`The Summit Will Give India An International Exposure’

Rathi Vinay Jha, secretary general - India Initiative, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in an exclusive with Anindita Chattopadhyay, talks about the forthcoming annual Summit and their future plans

Why do you think India was chosen as the venue for the WTTC Global Summit?

India was the flavour of the year. It was highly rated by Conde' nast Traveller, Incredible India won the PATA award, plus our economy was on a high. With all these things falling in place, India was a natural choice.

How will India benefit from the summit?

The event will give India an international exposure. After 9/11, in April 2002 PATA was held in India, in October 2003, it was SKAL and in July 2004, it was the WTO convention - each one of these events has showcased India at its best. Since it is a global summit, the focus cannot be India-specific. However, WTTC is offering the ministry of tourism stall space and opportunity to show Incredible India films because India is the host country.

How in your opinion can India exploit this opportunity?

India's travel industry should participate in a big way to exploit the networking opportunities with various constituents of the travel industry. This is essentially a B2B platform - a giant road show where industry people from across the world will gather. So it will give India's industry practitioners to interact and establish their credibility.

Further, we have invited all states to participate. Although, there won't be any exhibition, state secretaries will get a platform to reach out to representatives of the global tourism industry. In addition, they will get an insight into promoting tourism but also to defend it against disruption due to external factors.

How many participants are you expecting?

I am hoping to get around 600 to 700 delegates who will participate at the event.

After the event, how do you plan to carry on the good work?

WTTC has been raising several issues, some of which are yet to be addressed. India is yet to work on strategic priorities like free access through visa on arrival, improvement of infrastructure, promoting responsible tourism, rationalisation of taxes, facilitation of tourists by easing customs and immigration snags, access to quality information. WTTC will continue to work as a facilitator and catalyst dealing with the public and private sectors at all levels - national and regional - so that long-term growth can be planned as a shared pursuit.

What is WTTC's New Tourism concept?

The New Tourism concept represents travel and tourism that works for everyone in an increasingly unpredictable world. It encourages partnerships in which private and public sectors and local communities work powerfully together for common aims and a balance between economic, social and environmental sustainability. WTTC is engaging with all stakeholders towards the preparation of a Blueprint for New Tourism.