30 Minute Interview

'It is not the numbers that matter but the aspirations of the people'

National tourist office Trac Representation understands the needs of its clients, says Rajeev Nangia, its associate director (operations). By Anupama Sushil

Rajeev Nangia Associate Director (Operations) Trac Representation

How many tourism boards do you currently work with? How different is each one's approach to the Indian market?

Currently, we represent seven tourism boards - Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Malaysia, Mauritius, Korea, Jamaica and Spain. Each of these boards has its own products, individual demands and their respective markets that they want to target. The similarity can be seen in the media used for promotional activities and budget but the difference is in the way these activities are conducted in order to reach its respective audience. Each destination is unique and that reflects in the way its product looks. This is where we help the tourism boards to identify the right market and promote the product along with the unique features of the tourism board. All these make a difference. Service levels for each board differ according to its needs.

Could you provide some outbound traffic figures of the countries you represent?

Although we started with Spain last year the destination saw considerable number Indian visitors in the same year. Malaysia saw a growth of 42.3 per cent in the first quarter itself as compared to the same period last year. Even after India's early exit from the World Cup, Jamaica has derived its mileage from the event and now the tourism board has begun to concentrate on the travel trade for selling it further. The destination hosted approximately 17,000 Indians in the year 2006. In the end, it is not the numbers that matter but the aspiration of the people that determines their ultimate choice of destination which is reflected in numbers.

Could you elaborate on the future plans of each tourism board?

Sri Lanka offers some great weekend travel options covering its nature and religious products. It is now turning into a mass destination for its value-for-money holidays. Malaysia is the most promising destination with traffic movement showing an upward trend in all seasons. Malaysia tourism board has outlined 13 events to be promoted in India during the 'Visit Malaysia' year and aims at doing at least two to three events for promotion. Seychelles continues to attract only high-end travellers. Mauritius continues to cater to the niche market and is planning to introduce products like deep-sea snorkeling, horse racing, etc to strengthen its market. Korea is being primarily sold as a MICE destination but is now concentrating on selling itself as a year-round destination. Spain, the gem of Europe, is a one of its kind product centred on culture, history and shopping. But the destination still needs more understanding to be sold in the right way. Jamaica tourism board is still in the process of identifying the right product for the Indian market but it aims to do well with honeymooners, high-end MICE travellers, Bollywood and the resort segment.

Since you are representing a number of East Asian countries, is it possible to market them together?

People have now started to realise that the east can also provide travellers with equally exciting products as the west. As a representation board we cannot really do anything; it's the tourism boards that have taken a forward step on this. And we are surely open to the idea. This will open new avenues, alternate destinations and greater revenue generation options. It will be great way to experience east in this combined fashion.