‘India Should Focus Mainly On The Cultural Aspect’

Alex Kyriakidis, partner - travel, tourism and leisure, Deloitte & Touche LLP, who was also a speaker at the recently-concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, in conversation with Charmaine Fernz, talks about the steps India needs to undertake to establish itself on the global tourism map

Indian tourism in the past few years has witnessed a boom. This could be attributed to both the government and the industry at large. Keeping with this trend, the World Travel India (WTI) 2004 was an ideal platform. Says Alex Kyriakidis, partner - travel, tourism and leisure, Deloitte & Touche LLP, "Having worked with a lot of countries, it is a fact that, an international travel conference is a good start. On the Indian front, this is a good time for an event like this since the government has recognised the importance of tourism."

Explaining his view on how India should tap the rich tourism resource, he said, "The government should determine what are the Unique Selling Points (USPs) for India. The country is tremendously rich in culture and well-being and this should certainly be highlighted. It must be understood that the well-being aspect is fundamental to the future of tourism. One should also focus on aged travellers ie silver hair tourism as it is a growing segment, hereby promoting the richness of India as a destination."

Kyriakidis also highlighted a few points that the Indian government could implement for the future. He said, "The Indian tourism focus should move on from the upper end tourists. It is a big mistake. What are critically important are the domestic affluent and international mid-market tourists and in this regard, budget accommodation should also be made available. It is not the type of accommodation but the facilities that matter. If it is comfortable then it certainly gives a value driven experience to tourists. India should focus mainly on its cultural aspect. It is one of the country's biggest strengths and India should retain it. In today's world, besides safety and security, the next aspect that a tourist look for in a country is the cultural aspect."