backdrop to the spiritual site. It is said that Dwarka was submerged under the sea six times and what we see now is its seventh avatar. The temple itself has a fascinating legend. The original structure was destroyed by Mahmud Begada in 1472, and subsequently rebuilt in the 15th-16th century. It was also feted by Adi Shankaracharya, the 8th century Hindu theologian and philosopher.

The temple stands on a small hill accessed by 50 plus steps, with heavily sculptured walls that cocoon the sanctum with the main Krishna idol. Around the complex lie other smaller shrines. The walls have intricately carved mythical characters and legends. The impressive 43 m high spire is topped with a flag made from 52 yards of cloth that flutters in the soft breeze from the Arabian Sea behind the temple. The main entrance to the Dwarakadhish temple, the north entrance, is called Moksha Dwara (Door to Salvation). It is located in a crowded

market area with narrow lanes lined by shops.

Photography is not allowed in the temple, so better don’t carry mobile or camera with you. Free stalls are available to deposit these items at the entrance of the temple.

The temple visiting hours are 6:30 am to 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 9:30 pm. I pass through security check and join the crowd of devotees and enjoyed the Aarti.

Something mystical engulfed me while chanting ‘Om Namo Vasudevay Namah’.

There are separate queues for men and women to stand for a aarti and was surprised to see that even during the time of Covid, temple was crowded.

The lower part of the temple is from the 16th century while the soaring steeple is from the 19th century. The exterior façade of the temple is exquisite, but the interior part is very simple. Like all other sacred Hindu temples in the country, the Dwarkadhish Temple too suffered at the hands of Muslim invaders. It was destroyed many a times but rebuilt each time. It is said that the idol of the main deity was hidden for years to protect it from Muslim invaders and was reinstalled during the 16th century after the construction of the new temple.

The one-metre tall, four-armed idol of Lord Dwarkadhish is made of shiny black stone. It’s a captivating idol with elaborate ornamentation and I find myself making a parikrama (circumambulation) of the temple more than three times just for another glimpse of the deity, giving a long, lingering look each time.

The temple complex contains many shrines, of Hindu gods as well as Krishna’s main queens besides Rukmini. I take a quick tour of the place mesmerized with its beauty. When I step outside the compound wall and look up at the temple spire, I find a huge red-orange-blue flag, triangular in shape with the symbol of the sun and moon, fluttering in the breeze.

The flag is changed at regular time intervals.

Such a splendid place! It is what I was thinking going back to my resort. But what surprised me most that despite being the legendary capital of Lord Krishna’s kingdom, no one uses the word “Krishna” here, not even in shops and establishments, like in Vrindavan.

Nageshwar Jyotirlinga Next day in the early morning I had visited the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga temple which has a huge idol of Shiva at the entrance, is one of the twelve jyotirlingas (selfmanifested shivalinga) in India. This is

very ordinary building in red colour and has no carving on it. The temple is a large hall where is the main sanctum with the shivalinga. Legend goes that it was here that a demon called Daaruka imprisoned a Shiva devotee called Supriya. The chants of ‘Om Namaha Shivay’ by Supriya invoked Lord Shiva who arrived here and vanquished the demon. A self-manifested Shivalinga appeared here and is prayed to this date.

Bet Island: an amazing experience After a quick visit of this temple, I was curious to reach to the Bet or Beyt Island, which is surrounded by sea from all sides.

Boat service is available between Okha and Bet-Dwarka.

Okha Jetty is 30 KM from Dwarka, reach here by road and then take 15 minutes lunch journey by sea to reach Bet Dwarka.

Boats are huge and starts only when it is badly full. Journey will take 15 minutes in sea and the ticket is Rs 20 per person.

But if you want to hire a personal boat, you have to shell out Rs 4000 for that.

Amidst the clean blue sky and hovering sea gulls making beautiful sound, this ride make you calm and soothing cool breeze while sun was shinning was like a tranquilizer for me. It’s very entertaining to see them catch the food thrown towards them. When the boat starts, they follow us for some time and then drop off.

Archaeological remains found under the sea suggest that there were settlements of the Harappan civilization from the Late Harappan Period or immediately after it, from the Indus Valley Civilization.

After getting down at the jetty at Bet Dwarka, I walked for nearly 700 meters to reach Lord Krishna temple. Hand pulled Trolley is available to take elderly persons upto the 500 meters from Jetty. Autos are also available to take you to doorstep of temple.

One of the pandas (priests) gathers everybody around, including me, and leads us into a room. There, he starts off with legends and stories of the temple and ends up talking about voluntary donations.

After a long wait, I finally get a glimpse of the deity when the curtain is drawn aside and the aarti begins. Later, one of the pandas gives me a quick tour of the cluster of old small temples.

I rushed to catch the boat as last boat leaves at 12.30 p.m. but then I was told during the rush hours, they ply after that also. Again, a crowded boat and before the lunch I had to visit the Rukmini Temple dedicated to Krishna’s wife, Rukmini.

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Rukmini Temple has a legend A beautiful nearly 1600 years old temple dedicated to Krishna’s queen, is located in a deserted area. Its intricate carvings have made it a nationally protected monument.

The temple stands about 2 km away from the Dwarkadhish Temple in Dwarka.

The is outside the city, related to it has a story. Standing alone next to a small water body with lots of birds in it, the temple probably belongs to 12th CE contemporary of the main part of Dwarkadhish temple.

The temple has a tall Shikhara that still has old carvings on it. Many Madanikas or beautiful women carved on a panel that goes across the Shikhara. The base is an inverted lotus, followed by a row of elephants. Niches have Vishnu images. A typical Nagar style of temple architecture is on display. A bright saffron flag flutters on top of the Shikhara. The erosion of stone due to the proximity of the sea can be seen.

First priest told me the story and then only one can enter in the temple in a batch. I was intrigued when I saw her idol. All all around there are paintings depicting the legends associated with her.

The story goes that Rishi Durvasa, who happens to be the Kul Guru of Yadavas, had his ashram at Pindara – some distance away from Dwarka. Krishna and Rukmini went over to invite him for food with all their chariots. Remember, Rishi Durvasa was known for his bad temper and quick anger. He agreed to come but, on a condition, that the chariot would not be drawn by horses or any other animals but by Krishna and Rukmini themselves.

They agreed.

After a while she felt thirsty. Krishna pressed his right toe into the earth and out came the Ganga. She had water.

She was so thirsty that she forgot to offer it to Rishi Durvasa first. This made him angry and he cursed that the couple would be separated and live apart. This is why Rukmini’s temple is away from the Dwarkadhish temple.

Rishi Durvasa cursed that Dwarka would be infertile and nothing would grow here. That also remains true to this date – the dry land around Dwarka has nothing growing here. Here devotees donate water and get water in the form of ‘Prasad’ In the evening I was excited to visit Shivrajpur Beach.

Shivrajpur Beach-a perfect location to enjoy Located at 12 km from Dwarka, Shivrajpur Beach is a beautiful beach with clear water and white sand. It has received the coveted international Blue Flag certification. White, velvety sand and blue water forced me to run like a child and play with the waves touching my feet. I don’t want to miss a single shot here, so kept clicking pictures and eager to capture the sunset also. Here water is shallow and calm as compared to several other beaches. Here, people are allowed to bath, swim and play with the water in the marked area. So, don’t forget to take swimwear along. If you have forgotten to carry your swimsuit, you can rent one from one of the stores at the beach with a nominal charge of Rs 50 for adults and some deposit money which will be returned after you handover the swimsuits.

Corals, crabs can be found at the beach and if you’re lucky enough you may spot Dolphins too! Although I was not lucky, but yes I had enjoyed and soaked in sunset, which is like in any beach is the most enchanting experience for anyone.

Shivrajpur Beach doesn’t have a place where tourists can have their fill of food and beverages, I think that is the reason I don’t find garbage scattered here-there.

If you want to eat something sitting at the beach, bring some packed snacks, but don’t leave empty packets or wastage on the beach to save its beauty and cleanliness.

Very minimal charges you have to pay.

For adults it is 20 rupees on weekdays and 30 Rs on weekends, for children 10 rupees and Rs 15 respectively. As Gujarat has a harsh temperature, so keep your

sunglasses, sunscreen, and comfortable footwear so that you can walk on the sand, or barefoot is the best option I would suggest. etc.

Next morning, I had a flight from Rajkot to Delhi. I came back from there, but still soaked in the spiritual and architectural beauty and ripples of water.

How to reach Dwarka is on the state highway from Jamnagar to Dwarka. Direct buses available from Jamnagar and Ahmedabad. Train Dwarka is a station on the Ahmedabad-Okha broad gauge railway line, with trains connecting it to Jamnagar (137 km), Rajkot (217 km) and Ahmedabad (471 km), and some trains that continue all the way down the coast through Vadodara, Surat, Mumbai, Goa, Karnataka, to the southern tip of India in Kerala.

Nearest airport is Jamnagar (137 km), bur you can land at Rajkot also and from there hire a cab.

Accommodation Dwarka is a less populated place, but there are plenty of hotels, Dharamshalas available for all type of devotees. Little away from busy temple area near the lighthouse some luxury hotels are there.

Rakesh Bansal CEO, Amadeus, India & Subcontinent

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23 Interview Executive Conversations: An Interview with Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus, India & Subcontinent

‘Technology & innovation to emerge as powerful change enablers’ According to Rakesh Bansal, CEO, Amadeus, India & Subcontinent, in the postCovid-19, as the focus shifts towards digital transformation, technology and innovation will emerge as powerful change enablers on the road to recovery. He adds, “In today’s evolving landscape and the coming times, travel providers need to use the latest technology and automation.” Amadeus sees technology playing a key role in helping the industry deliver a frictionless and safe traveller experience in areas such as health status indication, travel information and contact and touch-less solutions. The first lesson from the pandemic, as per Bansal, is that customer service has to be a priority. Here are excerpts of his interview with TnH: Words by Prem Kumar

“

The success of the travel industry hinges on our collective ability to adapt, innovate, and collaborate to make travel easier, safer and more seamless than ever before.

“

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Q. 2020 was an unprecedented year for the tourism sector.

How was the year for Amadeus India?

There is no part of the world that has not been impacted by COVID-19. It was a challenging year particularly for the travel and tourism industry. Amadeus’ business was impacted by the global drop in air traffic, just as that of our customers and partners.

Although the pandemic has had a long-lasting effect on all of us, it also brought us closer as an industry.

Q. How did you cope with the situation caused by the pandemic, lead your people and manage your operations?

During the time of uncertainty and change with COVID-19, we were more focused than ever to ensure the health and safety of our employees, to continue supporting our customers, and to secure the continuity of our operations.

Despite the disruption, our commitment to providing customers with the best possible service, around the clock, was unwavering. This meant continuing to serve them as smoothly as possible, without interruption; centralizing our focus on our day-to-day operations to ensure stability.

COVID-19 caused an unprecedented situation in the travel industry which saw and is continuing to see a significant number of cancelled flights and booking changes. In the face of such disruption, our teams have worked around the clock to support our customers in re-accommodating travellers, while all the time maintaining a stable system. We have been working with our airline partners and subscribers to extend the validity of impacted PNRs from four days to up to one year which will help facilitate traveller servicing during this challenging time. We undertook several other measures as well.

Q. What new challenges and opportunities do you see for companies like yours in the post-Covid world?

We know technology and innovation will emerge as powerful change enablers on the road to recovery as corporations shift focus towards digital transformation. In today’s evolving landscape and the coming times, travel providers need to use the latest technology and automation, with contactless being a key requirement.

COVID-19 has unquestionably accelerated the adoption of new technologies within hotels. From replacing tangible restaurant menus and paper in-room compendiums with scannable QR codes to contactless hotel check-in capabilities, mobile room keys, touchless payments, and in-app ordering and appointmentsbooking, almost every aspect of the hospitality experience can now be accessed through guests’ own mobile devices, provided that hotels have adopted the right software.

With regards to airports, in the near future, we expect airports in India to introduce new technologies and a greater level of automation to all of their processes. Contactless technologies are likely to become commonplace so that passengers can move from check-in to boarding in a more safe and seamless way. This could range from contactless check-in kiosks to biometric security checks. We also expect airports to adopt a range of technologies to reduce crowds and queues within the terminal buildings, to meet new demands for social distancing. The introduction of off-site passenger handling services – such as check-in and bag drop services outside the airport terminal at railway stations, conference and sporting venues, and hotels – is likely to be one such development. Mobile check-in and bag drop stations could also be placed at airport away from traditional check-in areas, such as at the airport entrance or in the car park, to add extra capacity on demand. Other developments could include the use of multi-

lingual robots to help with passenger way-finding; AI-powered signage to direct passengers to avoid crowds; and the use of crowd management technologies to ensure social distancing policies are being followed. Many airports had already begun laying down a blueprint for digital transformation before Covid-19, but the pandemic will inevitably accelerate adoption, which is good news for passengers who will benefit from a more frictionless experience in the future.

Enabling safe travel is a top priority for the industry. Amadeus sees a key role for technology in helping the industry deliver a frictionless and safe traveller experience. We specifically see technology helping in three key areas such as health status indication, travel information and contact and touchless solutions.

Q. How will the pandemic influence your priorities for the New Year?

It will take a community response to get the world travelling again. We’re committed to working together with our customers, partners and the wider industry to rethink travel and reignite traveller confidence, ensuring it continues to be a key driver of global progress, positivity and prosperity. The success of the travel industry hinges on our collective ability to adapt, innovate, and collaborate to make travel easier, safer and more seamless than ever before.

Q. How do you see IATA’s NDC (New Distribution Capabilities) enabling the travel industry to transform the way air products are retailed to corporations, leisure and business travellers?

Despite the unprecedented crisis that we are still navigating, NDC remains just as important as it was before. In fact, NDC is even more crucial today, as it is one of the paths to recover and leapfrog into better retailing for the travel industry. Now is not the time to take the foot off the pedal. It’s time to double down, triple down, and focus on the path of the future.

COVID-19 has shown us that during disruption, travel companies deal with an extraordinarily high volume of transactions encompassing a complex set of servicing requirements. Ensuring consistency in API interpretation and implementation will mean we can handle this type of peak efficiently via NDC technology in the future. Additionally, it has become clearer that quick and efficient communications are critical in times of uncertainty and disruption. Fortunately, NDC can improve customer service and provide reassuring information relevant to passenger’s concerns, whilst still allowing airlines to outline the offer more clearly – it’s about enabling precise communication and sophisticated retailing techniques.

One of the partly fulfilled promises of the NDC standard is that it enables airlines to deliver new kinds of content and packages to travellers. This is a strength which will become even more valuable in the future. Now is the time for the travel industry to ask what these unique and personalized offers can look like, and how they can help passengers feel safe; maybe lounge access will become even more valuable, or perhaps travellers will want the assurance of priority boarding in staggered boarding times, or extra space between passengers.

NDC is one, yet critical, enabler in the larger vision of enhanced travel retailing. NDC is here to stay. It provides great benefits for airlines, travel agencies, corporations, travellers and the whole industry.

“

The past ten months have seen some remarkable initiatives and remind us that crisis can be both a destructive and creative force for innovation. The first thing that we’ve learnt is that customer service has to be a priority.

“

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Q. How much progress have you made towards the adoption of NDC in India? Has the pandemic in anyway affected your NDC adoption plans?

Across Asia, we are working with multiple airlines and travel sellers through our NDC [X] program. Airlines such as Japan Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines are all on board with our NDC [X] program in order to make their content bookable by travel sellers through our Amadeus Travel Platform.

Most recently, we were very proud to announce our latest distribution deal with Singapore Airlines to bring their content via NDC to travel sellers. This includes ancillary services such as seat selection, excess baggage, special fares, and personalized merchandising offers for loyalty members and corporate travellers.

The content will be available in the Amadeus NDC-enabled solutions used by agents today, providing a familiar and efficient booking environment. The Amadeus Travel Platform includes critical servicing functionalities that agents need, such as the cancellation, void, refund and modification of NDC bookings.

To support the NDC standardization and help travel agencies book content via NDC, we are continuing to focus on the integration of servicing capabilities in our NDC-enabled solutions, like cancellations and ticket changes.

NDC remains a priority, despite the pandemic. And don’t just take our word for it; our customers are saying the same too! Just recently, American Airlines published a blog post on our website entitled “NDC remains critical in challenging times.”

Q. In what ways do you think the lessons and experiences of the pandemic are going to drive innovation in travel technology?

The past 10 months have seen some remarkable initiatives that remind us that crises can be both destructive and creative forces for innovation. The first thing that we’ve learnt is that customer service has to be a priority. When global air travel restarts, travellers are likely to be more sensitive than ever as to how their flight reservations will be serviced; we must keep this in mind as while developing the NDC standard. Selling a ticket via NDC technology isn’t enough – we need to develop solutions that make it easy for those flights to be cancelled, changed, or modified (perhaps several times). Today when quick and efficient communications are critical, NDC standard can improve customer service. At times like these, this feature is worth investing in.

COVID-19 has acted as an accelerator of change, with travellers now demanding new services and technology. Today digital is at the forefront more than ever, in terms of contactless tech, online payments, chatbots, automation, machine learning etc.

In travel, one opportunity for creativity has been the change in travellers’ expectations. There is now much more demand for self-service at the airport, meaning the potential applications of biometric technologies have increased dramatically. Additionally, there is also a greater need for destination-specific health information. The demands on the travel industry are changing and these new expectations extend to how people pay for travel.

At Amadeus, we’ve spoken about the benefits of a transition to digital payments for quite some time, often in the context of its potential to enable truly frictionless payments for travellers. The present growth in the popularity of digital payments presents us with a once in a generation opportunity to harness new technology that brings down the cost of payments and improves the payment experience. Helping people to pay in the way that they feel most comfortable is just one step on the journey towards a frictionless

travel experience.

Informed by over 6,000 travellers across France, Germany, India, Singapore, UK and US, a recent global traveller study commissioned by Amadeus found that technology plays a crucial role in supporting recovery, as over 4 in 5 (84%) travellers said technology would increase their confidence to travel in the next 12 months by addressing concerns around mixing with crowds, social distancing and physical touch-points.

The priorities Indian travellers wanted from technology were for it to: • Minimize face-to-face or physical contact with others • Reduce queues and congestion in public places • Protect financial data and personal information • Minimize the requirement for physical documents Hence, mobile applications, self-service portals, contactless payments and transactions etc. would be the focus in the coming times. The proliferation of smartphones, internet, the advent of 5G and technology-driven tools and platforms will be acting as a catalyst for speedy digitisation of the travel sector.

Q. What strategy have you adopted to maintain your brand loyalty amongst customers?

Our priority has always been to empower Amadeus subscribers with the latest and most technically advanced automated products and customized solutions. We have helped in automation and improving efficiencies through Amadeus Selling Platform Connect and value-added cutting edge technology solutions, that has enhanced our brand loyalty.

Our brand loyalty strategy involves working closely with our partners, to provide them our unstinting 24X7 support and solutions that improve their efficiency, reduce workload. We also offer technology which helps them ensure enhanced traveller experiences.

Amadeus has been collaborating with its subscribers, partners and the travel industry’s movers and shakers to rethink the future of travel and has provided solutions to help the partners sail through the unprecedented times, further strengthening our brand loyalty.

Mita Vinay Founder, Bodhsara

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29 Wellness Guide

Wellness Tips: 7 natural techniques to come out of your dark emotions Depression and anxiety are one of the natural emotions in human beings. Well, these emotions are not as bad as we perceive them to be. In my experience, I feel they are necessary emotions to experience for us humans. Having said this, I don’t mean we stay with the said emotions for long. Staying with these emotions can weaken the mind.

Once the mind starts weakening coming back becomes tough. Let’s look at some natural techniques to come out of these dark emotions.

Words by Mita Vinay

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Depression and anxiety are one of the natural emotions in human beings. Well, these emotions are not as bad as we perceive them to be. In my experience, I feel they are necessary emotions to experience for us humans. Having said this, I don’t mean we stay with the said emotions for long. Staying with these emotions can weaken the mind. Once the mind starts weakening coming back becomes tough. Let’s look at some natural techniques to come out of these dark emotions.

Change the place, change the energies: As I mentioned, depression and anxiety are emotions, they will amplify if one stays in the same space bouncing the same energies. However, one can see a great change in overcoming these emotions just by moving out of that space and energy. Try moving out from your usual environment for a few days and see the difference.

Adopt a new habit: This technique is extremely beneficial to come out of these emotions. Try adopting habits that can interest you, such as walking, learning a musical instrument, singing (why not), reading, painting, solving puzzles. There’s a lot of options to choose from. Now, the science behind how adopting a new habit can help in combating anxiety and depression. When we adopt a habit and invest our time in learning it, our frontal brain gets activated during the time we invest in learning. This gives enough time for the hindbrain to relax and rejuvenate. This helps in strengthening the mind and strengthens overall function in our headspace.

Yoga and Excercise: we are aware that yoga aligns with mind body and breath. Try and include heart opening Asanas. An intense yogasana practice followed by breathing exercise must show great results. Similarly, any form of exercise should be practiced.

Breathing and awareness: This is my mantra always to beat any imbalances in the body. Usually, anxiety and depression also disturb the breathing patterns and rhythms. Just being aware of the changes in this subtle yet one of the most important functions of our body can help us navigate back to a sound mental health.

Connect with nature: walk on a green patch of grass, walk on sand, crush dry leaves with your feet. Touch a tree, hug a tree. Gaze at a morning sky or passing clouds or stars and moon. watch the sunrise or sunset. Just connect your mind body and breath with nature. You will see nothing is stagnated, everything is moving and embracing new changes all the time. This is inspiring to make the changes within.

Chanting: Everything around and within us is a vibration. Chanting creates vibrations that help in altering the imbalances in our body. Chant and absorb the vibration and see the magic it brings within your body. The chanting activity should be continued for a good amount of time to see the subtle but almost permanent results it brings.

Patience is the key here.

Salt Bath: Salt has many properties including removing the negative energies. In India and many countries. Salt is extensively used to wade off the imbalance energies. We, in India, have been following this technique of holding some salt in the fist and rotate it on our loved one’s head to ease out the Nazar. Similarly, a salt bath can help a person feel very light and relaxed. Take a spoon of rock salt or Himalayan pink salt, add it into the bucket of warm water and rinse your body with it.

See the difference it makes in overall mood lift.

Lajpat Rai Managing Director, Lotus Trans Travels

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33 Trade Talks

‘Need to boost domestic demand to survive through the current crisis’ According to Lajpat Rai, Managing Director of Lotus Trans Travels, who is regarded as an expert on Buddhist Circuit and Japanese market, the focus should be on the domestic market to generate travel demands as inbound tourism remains halted. Speaking to TnH, Rai, also a hotelier having hotels on the Buddhist circuit, says that rather than seeking any financial relief from the government, the tourism industry should seek a favourable policy from the policymakers.

Words by Prem Kumar

“As a policy, the ministries of tourism, culture, education, youth affairs, civil aviation and railways can be asked to spend 5% of their budgets on the promotion of education tours; this will give a huge boost to domestic tourism. Similar measures can be taken by the state governments”

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Devastated by the pandemic, India’s tourism industry is desperate for some sorts of financial support from the government, but none has come so far; the government has its own limitations. Its finance health is stressed due to the same pandemic. “While the tourism industry needs financial aid, at present no government (the centre’s or states’) is in a position to offer any financial support to the sector because of their own precarious financial health,” Rai says, adding that the need of the hour is to boost domestic demand for travel to survive through the current crisis.

Then what’s way forward?

According to Rai, rather than seeking any relief from the government, the tourism industry should seek a favourable policy from the policymakers. He says that whichever industry you see flourishing in India, whether it is aviation or IT or telecommunication, it is because of the government’s favourable policy; no sector can flourish without the government’s policy support.

According to Rai, organisations like IATO should work to bring such policies that bolster growth in the tourism sector. He feels that the government’s policy works as a catalyst for growth.

Besides the liquidity crunch, another big challenge that the industry is facing today is the lack of demand.

International flights are still suspended, so there is no inbound traffic. Experts believe that even if international flights restart their operations, there is little hope of any substantial improvement in inbound tourism in the next one to one and a half year, in view of the prevailing global situation. Therefore, there is an urgency to create demand for tourism domestically so that the industry can survive and wait for good times.

The good thing is that the pandemic is largely under control in India, and the country has a big domestic market for tourism. Even those who prefer to fly abroad for holidays have no choice but to travel inside the country in the present situation.

“It is time to create demand for tourism, and until inbound tourism recovers, which will take longer time, domestic tourism is the only hope for survival, and therefore, there is a need to focus domestic tourism,” says Rai. To this end, Rai suggests that both the central and state governments should encourage and incentivise educational tours by educational institutions, family tours, spiritual tours, all in organised ways. In his view, education/study tours for students and teachers should be made mandatory for every educational institution.

He noted that India has about 1.5 million educational institutes and domestic tourism will see a surge even if 10% of them organise educational tours. “You know it is easier for kids to learn by seeing than through books.

Students can also be given marks for their participation in educational trips. Education tours will not only boost tourism demands but also broaden the knowledge and perspectives of students as well as teachers, promote cultural integration in the country,” said Rai. “But educational tours will grow significantly only if the government’s policies support such tourism, therefore

we need a favourable policy framework for promoting educational tours,” added Rai. According to him, the lack of infrastructure should not be a problem. Demand creates its own supply. This is normal economics.

Infrastructure will come up once educational tours grow.

Government’s role At present unemployment is a big challenge for the government; with a large number of unemployed youth in search of jobs. If tourism grows due to government policies, lots of jobs will be created as tourism is known to be a highly labour-intensive industry. The travel and hospitality industry is also known to favour youth in offering jobs.

“We as the industry should persuade the government to bring such policy measures that promote educational tours. The government should provide tax incentives for such tours under LTC and through other measures.

Corporates can also be asked to finance educational tours under CSR,” says Rai. “As a policy, the ministries of tourism, culture, education, youth affairs, civil aviation and railways can be asked to spend 5% of their budgets on the promotion of education tours; this will give a huge boost to domestic tourism. Similar measures can be taken by the state governments,” says Rai, adding further that if it is done, there would be no need for governments to provide subsidy to the tourism sector.

If educational tours grow, governments will also benefit in the form of taxes. Such tours should be promoted during the off-season when hotels occupancy is low.

This will make the educational tour package attractive, according to Rai. Rai feels that governments should prioritise domestic tourism, and develop infrastructure keeping the needs of domestic travellers. The development of hotels should also be encouraged in remote areas with tourism potential. Such areas and other off-beat destinations should be connected with flights and better roads. All tourist facilities should be developed in such places.

According to Rai, all governments should incentivise domestic air travel by reducing taxes on ATF, which will also boost domestic travel.

Sarab Jit Singh Managing Director of Travelite (India), & former Vice-Chairman of FAITH

37 Trade Talks

Kick-start marketing now to regain pre-Covid FTA number For inbound, India’s immediate target should be to regain its pre-Covid level of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs), according to Sarab Jit Singh. The country can achieve this target within two years of restarting its destination marketing activities provided these are conducted by the private sector.

Words by Prem Kumar

“In order to achieve the pre-Covid level of FTAs at the earliest, India needs to restart its marketing activities immediately and with a new approach, with the private sector at the forefront. The Government has to adopt a completely different approach to marketing and not the way it had handled tourism so far.”

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Covid-19 has been a crisis like no other. Tourism is probably the worst-hit, first to be affected, last to recover and this recovery could be painfully long at the cost of billions in revenues and millions of jobs unless urgent and effective action is taken.

The plight of Indian Inbound is more miserable, with little effort forthcoming to revive it. Even before the pandemic, the state of Indian tourism was not to be content with it. In 2019, India received about 11 million foreign tourists that can’t be termed a remarkable figure considering the country’s vast size and diversity.

Considering the significant role that tourism plays in our economy, the number of people it employs, its survival and early revival is very important. Even the government is losing vast revenues due to stagnation in the tourism sector. Although the Government recognises the role of tourism in the economy but perhaps it is hoping that the sector will bounce back on its own as the rest of the economy recovers. That’s not going to happen. The sector needs support, handholding, but more than that innovation and ideas need to emerge from the crisis.

Immediate Priorities & Target According to Sarab Jit Singh, Managing Director of Travelite (India), and former Vice-Chairman of FAITH, the government’s and the industry’s immediate priority should be to restart marketing activities to regain the lost ground that is “the pre-Covid level of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in two years.” Singh has also served in IATO as its Sr. Vice President.

The industry veteran suggests that the government and the industry must work in tandem and bring the private sector at the forefront as far as marketing India as a tourist destination is concerned. “With the pandemic considerably in check in the country and our rate of deaths from the Covid much lower, India is wellpositioned to take advantage of this better situation and revive its tourism sector much early. In order to achieve the pre-Covid level of FTAs at the earliest, India needs to restart its marketing activities immediately and with a new approach, with the private sector at the forefront,” said Singh while adding, “The Government has to adopt a completely different approach to marketing and not the way it had handled tourism so far.”

Singh bats for the leadership role for the private sector in marketing. According to him, destination marketing activities should be driven collectively by the private sector, with the Government’s role limited to setting the target, providing funds and monitoring the outcome.

“India can receive annual 11 million tourists within two years from the day it starts its private sector-driven marketing activities,” Singh stressed.

While batting for the leadership role for FAITH, the federation of all the national travel, tourism and hospitality trade bodies, in marketing India, Singh said, “FAITH being the umbrella body of India’s Travel & Tourism industry is the right organisation to plan and organise destination marketing and promotional activities on behalf of the government. Like CII or FICCI, which do promotional activities on behalf of

many union ministries, FAITH can do the same for inbound tourism.”

He added, “If it is given the mandate, FAITH will develop appropriate infrastructure and hire experts to market India overseas. The association will look after every aspect of marketing. FAITH will be responsible for formulating marketing plans, executing them and achieve the given target. It will be held accountable if it misses the target. All marketing activities of FAITH will be in alignment with the policy and objectives of the Government.”

Effective collaboration between government and private players can do wonder for India’s tourism sector. Singh says that the government has its own style of working which doesn’t allow for faster decisionmaking in line with today’s demand and competitive tourism marketing and promotion; and therefore, the government should not get directly involved in marketing. “The private sector is more suitable to promote India. The Ministry of Tourism (MOT) should focus on other activities like policy-making and their effective implementation,” he stresses.

Key points: With the pandemic considerably under control in the country, India is better-positioned to revive its inbound tourism sector early on.

India’s immediate target should be to regain its preCovid FTA number in two years.

To achieve the pre-Covid level of inbound tourism at the earliest, India needs to restart its marketing activities immediately with a new approach.

Destination marketing to be driven by the private sector.

Government’s role shall be limited to providing broader guidance, funds and monitoring the outcome.

FAITH should play a leading role in marketing India.

www.tnhglobal.com

RNI NO: DELENG/2010/33723 | DATE OF PUBLISHING: 4th OF THE MONTH