Industry applauds govt’s tourism plan

The industry’s optimism has doubled after the introduction of Visa Online. Eagerly awaiting the release of the New Tourism Policy, industry stalwarts speak to about how this will boost inbound arrivals to the country.

Inbound has been a challenge till now. However, with the government’s new initiative of the eVisa, things will be back on track soon. The new evisa system will prevent line-ups in front of the visa desks at airports, reduce the workload of staff working at airports, save time for staff at Indian consulates and embassies, provide easier visa facilitation for foreigners that visit India for tourism and business purposes and increase the number of the visitors as well as tourism and foreign trade revenue.

Jyotsna Suri

India Travel Award Winner and President, FICCI

Luxury travel is on the rise from markets such as the US and Far East. An important development that we should watch out for is the entry of AirAsia and Tata-SIA airlines in the domestic skies. Also, the introduction of ETA by government has removed bottlenecks for foreign visitors planning to come to India. We can expect more customers opting for experiential holidays as this is the new trend.

Vikram Madhok

Managing Director Abercrombie & Kent India

With the recent introduction of ETA, we only see happy times for the inbound market. The inbound from many of our conventional markets, especially the US will grow tremendously. However, there has been a sharp decline in Russian tourists due to steep fall in rouble and the Ukraine crisis. Offbeat destinations like North East will see better growth than previous years and so will specialised luxury and wedding segments. Other segments which will see good growth are the adventure and sports segments. Educational travel and incentive travel will show significant increases as compared with the previous year.

Dipak Deva CEO- Destination Management, India & South Asia

Kuoni Destination Management

The PM was talking about tourism even before he came to power. The good news for us is that he understands our sector. But now we are a trifle disappointed as we continue to see the flattening of the tourism curve. Investors are still not too encouraged. The mood is right but we need to see more momentum on the ground.

Arjun Sharma

MD, Select Group

This year is expected to witness immense scope of growth across MICE, inbound, outbound as well as domestic travel. The recent increase in hotel inventory at tourist locations certainly is an encouraging initiative. We consider this to be a positive development as this will lead to rate correction at tourist locations and spur demand from the inbound market. With the entry of newer carriers and eVoA introduction, there is huge potential of creating a huge competitive space – both a challenge and an opportunity – overall a positive development with correction in pricing, rationalisation and a balanced perspective. Though there is a need for more government initiatives and relaxed taxation policies on products and services, the eVoA for travellers from 43 countries will definitely provide an added boost in the right direction.

Prashant Narayan

COO and Head-Leisure Travel Inbound Business, Thomas Cook India

Indian tourism has reached a stage wherein we should be now talking about ease of doing travel to the country. On the experiential front to the ultimate spenders, we still are not responding well enough to their aspirations. There should be a mechanism in place to improve it. In today’s age, we truly need to see a new version of Incredible India. We should work on safety-related apps and helplines on a pan-India basis in this technology age.

Priya Paul

Chairperson, The Park Hotels

New visa regime (ETA) is a big game changer for India as a travel destination. I believe that India need not have wait till 2020 to see the international inbound to double. It would happen in the next couple of years. As we predict an increased demand for hotels, we are looking at opening 10 to 12 new hotels in 2015. We will bring in our luxury brands like St Regis and W into India soon. We also see tremendous opportunities in conversion space this year. Hopefully, 2015 will be one of the most successful years after 2007 for Starwood Hotels in India.

Dilip Puri

Managing Director-India, Starwood Hotels & Resorts

With the recent clearance of eVoA, we understand the importance of tourism as a strong revenue generator for the country. Goa, over the years, has emerged as a tourist hotspot, for Indian as well as foreign tourists. Traditionally, Goa’s unique amalgamation and fusion of Indian and Portuguese cultures has made it a very unique and special state. The cheerful and friendly nature of Goans, along with its inherent natural beauty and historic monuments has cemented Goa’s position as a top tourist destination. Since the late 60s, Goa has been associated with beaches and parties. While that association continues to be made, we see ourselves as a place which offers a world of experiences to the tourist in some 3,702 sq kms of space. Goa has many other things, and our plan for 2015 is to draw the attention of the world to all that Goa has to offer, such as its rich arts, its fusion of IndoPortuguese cuisine etc.

Ameya Abhyankar

Director, Department of Tourism-Goa