Industry Reinstates Faith In New Tourism Minister

There has been a change in guard in the corridors of power at the Centre, with the tourism ministry getting a new head. As minister of state with independent charge, Renuka Chowdhury steps in with a bouquet full of responsibilities, but in a position that is a step below her predecessor. Does this infer that tourism has gone down the priority list? Jyoti Koul and Reema Sisodia procure industry reactions and analyse the mood in the Indian tourism circuit

The recent dance of democracy has left the tourism industry completely bewildered. For the simple reason that after years of step-motherly treatment from the government, the industry captains had a minister in Jagmohan who lent a patient ear to their problems and waged a crusade to give tourism its desired industry status. So much so that tourism featured in the BJP manifesto as an important economic growth generator and received benefits like partial industry status and a few tax benefits. However, while the previous government had given financial incentives to the ailing tourism industry and elevated its status, the present government has supposedly demoted the tourism ministry by 'taking away’ Cabinet rank and separating the culture ministry. The new tourism minister Renuka Chowdhury is a minister of state with independent charge and culture has now been given to Jaipal Reddy, minister, information and broadcasting.

The demotion could lead to some apprehension about the future development of the industry as it sends a signal that tourism is not really a priority for this government. It may be mentioned in this context that the Congress manifesto did not highlight tourism as an important economic activity despite the fact it is the biggest employment generating industry and Congress promised to generate one crore jobs annually. The pendulum of opinions swings from hopelessness to positivism. There have been a few like Rajinder Kumar, secretary, Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), who could hardly hide his disappointment while commenting on the non-Cabinet rank of the ministry, "Yes, it does not seem to be very encouraging for the industry, even though she will be able to take independent decisions," says Kumar. But there are some who have expressed views that are encouraging for the new minister. For example, Balbir Mayal, president, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) feels, "Though the ministry has lost its Cabinet rank, it would not matter because the minister has independent charge and she will take her own decisions."

Optimism In The Air

Though there are voices that feel the change in guard is not good news for tourism, some voices are optimistic. Ajoy K Misra, senior vice president-sales & marketing, The Indian Hotels Company Ltd, is extremely hopeful of the new tourism head. In his words, "The definition of the post is not as important as the personality. What is important is the approach of the leadership and the vision and dynamism through which the good work will continue. We are definitely optimistic and are hopeful that the focussed approach toward the improvement of tourism initiated by the predecessor would continue and also improve." His view is supported by V N Dalmia, chairman, civil aviation and tourism committee, PHDCCI. He says, "I do not think that tourism not having a Cabinet minister will have any major impact on the policy planning as state ministers are allowed to attend the cabinet meetings." Dalmia feels that tourism has a dynamic future under Chowdhury, which is seconded further by M P Purushothaman, president, SIHRA (South India Hotel & Restaurant Association). He feels that, "It is not the position or the post that matters. What matters is the personality and the individual. He or she must have total commitment toward bringing about positive benefits to the entire tourism industry. At the end of the day she has to be a performer." Echoing his viewpoint is Swadesh Kumar, vice chairman, Indian Convention Promotion Bureau (ICPB), who also thinks it all depends on the capability of the individual minister. "Whether she is a Cabinet minister or minister of state does not really matter as long as she has commitment and drive. She will have to make sure tourism gets the priority in her government."

Between the two extremes of opinions, there also exists a middle ground.

Lalit Suri, president Hotel Association of India (HAI)) and Rajya Sabha MP, who has been instrumental in convincing the previous NDA government about the importance of the travel and tourism industry, believes there will not be any change in the tourism policy. "I think it will be a status quo. We would like to have a full infrastructure status given to the industry, but let us see how things work out," said Suri.

There also existed a phase when there was a silent message doing the round in the tourism industry - that Chowdhury was reluctant to accept the tourism portfolio, putting a question mark on her inclination to continue in this ministry. But this rumour was short lived and tourism professionals and experts are getting optimistic with every passing day. They definitely do not seem to be worried about the situation, as they feel the progressive work initiated has to continue and only improve in the future. Experts believe that come what may, no government in the present scenario can ignore the tourism industry's ability to create jobs and fill the exchequer. Said a senior official from Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC), "It just does not matter what the title of the post reads as. Positive work towards the improvement of tourism has already rolled and stopping this wheel, which has taken momentum, is not possible. No one would dare do it now."

Thomas Cook CEO and MD, Ashwini Kakkar who also was recently elected president of the Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) further endorsed the fact that there is definitely hope in store for the country. He says, "Renuka Chowdhury has a large mandate from the country's travel trade that awaits her. I do not think that the status of tourism as a priority is in any kind of trouble, simply because Chowdhury is minister of state and not a Cabinet minister. She has been given independent charge, which means that she does not have to revert to the Cabinet ministry or the prime minister simply to get affirmations for reforms in the sector. There is lot that needs to done in the areas of `Brand India', job creation in the tourism sector, expenditure on monument maintenance, multiplicity of high taxes, interlinking reform with the ministry of civil aviation, surface transport, infrastructure and investments and outlay of tourism expenditure. As BCCI president, I look forward to presenting the overall industry's agenda to Chowdhury very soon." The new minister in charge, in her initial address did stress upon the importance on working on the concept of `Brand India'. She also mentioned in her speech that she intended to make India, `the' destination of the world in 20 years. She has also reported to have requested the prime minister to grant her Rs 500 crore in the upcoming general budget. Culture, medicine and religion is what she intends to serious pursue and boost for the future. Though all this sounds good, there could be some hindrances due to the proposed shifts and shuffles in the bureaucracy.

Roadblocks For Renuka

There is no denying that Jagmohan not only uplifted the industry, but also brought efficiency and commitment in governance. Apart from being an experienced leader, he was a man of action who did what he said. But what worked to the advantage of Jagmohan was the strong support of a capable team comprising of tourism secretary, Rathi Vinay Jha, joint secretary, Amitabh Kant and additional director general, Rashmi Verma. But with Jha retiring in about a month's time and Verma going back to her state cadre, she will only have Kant from Jagmohan's team in the ministry. This would queer the pitch for a beginner like her because she will have to build up a team again. "It is very important to have like minded people in a team to support her. A lot will depend on the new secretary because that is the starting point," said Rajinder Kumar.

Another major advantage that Jagmohan enjoyed was that he was the minister of culture as well which made taking decisions about heritage monuments easier. But the new minister will have to get nods from a different ministry. So, Mayal thinks coordination might be a problem. "The industry always wanted the tourism and civil aviation ministries to be clubbed together as it used to be earlier. This has not happened. Instead, now we have three ministers for tourism, culture and civil aviation, which might lead to coordination problems for Chowdhury. As for the industry, we will have to deal with three ministers for any of our problems."

Expectations

One thing the industry seems to be happy about is the new minister's dynamism and eagerness to perform. They are all waiting to see what the coming months will be and are unsure about how successful she will be. It will take a minimum of six months to review the performance of the new government, industry experts say. Adds Purushotaman, "As of today, it is too early to make any judgement about whether she would perform or not. On the face of it, things are moving well and we are all hopeful that the good work set out in the area of tourism would continue and hopefully will improve with time." Meher Bhandara, general manager, corporate communications, Travel Corporation (India) Ltd, too expresses her faith in the new leader. She says, “We expect her to perform, as she has made an impressive start, listing down all that she intends to do for tourism. On the face of it, it sounds good and we are always ready to work closely with the ministry of tourism to make tourism a success in the country. We are hoping for some real action, with the backing of strong policies which would be effectively implemented. Only lip-service by the leaders at the top would go against the leadership.”

What the intelligentsia is waiting to know how the new minister interprets tourism. They believe it is very important for any policy maker to understand a vast subject like tourism before taking decisions. "Jagmohan was the only tourism minister who believed that tourism is a civilisational issue and not an activity restricted to the elite. Thus he could very well relate tourism with other aspects of society because tourism ultimately is a 'people’s industry'. To some extent he was able to change the mindset about tourism. The new minister will have to adopt the same viewpoint to make a difference," said Arun Kundu, manager operations, Discover India Affairs and Incentives.

As a matter of fact, the former government has made the ground fertile for the tourism industry to reap the harvest. Jagmohan has set the ball rolling with respect to development of the industry. Industry insiders maintain that the new minister might not have to indulge in the hard task of policy making because she can simply continue with, or follow the action plans and policies chalked out by her predecessor. For instance, when the Incredible India campaign has successfully created an awareness overseas about the destination and its different offerings, one just needs to ride on the generated momentum.

Said Prem Subramaniam, head, tourism infrastructure, Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (IDFC), "The momentum has been generated and it has to move on for the sake of the industry. In today's world no government can possibly ignore the importance of tourism. And in India every state government is putting thrust on tourism, so the centre, I believe, will integrate its plans with state plans." Concedes Deepak Sharma, secretary, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI). "Ultimately what matters for tourism is the hype created about India in the international markets as more international arrivals would mean more foreign exchange earnings. What is expected from this government is to create adequate infrastructure to cater to the five million tourist target."

Chowdhury has rightly identified domestic tourism, especially religious tourism, as the base and has indicated that she will carry forward the work of the previous minister, providing a sigh of relief to the industry. She comes across as proactive when she declares boldly on the security aspects that "India is as safe as New York.

After September 11 nothing has happened to make a tourist feel unsafe in India."

Naturally, the industry is banking a lot on her positive, aggressive attitude. "She was very open in the discussion and has promised to take all decisions in consultation with the industry. When we mentioned about the visa-on-arrival, airport modernisation, security and other issues, she said she would take up all the important issues, which the erstwhile government wanted to push through, especially visa on arrival. We hope things move forward," said Mayal. Adds Misra, "It is important for the new force to keep the key factors of tourism progress in mind. They cannot afford to lose sight or dilute the incentives and benefits associated with tourism success. Fund allocations, keeping the industry away from taxation, airport modernisation, liberalising the visa process and other sops and benefits have to be incorporated and the recently acquired seriousness about tourism needs to continue."

Subramaniam expects the minister will focus on infrastructure. "With the addition of every one million tourist, we need 30,000 rooms. Though land is a state subject, the minister needs to see that there is integration between the Centre and states’ approach in improving tourism infrastructure. Further, the government needs to extend its role from marketing the destination to coordinating with the private sector to make sure that products complementing its marketing focus are available. For instance, the Incredible India campaign focuses on spirituality but there is no specific product available, say a seven-day spiritual package."

With expectations galore, the tourism and hospitality industry in general has pinned all hopes in the new minister. They expect her to improve the status of tourism in India. Whilst at the onset of her responsibility, Chowdhury has announced her new focus areas, one can only wait and watch whether vision is converted into reality.

(With inputs from Anindita Chattopadhyay (New Delhi), Bhisham Mansukhani (Mumbai).