Literary boost for tour operators in Jaipur
With hundreds of visitors participating in Jaipur Literature Festival and making a beeline for the state capital, the travel trade fraternity has put up a great act for garnering business opportunities. reports...
MEGHA PAUL The
Pink City has already established itself in the tourism map of the world. Not only does the city receive ample number of foreign tourists, but also a spectacular number of domestic tourists who are lured by Jaipur’s forts, palaces and its living tradition.
But there is another attraction that is drawing tourists to Jaipur – books. As an alternative to heritage tourism that Jaipur has been famous for, the city of forts and palaces is now promoting literature tourism in a big way, through the recently-concluded Jaipur Literature Festival.
Footfalls have grown year on year, and this year over nearly 2,00,000 visitors jostled each other during the five days of the festival, compared to almost 1,22,000 visitors who attended the event last year.
According to Deepak Dhandh, Proprietor, V Care Tours, there has been a 100% growth year- on-year in the tourism business at Jaipur. JLF is creating a ripple-effect on the travel industry in the region. “As JLF develops, so does Jaipur. In its first year, Jaipur had four five-star hotels. And now the count is 16 and going up”. Apart from the hotel bookings, transport and tours; the company has also organised parties for various sponsors and also a Royal dinner at the City Palace for The Man Booker’s Prize.
The company that has been associated with the JLF since its inception is its official travel partner. “We tend to cater to all segments, ranging from the backpackers to high-end luxury jet-setters. In total, we book and sell around 1,500 room nights in a day. However, during the JLF we get most competitive rates from the hotels. Many hotels also give complimen-
The property till last year had 47odd rooms. This time, the rooms have been increased to 70
tary rooms by becoming festival hospitality partners. Thus, during the last JLF, for those six days we sold 3,200 room nights. This year, it has
The tourist footfall increases significantly during the Jaipur Lit Fest
more than doubled to 7,500 room nights for just six days of JLF 2013,” he reveals.
There has also been an increase in interest in preand post-FAM tours during JLF, opines Dhandh.
Himali Singh Soin, art writer and Director, Ibex Expeditions claims the JLF
It is essential to tap the pool of domestic travellers for lasting effect
good scope for exploring more opportunities to bring the art and book lovers together, she adds.
Georgie Pope, Founder and Director, Sound Travels, says, “My tours have a very specific focus on art, music and culture, the JLF brings precisely the right sort of travellers to my doorstep. Each year I run a tour that is tailor-made to coincide with the JLF, which gives an insight into Rajasthani music, arts and oral traditions.”
Pope reveals, “There is a series of workshops held in Diggi Palace every year before the JLF. This is attended by around 60 to 70 foreigners (around half repeat clients, half new). They often travel to different parts of India after the workshops. Sound Travels offers a tour around Rajasthan that brings them back in time for the literature festival.”
She points out, “Travel agents and tour operators can encourage people to see the arts, crafts, built heritage and other wonders that Jaipur has to offer, as well as making sure that neighbouring towns like Bundi, Ajmer, Bikaner would have the capacity to bring Indian musicians to perform in their own countries. Domestic tourists, on the other hand, often book musicians they’ve met on my tours for their weddings or birthday parties, or tell their friends about them. This helps develop the local economy, and also helps me to build strong relations with musicians who see the longterm benefits of my visits,” she informs.
Reiterating the significance of the domestic tourists, Khalid Khan, Executive Director, LPTI and immediate past president, Rajasthan Association of Tour Operators (RATO) says, “The domestic tourist footfall increases during JLF dates. The city experiences an increase of 10 per cent over and above the normal day.” Diggi Palace is the old family mansion turned heritage property in Jaipur which is also the fest venue since its inception. Says Jyotika Kumari Diggi, Owner and Director of the Diggi Palace, “Around 65 per cent of our rooms were booked by the production team this time. For the remaining ones, we received bookings very early for the event. Thus, the
We have tailor-made packages for the people who visit the festival