Can regional tourism be a way out?
“Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, the industry had laid emphasis on promoting regional tourism. The biggest advantage we have in East and Northeast India is the shared border opportunity with Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. With this, there is a bigger opportunity for is in terms of cross-border tourism in the region. We have to see from where the business will start in the post COVID-19 era. Bangladesh is the biggest inbound tourist market for India, so there is a bigger opportunity to boost cross-border tourism with them since people will start travelling to nearby destinations first. Inbound and outbound travel will take longer to bounce back, but with close proximity, nearby destinations can do really well. To further boost prospects, I believe that there should be a visa-free entry for tourists from Bangladesh to India, to increase the numbers.” the rising number of cases does not go down, Russia's prospect also looks quite grim to me. We need to prepare and wait for the situation to get better and then we can look at charter flights from Russia swinging back to the country,” he adds.
Associations and business
Apart from coordinating with industry stakeholders, members and the government, travel trade associations are also playing an imp o r -
– Debjit Dutta
need to be addressed by experts in the field. We are doing very well at the moment and have
Price change post COVID-19 “In my opinion,” says Atree, “hotels and airlines will come up with good attractive packages and I think, if this thing does not work, they are going to spike prices. The demand for 5-star hotels is going to shoot up since travellers will be more concerned about health and hygiene.”
To this, Dutta adds, “The market runs on demand and supply. The need of the hour is flexibility in terms of cancellations, and luxury has to be pocket-friendly. There is a concern regarding an additional cost due to various SOPs and safety measures, which have to followed by everyone. This might increase prices. People will certainly be looking at stand-alone properties such as small, private and boutique hotels, since travellers would like to avoid places with huge crowds.”
Mehra feels that if airlines leave the middle seat empty, prices will definitely go up. “But, if we are allowed to sell all the
Dutta believes that the most important thing right now is to get the vaccine as soon as possible. “This is the only hope for the growth of tourism. Without
it, it will be a very different world to live in, which is certainly not good for the industry. Meanwhile, the priority should be survival. Whatever planning needs to be done, we need to do it now to save the industry in the days to come. We must understand the transformation and adapt to it