WTM 2002 To WTM 2003: The Indian Turnaround

Perspective

By SHELDON SANTWAN

World Travel Market (WTM) 2002 was witness to grave uncertainty and tumultuous times for the global travel industry. This sentiment was clearly reflected at one of the largest gatherings of the worldwide travel fraternity in London last year. No one was willing to put themselves on the spot with any predictions on what was in store for the world of travel in the near or distant future. India, in this scenario, was really no exception and things only seemed to get from bad to worse in the post-SARS and post-Iraq effect.

As we approach WTM 2003 and reflect on the 12-month period that has just gone by, one sees a drastic change in the prevailing industry sentiment, even if this may not have completely translated into real business numbers. While globally travel seems to have more or less stabilised, the Indian scenario has almost undergone a mini revolution. While the central and state governments have certainly woken up to tourism, it is the private sector initiatives that have really made the huge difference. India Inc has suddenly realised that tourism and hospitality are potential growth areas and investments from within India and overseas are steadily on the increase.

This turnaround has of course been facilitated by a dramatic increase in domestic tourism, far more opportunities for business, the growing Indian economy and far more liberal policies. The reflection of this is clearly evident with growing Indian participation at WTM each year. Other travel exhibitions and global meets have also witnessed an unprecedented interest from India and in India. While plenty still remains to be done to get India into the league of ‘a truly global tourism player’, there have been a few steps - albeit very few - in the right direction.

The Indian domestic private airlines have recently been allowed the freedom to fly out of the Indian mainland for the first time and commence operations to Sri Lanka. While this may have repercussions on the fortunes of the state-owned carriers, it would definitely be a precursor to more liberal aviation policies and finally lead to the ultimate goal of an Open Sky Policy for Indian aviation. What is heartening though is that as slow as this progress maybe, Indian tourism as an industry has achieved far more in the last couple of years than in the entire previous decade put together.

The interest in the Indian tourism industry can be clearly gauged by the fact that at present almost every international major hotel chain has established a presence in the country or is in the process of doing so. The latest entrants being Hilton, Shangri-La, Sol Melia and the like. The Indian aviation scenario, which just a year ago painted such a gloomy picture with the mass pull out of international airlines and a drastic reduction in seat capacity in the country, has once again seen a resurrection of sorts where the burgeoning demand for seats and soaring load factors in and out of the country have led to the entry of Thai, Turkish Airlines, the re-entry of Air Canada and a host of other international airlines queuing up for an expansion of network and seat capacity in India.

Meanwhile, the government has been busy trying their best to develop new tourism circuits and cultivate more avenues with the development of religious, cultural, heritage and medical tourism models. States have launched massive marketing campaigns, riding on the back of the Incredible India! campaign of the central government, which was in prominence last year at WTM 2002. A select few states have also moved seriously into the MICE and convention tourism segment. All this has led to a record number of charters into the country, stability in hotel occupancies and overbooked flights...certainly an encouraging sign.

What we cannot afford to do at this point is slacken in our on-going effort of tourism promotion. In fact, it is time for even newer concepts to be launched, and one such huge opportunity for India is the concept of ‘Eco-Tourism’. The presentation of the Indian Ministry of Tourism at WTM 2003 will also highlight this dimension of tourism in India. In accordance with this, Express Travel & Tourism presents an overview of what most of our premier states have to offer in terms of eco-tourism in this special issue for WTM 2003. I’m sure you will find it quite enlightening...