‘Support B&B and earn carbon credit’
With the depreciating value of the rupee combined with high air fares, the tourism industry is unsure of what the coming year has in store. But here, as we are discussing the highs and lows of this industry; the megatrend of growing tourism industry is th
The luxury industry is worth approx £77 billion and is now truly global. Despite this boom, the current trends have cast a shadow on it and there are warning signals of a coming impasse. Questions are being increasingly raised about ethics & adverse impact of tourism on ecology & environment. Overconsumption is becoming a mark of exhibitionism and is being replaced from conspicuous to conscientious consumption.
Commercial establishments and hotels will need to re-look at products. Hence Bed and Breakfast (B&B) accommodation is a viable alternative to the conscious consumer who appreciates the concerns of depleting resources. B&B units have been exposed to competition from star hotels and have to compete in the open market for sourcing as well as tapping markets.
It is our utmost priority to ensure that women feel at home while staying in India. B& B type of accommodation is the right answer, especially for the increasing number of women who travel alone.
What B&B owners have to do
The B& B owners may choose tourists from particular country as per their choice and may change their unit and decoration, etc according to the preferences of such guests from that country. At present, economics of B& B scheme of Delhi is unviable. Now, the question arises whether incoming tourists prefer B& B stay over the conventional accommodation available in regular hotels. A survey was conducted between June to December 2012 by DTTDC on this aspect. Response from 210 foreign & domestic tourists was received. The important findings were that 27 per cent of the surveyed tourists were not satisfied with service offered at the place of stay in Delhi but none of the 13 tourists staying in B& B units felt aggrieved on any issue related to stay. As many as 23 per cent tourists desired homely care. The survey also revealed that, on an average, the tourists coming to Delhi prefer to spend up to ` 4,045 per night for an average stay of three- four days. All these desirable elements will certainly be available in a B& B accommodation. An added advantage of B&B stay, nevertheless, is that tourists get similar facilities as are available in regular hotels in tariff range which is approximately 25- 30 per cent cheaper as there is exemption from levy of Luxury tax and applicability of commercial rates on electricity & water bills in B& B accommodations.
Inspite of such advantages, B& B scheme of Delhi is not picking up. There is hardly any individual or concerted efforts for its publicity, promotion and marketing. In fact, the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India and Delhi Government should give extra incentives on promotion of the B& B scheme. This will help in solving the problem of shortage of budget accommodation without any further acquisition of land and development of infrastructure and draining out non-renewable resources of energy, thereby earning ‘ carbon credit’ by Delhi Government.