Ch april 2005

April 2005

Rs 60

Vol II No.1

“WE ARE BOOMING”

Renuka Choudhary on India’s dream run in tourisim

PLUS: Air India’s ‘low cost’ adventure, Off the record, guest column and the Incredible India saga

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

Unlimited options

O

NE OF the great pros of an open sky policy is that it offers the passengers unlimited options and competing fares that are getting lower by the day. Beginning next month, Jet Air and Air Sahara will be flying to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.The two airlines already fly to Colombo and Kathmandu.But in real terms this is perhaps the first foray overseas to be topped off by the irresistible London operations that are likely to begin in the next few weeks.

Indian Airlines did first feel the pinch of the open skies invasion when Sahara and Jet offered rock bottom prices on their Colombo sector.Naturally,IA replied with its own steep drop in fares-both passenger and cargo-- to offset the damage that that the two private operators were causing it. Of course the airline bled for the first few weeks before regrouping and counter attacking with its own slew of packages and marketing options.

The result is that IA is now limping back to its load factor on the Colombo sector. But the damage, though, continues in other forms. Sahara’s partner, Cathy continues to lift passengers from Colombo to the Far East and onwards to the US West coast. And Jet has a first rate relationship with Emirates which in any case own Air Lanka.

In normal times most of them would have gone to KL or Singapore by IA or AI.Now they holiday in Sri Lanka and fly onwards.

Now that Jet and Sahara are themselves flying to the Far East what happens to their tie up with Cathy or Air Lanka or Emirates? Will that slowly wither away? Or will that continue as before and will they continue to hope that the market will expand with lower and lower fares? Well, the results of the first days must come as a great energizer for both Air Sahara and Jet. Sahara’s irresistible Rs 10,000 return fare has been sold out for a whole month and Jet hopes to do even better with its slightly pricier offering. But both CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

fares are still cheaper than the Rs 16000 plus which is the standard on this sector.

While the peak summer months may really not be the time for reflection on load factors, its is evident that IA will have to rework its strategy for the lean season. And for Jet and Sahara once the first flush of global operations wears away they will realize what it means to operate in a cut throat environ where undercutting each other may not be the best solution to grow. But is there a way out or is it simply a question of constantly improving your product, tantalizing the market with better and better options and waiting for the cake to grow? Only time will tell.

WHAT A TRAGEDY The tragic death of O P Jindal, Surendra Singh and the pilot of the Jindal Group helicopter, Group Captain Chauhan in a helicopter crash near Saharanpur raises far too many questions that have been left unanswered for far too long. The government had instituted a committee after the tragic accident that killed Madhavrao Scindia and eight others in a plane crash some five years back. Two years back, an enquiry commission had given a detailed report after the death of the Lok Sabha Speaker G M C Bala Yogi in a chopper crash near Hyderabad.

Both the enquiry reports and the report on the safety and maintenance of non-scheduled aircrafts are gathering dust. Why is it that the government moving ahead at full throttle to modernize Indian aviation not implementing these reports is truly bewildering. If one were to just look at these reports it would be apparent that the committee had recommended strict guidelines that need to be followed before the licences of these fixed wing and helicopters were renewed. Clearly it is not a priority. Hopefully the latest tragedy will force the Civil Aviation Ministry to wake up and issue stringent guidelines at the soonest.

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cont

ARTICLES NEWS VIEWS EDITS INTERVIEWS CLIPPINGS TRAVEL & TOURISIM PROFILES NEWS DIGEST

"There is so much positive energy"

Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhary unfolds her blueprint to unleash the tourism potential of the country

20 Off the record Poaching problem

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Guest column Rathi Viney Jha Secy Gen WTTC India

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

ents Express launch

R Krishnan: exciting low cost venture of the Maharaja

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CRUISING HEIGHTS RENU MITTAL Editor

RITU BARARIA Co-ordinating Editor

DUSHYANT PARASHAR Creative Director

News Snippets

32 The Making of Brand India

44 News Digest

Ritu Bararia on the Incredible India saga

Aviation: Jetsgo closes doors Tourism: WTO have a new entrant

Where are the rooms?

Rabindra Seth:an urgent need for more rooms if tourism has to really take off

Air Sahara gets new colours

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

BHART BHARDWAJ Art Director

RAJIV K. SINGH Gen. Manager (Admn) Editorial & Marketing office: D-11, Nizamuddin (East), New Delhi-110 014 Tel: 51825251/50, Fax: 51825250 All information in CRUISING HEIGHTS is derived from sources we consider reliable. It is passed on to our readers without any responsibility on our part.

Opinions/views expressed by third parties in abstract or in interviews are not necessarily shared by us.

Material appearing in the magazine cannot be reproduced in whole or in parts without prior permission. the publisher assumes no responsibilty for material lost or damaged in transit. The publisher reserves the right to refuse, withdraw or otherwise deal with all advertisements without explanation. All advertisements must comply with the Indian Advertisements Code. the publisher will not be liable for any loss caused by any delay in publication, error or failure of advertisement to appear.

Published and edited by Renu Mittal for and on behalf of Newsline Publications Pvt Ltd. D-11 (basement), Nizamuddin East, New Delhi-110014 and printed by Bhart Bhardwaj at Kaveri print process, 114 Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi.

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OFF THE RECORD

Poaching problems

I

t was bound to come sooner rather than later. Well, one is talking about the angry risposte from Air Deccan at the frenzied poaching by fellow Bangalorean Vijay Mallaya. After having gently watched his pilots quitting in droves, Captain Gopinath has decided that the best way forward is to get the courts to intervene and restrain Kingfisher Airlines from weaning away his pilots. But the ones who should be most relieved at the battle is Indian Airlines, in particular its subsidiary Alliance Air. For years they have been at the receiving end of the poaching game. When the open skies policy was first enunciated, their cabin crew left by the dozens for Jet, Sahara, Damania and who have you. But soon the disillusioned lot wanted to return back to the fold. The problem was that IA couldn’t take them back with their seniority intact. It was then that Alliance

(with the all Boeing IA fleet) was carved out as a separate entity to take these pilots on contract. Now the poaching has begun again. But there is still a core group that is simply unwilling to move anywhere because they are waiting for the 319s to arrive. They should be joining the Alliance fleet for the winter schedule. Interestingly Captain Gopinath was left stranded with his Airbus in Chennai when two of his pilots left “overnight without telling me” to join Kingfisher. While Deccan has got a positive court order restraining others from poaching, Minister Praful Patel is rather pleased with the developments. He may not say it in public, but privately the good man accepts that everyone including his friend Naresh have been guilty of picking the best and the brightest from IA.Off the record, he says three cheers to Gopinath for seizing the initiative.

Pressure cooker appointment Why has Amod Sharma got the in-flight department in the recent reshuffle in Air India? Those in the know say that Sharma is close to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and the job comes courtesy the boss at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan.Others say that Sharma has always been close to all Ministers and it will be unfair to brand him as a Praful man. After all does he not deal with all corporate affairs issue of the Maharaja? Anyway to cut a long story short, Amod will have his hands full putting in place the in-flight up gradation programme underlined by Mantriji. Like Jitendra Bharagava, AI Director (PR) who held the job earlier, Amod will perhaps soon

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

realise what a thankless job in-flight is. It’s a round the clock high pressure job and if add the VVIP flights to the regular schedule then it isn’t difficult to understand why its such a pressure cooker job. And like Bharagava before him, its two in one chore for Sharmahe gets to keep his original portfolio Corporate Affairs and handles the hostesses and pursers as well. That apart there have been other changes too at AI: Shireen Lalvani is the new Director (planning).She was earlier working under AI’s Commercial Director V K Verma .D S Kohli has been appointed as the new Regional Director at Delhi.

OFF THE RECORD

Improving the profile First off the mark in brushing up their global image is the Airports Authority of India (AAI).In the face of the massive modernization drive and the global nature of their partnerships, AAI decided that it was time that it got a PR agency to look after its interests, particularly outside the country.

After a long and hard search the Authority has settled in on Melcole, a company that will look after all aspects of its image makeover. Not far behind is Air India who has also decided to hire a PR agency to look after their international PR work. April 8 is the last day for the prospective PR agencies to submit their bids and we should know later this month on who will handle the Maharaja. Interestingly the first to go global in its campaign was the Department of Tourism whose Incredible India campaign was a stupendous success thanks to its advertising, marketing and PR blitz.

some initial reservations on the nomination of Singh for the top job, but gave in on some persuasion by Secretary Ajay Prasad and AI CMD V K Tulasi Das.Das and Singh both belong to the Tripura cadre of the IAS and both go back a long way.Infact, when Tulasi Das was first appointed as AI’s boss, there were stories in Delhi that Singh had played an instrumental role in paving the way for him in the then Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy’s durbar. The file has come back with the observation that the due process of selection hasn’t been followed. In other words, what the Cabinet Secretary is trying to convey is simple: please set up a selection committee, follow the due process of selection and send us a short list to choose from. There are now two things that Praful Patel can do.

One, he can follow the procedure and still send Singh as the first of his three choices.Second; he can have an outside nominee on the panel. Or else he can follow the route Indian Airlines took for Alliance.

That would mean choosing from any of the whole time directors on AI and seconding them as the MD of the new outfit. That would straight away rule out both Singh and any outside nominee. Would Praful like that route? Would it suit him? Considering that Singh was to be headquarted in Delhi for AI Express if his appointment had gone through, Mantriji may still like a civil servant for this job.

Movement at Capa?

Who’ll get the job?

Now that the government has rejected the nomination of R K Singh as the MD of Air India Express, who’ll get the top job in AI’s low cost enterprise? No one knows and Mantriji is not talking. Apparently he had

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Is Kapil Kaul the flamboyant head of India operations at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation moving back to whole time aviation? There have been persistent rumours for some time now that Kaul, a former head of commercial operations at Air Sahara has been approached by several of the new players in the market to head their commercial operations.

Kaul is the aviation equivalent of a

computer geek, he loves the business, has a feel for it and understands the numbers. The toss up is whether he wants to continue with his ‘academic’ existence over move over to the excitement of the commercial shop floor. Maybe he should toss a coin to make up his mind.

Patience of an elephant!

Unlike his predecessors Shahnawaz Hussain and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Praful Patel has the patience of an elephant. In the last eight months there have been at least four appointments where he was desperate to shove in his candidate. But he was willing to wait for the dust to settle before he had his way.

And in none of the instances did he let those excepting his closest friends know what his intent was. There was one officer in Air India, one in Indian Airlines, one at the Airport Authority of India and one at Civil Aviation Ministry where he had his way after months of fishing and fishing diligently and patiently. Ask him about and he says with a twinkle in his eyes, “I don't know where you get your information from but I am comfortable with any officer.” Really? Then what about the short list in your pocket for appointments in the coming months

Berry for Indus?

Is Captain Berry who was heading the Delhi operations of Air India moving to Indus Air? Well, so far it’s just a rumour and it is all because his brother has joined Kapil Mohan in floating a new low cost venture.

But you never know. After serving the Maharaja for years, the Captain may be enthused by the excitement of a start up.

Watch this space for regular updates.

Transfers at AAI It happened on a weekend and those who got their orders won’t forget it in a hurry. After informal consultations with Mantriji, Airport Authority Chairman P Ramalingam has transferred a whole host of officers out of their comfortable cocoons to locations all over the country. The biggest surprise was Executive Director Inderjit Singh who has moved out to Planning.

Singh was actually transferred to Kolkata but later posted at headquarters. In his place, Ramalingam has posted Balbir Singh, a confidant who has been working in tandem with him for years.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

7

GUEST COLUMN

“I prefer high-value tourism over backpackers”

Tourism scenario in India Tourism in India is still in an evolving state. There certainly has been some difference in the overall tourism structure in India today, from what it was three years back.

Some of the issues have been resolved and tourism is definitely taking a move forward.

To a great extent tourism depends on the civil aviation policy and it is doing well now that we have liberalised the skies. Here again certain crucial issues need to be tackled: visa on arrival, rationalisation of taxes are key drivers in tourism promotion.

During the period of Mr Jagmohan as the Tourism Minister, the government decided to consolidate the infrastructure projects in the tourism sector which was a very good move.

There was a focussed attention on destination development with the change in objectives in the tenth plan document. Increased budgets were given for the first time to specific projects. In short, the fact that tourism as a sector is important to the economy because of the socio-economic benefits it brings in, was accepted.

Earlier, there were literally miniscule budgets that were allocated even at the central level. There were even projects that were sanctioned for 5 lakhs, 10 lakhs and a multiplicity of projects were sanctioned in each state. With the change in focus we came down to one destination per state per annum.

This meant a lot of money being pumped into one specific area and that is how destinations like Hampi, Bodhgaya, Kurukshetra, Ajanta and Ellora, began to receive great deal of money that falls in the Rs five crore plus bracket. A planned system of destination development came about.

Hence a lot of attention was paid to infrastructure development even during the previous Tourism Minister’s time. He paid per-

RATHI VINAY JHA Secy Gen WTTC India

Rathi Vinay Jha who recently took over as the Secretary General of the India initiative of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has been a long term tourism expert.

She retired recently as Secretary (Tourism) after a long and distinguished career in the IAS.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

sonal attention to lead the team both at the centre and at the state level to work out the planning, execution, etc. A few projects were completed during his tenure like the Red Fort, Bodhgaya, and Kurukshetra and many are still continuing because it takes years and years to complete major initiatives like developing Hampi takes years. However, Phase two has begun for many of these projects. For instance, in Hampi there were talks about a ‘sound and light’ show at the time when I was giving up my charge.

Almost three years down the lane, came the present minister (Ms Renuka Chowdhary). While the infrastructure development had been instituionalised, the kind of attention we needed to pay to create public attention and publicity at a ministerial level came with Ms Chowdhury. She led road shows all over the world and took a lot of personal interest in projecting India globally. In short, her focus has been on marketing and she is also taking forward the brand identity that was being built with the ‘Incredible India’ theme.

Let’s talk about the night bazaars. If we go to a country like South Korea, Thailand, etc., not only are there night bazaars but they have become established tourist attractions. For instance, in Bangkok every night there is a flower bazaar which has become a major tourist spot and is unique in its own way.

However, in India there has been a lot of skepticism whenever the minister talks about night bazaars. People ask about how, when, where and why and about the security aspect in a city like Delhi is inevitable.

We must not forget that if a night bazaar does come up, if it starts in a small manner in a nice tourist month, it will definitely succeed. Night bazaar does not necessarily mean a shopping experience; it means a complete cultural experience. This would include food,

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GUEST COLUMN crafts, and performing arts. In short the complete Indian experience.

Ms Chowdhury should get the credit for coming up with a lot of innovative ideas. A lot of groundwork has been started regarding the infrastructure problem. She is the one who felt the need to smarten up the service providers with the latest programme of Atithi Devo Bhava, which means to welcome the tourist with a smile.

Budget Tourism India has seen a lot of budget tourism. If you think of places like Goa, and for that matter, places like Hampi are having problems because of backpackers. Majority of such people come with very small amounts of money and they really live off the land.

They are not bringing anything to our account, why should we want budget tourists?Ultimately, our aim is to justify that tourism is bringing in a lot of value to the nation’s economy. How is it doing it?

It generates a good deal of employment; it gives lots of jobs to service providers; it adds to the domestic tourism revenue. If we get low budget backpackers, certain negative points come to light: One, they are not giving us any revenues, they are not spending anything on the country; two, they bring in a different kind of experience with them, they bring drugs to the country either to consume it themselves or to spread it around them.

They are terribly bad to our environment.

Tourism began to take a turn in 2003, peaked in 2004 and is gradually climbing up since then in our country. Have you noticed the revenue receipts simultaneously and the way they are climbing? Let’s suppose there was a 15 percent growth in the year 2003, the revenue receipt growth was much more, perhaps 22-23 percent. This clearly reflects high value tourism in this country, which is fantastic because the tourists are spending more.

They are better paying tourists and stay in better places. Hence, they do not go back with the image of our country as too poor having infrastructural problems and issues like hygiene.

These people come and stay in 5-stars, they go gaga about the whole experience and to me such tourists are the best brand ambassadors. I would definitely prefer a high value tourist who brings some value to my country rather than a budget tourist who adds nothing.

Here I must also add that a budget tourist is not always without value. There are different segments of budget tourists. One is the type who does not come as tourist but as traveller.

A traveller understands the country, wants to see the country because he has read about Indian history, civilization, heritage, culture, etc. He wants to experience and have a feel of what he has read. A tourist just comes with not much knowledge and mostly as part of a package tour.

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There was a focussed attention on destination development with the change in objectives in the tenth plan document.

Increased budgets were given for the first time to specific projects

We told all our tour operators, travel companies, hotels to use this logo very freely, it is copyright free.

Today, a lot of people talk about Incredible India which is highly motivating CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Hence, although budget tourism is important, it is the high value tourism that actually adds to the country’s revenue and credibility.

WTTC’s initiatives WTTC came to India 5 years ago in 2000.

The India Initiative has been interacting with a lot of opinion makers in the government, with the industry directly, with the media. It has had three sessions, in each of which all the constituencies came together and discussed issues concerning tourism.

People started thinking and understanding the issues and down the line there has been more recognition to tourism and greater understanding and sensitivity towards tourism issues. People used to think of tourism as an elitist activity and didn’t want to be an active participant in it. Now they understand thanks to the sensitizing that WTTC has been doing.

This is probably the right time and we must see the history of international organisations coming to India, PATA came to India in 2002 April for their annual meeting; in 2004 WTO’s Executive council came to Hyderabad for their meeting. It’s a natural corollary that another renowned international organisation like WTTC has come to India this year.

All this showcases the country in the international scenario and therefore reestablishes its credibility. There are many people who visit the country for the first time through such events. They may have heard things (good or bad) about India, hence it’s important for us to put our best foot forward for such an occasion. Also it gives an opportunity for our industry to establish a good network with the international organisations.

The theme of this year’s summit is ‘Realising the potential’ of tourism. The groundwork for this summit had started way back in JuneJuly 2004. This time there is a very impressive list of speakers and very good theme subjects have been chosen and the methodology used for interaction is also very good. There are going to be only four keynote speakers, the rest of all are debate sessions. This gives the people an opportunity to interact and ask questions. I have a feeling that it’s going to be so interactive and live that it will keep all the attendants alert and active.

WTTC basically talks to the industry, works out the issues of concern, we take them to opinion makers, discuss it with them, see how can we go about them. There is a lot to be done in the times to come since tourism is still a developing sector in this country particularly. India initiative members work for the tourism sector in our country, they come from the hospitality, travel & tourism. Naturally they are concerned about how to take tourism forward. I feel we will be able to discuss it at length very soon and probably define the priI orities of the programme for 2005-06.

“Kingfisher Airlines has been modelled on the globally known 'Jet Blue'. It will offer a single-class configuration to the travelling fraternity. We will provide a rich in-flight experience to the all-economy class of travellers and Kingfisher will certainly be a significant player in the Indian civil aviation sector.”

CAPT. GOPINATH

“Aircraft can be bought with or without the entertainment features embedded in it. It is only when one goes for retrofitting that costs really escalate.”

“My passengers should have frequency choice. It is the fundamental of business model for any airline. We will not have single-flight frequencies to any city. It should be a minimum of three.”

DGCA's move to raise age ceiling for pilots to 61

Demanding full infrastructure status for tourism industry

“The move will be a significant benefit for all airlines. The idea is very good. There is no reason why pilots here should retire early when in several countries, including Malaysia, the retirement age is 65. ”

“Tourism is growing and occupancy is good but we need huge investment to keep pace with the growth.

Tourism industry wants a level-playing field with industries like IT and income tax concessions for money to be reinvested for new projects. ”

LALIT SURI

laying the foundation of Rajiv Gandhi airport at Hyderabad “The civil aviation industry is one of the vital sectors the country has to focus now, more so because it will provide the required boost to the tourism industry by attracting international tourists, and earn foreign exchange for the country ”

SONIA GANDHI

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

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EXPRESS LAUNCH

An Express launch

by Air India!

Air India Express, the low cost subsidiary of the Maharaja will launch operations later this month.

R KRISHNAN analyses the options before AI as its move full stream ahead with its plans? Will it work? What are its options? What happens to its lucrative cargo operations and will there be a ‘domestic’ spin off as well. Also, the fallout of the no holds barred price war that will engulf the Indian skies as the summer begins and load factors soar higher and higher

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

A

ir India Express, the low cost airline promoted by Maharaja is all set to launch its services from April 29, 2005. It expects to operate 37 flights a week to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah of which 31 will connect Kerala and three flights each to be operated from New Delhi and Mumbai. Progressively more Indian cities such as Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, etc., will be added and Air India’s budget airline will connect SE Asian destinations like Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta.

According to a proposal cleared by Air India board, the country’s flag carrier is planning to buy 18 Boeing 737-800 aircraft over the next two years, and to start with, it is dry leasing three Boeings which will pro-

THE NEW AVATAAR: The bright colours of Air Express 737-800 at its home base in the UK. Services commence on April 29

gressively rise to 10 to be replaced by and by its own aircraft. While the first 737-800 has already arrived with special colours and a uni-class seat configuration of 181 seats, the next two aircraft should be landing in Mumbai shortly. To trim costs, the 800s will have five cabin personnel and will focus fully on short-haul flights of three-to-five hours giving it ample opportunity to complete the international leg and still leave enough time to do some domestic operations to ensure not only higher utilisation of the aircraft but also cater to the burgeoning domestic air travel business.

According to Air India’s Director Public Relations Jitender Bhargava, Air India has already started the process of hiring and training the cabin crew and pilots (some of whom are being engaged from abroad).

The 37 flights-a-week to the Gulf countries would be in addition to Air India’s full farelegacy 90 flights in the region. The budget airline is expected to charge 30 per cent

The induction of Boeing 737-800 has opened an entirely new opportunity for Air India to tap the domestic market even more seriously.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

lower fares than the regular rates. Since the flights will be of three-to-five hour duration, Air India proposes to offer light meals and drinking water free of cost to its passengers on low cost flights.

Speaking to the media, Air India Chairman and Managing Director V Thulasidas said, while the airfares will be more than 25 per cent cheaper compared to market prices at any given point of time, they will depend on the bookings, availability of seats and the existing market fares at a given point of time. He has also hinted at some sort of “apex fare or flexi fare” approach when he said passengers can obtain a higher discount by booking earlier.

Air India Express will initially operate three weekly flights on Trivandrum-Abu Dhabi-Muscat route and daily flights on Dubai-Kochi and Dubai-Calicut routes. At the same time Air India, the parent carrier operating on full fare basis will continue the Dubai-Trivandrum flights due to high cargo

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EXPRESS LAUNCH

V. Thulasidas CMD Air India demand. This is because, the Boeing 737800 cannot carry optimum cargo when it is carrying 181 passengers along with their normally permissible 20-30 kilogram baggage. In fact this is one of the demerits of Air India Express. When Union Civil Aviation Minister announced the launch of Air India Express, he had specifically spoken of intensely using it for domestic leg operations. The rationale was when private carriers were allowed to fly international routes besides their domestic operations why restrict Air India to only foreign operations?

The induction of Boeing 737-800 has opened an entirely new opportunity for Air India to tap the domestic market even more seriously. The acceptable international norms of aircraft utilisation of 12-13 hours were considered well enough for AI to take care of its planned domestic operations. For instance, Mumbai-Dubai-Mumbai flight with a stop over at Dubai for refueling and other checks would mean a maximum of 9 hours and that would still leave four hours which could be used for domestic leg like Mumbai-Bangalore or Delhi or Chennai, etc., before the same aircraft resumes operations the next day.

The issue, however, is whether the aircraft could be positioned say at Mumbai’s Sahar or Santa Cruz to take on passengers coming in from the US or European flights. It would be perfectly possible to accept these passengers who can be then flown to hinterland by the 737-800s. But the problem is such passengers coming on long haul flights usually carry huge suitcases which cannot be easily accommodated in the smaller, narrow-bodied Boeing 737800s or even Airbus A-320. In the case of Air India Express, the 800s will not be able to carry that entire luggage in view of the pay load penalty already discussed in this article.

So what happens? A clear difficulty in fully utilising the aircraft to its optimal level. The alternative-use them fully on international routes with very short haul domestic operations. It is in this context, the remarks of Thulasidas assume significance.

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WHAT A TAIL! There is little doubt that this spectacular design effort on the AI Express will win it plenty of new fans.

The 37 flights-aweek to the Gulf countries would be in addition to Air India’s full farelegacy 90 flights in the region. The budget airline is expected to charge 30 per cent lower fares than the regular rates. Since the flights will be of three-to-five hour duration.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

He said the Boeing 737-800s do not allow sufficient cargo space to handle the vegetables and fruit export and therefore until alternative measures are available, Air India will continue its normal full fare flights between Dubai and Trivandrum. To ensure this does not continue for long and thereby averting an unintended competition between the flagship carrier and its offspring, the budget airline, Air India has decided to convert two of its own Airbus A 310s into freighters and the conversion process should be over in a couple of months. These aircraft have a residual life of five-six years and therefore are far more fuel efficient than the Boeing 747-200s which need to be sold by weight. Once these two A 310s start freight operations, the economics of Air India Express will blossom fully both in terms of cargo and passenger flights on the India-Gulf sector.

Air India’s plans to progressively reduce cargo capacity available for perishable exports to the Gulf and West Asia have already been put in motion. The capacity will be reduced in a calibrated manner on a fortnightly basis and will be totally eliminated by the time the new airliner is all set to take off. While the cargo carrying capacity of Boeing 737-800 is one tonne, that of the Airbus A 310 is 12 to 14 tonnes. Air India is the only operator with a daily direct service in the Trivandrum-Dubai sector and carries a cargo of 100 tonnes a week. This will drastically come down to 7 tonnes once Air India Express launches its service. This

The Fare war E

issue is slowly assuming political colours, which should not, however, be the reason to stymie Air India’s efforts to not launch its budget airline. In fact, Air India needs to be given all the encouragement to launch a separate cargo services with the converted A 310s.

About 30-32 per cent of Air India’s current capacity is deployed on the India-Middle East sector mainly to the gulf market which accounts for 25 per cent of the Maharaja’s annual revenue. Air India has already taken on dry lease three Boeing 737200s and is hoping to lease three more. It already has five Boeing 747-400s on lease in addition to its own six such Jumbos.

Since the 777s are not available, Air India is thinking of leasing three Airbus A 310s from Singapore Airlines and renew the lease with Boeing supplied A 310s to keep its medium haul operations live till such time, its own new wide bodied aircraft are inducted or have come in through the lease route.

As part of this plan, Air India is reintroducing services to South Africa, Australia, and Canada and is strengthening operations to Europe and the US. Early April 2005, India signed a bilateral deal with Mauritius allowing new destination points into India as well as fifth freedom rights to the carriers of both the countries. Following this, Air India proposes to fly to Johannesburg in South Africa from Mumbai via Port Louis in Mauritius, a far better connection than via the traditional but commercially unsustainable stopovers in Africa like Nairobi. I

ven before Air India Express has launched its services and a real fare war been set off, the travel agents dealing with Maharaja have gone on war against the reduced commission charges following the deep cuts in fares. This is inevitable and should Air India management give in then it should forget about starting a budget airline. In this context, one can only give a cautious welcome to the efforts of Air India management to introduce online ticket sales. Unlike traditional methods of sales which allow sales through the global distribution system, in the new system passengers can have the option of buying a ticket by accessing Air India’s website, book a ticket and pay for it through credit card.

They could buy tickets through travel agents also. In that event they will be liable to pay a service or transaction fee of Rs 125 per sector in addition to applicable fare and taxes. On completion of the sale, the passenger will be issued an itinerary receipt instead of a conventional airline ticket.

Even as these appear to be exciting for fellow travellers from Kerala which are expected to account for a major chunk of AI Express business, the prospects of a real fare war seem more than real. Air India Express expects to fly Delhi-Abu Dhabi-Delhi at just Rs 6632 and fly out of Trivandrum or Thirvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode to Dubai, Muscat and Abu Dhabi at an average one way fare of just Rs 2500 only. While this is up to 50 per cent lower than normal fares charged by rival airlines, Air India Express’s fare war is expected to severely impact rival airlines like Emirates, Gulf Air, Eitihad, Air Arabia, etc., on the Gulf Sector and those like SIA, Tiger Air, Valu Air, Thai Nok and Air Asia on the SE Asian sector. Indian Airlines will be hit on both sides and will also be sandwiched between various airlines including private Indian carriers.

Recently Air Sahara announced the launch of its daily fights to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur from May with a introductory round-trip fare of Rs 10,000. This is 37.5 per cent lower than the current average fare of Rs 16,000 on

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

these two routes. Incidentally, Air Sahara’s offer was fully accepted and it displayed a House Full sign outside its booking offices two days after the announcement. Air Sahara’s Delhi-Singapore operations will start on May 11 and its Chennai-Kuala Lumpur will be launched on May 14. Both returns will be daily flights. Instead of internet booking, Air Sahara is selling its tickets through GSAs in India and abroad.

Jet Airways has announced round-trip to Singapore/Kuala Lumpur at Rs 14,000. Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal informed a private business TV channel that his airline will charge premium fares on certain routes in keeping with his product quality. Since Jet is proposing to fly to the US as also London, Paris, etc., it has not yet fully opened its offer on various sectors. Jet Airways has acquired on dry lease three Airbus A 340-300 from South African Airlines and is on the look out for Jumbos to meet its North American demand.

As for 777s it is also in the queue like other carriers the world over.

If the Indian carriers are getting all set to fly South East Asian destinations like Phuket, KL, Bangkok, Langkawi, etc. airlines from those countries are readying to fly to India. Thus Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways, Value Air all based in Singapore, Malaysia’s Air Asia (a very successfully privately owned low cost carrier) which recently placed orders for 80 Airbus A 320s as part of its expansion plan and Thailand’s Phuket Airlines are all readying for the Indian adventure. Air Asia is already talking of four figure valued ticket to South East Asian destinations. Singapore Airlines India chief BK Ong has said it would be possible for his airline to drop fares to remain competitive in this sector. It could be a couple of thousands below what is normally charged by a world class product like SIA on its India route.

While Jet Airways has offered introductory fare on Mumbai-Singapore sector at Rs 14,000 on economy class, SIA has dropped fares by 19 per cent on the same sector to Rs 13,499 as against Rs 16,670 earlier.

The war has just begun and it will take some time before the games are over.

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COVER STORY

“There is so much positive energy”

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ourism Minister Renuka Chowdhary can speak nineteen to the dozen. She is enthusiastic, energetic and full of beans. And may one add full of ideas as well. In her nine months as Tourism Minister, Renuka has set her own pace and own identity. It was a tough act following Jagmohan, but to be fair, her impact is clearly visible on the Tourism scene. And like her predecessor, Renuka is ever ready for battle if the cause is right and she believes strongly in it. She spoke about all the issues that confront her in an exclusive interview with K SRINIVASAN. Q Where do you see yourself almost ten months after taking charge?

A Lot of things are taking place. The entire potential of the tourism sector has been examined threadbare and we are ready to take off and prove ourselves to the world.

Infrastructure is falling in place; we have negotiated with other ministries for a unified approach for this sector. There is so much positive energy. We are going forward and that’s the only direction tourism is going to take.

Q There has been a paradigm shift from the time of Jagmohan. He focused on two or three projects whereas you are looking at the big picture.

A Each predecessor leaves the footprints of

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Each predecessor leaves the footprints of development in the right direction. What I have taken into consideration is the sudden acceleration and dynamics of the new market.

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development in the right direction. What I have taken into consideration is the sudden acceleration and dynamics of the new market. With the announcement of 100 percent FDI, with India’s growing GDP, with economic reforms firmly in place, a very credible PM and UPA government, the market dynamics have changed. When we have the opportunity, speed is the need of the hour as the world is opening up. We have climbed from number 36 on the chart to being the fifth most favoured destination in the world.

It is time for us to cash in on this opportunity through a focused approach and concerted effort.

Q You have identified the public-private initiative to take tourism forward. What do you have in mind?

A Steps are already in position except for getting a few clearances because they involve national security. So we are looking at infrastructure that means open skies policy, easy airline charters, additional air seat capacity, which is already being assured.

We are now talking about 28 new nonmetro airport destinations, increased airport holding capacity in our two gateway airports such as Mumbai and Delhi.

After that we carry the experience further: there will be passenger safety, fast track facilities at the international airports, hotels standing by their conformations and room rentals, trained guides and a courteous field staff.

A new initiative is medical tourism. We are already working on accrediting hospitals. We have already worked with the task force of CII to network medical tourism

"It takes a minimum of seven lifetimes to come and experience India and we promise a karmic celebration that will make you want to come back again and again for."

“While each state has its own strengths, it would be most beneficial to the region as a whole if joint efforts were made by leveraging each other’s strength and potentials.”

"Tourism must remain as the employment generator. It is one spectrum where we can take in illiterate, semi-literate people."

"A new initiative is medical tourism. We are already working on accrediting hospitals. We have worked with the taskforce of CII to network medical tourism across the country."

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

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COVER STORY across the country. Similarly our spas are very well known worldwide. We are giving them green and olive identification logos so that they can be recognised as outstanding institutions of well being. All this is crucial because there are far too many operators in the field. Benchmarking will help identify and classify the best.

We have a huge domestic programme of Atithi devo bhava which is really a project to train the hundreds of people who come face to face with the tourist each day on the subtle skills of Indian hospitality. This was an unmet need where taxi drivers, tour guides and ordinary citizens complained that everybody has a chance to train excepting them. There is a strong desire to do things right and, most important, a desire to learn what they shouldn’t do and what they should.

Q So how has Atithi devo bhava moved forward?

A 26,000 people have been trained across the country. The project has been in operation in seven states. Even the hotel chains have come forward now to get associated with it. Tour operators, travel agents, all are getting into it because it means so much for them in terms of trained manpower. It is not just for the service, it’s also for information and education. Shops and restaurants, wayside amenities, even petrol pumps on the national highway are all being associated with this project because one can take a car on the highway, but how would he know where is a clean toilet, even if it’s a paid one?

ADB atithi devo bhava will give you a logo which will tell you that here you will get a clean toilet, hygienically prepared food, public call booth, money change.

These are the facilities which every traveller should have.

In phase two, we will be doing niche marketing in different countries. A tourist from France doesn't come to India looking for beaches, they have their own beaches, and so what do we cater for this segment?

SMILING BIG: At yet another public forum, this time with those who have a spirit of adventure ! of life, all of which tourism does. We preserve and conserve performing arts; we showcase traditional handicrafts so why not package tourism with it? We are giving inputs on design; we are planning on marketing several different elements on this one plank. For example, we shall be marketing the concept of one village, one product.

There is actually a huge exercise that’s going on and when you cater to a nation of this size, nine months is nothing.

Q Are you targeting any particular states or across the board training?

A Across the board really. For instance, the survey went to Agra, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Goa so that we could get a cross sample of different cultures and different people. This will make us see the landmarks and the facilities that people require in different places. All this will be analysed and reviewed, then we will launch it across the country, radio spots, TV hoardings, roadside hoardings because the business of tourism belongs to the people. That is the principle of democracy and fundamental commitment of my government, of my PM and the UPA Chairperson that in order to generate employment, tourism must be given a boost because it is the biggest employer; our motto is give ownership to people.

We should be able to improve the quality

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Q You have had a huge road show abroad. How successful was it?

A This was the first time the DoT met the tour operators on one-to-one basis and collectively. To the stakeholders who came to our road shows, we asked questions. They told us their problems in marketing India, what kind of support and partnership deals that we could do with them. They also complained about flight connectivity, we were surprised to know that Paris demands 1000 visas a day. Spain, Vietnam is looking for direct flights in India. New economy countries like Slovakia and Croatia are disinvesting and are looking for partners; they CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

India where people know what kind of hotels, what kind of taxes, what kind of vehicles do we have, what kind of business do we generate.

We are also promoting India as major destination for conferences and meetings, which has a huge business potential. People around the world are surprised to know that India makes wine. Nobody seems to have heard about Indian wines! We are also tapping new destinations in this phase in countries like China, Korea and South East Asia.

wanted our hospitality institutes to be put up there to train their people.

The potential is unlimited. Today, Disneyland has invited us to visit them. I call Disneyland as a heaven for tourists, it is a family destination. I want India to be promoted as a family and long haul destination like America. For this we are opening up new areas and marketing it widely.

We are putting in a synergy with these road shows, by marketing it globally. There are taxis in London which have Incredible India painted on them, tourists hire these taxis, and they take photographs of them and enquire about India. The drivers are trained to answer these questions and some of them even wear Indian costumes, which is amazing. It’s been a sustained exposure of India to the world, to bring tourists home and, I feel the results have been heartening.

Q What is going to be the next phase of Incredible India campaign?

A In phase two, we will be doing niche marketing in different countries. A tourist from France doesn’t come to India looking for beaches, they have their own beaches, and so what do we cater for this segment?

We should showcase our art, architecture, cuisine for this segment of travelers. We also show them the commercial side of

I am fortunate that I have respected and senior colleagues who are indulgent towards me and have guided me with a lot of kindness and affection.

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Q Are you going to do something about the ‘Look East policy’ of the government.

Is tourism part of this agenda?

A This policy is a personal tribute of the PM and Ms Sonia Gandhi. We have a huge product in Buddhism, 16 states have been identified as part of this programme, infrastructure has been evaluated -- what already exists, what needs to be put in place. We will have a huge population of South Eastern countries visiting India for its Buddhist linkages.

We have already hosted the WTO conference after I took over; we are hosting the WTTC summit, which only reflects that some of the biggest investors in the hospitality sector are looking at India for investment. We hope to attract big hotel chains to come into India. We are giving our know how to other countries. Recently, Iraq enquired if we could provide training programmes for their students. Also we are looking at Northeast as to how we can put infrastructure in place and are opening up the region. I am fortunate that I have respected and senior colleagues who are indulgent towards me and have guided me with a lot of kindness and affection. I am very certain things will soon fall in place.

Q What about infrastructure which is very vital for tourism?

A First of all, we must accept the hard fact that we are not on the concurrent list. We can only persuade the state governments to do something about the infrastructure.

Recently, at the state tourism ministers annual meet, only two ministers were missing from the conclave. It shows the seriousness with which they look at the business.

There was was a lot of enthusiasm and we were able able to achieve much. A lot of awareness is need to be created about the real avatar of tourism. It’s not just about putting up 5-star hotels, getting aircraft. But tourism is a major engine of development and change. It has a good multiplier effect where development of the money earned through this goes directly to the citizens of the country.

Tourism has huge employment opportunities for all types of people and ability to

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COVER STORY

sustain rural areas of India. It can augment and support farmers and villages. It’s a small tribute but definitely an attempt. Once people understand this, funds will be earmarked for infrastructure development.

We have PM’s Sadak Rozgar Yojna for national highways. We have asked state governments to ensure connectivity to their circuits. Now we have structured circuits and destinations. Each state government knows that if a tourist starts here, he will necessarily go to these various places if it is a circuit- be it a monument, a rainforest or nightlife.

With this kind of structure falling in place and with public-private partnership, I don’t look at infrastructure as a stumbling block. With all this, the growth is going to be phenomenal.

Q What is your agenda for the big WTTC which is taking place in the April?

A We have to showcase why we are the favoured destination, why is it common sense for the global giants to invest in India.

We are able to do this today because we have a great coordination with other key Ministries including Commerce, Industry,Civil Aviation and Finance Ministry. We have to talk about a sound business proposition for tourism which can be soft sold by the other ministries. We are the catalysts.

IN THE PUBLIC EYE:(left) at the launch of the Taj stamp with Dayanidhi Maran and Jaipal Reddy and(right) receiving a cheque for tsunami relief from travel industry honchos

When I am in the chair, I speak for the government and act as government.

Q You have a very good budget for tourism this time. How did it happen?

A The UPA defines the profile of tourism easily when we talk of employment generation. There are a lot of overall opportunities today, our society has opened up, there is a globalization, and communications have improved. These have given opportunities to citizens in the most non-conventional areas. It is the commitment of the government that here is an opportunity for employment generation. The only thing I did was perhaps that I went to give a pres-

26

entation to the infrastructure committee to say that this is what we need, this is what we can do, this is what we should look at and please help us.

Q You are going to promote Vishkhapatinam as a new destination. Any new destinations other than this?

A We have Uttaranchal which has huge potential and tremendous products. It is heartening to see J&K running house full despite international travel advisories against it. Leh-Laddakh, West Bengal are all house full. So it’s happening.

We are just looking at bringing more emphasis on eco tourism, medical tourism etc. We are looking at Uttaranchal, at Punjab…. the Wagah border evokes huge sentiments both sides. People are coming in large numbers to see the Golden Temple of Amritsar. It is surprising to learn that there are three weekly flights from Bradeslava, people coming directly to see the Golden Temple!

In the South, people mostly know Kerala; we are connecting it with a Southern Splendour train which we should be able to market easily. It wouldn’t be as expensive as the Palace on Wheels but will showcase the southern states and their culture.

We will also be promoting Northeast and Madhya Pradesh, which has tremendous potential. Virtually every state in this country is a jewel.

Q Did any interesting issues come up in the state ministers’ conference?

A One was the rationalisation of taxes which is very vital for states to realise their full potential. The need for new hotels and infrastructure was also high on the agenda.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Q There has been some negative press lately.

A (smiles): I am gateful to Mrs Sonia Gandhi and Dr Manmohan Singh for their trust and confidence in me. Its their backing that keeps me going.

And I know I am in the right.

This gave rise to a lot of creativity. For instance, Goa’s banks help citizens by giving loans to maintain and keep your heritage home. We also looked at the maintenance of government guest houses.

We have set up an agenda for the states and they have been asked to come back on it. Within six months, there will be a meeting. Andhra Pradesh and Himachal have extended their hospitality to hold the meeting in their respective states. So that’s a bonus. The states have also been sent reminders which will help in bringing a synergy between the states and centre.

This is probably the first time that such an exercise has been undertaken. We are bringing in single window clearances for projects at state level so that they can be implemented immediately.

We have asked Planning Commission to earmark funds say for the 26 world heritage sites. We want road connectivity at once for the Buddhist circuit to be developed in 16 states.

Q What are you doing about land which is the biggest reason for lack of hotels ?

A We have had meetings with Urban Development ministry and we have also spoken to state governments at different levels. Initiatives have come like hotels in non-metro areas like IndiOne, set up in Puttaparthi. Many people have set up tourist homes; builders are increasingly looking at the concept of service apartments. Hence a lot of creativity is coming in.

We did have a GoM headed by Mr. Arjun Singh who called in Urban Development and Civil Aviation Ministry. We sat together.

Any reduction in the domestic connectivity at the cost of international connectivity will not be acceptable.

Northeast will receive more attention then it has been receiving till now.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Aviation has a lot of land which they should be able to identify. All we are saying is let us builds infrastructure in the three kilometers circumference around the airport.

So, things are happening but people should stop judging this work on the basis of the time that I have spent in the ministry.

This is not a 900 metre race. These are something we put into place for posterity, forever and whatever we do must be done intelligently, structurally and remain valid for the future.

Q Is your website making any impact?

A Of course, it is the era of IT. You can go online to check the destinations, you can walk through the destination online, you can ask for help; bookings can be done online. There is a whole different world.

Our website has had a great impact. A lot of post-tsunami management was done online where we were able to put out to our travel operators outside India that India is safe The Tsunami was only in the south eastern areas. We are giving visa on arrival for anyone having cancellations in the neighboring tsunami-hit countries.

We were able to show pictures of our beaches online to show how they were looking. So, our online is brilliant and is only going to get better and better.

Q Finally, there has been so much controversy around you recently. Controversy at the ITDC.Controversy over Atithi Devo Bhava. What are your comments?

A (smiles) If you have to make an omlette, I you have to break a few eggs.

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INDUSTRY UPDATE

Accommodation:

Weakest link

Incredible India has an incredible shortage of quality rooms for the traveler who wants to explore this country. The big metros have a severe shortfall of rooms and there is virtually nothing in t he horizon as far the budget traveller is concerned. RABINDRA SETH looks at the situation and argues that unless things change dramatically in the next few years, we may miss the bus.

T

he fast track movement towards open skies and the emergence of low cost carriers (LCC) has brought cheer to the tourism industry at one level where the aviation sector has come out of the dark days of neglect and apathy into bright sunshine of more seats and lower fares, domestic as well as international. At another level, though, this pleasing development is causing concern to the hospitality sector at the rapidly widening demand-supply gap in hotel rooms. With just about 90,000 rooms for a continental size country (China has 900,000), India has all along been in a short supply situation which assumes critical proportions during the 'season', mainly winters.

The capital, Delhi, easily qualifies for a typical case study. This writer, who has been associated with tourism for well over three decades, can recall only one brief period after the hotel boom for the 1982 Asian Games when there was an excess of accommodation. The city had overnight doubled its capacity from 3,500 to 7,000 rooms with the addition of nine new hotels and expansion of two existing ones. Yes, there have also been periods of low occupancies thanks to calamities and wars and warlike situations.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

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INDUSTRY UPDATE The last time the capacity crunch was felt severely was in 1995 and 1996 when globalisation had brought in hordes of corporates from abroad. That scene has repeated itself this winter perhaps in a more serious dimension. Sadly, in the more than two decades since the Asiad, only 2,000 additional (net) rooms are available taking the total to 9,000. Some 600 more rooms would be added later this year when the former ITDC-run Kanishka and Yatri Niwas are re-commissioned in their new avatar after disinvestment. (Kanishka is being replaced by the super deluxe foreign chain's Shangri-La brand).

Another former ITDC unit, the Lodhi has since been demolished by the new owners, the high-end Aman Resorts but its plans and building schedules have not been unveiled. A few hotels have sprung up in the capitals' suburbs like Gurgaon and Noida. But estimates of additional room requirements vary.

Some put the figure at 10,000.

According to one analyst, 6,000 is the minimal requirement.

D

elhi also suffers from a peculiar imbalance in its mix of accommodation in star categories. More than 6,000 of the rooms are in five-star deluxe and five-star hotels. There are just over 600 rooms in four-stars; less than 400 in three-stars. Two-stars have 230 and onestar not even 200. This means there is little or no accommodation for mid-market or budget travellers in what goes under the name of 'approved' hotels. Tour operators are a harried lot fighting for rooms for these segments. Not that those handling up market travel are having an easy time.

Ghulam Naqshband whose Le Passage to India has been bringing in high-spending groups from abroad, says he is having tough time getting confirmed rooms, even in highly priced suites in five-star hotels.

Vinay Marwah of Uday Tours & Travels who specialises in upmarket FITs (free individual traveller) is facing the spectre of confirmed rooms being refused although he says hotels do try and find alternative accommodation. The underlying tussle between tour operators and hote-

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It portends serious trouble.

The 165 shops on the Jetty Bazar, the nucleus of this settlement, have still not recovered from the vicious blows of December 26.

The market

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

liers over room tariffs also comes to the surface as another offshoot of the demandsupply factor. Hotels tend to charge rack rates while tour operators raise cries of outpricing Indian packages and often seek DoT's intervention. Strong statements by DoT functionaries about bouncing groups are routinely made. Hoteliers' plea that the real issue that need to be addressed is building more rooms and quickly, gets lost in the blame game.

The painfully slow growth of accommodation, and this is happening across the country, is due largely to the question of land - paucity, high prices, archaic land laws, land use laws and multi-window clearances (as many as 40 in some cases).

On an average the whole of India adds a mere 3,500 rooms annually. The national shortage, we are told, is around 100,000 rooms. A more realistic figure was given

by Habib Rehman, Director in charge of ITC Ltd's hospitality services and Chairman, CII's Tourism committee. He told a conference on the northeast region that the country needs 60,000 new rooms. At the current rate of growth it might take 15-20 years to reach that count.

Delhi has a silver lining. Like the crash plans that were facilitated by the government in the run up to the 1982 Asiad, the capital may get a fresh dose of rooms for

the Commonwealth Games due to be held in 2010-just five years away. Hoteliers with full backing from DoT have been lobbying with both the centre and the state government for urgent steps to ease the room shortage. One view which is gathering strength is that an increase in Delhi's FAR (floor area ratio) be raised so that existing hotels could build more floors.

The present ratio is 1.5 and hoteliers say this could easily be raised to 2.5 (other metros permit even a higher figure).If this is accepted, something in the range of

A BRAND NEW HOTEL: Constrution site of new Shangrila hotel, New Delhi.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

3,000 more rooms could come up in just two years. This would meet at least half of the critical shortage.

The larger and long term need for a more rapid growth of accommodation and a balance between deluxe, mid-market and budget categories requires urgent steps and equally urgent implementation. Finance is hardly an issue. There is little merit in the complaint that FDI in the hospitality sector has been negligible. If it comes in a big way it is welcomed. But the big chains and individual entrepreneurs are not citing lack of funds coming in the way of building new hotels.

On the contrary, big league groups like the Taj, Oberois and ITC have invested several thousand crores of rupees in the last five years as have done new entrants like Bharat hotels. In their new expansion plans huge allocations are being hinted at.

ITC Ltd which has announced a Rs 14,000 crore investment over the next five years is reportedly setting apart Rs 5,000 crore for the hotel segment. The Taj group which has already committed Rs 100 crore for its IndiOne brand for the aam aadmi is reportedly setting apart Rs 1,000 crore for new properties. Lalit Suri whose Bharat Hotels now has seven deluxe properties is talking of a similar figure for his new hotels.

There is some good news on the midmarket and budget accommodation scene also. After pioneering the effort of the late AK Dave who brought in the then midmarket foreign chain Quality Inns (since renamed Choice hotels) to India in the 80s supplemented by home grown efforts of ITC's Fortune Park and now Taj's IndiOne, Accor has just inked a joint venture with Inter Globe for introducing the Ibis brand.

Accor's return to India has interesting features. It first came in the early-80s with one of the Asiad hotels, Surya to which it gave the Sofitel brand. But the tie up did not last for long. It then teamed up with the Oberois to launch the Novotels. This also did not survive. But now they have come in with a major dose of equity in the ratio of 60:40 and the total investment over a period will be Rs 850 crores of which Rs 165 crore will be used in the first phase.

The first two Ibis properties (of a total of 25 planned) will be commissioned this year in Gurgaon and Bangalore.

Welcome as they are big plans of the large chains and the latest initiative of Inter Globe will meet only a small part of the big demand. A national effort alone in which the centre, the states, civic bodies and even panchayats will have to come on board is required to solve the vexed problem of land and land laws. Any delay will mean that many tourists and those who I bring in FDIs will overfly India.

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INCREDIBLE INDIA

Making Brand India Jawaharlal Nehru classic slogan, “Welcome a tourist and send back a friend” was very popular in tourist circles for years. But the initial groundswell of popular support for tourism has never really been converted into hard action. Campaigns like “Tourism touches everyone”, “Tourism is everybody’s business”, “Experience India” were conceptualised over the years.

However, the campaign that has created the maximum awareness about India tourism is the “Incredible India”. It is known to be the first concerted effort towards promoting India tourism as a brand. RITU BARARIA gives a blow by blow account of the campaign

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

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INCREDIBLE INDIA

J

ANUARY 2000: It would have been perfectly normal to walk into an Indian pavilion at an international gathering, particularly connected with tourism, and witness a hundred different flowers blooming at the same time. There would be the Indian experience, there would be enchanting India, there would be India unexplored and there would be a hundred other Indias each with its own theme, content and style. That in short was brand India, everyone selling a portion of the Indian dream.

January 2005: Incredible India is recognised as one of the finest tourism campaigns of the decade. It wins award after award and completely changes the perception of India as a travel destination. From a no one it has become a hotspot. From the lowly thirties, it’s moved on to be the fifth most attractive destination worldwide. The arrivals are climbing each month and the Industry is rocking. It wins the Pata Gold award for best print and marketing in 2003 and wins again in 2004. Conde Nast Traveller describes the Incredible India campaign as the most recalled advertisement worldwide. Brand Incredible India has finally arrived.

It all changed some four years back when the Ministry of Tourism decided that it was time to build a global brand for India. The country was caught in one of the worst ever recessions witnessed by the travel and tourism industry. 9/11, the action in Afghanistan, the withdrawal of flights by several airlines, troop mobilisation at the border and the travel advisors by several western governments all combined to virtually put the industry on the mat.

Desperate to get the moribund tourism landscape shift gears, the Department of Tourism crafted possibly its best ever policy shift to create a single brand identity for the nation that could be disseminated worldwide through a wide variety of media-print, TV, internet, hoardings, kiosks and what have you. Talking of those early days, one of the brains behind the campaign, Amitabh Kant, Joint Secretary (tourism) said: “Strong branding represents one of the best defenses against adverse economic and market condtions.Our aim was to develop India into a global brand with worldwide brand recognition and a strong brand equity.

Thus was born the incredible India branding process which aimed to create a unique identity for India as a tourism destination

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Tourism Minister Jagmohan,wante d a major chunk of the Tourism Ministry's budget to go towards infrastructure building and consolidation

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and differentiate it from the competition.”

It wasn’t easy for the civil servants to convince their political bosses. Constantly accused of not paying enough attention to infrastructure, the political bosses, in this case Tourism Minister Jagmohan,wanted a major chunk of the Tourism Ministry’s budget to go towards infrastructure building and consolidation.”Mr Jagmohan was lukewarm initially. He was skeptical and wasn’t convinced that the campaign would work,” said one officer who was associated with the initial formulation of the campaign.

Nonetheless they persisted and finally had the Tourism Minister on board.

Once the feisty no-nonsense Jagmohan was on board came the question of conceptualising the brand and how it would be flogged worldwide. “Out of a hundred different ideas we finally narrowed down on just one Incredible India,” said one other official who declined to be named. Amitabh Kant was more forthcoming, “without the support and the encouragement of the political leadership the initiative would have been impossible. It was a long and complex process that had a hundred different inputs.”

For starts Jagmohan suggested the phrase ‘the wonder that is India’ to go as the catch line for the campaign. It was interesting but the unanimous opinion was that it was too long and one that wouldn’t stick in the mind long after the images had faded. Jagmohan’s title came from the well known book by historian A L Basham titled ‘the wonder that was India’. To be fair to him, though, he was willing to look at other ideas and finally Incredible India it was.

Ogilvy and Mather (O&M) won the tough bidding process to bag the prestigious campaign to brand India as a tourism destination. The agency was given a definite brief: develop a product based on the following parameters-a well defined and unique brand personality, selection of correct positioning strategies, themed product development and consistent advertising and promotion plan.

DoT did a thorough study of the most successful Asian markets and came up with several revealing nuggets of information.

They found that most top Asian travel destinations had a thorough understanding of consumer needs and their perceptions. As Kant recalled in a piece on the branding

To make it different and entirely alluring, Incredible India was built through a 'sophisticated process' that puts together and sustains a complex mixture of attributes and values many of which are intangible CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

INCREDIBLE TAXI: A London cab painted in the splendid colours of the Incredible India campaign

saga “survey conducted by the Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board revealed that tourists considered Singapore as ‘clean, modern and safe’, China’s dominant image and attraction was ‘culture’, Malaysia was seen as ‘multicultural’ and Thailand had a brand image of ‘exotic, fun and friendly people’.”

So where does that leave India? To make it different and entirely alluring, Incredible India was built through a ‘sophisticated process’ that puts together and sustains a complex mixture of attributes and values many of which are intangible. “The objective,” said Kant, “was to produce a unique and attractive offering that meets both the rational and emotional needs of the tourists.”

Clearly the campaign has been a huge success if one goes by the verdict of the industry. Subhash Goyal of IATO says: “Of all the campaigns launched by the Ministry

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INCREDIBLE INDIA of Tourism, the one which yielded the best results is the Incredible India campaign. It is mainly due to it that our inbound tourism has registered a 24 percent growth in 2004.

This year is likely to carry forward this trend.” Sharing a similar viewpoint is Shyam Suri, Secretary General FHRAI who states, “Incredible India campaign has been very successful and has been widely appreciated. It has spread awareness about our country and has also promoted brand equity of India.”

Perhaps what helped the most at the launch of the campaign was the synergy that Dot injected into their campaign. Along with the print ads and TV commercials there was a huge attempt to get the movers and shakers of the media world to see Incredible India first hand. Kant describes it as a “synchronised integrated communication strategy.” What it meant was powerful visual images on CNN, Discovery, BBC and Travel channels. In the print section came ad campaigns in Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, Tatler, Geo-Sasoon, Financial Times and leading in-flight magazines. Alongwith this came a virtual wave of banner advertising in some of the top internet sites including leading portals like Yahoo, MSN and Google. All this was pursued with a fortnightly newsletter to over 25000 tour operators and travel agents worldwide.

And to cap the advertising blitz DoT organized an India tour for some of the world’s best known travel writers and exposing them to the best and brightest of Incredible India. There were new products and destinations showcased, new initiatives at Red Fort, Ajanata Ellora and Cochin Fort highlighted and a familiarisation tour of the best known travel spots put in place for them. The result was unprecedented coverage for India in National Geogreaphic, Conde Nast, NYT and a slew of other publications.

Amidst all the hoopla there are some who offer a word of caution. As Noni Chawla, Management consultant states, “Every campaign should have two objectives: one is marketing and one is advertising. The campaigns are very noticeable and project India in a right manner. What needs to be seen is that what percentage of enquiries actually is converted into sales? Whether DoT actually did anything about these? Did it give any real information? Does it bring any business?

India will do well only if it does well economically. If we see the growth figures in the last 30 years and if the actual graph is seen, we will know that we could have reached this kind of growth even without any ad campaigns. We have to analyse whether the growth is normal or exceptional. Marketing campaign has to be judged by its results. We should see whether they have

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Marketing campaign has to be judged by its results. We should see whether they have led to any upswing in tourism and how creative are they."

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

led to any upswing in tourism and how creative are they.”

But Homa Mistry, Regional ManagerNorthern India, Travel Corporation of India (TCI) has another point of view. He believes that prior to the campaign, people were ignorant about India as a tourist destination.

Now the international market is talking about India. He adds another dimension when he says, “People see our ads everywhere, a lot of money has been put on CNN, BBC. These are the channels which give negative publicity if anything goes wrong anywhere. That they haven’t said a word negative is very encouraging.”

Finally what has the campaign achieved?

Amitabh Kant has the last word: It has enabled India to reemerge as a destination of choice and to regain market share. As a consequence of this brand building exercise tourist arrivals rose dramatically in 2003 as compared to the same period in 2002. More critically the campaign has enabled India to focus on its authentic Indian experience and differentiate itself as a spiritually elevating, culturally enriching, physically invigorating and a mentally rejuvenating destination. I

Atithi Devo Bhava Tourism Minister Renuka Chowdhary’s value addition to Incredible India is ‘Athiti Devo Bhava’. The aim of the campaign is to fine tune services across India to give visitors that special feeling when they arrive in this country. As she says: “a guest is like God and the idea of the campaign is to train people to treat him or her like one.”

The campaign is providing training and orientation to taxi drivers, guides, immigration officers, tourist police, restaurant owners and other persons directly interacting with the tourists to provide them with a uniform level of top class service across the country.

The campaign has been divided into seven key elements: sensitisation, Screening, Induction, Training & Orientation, Certification and Feedback of key stake-

holder of the Tourism Industry in India.

The campaign will be rolled out in a phased manner over a period of three years. The trained persons will be given a specially designed logo bearing the logo ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ to display at their

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

taxi, restaurants or institution. This will be the Tourism Ministry’s mark of quality to identify the grain from the chaff.

Designed by SS Advertising it has generated huge interest according to the agency’s CEO Naveen Saraswat who is very excited about it. He reveals, “The campaign is just three months old, but has yet generated a lot of good response. We are flooded with enquiries from the concerned people who want to register themselves to undergo this training. Even some of the common citizens also want to have this training, which is highly motivating.”

“My focus is two-fold,” states Renuka Chowdhary and adds, “infrastructure for the long term and good behaviour and I welcome smiles at all times.”

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NEWS DIGEST

Jetsgo closed doors

A

setback was faced by the employees and passengers of Jetsgo when the Montreal carrier suddenly decided to shut down. It was revealed that the privately owned carrier lost $55 million in the eight months ended Feb. The Jetsgo airline had 29 aircraft flying to 20 destinations in Canada, nine in the United States and the Caribbean.

The carrier blamed attacks by rival WestJet Airlines as one of the reasons that drove it to seek and obtain court protection from its creditors. In a haste decision Jetsgo grounded all its planes without warning forcing its employees out of job.

It was an abrupt shutdown in the middle of the night, which left 17,000 passengers stranded. This served in favour of competitors like Air Canada and WestJet Airlines that quickly announced capacity increases to handle demand from Jetsgo ticketholders. It is believed that Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec all have compensation funds that will reimburse travellers if a flight ticket is bought through a registered travel agent.

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Single Russian aircraft-building

Okay's maiden flight

IRKUT CORPORATION will lead a process of uniting Russian aircraft enterprises into a single aircraft-building company. Irkut is a private Russian aircraft enterprise where the government has got just 14 percent stake.

The merger process will take place under leadership of acting president of the Irkut corporation Valeri Bezverkhniy and is expected to complete by late 2006. The key problem lies in bringing different enterprises, in terms of ownership forms and profile, into the corporation structure.

The Russian aircraft-building corporation MIG (a federal unitary enterprise) and OAO corporation Irkut where the government holds a 14% stake are among aircraft-building majors. What is noteworthy is that MIG and Irkut since late 2004 have been under control of a single management team. The government has appointed Alexei Fyodorov to the position of MIG general director. One of the most serious and tactful problems he is expected to solve is to abandon those projects which are considered unpromising.

RECENTLY, CHINA'S first private airline launched its maiden flight. The Okay Airways Co. Boeing 737-900, with 81 people aboard, flew from the airline's base Tianjin to Kunming. Also in the pipeline are three other privately owned carriers.

Okay reveals that it will fly six Boeing 737 aircraft, focusing on domestic charter flights, cargo and express delivery services.

Other private airlines are to debut in coming months - Shanghaibased Spring International Airlines; Eagle Airlines, in the southwestern city of Chengdu, and Huaxia Airlines in northwestern China's Gansu province.

China's airlines have gone through changes since the government broke up its monopoly carrier in the early 1990s, creating more than a dozen regional carriers.

The regulators have forced airlines to merge into three large groups, hoping to create competitors big and strong enough to face foreign airlines. Sharp cutbacks in routes flown by Chinese carriers have created openings for Okay and other competitors.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Lufthansa's new incentive

Airline fined

LUFTHANSA RECENTLY offered a unique product, worldwide, to passengers who highly value flexibility and time-saving - "Lufthansa Private Jet, exclusively operated

by NetJets". The new product allows passengers to fly by private jet from more than 1,000 airports around Europe to Lufthansa`s Munich hub to board connecting flights there in First or Business Class to destinations around the globe.

Now passengers arriving on long-haul flights in Munich can take a private jet to fly on to their final destination. The new private jet service can also be used for flights between European airports.

"Lufthansa Private Jet" will undergo six months of market tests in operating flights targeting a select group of First and Business-Class passengers and all HON Circle members. These passengers can utilise "Lufthansa Private Jet" for service between Munich and more than a thousand destinations in the EU, Norway and Switzerland as well as for point-to-point flights between those European destinations. The fares would also be very attractive.

AIR FRANCE has been fined ÂŁ1500 for having allowed a woman to take a cat on a flight. This took place due to breaking a law designed to prevent an outbreak of rabies in Britain. The case began last April when Mrs Merlet picked up the cat from Bordeaux, France.

Trading standards officers at the city council launched the prosecution against the airline for contravening the Rabies (Importation of Dogs, Cats and Other Mammals) Order 1974.

The lady in question waited for around three hours for a vet to take the cat into quarantine, where it spent one week before being released. Under the Pet Travel Scheme, the animal must given an identification number, have vaccination against rabies, be treated for worms and parasites 24 to 48 hours before travel, and have its blood tested. This means the animal does not have to go into quarantine on arrival in the country.

However, the discussed error was caused by an oversight.

Launch pad for space flight

The pillow fight

CHINA IS expected to get its first private airline with the approval by China Aviation regulator. This would be after completing draft regulations to allow private capital into the previously restricted sector.

In early 2004, China had approved preparations for setting up private airlines as part of a broader plan. This was to liberalise the market and let in foreign investment.

Okay Airways would be based in the northern municipality of Tianjin and operate three Boeing 737 aircraft. It will have a capital of 300 million yuan (USD$36.25 million), Three other private airlines are waiting in the wings. These are Shanghai-based Spring International Airlines, Chengdubased Eagle Airlines and Huaxia Airlines from the northwestern province of Gansu.

China had haulted approval for new airlines in 1994. Then it had consolidated a fragmented industry under three carriers led by Air China, China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Surprisingly, China has not given into the trend of low-cost airlines, which is quite a global phenomenon in the current times.

A WORD for passengers on Delta Airlines: Please bring your own pillow along with a meal if you're flying on Delta Air Lines.

The carrier is believed to have said that it is yanking pillows off flights within the continental United States, and to Bermuda, Canada and Central American and Caribbean destinations beginning in mid-March. This move can be counted as another cost-saving effort.

Count the move among Delta'sand the airline industry's-latest cost-saving initiatives. Besides, Delta is raising the price of alcoholic beverages by a dollar and substituting free snacks and snack packs on flights, eliminating the sale of food.

The pillow's cost airlines from 55 cents and up each, depending on the size and fill, plus 5 to 7 cents per pillow cover. Delta is estimated to save at least $500,000 a year, if not $1 million.

Last month it was the American Airlines that removed pillows from most aircraft flying from South Florida.

No jokes please!

IN AN IRONICAL move, the security officials at Australia's airports are required by law to have no sense of humour.

Strange isn't it?

Under the new aviation security legislation the check-in warnings, saying airline staff take jokes about bombs seriously, CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

will be replaced by criminal charges that could see fines of up to A$5500 ($5884) for even the most offhand one-liner.

Phrases like "it's only a machine gun" when asked if you are carrying any dangerous goods will not be tolerated.

According to the new laws officials should not distinguish between humour and real threats.

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NEWS DIGEST

WTO to have a new entrant

T

he UK Government plans to join the World Tourism Organisation, a decision made public during the first UK National Tourism Conference in London.

The WTO Secretary-General Francesco Frangialli congratulated the Government for such an important step. He called it a historic turning point, which demonstrates the value of the Organization for the tourism sector as a whole.

WTO is said to have agreed to extend its most heartfelt welcome to the United Kingdom in the WTO family. It plans to put in place a mechanism so that the UK plays an adequate role in world tourism and in global economy.

UK's entry is taken as a turning point in the history of the organisation which will have another very prestigious member in its list of members.

The membership of the WTO currently comprises 145 Member States, seven territories and over 300 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, destinations and education.

AT A GLANCE Bad show by US government The Coalition of Airline Pilots Association has given failing grades to the US government in several areas of aviation security, including the screening of employees and cargo and defending planes from shoulder-fired missiles.

Ban of lighters from airports Ever since the shoe bomber case there's been talk about banning lighters on planes.

This is taken as just the latest step to prevent a terrorist act on board a plane. It was already illegal to put lighters in checked luggage, but now the ban will apply to carry-on baggage as well.

Low accident rate Due to the significantly lower number of passenger deaths and the significant increase in the total scheduled passenger traffic in 2004, the accident rate for scheduled air services measured in passenger fatalities per 100 million passenger-kilometres decreased to about 0.005 from approximately 0.015 in 2003.

Pollution control measures

worldtourismdirectory.com Good news for frequent travellers! The World Tourism Directory is now available online at WorldTourismDirectory.com.

With 110,000 entries from 330 countries, states, and territories, the directory is a comprehensive tourism industry directory.

The directory is edited by veteran tourism infor-

mation person Burkhard Herbote. It is the result of over a decade of data collection.

Everything you ask for regarding tourism, you have it here. The directory includes contact information for ministries of tourism; national, regional, local tourist boards; tourism and travel industry associations; a long list of inbound tour operators; airline companies; accommodation associations; outdoor and recreational activity associations; tourism media; general country information sources like a most comprehensive directory of embassies and consulates.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

Air transport industry leaders have agreed to take more steps to reduce noise and pollution. It was believed that Governments should work with airports and air navigation services to ensure environmentally responsible airport expansion and air-route efficiency.

Phuket Immigration Bureau The bureau plans to launch a mobile unit to extend the visas of tourists. This is seen as a pilot project aimed at promoting tourism in the coastal resort town after it was hit by the devastating tsunami late last year. The tourists who wanted a longer visa extension would still need to visit the local immigration office.

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NEWS DIGEST

Tsunami's impact on film making THAILAND'S ANDAMAN coast suffered a great loss in earnings from foreign film makers after the tsunami hit the region at the year end. The wonderful scenic beauty of the local area had been a popular backdrop for many foreign movies and advertisements.

It is estimated that Thailand generated 1,128 million baht from foreign film makers in 2004, but after the tsunami earnings fell by 14 percent.

Not a single foreign movie has been shot in Thailand so far in the current year apart from a short documentary and a number of advertisements.

It is believed that to promote the shooting of foreign films in Thailand, the tourism department had called a meeting of related government agencies. This meeting is expected to have helped officials understand the need to provide assistance to foreign film makers.

The Tourism and Sports Ministry wishes to see at least a 10 to 20 per cent rise in the income generated from the film making industry

Good show by Spain

More money and time to travel

IT IS remarkable on the part of Spain to reveal that the number of foreign tourists visiting Spain rose 3.4 percent in 2004 to a record 53.6 million.

The number of arrivals in December was 3.1 million, an increase of 12.9 percent over the same month in 2003.

Please recall that Spain is the world's second tourism destination after France - but first out of Europe - and its main markets are the UK and Germany.

The Balearics, recovering thanks to the first rise in the German market for four years, is the third most popular region for foreign tourists to Spain, behind Catalonia and the Canary Islands.

Revenues earned from foreign tourism were up to 0.4 percent in the first ten months of the year.

This was despite signs of tourists reducing their length of stay. But Spaniards spent more abroad so the tourism balance to end October fell 4.2 percent.

THE TRAVEL Industry Association of America's (TIA) quarterly Traveller Sentiment Index showed a moderate increase in first quarter of 2005, up 2.5 percent to 98.7 from fourth quarter of 2004. Traveller perceptions of service received while travelling were also up slightly over fourth quarter of 2004.

While travel safety is not a component of the Traveler Sentiment Index, it can be indexed by itself against the baseline of fourth quarter of 2001. This quarter, the travel safety index is at 116.3, a decrease of 6.7 percent from fourth quarter of 2004, yet still an increase of greater than 16 percent from fourth quarter of 2001.

When the overall Traveller Sentiment Index is examined on a regional basis, the Northeast shows the only decline (-11.1 percent) among the four US regions over fourth quarter of 2004. The primary reason for this decline is a 25.4 percent drop over last quarter in the index for the ability to travel based on time available.

Thailand Visitor Card THE TOURISM Authority of Thailand (TAT), working in cooperation with Visa International, has presented the Thailand Visitor Card 2005. This is a discount card that entitles card holders to discounts between 5 to 30 percent at almost 3,000 participating establishments around Thailand, especially in the popular visitor destinations of Chiang Mai, Phuket, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Cha-am, Ko Samui and Hat Yai. This card is being made available to individuals and families planning a trip to Thailand

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

over the next year. There is no membership or entrance fee. It is being distributed by TAT's international as well as domestic offices. Cards issued from 1 April 2005 onwards are valid until 31 March 2006.

This is an effort to reinforce Thailand's reputation as a 'shopping paradise'. To promote increased travel to Thailand, TAT and Visa International have sought the cooperation of airlines in extending discounts to tour agencies organising tour packages to Thailand during the promotion period from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006.

NEWS SNIPPETS InterGlobe and Accor join hands A joint venture agreement has been signed between Accor and InterGlobe representing a highly significant partnership for the Indian hospitality sector.

A 60:40 joint venture between InterGlobe and Accor Asia Pacific, will invest in and develop a minimum of 25 'Ibis' brand economy hotels across India and South Asia over the next 10-12 years. The venture envisages an investment of over Rs 850 crore over this period.

This joint venture has a vision to redefine the economy hotel sector in India. It positions Ibis hotels as the preferred 'best value

JOINT VENTURE: Interglobe and Accor Heads shake hands

STYLE FILE: Rono Dutta in front of new look plane

Air Sahara's new identity

A

IR SAHARA launched its new look by donning Indian colours - orange, green and white. The airline has undergone a complete makeover making the new identity seen on the exterior and interiors of the aircraft, branded corporate stationary and product, counters, merchandise, in-flight, etc.

Sahara also plans to give a new look to the ground and in-flight personnel. The new look is meant to reflect Indian hospitality. By giving new colours they are aligning themselves to be seen as representing Indian sentiments of being the best host in the world.

The airline believes that by expanding their international service they should become more conscious of their role as the brand ambassador for India. Sahara wishes to promote the colours of India all over the world and to reinforce the image of India as a courteous and hospitable nation.

Just to recall, Air Sahara would be connecting to international destinations like UK, Malaysia and Singapore by this summer.

international hotels' across the region. With over 650 hotels and close to 70,000 rooms in 36 countries, Ibis hotels are renowned the world over for their quality, simplicity and unbeatable value-for-money.

Development activity for Ibis hotels is already underway in Bangalore and Gurgaon. Target cities for immediate future development are Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad.

FCL enters Indian market Flight Centre Limited, an Australianbased travel company has entered the Indian travel market with the A$ 8.5 million acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Friends Globe Travels Limited (FGTL). According to the agreement, Flight Centre Limited has an option to buy the remaining 49 percent by 2010.

The new joint venture of two best-inclass travel management companies, at a

AUSTRALIAN ENTRY: FCL and Friends Globe Travels sign agreement

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CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

time when they are both in a strong financial position, is a unique opportunity. This will operate in India under the brand name of FCm Travel Solutions. FGTL and FCm Travel Solutions have similar cultures and complementary core strengths in branding, which will further enhance the services provided at present. Flight Centre has also decided that the leadership Management team of Friends Globe will remain the same in the new venture and will continue to operate the Indian operations.

Currently, FGTL has been operating primarily in the corporate segment but with the acquisition the new JV will foray into leisure, MICE and consolidation segments in both the inbound and outbound sectors.

Eco Tourism Conclave The Embassy of the United States of America organised a conclave in the national capital recently. The theme of the conclave was 'Prospects of Eco tourism in India: Places and people' focussing primarily on India. It was emphasised upon that eco tourism is the fastest growing sector of the travel industry.

A lot of related issues were discussed in the event. There is a lot of competitiveness in the tourism sector. What is required is a strategy that enables you to match up your products or services with the best possible markets for the greatest potential return on

GREEN TALK: The US Embassy seminar on environment investment.

It was highlighted that eco tourism is growing at an annual rate of 10-30 percent per annum. It is a unique component of India's competitiveness as a tourist destination. Eco tourism was seen here as a responsible travel that conserves the natural environment and sustains the well being of local people.

For India to be known as a eco tourism destination, it is important to market the product internationally by pursuing USA, Europe and Asian markets.

CII's conference on North East CII held a National conference emphasising that North-East was the flavour of the month. It was revealed that the Government has taken special cognizance of the tremendous tourism potential of North-East region

FORMULA 1: Manoharan, Director Tourism Malaysia & Izuddin Rosli, Manager Sales Sepang F1

Tourism Malaysia together with the leading travel agencies announced the launch of their special Malaysian F1 Grand Prix package for the year 2005 at a special presentation on Sepang International Circuit. The basic package was priced at Rs 11,500 including 4-star stay in Kuala Lumpur for 3 nights/ 4 days with transfers and breakfast and a ticket for hill stand covered area.

and has taken out brochures, pamphlets and CDs to showcase the region.

It was felt that the key to attract tourists would be to maintain the uniqueness of the region. The eight sisters should not look like each other. They must be projected uniquely and differently.

However the projection of North East as a dream destination has few stumbling blocks, which the Government is trying to remove. As a result, air connectivity is also improving. Mountain Airlines is a step in the right direction.

It was announced that the Government has sanctioned the special development package for the development of Highways in the region amounting to Rs 450 crores.

About 10 percent of the plan allocation of the Department of Tourism is earmarked to the North East Region.

Nair’s appointment S Nair who recently took over as the member (P&A) at the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has had a long and distinguished career with this public sector behemoth.

Prior to his appointment to the board of the AAI, Nair was the Director of the prestigious Indira Gandhi International Airport.

This is a tough and thankless job at the best of times but Nair handled it well enough for him to be promoted as member. His name had been short listed before the fall of the last NDA government PS Nair but was held up for over six months till the UPA regime approved his appointment. Nair has held a wide variety of jobs during his nearly quarter century with AAI.

Outstanding Sales performance TIRUN Travel Marketing has been awarded the Outstanding Sales performance award for 2004 for their passenger sales and revenue growth in the calendar

OUTSTANDING SALES: Award for Tirun Marketing CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

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NEWS SNIPPETS year 2004. The award was granted at Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Conference of International Representatives in Miami.

The function was attended by more than 50 countries from outside USA and Canada.

2004 was the year that marked the celebration of a successful 10 years partnership between TIRUN Travel Marketing and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. In this 10 year long journey, TIRUN has been recognised and awarded on 8 out of 10 occasions, which is indeed a great honour!

Together the two companies have pioneered the concept of a cruise vacation in the India marketplace and remain industry leaders for Indians opting to holiday abroad a cruise ship in Europe and North America.

Royal Caribbean admitted to having been delighted with the TIRUN team in India to have accomplished both passenger sales and revenue growth of more than 50 percent over 2003.

No kiddie stuff It was a rare gesture on the part of two children of Mount Carmel school, New

TSUNAMI EFFORT: The two young boys with Prithviraj Chavan Delhi. The two appeared to be so moved by the Tsunami that hit the country and other regions of Asia that they decided to not celebrate their birthday. Rather they preferred to donate the money to the PM’s relief fund.

Taking inspiration from their father T Premnath, a senior official with the AAI, his two sons decided to assist people in need in their own manner. 9-year-old P Akashraj, and 12-year-old P Prithviraj decided to cut on their birthday and donate the amount of Rs 7,000 allocated for the celebration to the Prime minister's tsunami relief fund.

Along with the cheque of Rs 7,000 the brothers met the Minister of State in the PMO, Prithviraj Chavan. Also present were their proud parents, Premanth and Lalitha.

The cheque was handed over to Chavan, who was apparently moved by the gesture.

Kanishka Case verdict After 4 years of being into exile, the two accused in Air India plane bombing Ajaib Singh Bagri and Ripudaman Singh Malik tasted their first day of freedom. They have been acquitted by a Canadian court in the trial of the case.

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IN THE DOCK: Bagri and Malik WORLDCLASS HOTEL: Raj vilas in Jaipur

Readers of Travel + Leisure magazine have voted Oberoi Hotels & resorts among the world's best hotel values.

In the hotel category of "Top 10 hotels for value overall", the Oberois, Rajvilas in Jaipur is ranked third. It is the only hotel in India on this list.

It is also ranked very highly in the "Worth the splurge" category The Oberoi, Amarvilas also made the splurge worthy list, ranking fifth in Asia.

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

The men have returned to a community that's deeply divided, with some angry over the lack of justice for families of the 329 people who lost their lives in the June 23, 1985 bombing. Indian relatives of the victims have called for a fresh probe into the case.

Calling it pure injustice, the relatives who lost their dear ones in the blast, were enraged by the fact that having taken so many years to trap the two accused, the final verdict has turned out to be highly injustifiable. Some of them vent out their rage by saying that the world has become numb to terrorism and has accepted it as routine.

Absolute Bollywood Great Narula Holidays in association with Asian Academy of Film & Television launched a new traveltainment package, Absolute Bollywood. This is an exotic travel concept to promote Bollywood Tourism to India, a premier tour that gives visitors an insight into how and where today's Bollywood lives, works and plays along with film education to teach visitors the A to Z of the Indian film industry.

The Bollywood travel collection will have 2 takes - Take One will be a 3-day vis-

BOLLYWOOD TIMES: Amitabh Kant introducing the package it to Mumbai where visitors will get an inside look at the studios and production/ post-production facilities. Tale Two will be a 7-day visit to Delhi where visitors not only participate in a hands-on workshop but also are uniquely involved in the making of a film where they decide the sets, location, songs, etc.

The tours are mainly designed for overseas Indians and foreigners interested in visiting Bollywood. Shorter packages are designed for resident Indians from other I parts of the country.

THE LAST ACT

Commission cut move by Air India from 7 to 5 per cent

BALBIR MAYAL President TAAI

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The move has come as a surprise. Six months ago when we were confronted with the same issue, AI supported us. We explained to them the reasons why Indian market was not prepared for commission cut. How can the situation change in six months?

QUOTE UN QUOTE

CRUISING HEIGHTS April 2005

The agents are our best friends,but commissions are being reduced because of the tremendous pressure to save money and fund growth. Also, there has been no impact of this threat, our flights are choc-o-block full.

VK VERMA Commercial director AI

April 2005

Rs 60

Vol II No.1

“WE ARE BOOMING”

Renuka Choudhary on India’s dream run in tourisim

PLUS: Air India’s ‘low cost’ adventure, Off the record, guest column and the Incredible India saga