Making A Lasting Impression

At the World Travel Market 2004 held in London, India too took a much larger space for its main pavilion while some of the hotel chains, big travel agencies and private airlines occupied vantage points outside in the Asian section

Rabindra Seth - New Delhi

Renuka Chowdhury, minister of state for tourism makes a point during the WTTC panel discussion.

India’s presence at the hospitality industry’s greatest show on earth - World Travel Market - was enhanced by two factors. One was the largest and high powered participation by the states and the other a preview of an India-sponsored (but no India-centric) 24-hour global TV channel devoted to travel and tourism, christened Worldroom Travel TV.

WTM, as the event is popularly known, held in London’s November cold has been growing in size since its inception 25 years ago, as has India’s interest in this huge market place. This year more than 5,000 exhibitors from over 190 countries joined the show. India too took a much larger space for its main pavilion while some of the hotel chains, big travel agencies and private airlines occupied vantage points outside in the Asian section. Only a handful of CEOs were there; number 2s and middle-level executives manned the booths.

It was, however, the states that seemed to be more visible and playing a dominant role. Haryana was in the lead with chief minister O P Chautala, followed by tourism ministers from UP, Uttaranchal, Andhra and Kerala among others. Half a dozen other states sent their senior functionaries. All of them made presentation to invited audience of tour operators and media persons.

The India Pavilion at WTM 2004

Chautala offered farm tourism. Lt Gen T P S Rawat of Uttaranchal invited foreigners to experience spirituality in his state and explained in detail the lure of the Char Dhams - Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Interestingly, among the gifts he distributed was Ganga Jal and Rudraksh Mala. UP’s K Hameed shared the good news that the apex court had waived restrictions on night viewing of the Taj around the full moon days as well as on concerts in the vicinity of the great monument. Andhra’s Dr Geeta Reddy spoke of plans for rural tourism. And, the Kerala minister built on the state’s ‘God’s Own Country’ branding. The states that did not field ministers had their tourism secretaries making presentations. The more active among them were Sikkim Tourism’s executive director P K Dong and secretaries from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Madhya Pradesh had sent Nitish Bhardwaj, chairman state tourism corporation and star of the Maharashtra TV serial. His brief included the aesthetic upgrade of public sector-run facilities.

In the good old days participation in international trade events was largely in the hands of industry with support from the department of tourism (DoT) and overseas tourist offices. The director general’s presence was of course a must. The abolition of that post has meant that secretary has to undertake that responsibility. Participation at the minister’s level in a regular fashion was perhaps started by Ghulam Nabi Azad and has now become a routine. The states started with their functionaries and they too have followed the practices of letting ministers lead the delegations.

Launch of the WTTC Global Summit to be held in New Delhi in 2005

Opinion is divided on whether such participation contributes to promotion. But many see some merit in this as one way of involving the states in the tourism effort, for, they rightly argue, action lies in the states. It must be remembered, however, that there is no sure method of knowing the returns that come from this expenditure of the tax payers’s money. But care needs to be taken to ensure that politicians and bureaucrats have the necessary professional support to achieve results.

Of course, for projecting the big picture of India there was minister of state for tourism (independent charge) Renuka Chowdhury and secretary Uma Pillai, both first timers, assisted by joint secretary Amitabh Kant who is now a familiar figure at such marts. Chowdhury formally declared the pavilion open and kept a busy schedule of meetings with leading tour operators from many parts of the world as well as travel journalists. She was also the central figure at a special programme organised by WTM.

Doing brisk business at the India Pavilion

This was a preview of the 2005 Global summit of the World Travel and Tourism council (WTTC) to be held in India in March next. The other panelists with her were Lalit Suri, MP and Chairman Bharat Hotels, Ronald Andruff, CEO, Tralliance (founder of ‘travel’ Internet domain extension), Stellios Haji-Joannou, founder chairman of easyGroup and Wangping, president, Chamber of Tourism Commerce, China. The moderator was a BBC anchor, Gwenan Edwards.

To the question why India, Chowdhury painted an exciting picture of a country with a 5,000 year old civilisation which has shot into the 21st century as an IT super power and aspiring to be the world’s leading destination. From Wangping came some revealing statistics. Forty three per cent of tourism revenue, she said, is being generated by the private sector. She reminded the audience that China hopes to be the world’s number one destination by 2010.

To come back to the Worldroom Travel TV. Its team of professionals captured the goings on at WTM and outside and transmitted them on plasma screens. The channel will be formally launched at the WTTC summit in Delhi. A project of Worldroom Ltd, a London-based Company with Indian roots is the brain-child of director Philip Pothen who says the channel will be unbiased in showcasing destinations world wide and focusing on responsible tourism.