Point Blank

By Hugh & Colleen Gantzer

There is a burgeoning tourism resource growing at an amazing rate. And if the Prime Minister’s dream is realised, it promises to grow even faster. In fact, if we in the tourism industry hitch our wagons to this star, not even the horizon can limit our growth. Sadly, most of us haven’t even woken up to its potential. Most; but not all.

The first people to tap this spreading economic zone were Bansi Lal, S K ‘Chappie’ Misra, and Ashok Pawha. Together they realised that though their Haryana had virtually nothing to attract tourists, everyone driving to the major tourist destinations of Agra, Himachal and Rajasthan, had to speed down the roads of their new state. So they decided to give travellers something to help them relax en route, while effectively tapping their vacation money, and also boosting the low-profile image of their farming state. The Highway Tourism Complexes of Haryana were born. And, before long, they became destinations in their own right.
But those, you might argue, are strictly in the public sector. Correct, but they were the trailblazers that inspired a few courageous private entrepreneurs to follow the leader.

Among the most far seeing of them were the four Rana brothers. Two of them had been trained in a catering institute. But, instead of opting for salaried jobs, they decided to strike out on their own. At that time, when we first moved to Delhi another incarnation ago, the 300 km Delhi-Mussoorie road was a lonely one with no highway facilities to speak of. There was, however, the Chital Deer Park run by the forest department. Here, the four brothers took a contract to run a fast food outlet in a shack. It was a major risk but it turned out to be a major success as highway travellers drove in for a much-needed comfort and refreshment stop on the long drive to the Himalayas. In course of time, the Ranas moved a bit down the road and set up their own Chital Grand. They have never looked back.

Chital Grand has a number of features specifically designed to attract and answer the needs of the highway traveller.

Specifically:

1. Its gardens are beautifully landscaped and ablaze with flowers, all through the year. Their allure is magnetic.
2. There is plenty of parking space, much of it shaded, all of it protected by uniformed security guards.
3. Their loos are immaculately clean and supervised; the drinking fountains in the garden always work; a magazine-and-newspaper vendor sits in his kiosk at the gate.
4. There are special eating and freshening-up-facilities for drivers.
5. Visitors have the choice of Al fresco dining on a garden terrace, or at stand-up tables inside the restaurant, or sit-down in another glassed-in section.
6. Most importantly, one brother, at the open-kitchen service counter, can supervise all food and service outlets. Generally two of them are on duty to ensure that their high levels of hygiene and personalised service are maintained, very strictly.

The success of their venture has inspired many others to imitate them. Another highway facility has opened across the road; a virtual clone has grown up on the other side of their perimeter wall. But we have every reason to believe that it will be an uphill task for the imitators to overcome the brand loyalty built up by Chital Grand over the years.

And this, we feel, is the secret of a successful highway tourism operation in India. If you’re the first to open, in a little-serviced stretch of highway with a reasonably high density of traffic, you can steal a long march over your Johnny-come-lately competitors. But you must realise that the highway traveller has very special needs. He is tense and frazzled. He needs a green environment in which he can relax and refresh himself; dependable security and parking space; and fast and tasty food in a squeaky-clean restaurant with, preferably, an open kitchen to offer that added visual reassurance.

These, then, are the basic requirements. But additional frills can be added. Bharat Petroleum has, for instance, tied up with the big M (McDonald’s) to create a popular highway facility on the Delhi-Agra highway. It’s growing into a major destination in its own right. In Karnataka, we visited a complex set up the famed Kamat chain of restaurants catering to bus and truck traffic on one side and car travellers on the other: ‘Never the twain shall meet!’ And in Turkey, we experienced a superb highway café, which had vehicle workshops, restaurants and even free car-and-coach washes, while you snacked!

As for the infrastructural facts: 57,737 kms of National Highways account for only 1.5 per cent of our road network. On them, currently, drive 5.5 crore vehicles and they are increasing by 25 lakh every year. So what are you waiting for?