Looking southwards

By Himmat Anand
Co-chairman, FICCI Tourism Committee

The Karnataka Tourism Expo was organised in May 2006 to showcase the lesser-explored destinations like Mysore and to improve the communication infrastructure there; besides soliciting investment in hotel infrastructure in Karnataka, especially in Bangalore. This resulted in a significant number of Canadian tourists to the state. Also, a study was conducted highlighting the key issues and drawing up a plan of action for further development.

Secondly, considering that India has many Buddhist sites, it was felt that there was a need to create a new product for Buddhist tourism bringing in tourists throughout the year from Japan, China and other South East Asian countries. As of now only one per cent of the Japanese outbound tourists come to India. To study this, a conclave to position India as a hub for Buddhist tourism was organised in January 2007, that was addressed by tour operators from Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Korea.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) invited a 50-member delegation of Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) in 2007 to invest in hotel infrastructure in India. High net-worth individuals of AAHOA held interactive meetings in Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai and outlined AAHOA’s plan for investment in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. They will be visiting India again in January 2008 on FICCI's invitation to seek investment in hotel infrastructure in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Thiruvananthapuram.

FICCI tried to shift the focus off the Golden Triangle to south India as a major tourist destination with its Look South 2007 in Hyderabad. A major plan of action was drawn up for the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Lakshwadeep, Karnataka and Puducherry with inputs from foreign tour operators from 10 different countries. Recognising the potential synergies between Japan and India, FICCI organised a delegation and a conference about Incredible India in Tokyo thereby opening opportunities for ties between operators of Japan and India and also the state governments of Bihar and Sikkim.

FICCI has always wanted to focus on a global tourism mart so as to market tourism products of various states to foreign buyers. This thrust is being worked upon and there are plans to hold the great Indian travel bazaar in Jaipur in April 2008.

It is important for the committee to effectively cater to the agenda planned. The first big aim is to successfully conduct The Great Indian Travel Bazaar 08 - an international tourism mart in Jaipur - with leading national and regional associations like Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), Hotel & Restaurant Association of Rajasthan (HRAR), Indian Heritage Hotels Association (IHHA). The event will be an opportunity for innumerable buyer-seller meets.

Promotion of cruise tourism in India will be one of the highlights for next year and FICCI proposes to organise a round table on the same, studying the possibilities for the future of this product. Promoting the high-end products for luxury tourism, FICCI would be hosting an interactive conference in the United States, attracting high-end tourists and promoting brand India.