India witnesses encouraging travel recovery, but there is more to go
Presently, coming up with innovative solutions and implementing the right strategies is crucial for all stakeholders in India for the survival and revival of the tourism industry. Madan Kak, COO – Tours, Minar Travels India, feels that while the industry is in a path of slow and gradual recovery, it is now more important for the industry stakeholders and the Government to focus on some key areas to restore travel confidence in the people.
The second wave of COVID-19 pandemic emerged at a time when India is almost fully unlocked from the restrictions put earlier. There was a resurgence of cases, but the spike was restricted to not many states. People have now learned to live with this virus.
Speaking of revival, Kak says, “We do see a positive trend in the revival of domestic tourism. Domestic tourism has always been a very big segment of Indian tourism, and with people staying indoors for a long time, the urge to travel has become stronger.”
Places such as Jaipur, Udaipur, Agra, Corbett, and Goa are witnessing good volumes of domestic travellers. Places in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, are humming with travellers during present times. And Kashmir is not lagging, though the numbers are not as big as other tourist places. Destination weddings, with all protocols and guidelines observed, are happening and during the auspicious marriage dates during this time, many hotels in Jaipur are sold out.
“However, the trade is now, looking forward to the opening of Indian borders for tourism and restoration of international flights, so that inbound tourism starts again, which will bring much-needed help to this industry, which was closed since the middle of March,” mentions Kak.
With the announcement of a breakthrough in COVID-19 vaccine and the announcement by governments of Britain and Russia, that the first doses of the much-awaited vaccine will be administered to the citizens of both countries, in immediate future, the beleaguered travel industry has got a big boost and now at least, finally, see some light at the end of the tunnel.
“This will start many countries to open borders to holidayers when the vaccine is rolled out in more and more countries.
We hope that the Government of India will also open borders to as many countries as is feasible so that the much starved and most affected travel industry gets some succour,” shares Kak.
With SOPs already in place and practice, the results of people taking to a New Normal are encouraging. The virus is on the decrease and following the two basic rules enumerated by our health experts, i.e. wearing masks and social distancing, domestic tourism is increasing. Business travel is happening again and MICE is getting back slowly. Once the government starts the process of vaccination against this virus, the travel industry will start bouncing back slowly.
The key areas for reassurance passenger safety according to Kak is to remain focused on safety, security and efficiency and to promote public health and confidence amongst travelers, aviation and hospitality industry workers and the general public.
The WFH norm is going to stay for some more time, technology platforms will become a very important component of industry operations. In addition to understanding traveller’s new habits, travel companies have to be on top of the customer’s digital experience, in order to present their offerings seamlessly. On this Kak adds more, “The travel agencies/ destination management companies have to leverage the advances of travel technologies, such as recognition, virtual reality and mobile app’s to offer an updated user experience. Usage of chatbots on the websites for customer support will be considered to be more important in the future.”
The travel industry was the first casualty of COVID-19 and we all know that this industry will be the last to revive. The travel and tourism business especially is on its knees worldwide. As per estimates, India has over one lakh travel agents and tour operators. The number of tourist transporters and hospitality companies runs into hundreds of thousands.
Kak highlights that the trade looks forward to receiving help from the Government of India in the following key areas:
a. To restore SEIS for duty credit of 10 per cent to the tourism industry.
b. To finalise and implement an aggressive Incredible India Market plan which will help drive traffic to India when borders open again. This can be done by offering zero visa fee for FY 2021-22, a waiver for landing fee for charter flights to Goa which will encourage the comeback of charter flights to Goa.
c. Reduce the taxation on hotels, restaurants, monument entrance fees, and interstate taxes on tourist vehicles.