Mapping out sustainable tourism
Stakeholders gathered at a two-day conclave between the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Association of Domestic Tour Operators of India (ADTOI) in Delhi last week, where participants discussed ways to enlarge business opportunities and add to the product range.
In response to some of these issues, Tourism Minister S K Sahai asked the States to help boost infrastructure and accommodation by converting the many Dak Bungalows—government rest houses—into facilities for tourists.
He lamented the shortage of travel agents and tour operators driving visitors to many remote areas and suggested that tourists in pilgrim areas should extend their stays and widen their view of the destination and surrounding areas.
The Minister also said that the ministry was trying to see that the shooting of movies in India is made easier and that there is a single-window clearance for this. He told delegates that several countries, such as Spain, had done well in tourism because of the movies shot there.
At the meeting, delegates discussed the content of a recent report by the Yes Bank and the FICCI which outlined a 10-point roadmap for sustainable growth of domestic tourism. Domestic tourism visits have grown by approximately 10% in recent years, with total numbers likely to hit 1.3bn trips by 2015.
The proposed roadmap underlines the following issues:
Develop Hygienic Budget Accommodation: While many budget accommodation options are available in the country in the form of youth hostels, dharamshalas, hotels etc., the cleanliness and hygiene standards are mostly below par. This is not only detrimental to the destination image, but also means that the tourist at the ‘middle’ of the value chain has to opt for higher categories of accommodation, implying that the expenditure on other principles of the product (sightseeing, shopping etc.) goes down, leading to skewed earnings.
Improve Connectivity: This refers to both improving the infrastructure in terms of roads, rail networks etc., and providing a greater number of options in terms of services like buses, trains, flights etc. Many destinations in the country fail to realise their worth owing to poor connectivity options. Pahalgam, for instance, despite being a popular tourist destination, only has one bus service to and from Srinagar, even during the peak season with heavy spin-offs from Amarnath, forcing tourists to choose the much costlier rented vehicles.
Repackage products: Many tourism products and destinations can be revived by introducing new elements. One that can be sighted as a successful initiative is the case of Madhya Pradesh, which revived the Bhopal-Bhimbetka-Delawadi-Bhojpur-Sanchi route through the use of campervans.
Forge inter-state partnerships: For many states in the country, owing to geographical or demographical congruencies, it makes sense to collectively market as a destination, especially if one is targeting longer stays. The group of Northeast states, even though very diverse demographically, constitute a single unified geographical entity of the Himalayan ecosystem, and have common entry/exit points.
Niche based Capacity Building: Certain niches can be made affordable for the domestic market by simply up-scaling the capacity building measures. Take the instance of adventure sports, bungee jumping in particular. The few private set ups in the country have sourced technical manpower from countries like New Zealand, which then reflects on the higher pricing of the product. Although certification measures are in place, there are no training facilities to complement such adventure activities. Capacity building measures in these areas could go a long way in expanding the affordability of experiential products.
Accessibility to remote areas: Elaborating further on adventure tourism, many places in the Himalayan (and other sensitive) regions of the country require permits and other permissions to be issued for exploration, procurement of which often becomes an arduous process owing to the multiple agencies involved (tourism department, forest department, police/ army etc.), and some of the best destinations of the country are left unexplored. There is a need to have a single window clearance system in place.
Educational Trips: Introducing inter or intra state trips for educational institutions, particularly schools, has a twofold advantage. While it brings numbers into the state, students are the most probable clientele to become repeat tourists, desirable for any market in the long run.
Support to Backpacking: Although backpackers are not high yield visitors, they are the best ‘ambassadors’ and ‘word of mouth’ marketers, and can really enhance the destination profile.
Student Discounts for Events/Festivals: Although a majority of the states have successfully adopted the analogy of promoting destinations through events and festivals, there is a need to offer affordable facilities for travel segments like students. Take for instance the Rann Utsav package offered by Gujarat Tourism at INR3000 per day per tent. While this is competitive pricing for the average tourist, it often becomes a notch high for students, for whom these events are a platform for academic research as well.
Use of ICT based tools: While certain states like Kerala have adopted IT based tools and services to leverage their product offerings and promotional efforts, other states also need to tap these tools to fully harness their tourism potential. Mobile-based technologies can be tapped as an enabler for mountainous and other remote regions of the country, where electricity is an issue