A Report

Look south

FICCI and Andhra Pradesh Tourism released a joint study on the possibilities and opportunities for presenting South India as a unified tourist attraction rather than as a collection of separate states. By Vyas Sivanand

The "Look South" tourism initiative is based on facts and research. The study titled Positioning South India as a World Class Tourism Destination, not only highlights which tourist spots should be marketed but also how to present the South as one and strategies to enable this objective.

It tries to point out not just the destinations but also the socio-cultural attributes that make the destinations unique. For example, nirvana destinations like Tirupati and Srisailam are predominantly focused on religious tourism while sanskaar destination like Warangal focuses on culture. The study also includes new destination types like excitement - rock climbing, trekking and parasailing and wildlife which provide unique tourism opportunities.

The study has also brought to light areas like rural tourism which can be explored to create opportunities where hitherto none existed. However, the crux of the study is the section titled 'Positioning a single platform, removing barriers, evolving strategies'. This section studies the current tourism scene in southern India, the problems besetting it and solutions and strategies to help realise the goal of South India as a single tourism destination. The section first highlights the problems the tourism sector is facing in South India.

Connectivity

Connectivity has been cited as a major stumbling block because of the fact that though major cities are well connected, connectivity between smaller towns and states remains poor. According to the report, "Domestic tourism cannot be promoted unless the air, rail and road links across the various states and places of tourist interest in the country are improved."

The report further suggests the creation of a 'seamless transport network' within the regions of South India. This, according to the report, would require not just additional public investment and active private participation, but also a greater deal of coordination between public and private players in the transport sector.

It also points out the glaring deficiencies in terms of tourist accommodations. The report says, "The disturbing fact is that important hubs of South India including Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai are facing demand-supply mismatches leading to explosive growth in pricing at these places." Average room rates have seen high growth trends with prices in Hyderabad and Bangalore being some of the highest in the world. Added to this is the fact that occupancy rates are also the highest in this region, which is a cause for concern. Lesser number of rooms and poor distribution of hotels and room classes in terms of luxury, mid-market and budget classes mean the South lags behind North India in this regard.

The report states bluntly that, "Far from trying to extend tourist stays, attracting them in the first place might become difficult." It points out the need for urgent government intervention to address the accommodations issue. It also addresses the issue of inter-border tax differentials which is a major problem area. Due to various reasons luxury tax rates, too, is high in the region and is a major disincentive to tourists.

The suggestion given is wise and states, "Inter-state tax structures have to be revisited to bring uniformity at all possible levels. Policy level initiatives have to be taken to address these differences in tax levies."

Uniformity in taxes

The report calls for ensuring uniformity in entry-exit level taxes. Multiple taxes lead to confusion among both tourists and operators. Thus, a uniform tax regime across the states is the need of the day. It even calls for increased private sector participation in terms of investments.

The report states, "A well-structured framework should be developed to arouse sustainable private sector interest and avoid conflicts." The report points out the fact that although channeling private investments in the tourism sector is the surest way of bringing a quantum jump in the sector, not many Indian states have succeeded in doing so. A proactive private sector role envisages inducing investment so as to drive demand, the report states. Thus there is a need for the government to attract private players in the tourism market to reduce utilization of budgetary resources, which will involve addressing the constraining factors and presenting bankable projects to the private sector.

The report also talks about information bottlenecks and addressing information needs in the sector. According to the report, "Apart from information on the 'hard' aspects such as infrastructure, destinations and products, highlighting the 'soft' aspects of a place including its culture, environment and hospitality climate would go a long way in creating an impressive tourism experience."

The study does not deal with mere issues and concerns, but also gives key recommendations to ensure the creation of "One South". These key recommendations are:

• Identify and create a vision: The first step is "to impart a wholesome tourism experience by making South India a single, seamless destination, integrated yet diverse, offering everything a tourist looks for." This vision would reflect its single-platform positioning and also create its identity at a global level.

• Proactive role of the government: will be the "most critical ingredient depicting an enabling political will to come together and discuss various worthwhile issues." These issues involve a willingness to be marketed as one, ways and means of revenue sharing, development of and investments in infrastructure and connectivity, and devising ways to attract private sector participation.

• Creation of a 'South India Tourism Council': This council would have representatives of each state and union territory in it. Drafting South India 'tourism policy', emergence of uniform tax regime, revenue sharing amongst regions and developing strategies to replicate best practices of one region across other places would be on the priority list of the council.

The report envisages implementation of new tourism initiatives that will enhance tourism related services by an overall concentration on the focus areas of National Tourism Policy, exploring new tourist segments, creating logical circuits and strategy areas, and focusing on 'cooperative competition' would become important steps in the process.

It also calls for a need to address infrastructure requirements by providing greater incentives for investments in accommodation sector and to the development of hotels and innovative accommodation in specific areas. Also connectivity would need to be enhanced and interior location access must be ensured. Learning from each other's successful initiatives and best practices would constitute an important part of this.

There is also a need to undertake specific marketing initiatives using the electronic media, by developing "One-South" centres, designing special packages and offering incentives for visits to multiple places would all have to be considered for aggressively marketing the South.

Lastly, the study calls for implementing "Pan-South" products which would be the most critical factor for the success of the idea. Some ideas include operating luxury trains across and around the South, establishment of coastal circuits through cruises and exploring potential of river cruises.