Bringing rural India to the fore

By Prem Subramaniam
Principal (Business Development) at IDFC

The year that went by marked the 60th anniversary of our independence and the 150th anniversary of our first war of independence in 1857. However, the event unfortunately allowed to pass without adequate activity in India. No doubt there were major extravaganzas in New York and celebrations in London over the summer; the former being marred by the Ram Setu controversy in which the tourism minister got embroiled and was unable to lead the New York events. We missed a great opportunity to reunite Indian communities from all over the world in India with enough to make the elders nostalgic and the youngsters develop pride in the nation. There have been enough successes of other countries for us to take a leaf out of. One that springs to mind is a joint exercise by BT and Wales Tourism aimed at getting people of Welsh origin from the USA to "come home" for the millennium through an evocative TV campaign supported by other activities and events.

There is inadequate promotional partnerships and seizing of opportunities.

There was an attempt to have 30,000 volunteers walk from Meerut to Delhi, but the only coverage the event got was about the poor arrangements for the participants.

It is high time we move beyond the spectacle and the razzmatazz to the substance of improving the visitor experience. Our utilisation of the 15-minute window of opportunity at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games is symbolic of our current malaise, where instant gratification seems to hold more importance than long term benefits.

It has been a year in which steep tariffs have reduced occupancies at hotels and business tourism continues to dominate the landscape; a year in which celebrity weddings will generate adequate "me too" business in the future, a year in which reality shows have inspired increased audiences. This could offer new ways to promote tourism destinations in future for the domestic market.

It has also been a year in which lifestyle channels have had increased opportunities to showcase travel related opportunities; a year in which our winning the T20 World Cup at South Africa would generate interest in this form of cricket and could be exploited for tourism; a year in which the fledgling cruise industry, emerging along the Indian coast, has been driven away by steep levies and a change in the regulatory framework; a year in which Kerala displayed strong management skills by the tourism department but the Munnar demolitions demonstrated the fragility of having a poor political environment.

Having just participated in some of the events connected with the visit of the Mayor of London to Delhi, the differences between the approaches to the planning for mega sporting events was noticeably significant. We seem satisfied with staging the event while the London agenda is far more focused on inclusiveness, of regenerating derelict sites, of community involvement, of a strong organisation structure to leave a lasting legacy well beyond the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The partnership and sponsorship models too are more robust in London's case.

The travel industry requires many more mergers and acquisitions, apart from the infusion of new players with a different business outlook. We need an ‘A R Rahman’ kind of entry to shake up the existing structure. It has happened for aviation with low-cost airlines and for ticketing with online enterprises but not adequately for other travel services. Unfortunately the airlines are bleeding and the competitive environment in the online space is causing some players to acquire market share at any cost, so a few bust ups are probably round the corner.

The industry associations are not outward looking; being primarily concerned with fiscal issues. The ability to engage other stakeholders and transform their own associations has been absent.

The government is likely to get into election mode, and it is unlikely that there will be major shifts in policy in the near future with respect to tourism.

A surge in domestic tourism and a sharp increase in outbound travel can be foreseen. The corresponding increase in inbound tourism is unlikely due to supply and price barriers. It would be wise to focus our resources on improving visa services (for which some steps have been initiated), in improving book-ability, in bringing the "unorganised" accommodation sector into the mainstream, and in narrowing the gap between expectations generated out of a visually appealing cluster of images and the reality confronting the visitor on ground.

The PATA Travel Mart in September at Hyderabad and ITB's new event in Singapore in October are opportunities that can be exploited to generate measurable business.

In my capacity, I would like to be more seriously involved with tourist sites in remote locations such as Hampi, Mandu, Fatehpur Sikri, as well as in the North-East. These places are not currently subjected to the kind of pressures that exist in large urban environments and so it should be possible to deliver a difference without too much aggravation. Working with creative communities in non-urban environments to showcase living traditions and generate sales for crafts products, encouraging village home stays and promoting extended holidays for small groups of discerning visitors and extending my experience of creative partnerships into this sphere by bringing together diverse stakeholders, are all part of the plan.

I would like to experiment with the applications of vernacular architecture, with alternate energy sources and with sustainable practices, while focusing on the creation of training material, as well as an information and marketing collateral. Here too, there is room for creative partnerships specially in the virtual world.

I would like to spend more time on travel, on photography and in enabling emerging entrepreneurs in the tourism space to achieve their aspirations, besides working on an alternate model for retirement communities as there will be over 100 million people in India over the age of 60 by 2010 and they represent a significant resource who may be able to enjoy tourism, as they would fulfil the three criteria of having time, money and the disposition.