Short-Circuited

The Myth Of Inter-State Circuit Tourism

Though Indian states have spoken endlessly about promoting inter-state circuit tourism, little has been done in that area. Reema Sisodia finds out why this segment needs to go right on top of the priority list of Indian tourism…

Twenty-nine states and seven union territories form the world's largest democracy, a country that has arguably one of the world's most diverse and wide-spread geographic splendours. Indian is easily a tourism haven by any reckoning. Though a common political and bureaucratic structure binds India together, when it comes to tourism are its parts truly connected? Has inter-state circuit tourism gone beyond lip service? Industry opinion on this topic is far from encouraging. Tourism entities in the travel trade, especially tour operators and travel agents, feel that State Tourism Boards (STBs) are either too caught up in individual promotions or have failed to understand the potential of inter-state tourism.

Interpreting Inter-State Circuit Tourism

An industry expert explains the concept thus, "Inter-state circuit tourism is when two or more states come together to sell the region as a whole and reap the benefits. These circuits could be based on various themes or on effective transport connectivity."

He goes on to explain the current reality, "Today, most states have done well in promoting circuits only within their states. What we are witnessing is intra-state circuit tourism rather than inter-state circuit tourism. There have been marginal efforts to actually join hands with neighbouring regions to promote the area as a circuit."

Ironically, most state tourism boards agree on the potential of creating inter-state circuits. Says S N Bhattacharjee, managing director, West Bengal Tourism Development Corporation Ltd, "Circuit tourism is a very novel and innovative idea to promote tourism in a region. If we could identify some important tourist spots in adjoining states and club it under a circuit, then it would be of immense help for promotion of tourism, both in the region and states. It is a concept that can produce great results, if packaged and marketed properly."

The realisation therefore exists but states in general have tended to 'Look In' than 'Look Out'. Some, in fact, have promoted themselves with great profit. As individual states, Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan are success stories, even in the international market to a certain extent. New states such as Uttaranchal and Chhattisgarh have also identified tourism as its cash cow but in an individual capacity with the tourism structure and framework designed for circuits within the state.

To cite examples: Uttaranchal is promoting its Char Dham Pilgrimage Circuit with the help of private participation; Gujarat has special plans to develop the Kutch and Junagadh regions; West Bengal has identified circuits in the north Bengal region covering the Dooars and places like Lava, Lolegaon etc, along with other circuits covering the temple town of Bishnupur, Bankura, Tarapith and Shantiniketan, and historical circuits covering Plassey and Murshidabad.

All in all, promotion of circuits remain largely within the state. Charles Pinto, assistant manager operations, Jetair Tours, sums it up, "Apart from the run of the mill Delhi-Agra-Jaipur circuit, till date, there have not been any other inter-state circuit that has gained mass popularity. There have been a few projects under discussion, but no definite action is in sight yet."

Implementation At A Standstill?

In the past, there have been moves by certain states to promote inter-state circuits. Unfortunately, many proposals have remained on paper, lost in red tape. No one really knows where the buck stopped - bureaucracy, lack of political will, deplorable infrastructure facilities, the list is endless. An instance of this is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) scheduled to be signed between the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to develop certain regions as circuits. In fact, Express Travel & Tourism had reported in 2002, that Madhya Pradesh was planning to launch a train called Moogli Express, a 'Palace on Wheels' concept, by October 1, 2002. It was to be a circuit tour starting from Nagpur and included the Kanha experience. But, for reasons unknown, nothing concrete happened on this front and the projects yet to flag off.

In another instance of still-born cooperation, the eastern eight states had united to launch a special brand. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) had brought together the chief ministers of eight states in the North-East Summit held in Mumbai and it was agreed to promote the region as brand 'North-East'. In the meeting, Amitabh Kant, joint secretary tourism, department of tourism and culture, government of India, urged ministers not to allow their marketing efforts to disintegrate by promoting each state individually. He had advised them to pool in resources and market the entire region as one brand. The new campaign was termed as '8 States, 8000 Reasons To Visit'. The campaign's agenda was as follows:

1. Gaining global recognition.

2. Accessing and penetrating new markets.

3. Avoidance of their products being seen and bought as commodities.

4. Creating a corporate entity.

5. Building a common logo.

6. Cutting across geographical boundaries.

7. Building at least one tourism circuit of international standard.

8. Identifying and developing at least one world-class destination in each state.

9. Focusing on eco- and rural tourism.

10. Engaging vigorous web branding and marketing of North-East as a tourism product.

What has come of this initiative? All the state authorities, when contacted, were unable for comment.

Indian tourism history is replete with such examples. In a bid to enhance tourism between Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh, former Union tourism minister Jagmohan had set out plans for a 475 kilometre Upchi-Manali road, which would have enabled tourists to visit both states in a safer and shorter period of time. Plans were also underway to upgrade the 11 monasteries, besides the Leh palace and Stoke Palace, falling under this circuit. All this was supposed to be done with the help of Archeological Survey of India (ASI). Goa too had been holding regular talks and discussions with the western states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh to develop tourist circuits. All these initiatives have come to nothing yet.

Bottlenecks

So, what could be the reasons for lack of development? Some believe there is a lack of awareness. T K Gopakumar, director, Magellen Travel Service P Ltd, Chennai, says, "There is a lack of education on the benefits of inter-state circuit tourism and what it can do to promote the tourism sector."

But lack of funds is by far the biggest cause of inter-state circuits not taking off. In 2002, the Central Government decided to develop six inter-state tourism circuits but the allotment of Rs 41 crore, out of the budget outlay of Rs 225 crore, was insufficient. In an effort to enhance and develop the tourism potential through mutual cooperation, approximately two years ago an MoU was also signed between the governments of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC), and Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC). The MoU promised to entail both bodies and their authorised agents to handle booking of rooms, accommodation, conducting packaged tours, along with organising cultural exchange tours.

Volatile Reshuffle At Centre & State Levels

The former government at the centre had also drafted policies to develop integrated circuits, whereby the Tenth Five Year Plan was submitted to the Planning Commission, charting out ambitious plans to develop integrated circuits all over the country. These integrated circuits would go beyond a state. The focus was Ajanta and Ellora and Buddhist circuits of the Bihar zone. Frequent changes at the top levels in state tourism departments and also at the Centre hampered inter-state circuit tourism development.

In the recent past, especially post elections 2004, Maharashtra, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh to name a few have received new leaders in the tourism department. The immediate past managing director of Chhattisgarh Tourism too was in the process of taking concrete action in the area of circuit tourism. Says A Jayatilak, former MD, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) prior to quitting, "Circuit tourism is very important as tourists go by circuits and not by states. They are not aware of the state boundaries. Tourists want to explore the maximum number of destinations in one visit which leads to the development of a circuit. We at CTB were aware of its importance and had already started working in this regard. We are promoting tourism circuits of Chhattisgarh extending to MP and AP. In MP, the Kanha National Park can be approached in a better way from Chhattisgarh and similarly tourist visiting Kanha can come over to see the Bhoramdeo temple at Kawardha in Chhattisgarh. We have a circuit that goes like Kanha -Kawardha -Raipur -Kanker- Jagdalpur. In Southern Chhattisgarh, the circuit is extended till the Araku Valley, which is in Andhra Pradesh. We promote the picturesque train journey from Jagdalpur to Vishakapatnam, which passes through 52 tunnels and also through the Araku valley. Andhra Tourism has also opened an office at Jagdalpur and we are planning to open an office at Vizag The private sector has also realised the potential of inter-state tourism circuits and have come up with various tour packages. Indo Asia Tours Pvt Ltd, Thomas Cook are some of the leading tour operators that have come up with itineraries covering the above-mentioned circuits. Inter-state circuit tourism is here to stay and must be encouraged."

Unfortunately, MD Jayatilak, with a futuristic vision for the state could not stay too long with the tourism portfolio, as he has been recently transferred to a different department.

Passing The Buck

The tourism department simply ask what can we do alone. It is important for the state transport department, taxation department to first introduce policies that can encourage inter-state tourism. Explains Ramesh Negi, MD and CEO, Delhi Tourism And Transport Development Corporation, "There have been meetings of tourism thinkers from the northern belt to inter link circuits for better tourism promotion. But well, apart from the tourism department, it is important for other departments such as transport and taxation to also introduce tourism friendly policies." Jayatilak also expressed concern over the same and mentioned that varied transport tax in different states hinder inter-state coach transport facilities. Uniform and rational taxation across the country will encourage inter-state tourist circuits. Expresses Sheherazad Mehta, general manager operations - tours, Travel Corporation of (India) Pvt Ltd (TCI), "It is important for the STBs to work as a team. Passing on the baton would reap no rewards. The tax, infrastructure including hotels, roads, tourist-friendly systems have to be put in place. Road taxes are a major problem that definitely needs immediate action in a united fashion."

Adding further Phillip Kutty, MD, Sathura Tour and Travels, Kumarakom, Kerala, says rather strongly that, "There is a lot of brain storming that states have to do, rather than just make an announcement today and go back to sleep on it."

Private Initiatives

Where the STBs have not failed to tread on, the private parties such as tour operators, travel agents and hoteliers have done the job to activate certain circuits. The beaten to death Delhi-Agra-Jaipur too was initiated by private players as per demand from market forces. There have been private tour operators who have taken the initiative to design unique special interest itineraries covering various states in one trip. Some have used India's famous monument the Taj Mahal as the focal point and designed special interest trips around it. Adventure tourism and wildlife tourism packages, yoga and meditation packages, beach packages, forts and palaces packages, desert circuit tours and so on are designed by private operators.

Explaining the scenario Ramanujam S Rao, MD, RSR Tours and Travels, Bangalore, says, "The concept will definitely prove to be a win-win situation for all parties involved. We have custom-made package for south India and it has been successful. But if the states would have been proactive connectivity between states would have improved. Accommodation facilities need enhancement; tax structure is a big hurdle, with prices differentiating from place to place. A lot of clean up has to be done. Amongst all the hurdles, we have still gone ahead in developing state-connected packages because it works out well financially and our initiation to keep our customers satisfied. If the government takes a similar initiation, then we will surely see much better times. Everybody will be benefited. Being in the business for sometime, I know that while our efforts are at the peak, the government is not doing even a bit on their part. A pile of papers with lots of initiatives and promises, that's all we witness."

Supporting his statement Veena Patil, director, Kesari Tours says, "The infrastructure has to be worked upon in the first place. There has been some ray of hope, with a handful of people have made the efforts to first set their house in order and then have thought of extending their hands. But it is important to push more ahead to see concrete results. There can be a number of circuits that can be a success. For example, Sikkim and Darjeeling can be an interesting circuit. Andaman and Nicobar, Lakshadweep can also be promoted with the adjoining mainland states. To reach the island of Lakshadweep, one has to pass through Kerala."

There Is Hope

Feedback from both the public and private sector has been mostly positive about the future of inter-state circuit tourism. On one hand, there has been maximum momentum in promoting the concept amongst the private sector it is time for states and also the Centre to do their bit of work. According to Bhattacharjee, government of West Bengal had mooted a 'religious circuit' covering the states of Bihar, West Bengal and Orissa as these adjoining states house some important Buddhist religious sites. He further added, "If we could have packaged it under a single circuit and market it to South-East Asian countries, then it would have benefited all the three states. But nothing concrete has been worked out till date. There have been some informal arrangements with respective state governments regarding sharing of information on these sites."

The Buddhist circuit has been a highly popular path that covers a number of states. Private players have done extensive business in this sector and there are also a number of players sell Buddhist circuit packages. The Deccan Odyssey was an effort in putting in Goa as a part of its package. In the South, recently a council has been formed by the four Southern states to take decision to sell the region as a whole. Says Dr Geetha Reddy, minister of tourism, government of Andhra Pradesh, "Joint tourism promotions with neighbouring States are the way forward. In fact, we have made a special request to honourable union minister for tourism to show case the splendours of South India by conducting a 'Dakshin Utsav' in New Delhi.”

There has been news that some leaders in the South are going a step ahead to connect regions on the international circuit with India namely, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore etc and sell it as a unit to the world.

Hope definitely exists. United action on part of the state boards, political will, along with the undivided support from the private sector would give India tourism further impetus in the form of inter-state circuits. Inter-state tourism circuits, would thus form a priceless product for domestic tourism as well as inbound tourism for the country.

(With inputs from Joy Roy Choudhury, Kolkata, Vyas Sivanand, Bangalore and Lakshmi Subramanian, Chennai)