Heralding new opportunities
The first expectation is that this virus crisis dies down without any further harm to life or livelihood. Expectations from tourism stakeholders are that the basics of business are done right, done fast and with the utmost integrity. All countries should be open to vaccinated travellers with minimal basic checks. Do not kill the joy of visiting new places by placing hurdles in the name of safety. Technology stays an enabling tool and does not become a replacement for a breathing, feeling human workforce. The essence of handling and experiencing tourism should get stronger and pleasurable. Tourism business and functions, trainings, forums and such activities should become more effective for a meaningful impact to nurture newcomers and propel existing talents to the next level.
We expect domestic tourism to continue booming in the New Year 2022 and room rates to further increase in the New Year. While room occupancies are improving at our properties, the rates continue to be soft. As long as the vaccination rate is high across the country, leisure travel will continue to grow strongly along with religious tourism. Once the fear of new variants subsides, business hotels will also pick up. However, now we see that happening only in the latter half of the year. In terms of the Renest brand, we will continue to expand in leisure and tourist destinations, focusing on the domestic market, which has shown a lot of growth in the last two years. Domestic tourism has proved to be a saviour for all.
While we know that complete recovery is a long shot, we are hopeful that with the onset of 2022, the overall tourism industry will go back to normal. While we are also adapting and accepting that the current situation is as normal as it can be, we can only be prepared for the unexpected and continue delivering the best to our capabilities. Also, the demand for business travel is expected to surge in the New Year, and tourists will also travel for longer durations and to further destinations. For the next year, since we are anticipating an increase in travel plans across the board, we will be introducing packages that will be a leisure traveller’s delight. After 2021, we are hopeful and optimistic about the New Year.
RAILWAYS
While everyone says that 2021 was a bad year, I think it gave us time to think back and strategise our businesses and social life. In 2021, people wanted to move out, and we were offering them solutions, as we reworked ourselves, and relooked at a lot of things. We accepted technology, and we were ready with certain packages. Things have been good since September. The sentiments of the passengers and tourists have been great. They have been responding very well. We plan to continue in the same spirit. As this sentiment grows, IRCTC's offerings will also grow, and we are treading with caution.
CORPORATES
The biggest challenge of today is rebuilding ‘trust’. Every travel and M!CE partner needs to rebuild ‘trust’ among travellers, clients and employees. As an industry, we should focus on data, insights, intelligence, analytics, search engine optimisation and artificial reality. Keeping ‘hybrid’ mode in mind, the hotels should look at the RoI on investment than just cost. Another challenge faced by hospitality sector right now is that corporate travellers are afraid to travel. Hotels should work towards removing the various touch points with the help of technology. Once we are able to win back their trust and instil confidence, there should be 50 per cent revival of M!CE in 2022.
In the coming two to three years, there are going to be a lot of meetings and travel for corporates as companies also want their employees to be rewarded for their contribution. However, the travellers are now looking forward for ‘new experiences’, and price is not a factor in this regard. Most of the tourism and hospitalty sectors are active, and in the past six months, we have organised two big events with 3,500 packs travelling. The corporates need to keep their employees motivated. However, my advise to the hospitality industry is it should focus on keeping the corporates up to date on the best deals, new M!CE hotspots, technology, and destination advice.