Express Travelworld January, 2013

VOL 7 | NO. 12 | PAGES 44

January 2013 ` 50

Fortnightly Insight for the Hospitality Trade

Contents January 2013

Vol 7 | No 12 | Pages 44

Chairman of the Board

Viveck Goenka

MARKET

Editor

West Bengal tourism looks to start helicopter services in Sunderbans..............6

Reema Lokesh*

TAFI set to host annual convention in Durban next month..............................7

Assistant Editor

Interview with Rajeev Wagle, managing director, Kuoni India ........................8

Steena Joy Associate Editor

Sudipta Dev CONTENT TEAM

India is among top five markets for Kenya....................................................10 Britain saw 20 per cent hike in arrivals post Olympics..................................11 Berlin and Hamburg are new hotspots for Indian MICE in Germany..............12

Mumbai

SeaDream Yacht Club to foray into India in October 2013..............................13

Sayoni Bhaduri, Kahini

CGH Earth to foray into North East using community partnerships................14

Chakraborty

Meetings go green at Marina Bay Sands .......................................................14

Kolkata

Starwood aims to enter Bekal with Westin brand..........................................15

Joy Roy Choudhury

Kodaikanal to be the next stop for The Tamara.............................................16

Advisory Board

Ankur Bhatia, Vijay Chadda,

MANAGEMENT

Saroj Datta, Ashok Fenn, Subhash Goyal, Cyrus Guzder, Zubin Karkaria, Ashwini Kakkar, Khursheed Lam, Tej Sahni, Alok Sawhney, Prem Subramaniam MARKETING

ded Inclu Drinks e it d holic Unlim Non-Alco s / c oli ruise Alcoh all our C n o

Deputy General Manager

Harit Mohanty Chief Manager

Emmanuel Fernandes Manager

Sunil D'costa

Experiencing the Edge ................................................................................17

Deputy Chief Manager

ATOAI takes the action to the North East ....................................................24

Zahid Ali Khan

North East - Only place in India to get the Balance right ..............................26

CIRCULATION

Travels of the faithful ..................................................................................27

Mohan Varadakar PRODUCTION General Manager

Renovate to reinvent ..................................................................................29 EDGE

B R Tipnis Production Manager

Bhadresh Valia Layout

Cruises in Greek Islands, Mediterranean Baltics, Fiords, Caribbean

Ratilal Ladani, Kiran Parker Asst. Art Director All Inclusive system!

Unlimited drinks on all our ships.

Surajit Patro Chief Designer

Pravin Temble Senior Graphic Designer

Rushikesh Konka Photo Editor

Royale ride down the ghats ....................................................................

Building a Credible Konkan

..................................................................

30 32

Child

free

LIFE

Sandeep Patil

Cruise insurance available

Express TravelWorld Reg. No.-MH/MR/SOUTH156\2013-15 RNI Reg. No. 15993/05 Printed by The Indian Express Limited and published by Ms Vaidehi Thakar on behalf of The Indian Express Press, Plot No. EL-208,TTC Industrial Area, Mahape, Navi Mumbai - 400710 and Published from Express Towers, 2nd Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai - 400021. (Editorial & Administra-tive Offices: Express Towers, 1st Floor, Nariman Point, Mumbai – 400021) Editor Reema Lokesh* Copyright @ 2011

The Indian Express Ltd. All rights reserved throughout the world. Reproduction in any manner, electronic or otherwise, in whole or in part, without prior written permission is prohibited.

January 2013

Creating change ....................................................................................34 REGULARS

Editor’s Note ..........................................................................................4 Appointments........................................................................................36

GSA in India: GRIFFON, 4 Cusrow Baug, Colaba, Mumbai 400 001.

Tel.: 022 22045014, 22045019 Fax: 022 22830461 Email: sales@griffontravel.com Website: www.GriffonCruises.in

Weekend ..............................................................................................42 www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

3

EDITOR’S NOTE

The new age traveller t is a general practice to enter into a New Year with a list of resolutions ranging from the doable to the daunting.

Whether in one's personal life, the society or the industry, new resolutions give a new direction and dynamism.

The tourism industry went through 2012 rather neutrally. It is time now for renewal that can only be brought about by focusing on new areas of growth and development.

I “New segments have emerged over time and, sensitivity in travel planning and designing along with catering to emotional demands are taking precedence over straight jacket tourism offers”

The basic concept of holidaying has changed and vanilla packages are being replaced with innovative and offbeat tourism aspirations. New segments have emerged over time and, sensitivity in travel planning and designing along with catering to emotional demands are taking precedence over straight jacket tourism offers. Today it is all about `experiential tourism’. This definitely calls for travel managers who need to spend more time on developing research based customised tourism products to meet the demands of niche tourism, which eventually need to be marketed effectively and high-quality service delivered across the entire value chain. Over the years, business patterns changed, wherein the brick and mortar companies had to deal with the future online business units.

Technology brought in a whole lot of opportunities and the social media segment has led to a further revolution and proved to be a game changer. For example, our finds in the religious tourism segment have highlighted the fact that new age faith-based tourism is not only going to be focused on just visiting pilgrimage sites but also on experiences that range from attending faith based conferences to going on a cruise with a select group of believers or going for a camping vacation with those belonging to the same sect/cult.

Today tourism products range from divorce tourism to space tourism offerings. While the new age traveller is looking for distinctively different experiences, there is a small but growing segment which believes in travelling with a specific aim to enrich themselves – this can range from learning a new culinary style while on a vacation to doing a crash course in tennis or engaging in voluntourism. From Bulgaria, Croatia and Ukraine in eastern Europe to Azerbaijan in western Asia and Uzbekistan in central Asia, there is a lineup of new exotic locales to be discovered by the Indian traveller.

Back home, it is the seven sisters in the North East along with Sikkim and West Bengal which will crown India's tourism in the near future. With two major industry events happening this month in Guwahati, our January issue is a tribute to the North East region and its people.

Reema Lokesh Editor editorial.etw@expressindia.com

Head Office Express TravelWorld Sunil D’costa Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd, 1st Floor, Express Towers, Nariman Point, Mumbai-400021. India Tel: 67440496 Fax: 22885831 E-mail: sunil.dcosta@expressindia.com

Branch Offices : NEW DELHI The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division, Express Building (Basement) 9 & 10, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 Tel : +91 - 11- 23465670,

CHENNAI The Indian Express Ltd, Business

4

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Publications Division, New No.37/C (Old No.16/C) 2nd Floor Whites Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014 Tel Direct : 044 - 42285520, 42285518/42285534 Board: 044 - 28543031 Ext Mktg : 218, 219, 220, 222, 234 Editorial Ext : 207 Fax: 044 - 28543035

BENGALURU Dr. Raghu Pillai, Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd. 502 Devatha Plaza, 5th Floor 131 Residency Road Bangalore - 560025 Ph 080-22231923/24 Fax: 22231925.

E-mail: raghu.pillai@expressindia.com

HYDERABAD A K Shukla, The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division,

6-3-885/7/B, Ground floor V.V. Mansion, Somaji Guda Hyderabad - 500 082 Tel: 040-23418673 /23418674 / 66631457/ 23418675 (Tele-fax) E-mail: ashwinkumar.shukla@expressindia.com

Building, 36/2248, Kaloor, Kadavanthara Road, Opp. Kaloor Private Bus Stand, Kaloor - 682 017 Tel: (0484) 2343152, 2343328 Fax: 2343153 raghu.pillai@expressindia.com

JAIPUR KOLKATA Prasenjit Basu, The Indian Express Ltd, Business Publications Division, No. 5, Pannalal Banerjee Lane (Formerly Fancy Lane), 2nd Floor, Kolkata-700 001 Tel No. (Direct) +91-33-2213 8567 / 8573 Board No. +91-33-2213 8587, 2231 8879 / 80 Fax: +91-33-22138582, Ext. 329 Fax: 22138582 E-mail: prasenjit.basu@expressindia.com

KOCHI Dr. Raghu Pillai, Business Publications Division, The Indian Express Ltd, Sankoorikal

www.expresstravelworld.com

The Indian Express Ltd, C-7, Dwarika Puri, Jamna Lal Bajaj Marg, C-Scheme, Jaipur-302001 Tel: 0141-370002, 371272 Telefax: 91-141-376606

BHOPAL The Indian Express Ltd, 6, Vidya Vihar, Professors Colony, Bhopal - 462002, Madhya Pradesh Tel: 0755-2661988

AHMEDABAD 3rd floor, Sambhav House Near Judges Bungalow Cross Road, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad - 380 015.

Tel: (91-79) 26872481/ 82/ 83 Fax: (91-79) 26873950

IMPORTANT: Whilst care is taken prior to acceptance of advertising copy, it is not possible to verify its contents. The Indian Express Limited cannot be held responsible for such contents, nor for any loss or damages incurred as a result of transactions with companies, associations or individuals advertising in its newspapers or publications. We therefore recommend that readers make necessary inquiries before sending any monies or entering into any agreements with advertisers or otherwise acting on an advertisement in any manner whatsoever.

January 2013

Market

T H E B U S I N E S S O F T R AV E L & TO U R I S M

LEAD STORY

Advantage North East: Two major industry events to give tourism a fillip Talks on to improve air connectivity in the region REEMA LOKESH - Mumbai

ith an aim to highlight the potential and u n t a p p e d tourism wealth of the North East region, both in the domestic and international markets, the ministry of tourism (MoT), Government of India is organising an International Tourism Mart at Sorusojai Indoor Stadium, Guwahati, Assam, from January 18-20, 2013. The North-East International Tourism Mart is scheduled to bring together over 20 countries with approximately 100 participants to showcase various tourism offerings of the region.

In an exclusive with Express TravelWorld, Dhruba Hazarika, secretary (Tourism), Government of Assam informed, “The Government of Assam is grateful to the Government of India. The event will help showcase the North East to the world. We are keen to connect the North East with the neighbouring regions,

W

SAARC countries and to other parts of India. Talks are on to build airports and heliports that will have night navigation facilities to improve connectivity.”

A source from the MoT in New Delhi said that apart from the initial plan to have ASEAN, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as participants, countries such as US, Germany, UK and France will also participate in the mart. Five tourism ministers from other countries will also attend the event along with tour operators to build strong one-toone business contacts.

Performances by rock bands from the North East, promotion of local culture and meeting with local celebrities will be a part of the experience. MoT is spending around `1.8 crore on this mart.

The Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI)) is also scheduled to hold its 10th Annual Convention at the same venue from January 20-22, 2013. The convention

is themed as 'India’s Unexplored Paradise'. The primary focus of the convention will be to promote the North Eastern states of India as potential adventure tourism destinations in order to gain rapid momentum. The aim is to create a platform for the adventure fraternity for new networking opportunities and to provide an environment for learning workshops. The convention will also provide knowledge exchanges and brainstorming sessions for the delegates to enhance efficiency levels and provide enhanced infrastructure for

the adventure tourism industry.

Tejbir Singh Anand, president, ATOAI, said, “Apart from contributing towards opening up the North East, we wish to involve the local community which will in turn reap economic and social benefits.

We cannot work in isolation and it is important to work towards bringing in best operational practices with consistency in the standard of service and offerings.

Adventure tourism is also a perfect way to help make India a 12-month active holiday destination.”

West Bengal tourism looks to start helicopter services in Sunderbans JOY ROY CHOUDHURY Kolkata

n its efforts to bring investments into the tourism and hospitality sectors to create worldclass tourism infrastructure, the West Bengal government is inviting fresh investment proposals from the tourism and hospitality industries to set up 'greenfield' hotels, resorts and other accommodation options on the outskirts of Darjeeling.

“Bengal has immense potential as a world-class tourism destination. This is our state and we need to take it to new heights,” said Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury, the newly inducted tourism minister of

I

6

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

West Bengal.

During a recent interaction with the members of the 'Tourism Sub-committee' of the Eastern Regional Chapter of Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Choudhury urged all the stakeholders to come together to put the state prominently on the tourism map of India. He also sought suggestions from them to increase the flow of inbound tourists into the state. “The tourism department is exploring possibilities of starting helicopter services in the Sunderbans and the hills,” he added.

Choudhury also outlined plans to increase safaris in the Dooars and highlight the state as a part of the www.expresstravelworld.com

Buddhist circuit with the excavation work of a Buddhist monastery in Malda in progress. The state tourism department is also mooting the idea of starting tours around residences or places of work of eminent personalities such as Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Vivekananda and Mother Teresa.

He said that he was keen on launching the concept of 'school tourism' wherein schools could organise halfday or daylong excursions to various tourism and historical sites to increase student awareness about places of interest. He also stressed on medical tourism, involving non-resident Bengali associations/organisations in for-

eign countries and other states of India, by using them to promote Bengal, besides introducing tourist helplines, tourist police squads and training institutes for personnel involved in tourism activities.

Vikram Sen, principal secretary - Tourism, West Bengal said that the department has been putting much impetus on creation of tourism infrastructure in the state and is looking at 'greenfield' projects in the hospitality and tourism sectors. “The state government has already floated tenders inviting proposals for projects in North Bengal, Darjeeling and also Sajnekhali, Gangasagar and Digha,” he said.

January 2013

TAFI set to host annual convention in Durban next month ETW STAFF - Mumbai

he Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) will be organising its annual convention in Durban, South Africa from February 24-27, 2013. The convention theme for this year is 'Navigating the Future' which will be held at ICC Durban convention centre. Aditi Bende has been appointed as co-chairman of the convention and Bharat Shah as the chairperson.

The theme has been specially chosen considering the present challenges faced by the travel trade. The general economy being slow and recession set worldwide, the traditional travel agent is fac-

T

January 2013

Aditi Bhende

Zakkir Ahmed

ing the brunt of it on a daily basis. In this convention,

through the business sessions the association is hop-

www.expresstravelworld.com

ing to find solutions and alternatives to face adversities and create better business models for the future.

Through the business sessions the focus will also be on bilateral exchanges between the two countries and educating the travel industry on the future business and cultural exchange opportunities. The convention will also comprise of B2B exhibition on the 25th and 26th, which will bring buyers and sellers together to exchange ideas, build business through a mutually beneficial and professional relationship for the future. There will also be pre and post convention tours offered by KwaZulu-Natal Tourism.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

7

‘Strategic partnerships will come in those areas where we are non-core’ Hopeful that 2013 will be a much better year for the travel industry, Rajeev Wagle, managing director, Kuoni India talks about leveraging on affordability, greater synergy between various divisions of the company and partnership plans for Kuoni Academy.

By Sudipta Dev Which are the new focus areas for Kuoni India?

Kuoni is in leisure travel and handles B2C (groups and FIT) and B2B (MICE). Then we have business travel in which we are among the top three in terms of size. In B2B we are the largest in leisure, in B2C we are almost the top in groups and in FIT we have some way to go. We are trying to consolidate our position in the groups market - a lot of differentiated products, high quality hotels, etc. Our distribution width is being expanded, we are increasing our number of shops in India, adding new locations like Gurgaon, Jaipur, Surat, and appointing many franchisees.

We have 250 points of sale.

There is a lot of demand in tier II and tier III cities. We know that in 2012 there was an issue in terms of high cost (because of rupee depreciation, service tax, high airfare), but we believe that 2013 will be a lot better. We see the growth of the economy, the stock market being 25 per cent up, I think we will see a good 2013.

We are banking on the affordability plank for 2013 to capture the aspirations of all our clients, specially the first time traveller and also the more refined traveller, which is the FIT segment. We have put a lot of automation systems in place which will help us to take care of customers without too much back and forth between our head office and the frontline. The systems empower the person to actually handle the client on their own.

There is a lot of synergy between the divisions now and we expect this to roll out incremental business for us.

We are trying to leverage the database of corporate travel (which is huge) for the leisure division.

You are talking about the tier II

8

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

and tier III markets, while your tours are known to be premium, so are you planning to enter the mass market segment ?

We cater to all segments of the market. We have cost savers, budget tours and luxury tours. It all depends on what kind of buying power you have. We believe that at the price point we offer the products are such that we offer quality products at that price. For us any customer

Rajeev Wagle who comes is welcome. Our price points are such that a person can come at a very low rate but can upgrade himself to a higher category hotel or a more luxurious tour should he so want. Segmentation has been done very carefully to cover the breadth of the market.

For smaller towns and cities do you have a differentiated marketing strategy or more localised promotional activities?

We do a lot of roadshows with tourism organisations and popularise a destination jointly with them. The response has been encouraging. In addition, as I said, we have got 250 points of sale backed by advertisement, www.expresstravelworld.com

plus we do roadshows ourselves to create more awareness. Many times awareness creates demand of its own.

In the near future which segment do you foresee driving the growth in your company?

Business travel is a market segment which is bound and destined to grow as India is growing aggressively. There are new sectors / FDIs opening up, it is said that there is de-growth in the IT industry but our volumes are decent.

There are many industries which will grow much faster than what we perceive. In corporate travel usually when you have a relationship with a client it is very sticky. You tend to grow with the client.

In addition to the big corporates, making their presence felt are the SMEs, they account for almost 40-45 per cent of the GDP but they are not serviced as well as the big clients. We have certain self booking tools for them, automation that large corporates enjoy, and have made good success with them.

Have you invested substantially into technology processes and applications?

Investment in technology is very important in the business of travel, but a lot of that has come from our partners also. Abacus, for instance, became a partner with us, and has given us a powerful system to do endto-end ticketing. That allows us to do things more efficiently, without error, and manage high volumes. The systems are integrated and there is seamless flow. We will start enjoying the benefits of this from 2013.

Are you looking at any new partnerships and alliances?

We are looking at partnership for Kuoni Academy.

It was floated in 2003 and was intended to give to the

travel industry trained professionals. We had some overseas affiliations also.

Kuoni also had professors from inbound, outbound and business travel teaching there. It has some recognition in the industry and courses are from three months to three years. The unit has done well for itself, but it is a non-core business. Therefore, we are keen to partner with someone who is ideally in that business and can add value. It is similar to our partnership with Serco, back office processing is not our forte so we decided to go on a strategic alliance with the company which is a leader in back office processing. We will generate a lot of value from this partnership. So strategic partnerships will come in those areas where we are non-core and we feel that those alliances will drive our business to the next level.

Is there any other important factor you would like to highlight on?

The one thing that we are proud about is that we operate at a significant scale in all our divisions - business travel, leisure, inbound also, we are leaders in the space.

However there are some segments within that space where we have not got leadership. It is my job that we become the leader and the most admired, integrated travel company. I believe that such a position for us is the way to go. This company initiated VFS - processing of visas and access arm of the consulate. It has become a world leader today and is an innovation from India. It is handling 15 million visas worldwide. That is something we feel very proud about, it is an innovation that is no longer India-based and a valuable jewel for the Kuoni world.

January 2013

OTOAI to take up industry issues SAYONI BHADURI - Mumbai

utbound travel and tour operators association (OTOAI) came together in Mumbai for their third meet and the first anniversary recently. Guldeep Singh Sahni, president, OTOAI said that there are issues that the outbound operators are concerned about. “We have no system to be recognised

O

internationally. There was no platform prior to OTOAI,” he said. He then added that BRIC nations are known for their economic contribution to the world. “For India to succeed further it is important that we have the right infrastructure. This affects both inbound and outbound travel, they are complementary to each other,” he said.

One of the biggest challenges the industry faces is

lack of clarity in the service tax. “It is so confusing and there is no known common strategy to follow. We have raised five objections, one of them is that tourism service providers in other nations cannot be taxed. This arbitration needs to be taken up as a community,” he said.

He also added that the association is keen to penetrate tier one and two markets; he also applauded the

42 companies who attended the meet.

Sahni said, “We are in process of organising luxury training sessions with an aim to encourage short hauls,” he said. He further added that destination management companies and national tourism offices are more than willing to invest in India bringing in forex. This goes to show the potential India has.

India is among top five markets for Kenya Three-city road show being held in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai ETW STAFF - Mumbai

ndia has become the primary source market for Kenya in Asia region with 51,492 Indian arrivals to the destination for the period January – October 2012. From year 2009 till 2012, there has been an overall growth of 73.32 per cent in the Indian arrivals, thus making it a highly potential market for Kenya.

India recently rose to be within the top five markets in tourist arrivals for Kenya.

Acknowledging the growing prominence of the India market and enhancing the tourism and business ties,

I

10

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Kenya Tourist Board (KTB), leads the delegation to India of 18 companies that include flight operators, hoteliers, tour operators and Kenya Wildlife Service, for a road show that is to be held from January 22 to 24, 2013 in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai, respectively.

The road show will be attended by Atua Enkop Africa, African Quest Safaris, Cosmic Safaris, Golden Holidays Travel Group Kenya – India, Holiday Bazaar Kenya Wildlife Trails, Mada Hotels East Africa, Mitoni Africa Safaris, Private Safaris, Safari Trails, Safarilink Aviation, Sarova Hotels, Sun Africa Hotels, UNIGLOBE Silverbird Travel Plus, Travelcare, Travel Wild East Africa, Travel Wild East Africa, Vintage Africa and Wildtrek Safaris.

There is a notable shift in tourism traffic from being just traditionally VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) to an increased number of leisure and business tourist arrivals.

The incentive market has continued to grow and Kenya Tourist Board forecasts an even more accelerated growth in this segment. Indians love the Kenya safari and diverse tourism products ranging from pristine white sandy beaches that are close to marine and national park at the Kenya coast to snow capped Mt Kenya on the equator, the Great Rift Valley and its lakes teaming with bird life; and its wildly natural beauty. The popular tourist attractions and www.expresstravelworld.com

activities in Kenya are: Safari: Kenya is home to the iconic Maasai Mara and a wide range of other safaris such as 4X4, balloon safari, horseback safari, helicopter safari, walking safari, etc.

Abundant wildlife means it is an ideal destination for both first-time and seasoned safari travellers. There is a mix of lavish, colonial-style lodges, boutique hotels and amenitypacked resorts to choose from.

Beach: Besides the beauty and tranquility, the beaches of Kenya offer opportunities for water sports and other beach vacation activities. More than 50 per cent of Kenya's international standard hotels are based along the coast.

Activities include dolphin watching, dhow trips, visit to the marine parks, deep-sea fishing and scuba safari.

Adventure sports: White

water rafting takes place in Sagana at the River Tana. The Hell's Gate National Park is located near Lake Naivasha on the Great Rift Valley, about an hours’ drive from Nairobi where visitors can enjoy cycling. Mt Kenya Climbing Adventure safari is a challenge to many seasoned mountain climbers.

Nightlife: While most tourists come to see animals in the game reserves, lakes and mountains, many others visit popular towns like Mombasa, Nairobi, Lamu and Malindi to enjoy many interesting sights, sounds and entertainment offered in these towns. There are many nightclubs, discos, casinos, bars and pubs in Nairobi, Malindi as well as in Mombasa which provide complete entertainment to tourists.

January 2013

Britain saw 20 per cent hike in arrivals post Olympics Visit Britain ties up with Yatra.com for targeting honeymoon segment SAYONI BHADURI - New Delhi

here were a lot of speculations prior to the games, but the destination got a lot of positive coverage post the Games and after that we have seen a definite surge in visitor numbers. We saw a hike of as much as 20 per cent in arrivals post Olympics,” said Shivali Suri, country manager VisitBritain India discussing the impact of the Olympic Games that concluded in London last year.

The immediate aim for VisitBritain is to capture the honeymoon market. “And with the new alliance with Yatra.com, we are also looking at attracting the summer vacation market as well,” she added. With a strategy for 2020 aiming to build on Britain’s image, increase distribution through travel trade in key markets, improve the range of product on offer where necessary, VisitBritain India has decided to launch a partnership with Yatra.com.

“Yatra.com is a fast growing

“T

young company and was keen on growing their UK itinerary. They were happy to use their brand ambassador Salman Khan to launch the itinerary as well.” This is the first time VisitBritain has tied up exclusively with an Indian partner. It is a 50:50 joint partnership with

both parties investing GBP 50,000 each. The campaign will be on till March 2013.

“We are open to renewing this contract post March 2013. We are also open to similar alliances with different partners in the future,” said Suri She further added that

the strategy for 2013 is still being formulated, “One thing is for sure that we want a bigger association with our B2B partners.”

She added that VisitBritain is looking at a 40 per cent increase in arrivals from India, by 2020.

Italian State Tourist Board to open new office in Mumbai this year KAHINI CHAKRABORTY - Mumbai

NIT- Italian State Tourist Board will be opening its office in Mumbai this year. The office will be in charge of promoting Italy in the Indian market and will also contribute in facilitating visa procedures. Italy aims at doubling the growth in tourists inflow from the Indian market. In the year 2011 the destination received two lakh Indian tourists and in the first nine months of last year it got 50,000 tourists, informed Marco

E

January 2013

Bruschini, director general, ENITItalian State Tourist Board to Express TravelWorld.

As part of its marketing strategy, the board is looking at adopting a three-pronged strategy wherein it will engage in aggressive promotion of tourism products that Italy has to offer to all the segments; an active ENIT office and appoint more number of staff in the consulate to help in visa issuance.

It is also planning to organise more number of workshops in the

www.expresstravelworld.com

market for the travel trade.

Elaborating on the potential of the Indian market, Bruschini added, “For us India is among the core emerging BRIC countries and hence we have come to the market to establish our presence once again. Italy has all the conditions for growth and we are hoping for direct flight connectivity from Delhi-Rome via Alitalia. Apart from leisure, we have seen a lot of highend Indian tourists opting to visit Italy for honeymoon, art, culture and MICE purpose.”

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

11

Berlin and Hamburg are new hotspots for Indian MICE in Germany SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

ermany topped the charts among Indians for MICE with 62 per cent Indian companies choosing the country as the most preferred business travel destination in 2011-12. “We are upbeat that we will beat our own record in the coming years. In the future we see Germany becoming a more preferred location for company offsites, incentives and large scale events owing to the great value for money the country offers,” said Romit Theophilus, director for marketing and sales office India, German National Tourist Office (GNTO). Cities like Berlin, Hamburg and regions such as the Black Forest Highlands are already becoming favourites for the

G

Romit Theophilus

Indian corporate sector.

Destination Germany had a steady growth of 10.4 per cent from January – September 2012 translating to 456,615 visitor overnights. “With more discerning Indian travellers and corporates discovering Destination Germany we expect this steady growth to continue in the future as well,” added Theophilus.

Two new destinations that is doing well for the Indian market for MICE travel, and more specifically incentive travel, are Berlin and Hamburg.

“These cities have witnessed large groups from various banks and entertainment companies in 2012.

With the filming of the movie DON 2 in Berlin the city has received increased interest from the Indian traveller. Further we do see

a lot of potential for the Black Forest Highlands and the Berchtesgaden region for increased MICE movements from India. These regions offer unique and exiting activities for corporates.

Black Forest Highlands offer great scenic beauty mixed with some unique activities such as baking an authentic Black Forest cake, or enjoying self drives, all this and more at very affordable and attractive prices,” mentioned Theophilus.

Innovative experiences and events like gala dinners, wellness spa, white water rafting, exciting salt mines, etc, are also forming an integral part of itineraries for MICE providers.

“Germany leads in MICE but we want to highlight the leisure side of Germany.

Germany has in fact come out in the open with the

‘affordable hospitality’ offer.

What it constitutes –accommodation in luxury hotels for less than 150 euros a night (non trade fair times).

For the discerning exposed traveller there are diverse exclusive options as well,” said Theophilus.

He pointed out that regions such as the Black Forest Highlands are offering great benefits with deals such as the Hoschwarzwald Card (more commonly known as the Red Card), offering free public transport and accommodation to any of the visitors living in their partner hotels for two overnights.

Further, most big cities offer city welcome cards to help travellers minimise travelling costs and gain benefits on discounts being offered by museums and other attractions, etc.

‘Over 76% of a consumer survey agreed they would like to visit Flanders Fields in its centenary year’ In an exclusive interview, Peter De Wilde, CEO, Tourism Flanders outlined his plans for the India market. By Steena Joy What are the main products Tourism Flanders is promoting in the India market?

Flanders is the northern region of Belgium and is famous for its’ Flemish art and cultural heritage. It has a lot to offer to Indian tourists, namely the historic art cities, Flemish cuisine, shopping, diamonds and fashion. The region depicts Flemish cutting-edge craftsmanship very distinctly through its’ diverse range of products like its hand-crafted artisan chocolates, intricate lace-making that is indigenous of the region and its wide range of boutique breweries among others. As Tourism Flanders, we want to showcase this elaborate range of fine-arts, culture, architecture, and products to the Indian market.

How would you rate the interest in The War Centenary among Indian outbound?

12

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

tion by Indian soldiers as part of the Commonwealth Forces. Over 57,000 Indian soldiers have perished in Flanders Fields. Memorials have been erected for each of these victims and several Indians want to revisit these sites. In fact, a recent consumer survey conducted by Tourism Flanders reveals the interest Indian outbound has in this event. Over 76 per cent of the participating consumers agreed that they would like to visit Flanders Fields in its centenary year, in 2014.

Peter De Wilde The Flemish government has set up a four-year long remembrance project named 'The Great War Centenary' to commemorate the victims of World War I. This war had a significant participawww.expresstravelworld.com

Which are you main target markets in India and are you also looking at Tier II cities other than the major metros?

The major metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are the focus markets at the moment for Tourism Flanders. However, we have constantly seen interest gen-

erated from various cities of Gujarat like Surat and Ahmadabad primarily with the VFR (Visiting Friends & Relatives) traffic and the members of the diamond community having connections back in Antwerp.

Are you negotiating with any airlines in India to improve connectivity to Flanders?

Jet Airways has Brussels as its’ major European hub and has direct daily flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Brussels. This means that actually excellent connections exist between our two countries, offering Indian visitors comfortable and convenient travel to Flanders or further on to nearby destinations.

Jet Airways has been a good partner to us the past years and we can only hope to deepen our cooperation in the near future.

January 2013

Visit Russia without a visa ETW STAFF - Mumbai

ndian citizens can go to St Petersburg (Russia) without a Russian visa on St Peterline Ferry Cruises starting from Helsinki and Stockholm. “The St Peterline Ferry Cruises are medium size multi-decks ships. Guests can stay in a hotel in St Petersburg upto 72 hours without a Russian visa,” said Vivek Jain, managing director, Griffon, the GSA in India.

The itineraries are: Helsinki – Stockholm – Tallin - St Petersburg – Helsinki (four nights); Stockholm - Tallin - St Petersburg – Helsinki – Stockholm (four nights); Helsinki – St Petersburg – Helsinki (two nights); Helsinki – St Petersburg by cruise, two nights in hotel in St Petersburg, St Petersburg – Helsinki by cruise (four nights).

Cruise fare that includes cabin accommodation and passage only varies according to the itineraries.

Meals, beverages, entertainment, shore excursions and all other facilities are charged extra and can be purchased directly on ship.

I

Queensland sees increase in business from tier two markets in India SAYONI BHADURI - Mumbai

aul Buggy, international director, Tourism Queensland for India, Middle East and Korea during his recent visit to India informed that while the business is still predominantly generated from Delhi and Mumbai, there has been an increase in business from tier II cities as well.

“In the period between June 2011 and June 2012 we have seen an increase of 15 per cent in leisure visitors with 30,000 Indians visiting Queensland. Our aim is to sustain this growth through the next financial year by executing our fivepillar strategy,” he added.

P

The five pillars include trade engagement, airline relationships, public relations, digital marketing and consumers. Gauging the need for new experiences for Indian travellers, special emphasis will be laid on the digital approach to create brand awareness.

Indian visitors to Queensland have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 per cent since 2010 and the market has great future growth potential.

Tourism Queensland for 2013 is looking at a target group between the age group of early 30s to mid 50s.

“These include families, honeymooners, DINKs and

Paul Buggy

even MICE,” Buggy said.

To further tap the India market Queensland premier Campbell Newman announced that the state will be the host for India’s exclusive Maharaja Cup polo tournament in 2013.

Tourism Australia has prepared a target for 2020 and all states including Queensland have their goals set for the same.

He said, “We are looking at strengthening our infrastructure and communications strategy.” Buggy was in India for Tourism Queensland's annual roadshow, Queensland on Tour 2012.

SeaDream Yacht Club to foray into India in October 2013 KAHINI CHAKRABORTY - Mumbai

eaDream Yacht Club is set to foray into India with a series of voyages in Asia and Northern Australia in late 2013.

Targeting high-end luxury clientele, the company's target markets in the first year will be tier one and tier two cities from North and West regions in India. SeaDream Yacht Club will be represented by In Rhythm, a destinations marketing firm, in India who will play an instrumental role in building the brand SeaDream and educating the Indian travel trade and target segments about their ultra luxury yachting voyages through strategic sales and marketing approach.

SeaDream II will sail to Asia after completing her 2013 Mediterranean season.

The ship will arrive in

S

Sudesh Kishore

January 2013

Mumbai in late October 2013.

From Mumbai, SeaDream II will sail to Goa and Kochi, before arriving in Colombo.

SeaDream will also spend a day at Port Blair before sailing to Southeast Asia.

SeaDream has 56 stateroom twin yachts, state-of- the-art facilities, personal service provided by a crew of 95, inclusive open bar, ocean view accommodations, luxury spa and world class cuisine.

Talking exclusively to Express TravelWorld on how potential is the Indian market for the company, Sudesh Kishore, president, SeaDream Yacht Club, India / corporate chef, SeaDream Yacht Club said, “This is the first time that SeaDream Yacht Club will be introducing its luxury yachting voyages to the Indian elite. For us, people from everywhere www.expresstravelworld.com

in India are potential as long as they believe in experiencing the best in the world.

SeaDream is about sentiment and personalised experience and not just vacation.”

SeaDream will focus on educating the Indian travel trade through participation in trade shows. It will also work closely with the trade to support SeaDream’s business

growth, in the Indian market.

When asked on the evolution of the Indian traveller in terms of choosing a cruise vacation compared to foreigners, Kishore added, “Indians have turned into global citizens and want to experience the best in life.

They are aware of the luxury travel options available.”

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

13

CGH Earth to foray into North East using community partnerships Bhutan, West Bengal and Assam. But the expansion will not necessarily be implemented the normal way. We will use unconventional strategies that will involve communities as partners in progress,” he adds.

For example, in Nagaland he plans to adopt a village and then help the villagers build around 12 Naga cottages to which to which he will add certain modern

STEENA JOY - Mumbai

rom just Kerala and Lakshadweep, Kochibased CGH Earth plans to spread its presence in Peninsula India Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and possibly the Andamans. The plans also include a foray into the North East. Revealing this to Express TravelWorld, Jose Dominic, managing director, CGH Earth said,“We plan to open four or five small properties in the circuits of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. We also plan to set up seven or eight properties (of not more than 30 rooms each) in the North East circuits covering Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim,

F

amenities. The company will then manage, market and maintain these cottages so that they adhere to CGH Earth’s set standards. “We will impart training to the villagers and give them exposure to international hotel standards.

I don’t believe that today’s traveller visits a country only for sightseeing. I will instead call him the Alert Independent Traveller (AIT) who is more of an experiential traveller, not just interested in places but also in discovering the local cuisine and culture,” he says.

His expansion plan will use three modes: through community partnerships like in Nagaland; the conventional buy, built and operate properties and through public private partnerships.

Meetings go green at Marina Bay Sands SUDIPTA DEV - Mumbai

arina Bay Sands' integrated resort concept has strengthened Singapore’s position as a MICE destination. The largest hotel in Singapore has also been focusing on developing its green initiatives to meet the evolving needs of MICE guests. “Eco-friendly initiatives have been ramped up company-wide, in line with Sands Eco360, which is a global sustainability strategy spearheaded in corporate headquarters at Las Vegas Sands,” said a spokesperson of Marina Bay Sands.

M

14

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Specifically relevant to MICE business is green meetings, one of the priorities of Sands Eco360.

The spokesperson explained that in line with this, Marina Bay Sands has continued to explore ways to provide meeting planners and clients with options to customise their events sustainably.

These include various instances of going electronic to conserve paper, e-billing, and minimising the use of disposables. In addition, Sands Expo and Convention Centre already makes use of recycling bins in public areas.

Marina Bay Sands actively reduces air conditioning temperatures, dims public lightwww.expresstravelworld.com

ing during non-business hours and has installed low flow faucets in the public bathrooms. “Most recently, Marina Bay Sands acquired composting machines which are able to process up to one ton of organic waste per day.

This waste is processed daily into clean water for reuse,” added the spokesperson.

The Green Meetings programme will continue to see Marina Bay Sands roll out more green options for MICE customers going forward. “At Marina Bay Sands, the unique experiences are plentiful, and we strive to make every moment memorable for our guests so that we are their destination of choice.

However, our job is never complete. We constantly look to evolve all facets of the MICE business by being responsive to our customers’ changing needs,” stated the spokesperson.

In 2012, Marina Bay Sands was awarded the Green Mark Gold Award from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA). This national award is given to buildings rated for their energy and water efficiency, environmental protection, indoor environmental quality and green innovations. Marina Bay Sands is the biggest building in Singapore to receive this Gold Award.

January 2013

Starwood aims to enter Bekal with Westin brand Talks on with Kerala-based ATE Group, developers of the project REEMA LOKESH - Mumbai

tarwood aims to strengthen its network further and plans to enter Bekal in Kerala with Westin Bekal Resort & Spa. Kerala-based ATE Group are the developers of the project and are scheduled to enter into a management contract with Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels and Resorts.

The project is proposed to be a five-star deluxe beach resort with 165 keys.

The plan is to design the resort as per traditional

S

The project is proposed to be a five-star deluxe beach resort with 165 keys and designed in traditional Kerala architectural style

Express Exclusive Kerala architectural style with a flavour of Malabar. It also aims to become an eco friendly property and achieve zero carbon footprint. Developed on 55 acres of leased land from Bekal

Resorts Development Corporation (BRDC), Government of Kerala, it is one of the six projects being developed under Public Private Partnership at Bekal.

The facilities at this project is proposed to have a convention centre, villas, ayurvedic health centre,

F&B outlets, recreation facilities, swimming pool, etc. In 1995, Government of India set up BRDC to promote the region exclusively for tourism.

Around 178 hectares are under BRDC, of which 24 hectares are set apart for resort centres and 75 hectares for housing

sites. The BRDC also aims to develop in future another 11 acres of land at the beach for constructing water park, theme park, etc. Besides promoting the Bekal Project, BRDC acts as the premier resource and development agency for tourism in northern Kerala.

‘We plan to have 30 hotels in the next 10 years’ Graham Moon is the CEO of Mantis Developments South Africa. They have tied up with ICS Group in India to develop a portfolio of hotels. Moon discusses the need to enter the Indian sub-continent and plans for the brand. By Sayoni Bhaduri landscapes.

The luxury nature tourism sector is currently untapped and we are keen to take advantage of this opportunity. Indians are also currently the highest spenders in travel sector, with a large domestic market that is willing to spend top dollar it was a logical decision for us to enter the Indian sub-continent. Hence we set up a joint venture in India with the ICS Group called Ayana Hospitality.

Graham Moon What drew Mantis to India?

India ranks high among the nature tourism destinations in the world given the immense bio-diversity and the varied January 2013

What is your vision for India and the subcontinent in the long term?

Our vision is to become the number one player in the Indian luxury boutique segment. We plan to have 30 hotels in the next 10 years. We would like to establish our

presence in the following regions: Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal, Uttarakhand, Lakshwadeep and Andaman. We are also exploring opportunities in Srilanka, Bhutan and the Maldives.

How would you compare the hospitality industry in the African continent to that in India?

I feel that the African hospitality is more developed and mature as compared to India in terms of leisure tourism.

The luxury boutique concept is still not well understood amongst the typical Indian traveller.

Please define Mantis' definition of hospitality which also reflects in the group's hotels. www.expresstravelworld.com

For us hospitality means having properties, which represent the finest example of it’s kind and celebrates the culture, gastronomy, architecture and nature of the locations in which they are found, to offer guests an authentic experience without compromising the luxury.

Mantis is committed to the spirit of conservation and restoration, and each property is sensitive to it’s surroundings in respect of the building, environment and local community. The vision is to share untouched nature destinations with our clientele and provide a once in a lifetime experience. Whilst every property is unique, being part of the collection ensures that the quality of facilities, service and overall experience is

consistently five-star and guests can always expect personal, friendly service.

How do Mantis Collection hotels stand apart from the rest?

The entrepreneurial spirit of the family underpins that of the group allowing them to be dynamic in the growth of the portfolio, responding quickly to consumer demand. Mantis offers member properties the ideal sales, marketing and management solution for their boutique business to ensure successful growth and drive long term brand development.

The company also offers consultancy services in other disciplines including conservation, education and hotel development.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

15

Kodaikanal to be the next stop for The Tamara SAYONI BHADURI - Mumbai

amara Real Estate Holding & Development (TREHD) which has set up their hotel brand, The Tamara, in Coorg and Madikeri is now considering a resort project in Kodaikanal.

Senthil Kumar, director and CEO, The Tamara added, “For future business growth, we are open to other properties in India and abroad.”

With a concentration towards developing sustainable and responsible projects, Kumar said, “The Tamara is keen on promoting sustainable living and responsible tourism in India. The Tamara is planning for long term business growth of the company while maintaining the key company principles on responsible tourism.” The

T

Senthil Kumar

Tamara Coorg is an eco-friendly plantation resort in the upmarket tourism and leisure segments. With reference to the investments Kumar did not share figures but said, “Our investments are based on a phase manner depicting milestones. Phase one saw 24 luxury and six suite cottages.

It also has fine dining, conference and recreation facilities.

This was soft launched in

April 2012. Phase two which is presently under development will see 26 additional cottages, an Ayurvedic Spa, a swimming pool and a sports arena. These will be ready shortly.” Of the opportunities in the Indian hospitality market, Kumar observed that it is continously evolving and catering to more and more segment-specific niches. “We envision The Tamara Coorg to

be recognised as a premier up market responsible tourism operator by 2015 generating fair and reasonable value for all our stakeholders enabling ourselves to grow into India’s finest niche hospitality management company by 2020,” he said. Apart from the Coorg property, the company recently soft-launched another resort in the Western Ghat hills of Madikeri.

Barrier-free tourism potential high growth segment: ITB World Travel Trends Report ETW STAFF – Mumbai

arrier-free tourism is a vastly underrated market whose economic importance will increase drastically over the years and decades to come. Around the world, despite having the time and money to travel, millions of people with disabilities or reduced mobility are unable to do so due to a lack of facilities. What is more, because of the demographic change in many countries and the growing desire of the elderly to travel, potential demand in this market will rise significantly.

These are the findings of the latest ITB World Travel Trends Report, compiled by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin.

According to Lilian Müller, president of the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT), the most recent statistics reveal that in Europe alone there are 80 million people with disabilities, “Global esti-

B

16

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

mates range from 600 million to 900 million.” That means that with world’s population now at seven billion, about 10 per cent require barrier-free and easily accessible facilities.

Dr Martin Buck, director , Competence Center Travel & Logistics, Messe Berlin, said, “It is important for the global travel industry to exploit this potential, as removing barriers enables not only the disabled to enjoy stress-free holidays. Other groups, for example families with young children, accident victims and the elderly, also benefit from barrier-free arrangements.”

The economic importance of this market is huge. US adults with disabilities or reduced mobility spend around 13.6 billion dollars on travel every year. In Germany, turnover in this market is estimated at around 2.5 billion euros and in the UK at almost two billion pounds.

“In the future these figures may well rise,” said Lilian Müller. “In recent www.expresstravelworld.com

years, around 37 per cent of disabled people in Germany have decided not to travel due to a lack of easily accessible facilities. However, 48 per cent would travel more if the necessary arrangements existed. 60 per cent would even be willing to pay higher travel costs for better accessibility.”

According to Lilian Müller, barrier-free tourism should no longer be a niche market, “Accessibility arrangements must be part of every single travel package.

There is also a demand for specialist operators to offer services for customers with greater mobility needs.” The internet represents an important platform for achieving a barrier-free future. That means tour operators and travel agencies making their internet information accessible to blind and deaf persons.

According to a survey by ENAT, in 2011 only 10 out of 39 websites could be accessed by the disabled.

The ITB World Travel

Trends Report has more information on barrier-free tourism as well as details of every survey on global tourism trends. The report is based on the assessments of 50 tourism experts from 30 countries, on a special IPK International trend analysis undertaken in leading source markets, and on core data supplied by the World Travel Monitor, recognised as one of the largest continuous surveys of global travel trends in some 60 source countries.

The findings reflect trends which emerged during the first eight months of 2012. At the ITB Berlin Convention Rolf Freitag, CEO of IPK International, will present the findings for the entire year, as well as the latest forecasts for 2013.

On March 8, 2013 at the ITB Berlin Convention, a keynote panel will examine 'Barrier-free tourism for everyone: Quality and success criteria for ensuring the marketability of destinations.'

January 2013

Management

INSIGHT INTO THE TRAVEL MARKET

COVER STORY

Experiencing the Edge As the 'push' and 'pull' motivation factor is getting stronger among adventure enthusiasts, it has resulted in a 10-15 per cent year-onyear increase among inbound and domestic travellers. Not only do these destinations satisfy travellers by providing adventure activities but also provide them an opportunity to explore the lesser known places. By Kahini Chakraborty

ndia, a country as vast and varied in its geographic offerings offers itself as a perfect adventure destination to test a traveller's mental and physical endurance to its extreme limit.

The urge to indulge in this activity based tourism is gaining prominence worldwide, and increasingly travellers are deciding what activities they want to do and choosing their destinations accordingly. The 'push' (personal motivation) factor is getting stronger than the 'pull' (destination attraction) factor.

Adventure tourism is a profitable option for these tour operators as clients are willing to live under the most basic conditions but end up paying top dollar for the tour operator's expertise and the activity.

Mandip Singh Soin, founder and managing director, Ibex Expeditions opines, “The adventure tourism segment has been being growing at 10-15 per cent year-on-year combining both inbound and domestic travellers. And with more states opening up to adventure activities the growth potential is huge in the future. The northeastern frontier is a potential state for this segment and we are looking forward to the government's support for the same.”

Agreeing to the same, Major SK Yadav, managing director, Wanderlust Travels opines, “The segment has been growing rapidly. Apart

I

January 2013

from leisure, corporate clients are also opting for adventure activities as part of incentive travel which they use for team building exercises. In the Asian region, Nepal has been attracting a lot of adventure travellers. The segment also saw a growth of 22 per cent in 2011 and has been growing since then. India receives nearly 1.5 million inbound tourists for adventure activities.”

supervision of the Department of Tourism and Sports.

HPTDC also promotes white water rafting, trekking, horse riding, and water sports at the Maharana Ranjit Sagar Dam and the Pong Dam. The department also supports motor sports as well as the event 'Raid de Himalaya.'

Apart from this it has set up and promotes biking trails along the state. Religious tourism and adventure tourism is the mainstay of Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir.

Similarly states like Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and even Goa (adventure water sports) are focusing on this segment. Madhya Pradesh is also focusing on promoting adventure water sports in the state. northeastern states and Jharkhand also offer great potential for adventure tourism. Rajasthan is also tapping into the niche adventure tourism segment to add to its

Riding high Seeing this potential a number of northern states like Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand have been active in marketing adventure tourism. These states have managed to carve a market share with destinations offering adventure activities.

Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a destination synonymous with adventure tourism in the country.

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) organises the preWorld Cup for paragliding at the Bir and Billing area in Kangra district.

The Himalayan range cutting through the state offers numerous trekking trails of various grades and peaks for mountaineering enthusiasts.

The renowned Western Himalayan Mountaineering and Allied Sports Institute, located in Manali, works under the direct guidance and www.expresstravelworld.com

product portfolio and is promoting wildlife sanctuaries, desert camel and jeep safaris, hot air ballooning, etc.

Rajasthan has taken various adventure tourism initiatives to further consolidate its position as the leading state for tourism.

Adventure tourism is not new to Rajasthan as the state already has facilities existing for various activities like camel safaris, jeep safaris, horse and elephant polo, etc.

But now the state is looking at establishing itself as a hub for hot air ballooning. The state has received many enquiries

from various quarters and people have shown a keen interest in promoting desert sports and water sports in various places across the state.

Bikaner and Churu has been proposed to be hubs for desert sports while the lakes in Bundi and Udaipur would be used for water sports. The state has also been actively considering the idea of promoting river cruises and water sports in Chambal.

Colonel HS Chauhan, president, Indian Mountaineering Foundation adds, “Along the Himalayas, Kashmir is still a popular destination for adventure, followed by Ladakh, Manali, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. But due to certain restrictions from the state governments- Uttarakhand and Sikkim, the potential is not fully explored. In the future, Arunachal Pradesh and northeastern states which have huge potential for adventure activities would also become popular.”

Traditionally a leisure and pilgrim destination for Indian visitors, there is a fast emerging segment of young Indian travellers, who are opting for Nepal as a destination for adventure tourism. “We see an increasing number of university and college going Indians going for adventure activities like trekking. That is a big opportunity for Nepal.

Adventure tourism is a new trend seen amongst Indians. I

Exploring the unexplored These activities also give tourists an opportunity to explore lesser known or visited places. There is a growing set of tourists who wish to visit secluded places to add to the 'unique list' in their vacation diaries. For example, ballooning over the dunes is proving as a good product.

Short distances can be travelled, provided good sailing weather prevails, which mostly happen over popular fairs like Pushkar, Beneshwar or Nagaur.

If certain sports are waitEXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

17

ing to be explored, others have made their debut last year.

Like rappelling at Mehrangarh Fort followed by zip tours.

After Neemrana, Jodhpur has developed its share of adventure products through Flying Fox and Mehrangarh Museum Trust which launched a brand new Flying Fox zip tour at Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur in February 2010. Flying Fox also created India’s first zip tour at Neemrana Fort Palace in

The stretch of Alwar-SariskaD e e g - B h a ra t p u r - Ka ra u l i Ranthambore add to the wild expectations whereas the Mewar Circuit comprising Udaipur-KhumbalgarhNathdwara-Chittaurgarh has its own charm.

State tourism although upbeat about creating new avenues of tourism is yet to bring forth adventure tour opportunities in the main frame of their promotional plans. In India, the first surfing festival was held in February 2012 wherein as many as 30 stand up paddle (SUP) boards were provided to the different boatmen’s associations in the Chilika lagoon by the Odisha government as flat water surfing.

This festival was organised by the Surfing Yogis in association with Orissa Tourism Department. The three-day first of its kind surf festival of the country started with as many as 31 surfers from nine countries and 44 counterparts from six states of India. The festival was used as a platform to bring surfers across the country under one umbrella and introduces standarisations, safety guidelines and unified training methodology.

The stakeholders

January 2009. Here, one is attached by safety harness and pulley that takes one off on an aerial journey between hill forts and ridge tops, during which one flies down a series of ultra-strong cables or 'zip lines'. This offers a great opportunity as it can be replicated on any area providing two cliffs are joined by cables.

Not many presume Rajasthan to offer opportunities for trekking and mountain sports. However, the entire Mewar belt is supposed to offer good trekking options.

18

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

If state tourism boards have been busy promoting this segment, the travel agents have also not been late in developing new products for discerning travellers. To capitalise on the youth segment, Thomas Cook (India) recently launched a youth-centric travel product range - ‘Rock-On Holidays’. As per their customer analysis, an emerging trend that was highlighted was that almost 45 per cent of its individual holiday travellers are youth and the segment is poised to grow at a rate of 25-30 per cent. The analysis also revealed that for a young traveller travel is a voyage of discovering new places, and importantly - different, exciting non-traditional experiences. The product team of Rock-On Holidays has designed itineraries to destinations for young travellers starting from `35,000. This includes bike tours, scuba diving, elephant trekking and rafting, high adventure activities, mountain biking, para gliding and alpine trekking, beach tripping, Kilimanjaro www.expresstravelworld.com

climb in Tanzania, Northern Lights tour, horse trails, I-fly, fissure snorkelling, ice-climbing, kayaking, zip-trekking, snow-mobiling, glacier hiking and touring via horseback, Segway or bicycling.

According to Akshay Kumar, general manager, operations, Mercury Himalayan Explorations (MHE), while Indians are slowly taking to adventure activities, the segment has a huge potential in inbound travel too. Though seasonal and not high volume, it is a segment with high yield.

Another example of a tour operator cashing in on offering mountain biking is O-Six Travel & Hospitality Group, through its niche brand 360 Degree Himalaya. Apart from this, they also have LeapFrog Holidays, AQ Active Travel and Back Country Caravan Safaris. Talking about the company's brands, Sandeep Khandelwal, CEO, O-Six Travel & Hospitality Group informs, “The brands are designed to cater to the specific needs of guests. Each brand has been established keeping in mind the different types of travellers, because there is a huge gap when it comes to classifying guests, whether domestic or outbound.

Keeping this diverse target group satisfied is what we aim to achieve by setting up the different, well carved brands offering customised services for each sub group. Our group departure products include the basic land package, air fare, taxes, sightseeing, meals, etc.”

The challenges As per the policy for the diversification of tourism product of India, special attention is being given for the development of adventure tourism in the country. The ministry of tourism (MoT) has issued Guidelines for Approval of Adventure Tour Operators, which is a voluntary scheme, open to all bonafide adventure tour operators. The MoT has also formulated a set guideline on safety and quality norms on adventure tourism as basic minimum standards for adventure tourism activities.

These guidelines cover land, air and water based activities which include mountaineering, trekking, hand gliding,

paragliding, bungee jumping and river rafting. Central Financial Assistance is being extended to various state governments/Union Territory Administrations for development of tourism infrastructure in destinations including adventure tourism destinations. These include facilities for trekking, rock climbing, mountaineering, aero-sports, winter and water related sports, trekker huts, wildlife viewing facilities, etc.

Financial assistance for purchase of water sports equipment consisting of kayaks, canoes, paddle boats, fibre glass boats, hovercrafts, water scooters, etc, is also provided to state governments. Special efforts are made by the MoT to promote inland water tourism by providing necessary infrastructural facilities.

Financial assistance was extended for construction of double hull boats, construction of jetties, cruise vessels, boats, etc. The National Institute of Water Sports, another organisation of MoT based in Goa, was also to get a new building and facilities upgraded for training in water sports activities. Apart from this, the ministry has also been working with the Indian Mountaineering Federation and Adventure Tour Operators Association of India to explore positioning India as an adventure destination. In order to enhance the quality of adventure tourism experience in the country, MoT has given ‘in principle’ approval to Indian Mountaineering Federation to organise training programmes for adventure and mountain guides under the Capacity Building for Service Providers (CBSP) scheme of MoT. Not only this, it has also been following up with concerned central ministries with regard to facilitation for development of adventure tourism.

As an outcome, the Government of India has given security clearance for opening of 104 additional peaks in Jammu & Kashmir (Leh area) subject to stipulations and clearances from state government, home ministry and other concerned agencies. The opening of additional peaks has also been looked at in helping in positioning the Indian Himalayas as adventure tourism destination. Similarly, MoT had also January 2013

January 2013

Mandip Singh Soin

Major S K Yadav

Colonel H S Chauhan

Sandeep Khandelwal

taken the issue regarding use of GPS and satellite phone by the bonefide adventure tour operators so as to ensure that the safety standards are of international standards.

The first edition of Alpine Premier League (APL) held in February 2012 in the Solang Valley with over 300 participants opened a new window for positioning it as a hub for winter sports activities. The event was organised by Ski Himalayas Ropeway and Ski Centre with local ski clubs of surrounding Palchan, Kothi, Ruar and Solang villages and supported by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), Manali and Himachal Pradesh Tourism.

Prem Kumar Dhumal, the then chief minister of Himachal Pradesh had assured that the state government will extend all possible help to promote winter games and adventure sports in association with different organisations. Dhumal had also dedicated the ropeway-cumski-centre at Solang valley in district Kullu, connecting the ski-slopes at Mount Phatru, which was constructed through private sector by SkiHimalayas Ropeway in association with the Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation, at a cost of `36 crore on BOT basis under PPP mode.

Arun Sharma, chairman, Ski Himalayas Ropeway says, “Indians would have never imagined telling their friends that they have come back from a ski holiday from the Himalayas.

Thanks to Adventure Himalayas, this is now a reality at Solang, which in terms of its pristine beauty

is India’s answer to Mt Titlis in Switzerland and Aspen in America.” He informs that Adventure Himalayas offers all kinds of adventure sports in the country including paragliding with two jump stations, one on a lower and one on a higher level. It also offers mountain biking, snowmobiling in Solang.

Moreover, Adventure Himalayas boasts of 19 gondolas with a seating capacity of eight persons in each. The ropeway is the latest state-ofthe-art built by Poma of France similar to the one in Switzerland and France and it covers a distance of 1.3 km having a vertical rise of 500 metres and a top speed of 6 m/s. It is designed to carry 1200 passengers up the mountain in an hour and provides diversity of natural terrain for all standards of skiers and snowboarders. Adventurists can access the best locations for paragliding, skiing, snowboarding, zorbing, mountain biking, ski mobile and other adventure sports.

But even though the MoT in general has launched certain initiatives to promote adventure tourism there are still certain loopholes which pose bottlenecks in the segment's growth.

Colonel Chauhan adds, “With the segment growing, the Indian government has a bigger role to play in terms of promotion of the segment. As India already is an established adventure activities destination, it needs to look out for new avenues and locations and create products for the discerning adventure enthusiast. Apart from this, the segment, needs to aggressively promote and

develop adequate infrastructure to reach destinations which do not have direct connectivity.”

Soin believes that to really sort out the challenge to promote this segment, the government needs to look at developing wayside amenities and transport must be available to reach remote destinations. For example Auli in Uttarakhand is an important ski destination but it lacks proper connectivity.

Also according to Tejbir Singh Anand, managing director, Holiday Moods Adventures, “India is still largely known as a cultural destination. If we want India to be a 12 months destination, then the only answer is 'adventure tourism'. Summers are the leanest month and Himalayan Journeys are the perfect answer. We need to brand India as 'The Himalayan Monarchy'. The Himalayas are the playground for adventure and cultural activities such as trekking, mountaineering, white water rafting, sailing on the rivers, skiing, mountain biking, high altitude overland jeep safaris and many more.”

Unavailability of insurance products for adventure travel continues to be the roadblocks in the growth of this segment.

The number of visitors will undoubtedly increase over the foreseeable future if available.

Since the nature of this segment is all about the wilderness and remote inaccessible outdoor areas, restrictions on use of life saving electronic equipments such as GPS/ satellite should be lifted.

Availability of good maps are essential for venturing out in

the outdoors and can be seen as life saving equipments.

However, these are not available to the adventure tourism industry. Presently there is also no such facilities available for evacuation in the Himalayas. This will boost the image and business to Indian adventure travel.”

Another major problem is accessibility to remote areas.

Areas like Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, Gouchar and Uttarkashi in Garhwal and Pitthorgarh in Kumaon are classic examples of areas which have one small air strip which can be connected with fixed winged full bodied aircraft. This is the reason for the success of adventure tourism in Nepal because of connectivity of Lukla (serving as base camp for trek to Mount Everest) to the international fraternity.

The Land Bank Rules and Regulations are inadequate in the country. In order to change the land use, under existing policies, the option available for campsites is to turn to luxury hotels. There are no clear policies for creating campsites/lodges/resorts.

There are concepts like Eco Lodges and Jungle Lodge Resorts which are gaining strength and should be looked at. “There is a huge difference between a hotel and an ecolodge. An eco-lodge refers to a structure and using process that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle - from locating the site to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This practice expands and complements the classical building

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

19

design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.

The time is ripe to look at a hybrid model comprising of camps and eco-lodges instead of only luxury hotels which can be set up by only big industrialists,” believes Anand. “There is an urgent need for identification and development of new adventure destinations and creation of adventure zones whenever a new adventure destination or zone is identified, we start constructing a concrete jungle around it like what we have done to majority of our destinations like Shimla and Manali,” adds Anand. It is recommended to identify new adventure destinations. This does not mean only identifying a new adventure destination and developing hotels and accommodations at various places. As a destination will gain publicity with the promotion of the activities, facilities like accommodation, etc, will automatically fall into place and complete the jigsaw.

The future According to Kumar, in the early days, adventure in India was limited to trekking or climbing the Himalayas.

However, today the industry has come of age and offers a variety of adventure travel options. “India, in that context is a 'one stop adventure shop'.

Only in India can a person indulge in a camel safari in the deserts of Rajasthan, heli-ski in the Himalayas, raft down the mighty Ganges and trek in the Garhwal Himalayas, all in the same month. In addition, there are various other activi-

20

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

ties that widen our scope of adventure travel.

These include luxury camping, outdoor corporate training programmes, aero-sports including hot air ballooning and paragliding, bungee jumping, alpine skiing and ski-touring, kayaking and canoeing, jeep, camel and elephant safaris the list is actually quite exhaustive,” states Kumar.

Destinations in India are more economical. There is more awareness now and hence people are visiting places within the country in large numbers. Thomas Cook offers domestic destinations for adventure travel in India. It also offers ‘Thomas Cook's 100 per cent Holidays plan’, in which travellers can opt for various international adventure destinations.

Instead of being seen as a small, niche market, a study shows that adventure tourism is a sizeable market with the potential for significant economic growth opportunities.

According to a recent study of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), about 40 per cent of foreign tourists visit the country for adventures. This coupled with a large number of adventure seeking domestic tourists comprise the market for adventure tourism in the country.

The adventure tourism is projected to be one of the major foreign exchange earner for the country with expected revenues of US$ 20 billion (`90,000 crore), provided the potential is fully exploited.

The prime reason for increase in demand for adventure sports is the growth in youth tourism which has been identified as one of the largest segments of global and domestic tourism. These young travellers are major contributors to adventure tourism revenue. One thing that needs to be taken care while planning any kind of tourism activity is to assess the carrying capacity of the region. The development needs to be in a sustainable manner.

According to Anand, the future of adventure tourism holds many opportunities.

Today, trekking still commands the major share of the pie, but new adventure travel trends and activities are emerging. The opportunities www.expresstravelworld.com

and changing trends see a shift in the mindset of the clients: Shorter trips but higher spendings: From longer trips of around three weeks, the packages being sold have come down to from seven to 10 days. But the frequency has gone up. Over and above one long trip, clients also take couple of short getaways also in a year.

Popular activities: Today’s popular adventure activities include trekking, white water rafting and other related water sports, zip lines, rock climbing, rappelling, ATVs, paintball, zorbing, camel and horse safaris, mountain biking and bike tours, sailing on the rivers, hot air ballooning, paragliding, skiing, high altitude overland jeep safaris.

Changing trends - multiactivity trips: These are new entrants which primarily mean an itinerary encompassing multiple experiences of soft activities which all age brackets can do. A typical example can be of an itinerary of which goes through the experience of wild life, birding, camping, trekking, mountain biking, rafting, zip lines, rappelling/ rock climbing, Yoga, home stays and cultural experiences to top it all.

Family adventure vacations: Many families (including multigenerational) are forgoing theme parks and allinclusive resorts for more genuine nature-based, cultural, and education and learning excursions. This attribute is in part to baby boomers who have the means to travel coupled with a strong interest in bonding more deeply with families. The top vacation requests are all family friendly.

Girl/women getaways: More women are leaving the men at home. More than 25 per cent of adventure travellers are women and most fall between ages 35 and 60. Now it's not unheard of women to be going rafting, mountain climbing, trekking.

Rise of the adventure honeymoon: Forgoing the cookie-cutter honeymoon, more newlyweds than ever are celebrating their matrimony with an adrenaline-filled adventure tour.

As India is a young country, the new weds are sporty

and want active forward to active journeys. Trekking in Himalayas, each day waking up to the most incredible mountain views, enjoying rich cultural experiences and a great work-out is the new recipe of the honeymoon trips.

Schools including adventure within the curriculum: The IB schools, Cambridge University schools and the International Award for Young People organisation (IAYP) have realised the learnings from adventure travel. So as a part of the curriculum, adventure journeys are a part along with other components such as skills, service, skills, creativity and sports.

Financial upswing: With the domestic markets stable and economy on the upswing, travellers are once again beginning to plan and book vacations well in advance of their travel date.

For the last couple of years, people were planning their trips very last minute due to an unsettled feeling about the economy and how it might impact them personally.

ITB world travel trends report 2012/13: Asia remains the powerhouse for world tourism growth this year with strong growth of seven per cent in outbound travel as incomes rise and consumers are able to travel more. The outlook for 2013 is even stronger and India is seeing an upswing.

The continuing upward trend in the global travel industry is due mainly to an economic boom in the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, and China and in other developing countries.

Significant income growth in countries such as Russia and India and the emergence of a new middle class in almost every BRIC country has sparked a desire to travel which prevails in times of crisis.

Travellers book online more than ever: The number of travellers aged 15-35+ has increased to 42 per cent compared to last year and the confidence in people booking online has also grown.

The internet has now clearly established itself as the main place to buy travel with 54 per cent of bookings, well ahead of travel agencies which have slipped back to 24 per cent.

January 2013

ATOAI takes the action to the North East Taking into consideration the strong tourism potential of the North East region, the Adventure Tour Operators Association of India is set to host its tenth annual convention in Assam this year and aims to establish India as a 12-month tourism destination.

By Reema Lokesh ssam will be the focal point of action in the field of tourism, wherein the state is set to welcome delegates from across the globe for the ministry of tourism International Tourism Mart followed by the tenth annual convention of ATOAI (Adventure Tour Operators Association of India). The action is scheduled to unfold at Sarusajai Sports Complex in Guwahati, Assam. Amitabh Kant, CEO and managing director, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC), will give the keynote address. The team at ATOAI is unanimous in their opinion that the decision to hold the convention in Assam was primarily to open up the North East as a destination to other parts of India and definitely to the world. Apart from the seven sisters that includes Assam, Sikkim and West Bengal will also be part of the promotional plan. The association hopes to promote the region as a one-stop adventure destination. It is ready to work closely with the government to give the region its due.

The North Eastern terrain of India is a unique bag of mixed natural tourism products that is unexplored,

A

Tejbir Singh Anand

24

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

hence the convention theme, namely 'India`s Unexplored Paradise' fits in rightly. The Government of Assam, has rendered complete support to the convention and has been instrumental in bringing the convention to the region. The ATOAI team has appreciated the work put in by the government and local authorities to ensure the success of the event.

Tejbir Singh Anand,

Captain Swadesh Kumar www.expresstravelworld.com

president, ATOAI; Sanjay Basu, chairman, Convention 2013 and David Singh, cochairman, Convention 2013, mentioned that the convention is aimed to clear doubts and myths of the North East sector and highlight the fact that the region is safe to travel as a tourist hotspot.

The convention also aims to offer the travel fraternity an effective networking ground and offer a setting to help enhance one’s skills and

Ravi Kalra

knowledge of the region and adventure tourism in general. Anand, is convinced that the time is come to give North East its due and move a step further by working toward building a sustainable tourism product in the region. He feels that it is crucial to involve the local community who in turn will gain from tourism and help contribute to the economy.

“One cannot live in isolation and it is our aim to connect the north east with other parts of India and also the globe in general. It is time to put best operational practices forward and offer a product which brings quality and standardisation in our service,” he says emphatically. He adds that there is a need to raise the bar and make India a 12 months active journey holiday destination, wherein six states can be direct beneficiaries namely - Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and the North East sector.

Sustainably, SOPs, safety January 2013

David Singh and ethics are the four pillars which need to be nurtured further. From hard adventure, the trend is more toward experiencing and enjoying soft adventure,” adds Anand. Ravi Kalra, vice-president, ATOAI, also feels that, the North East proves to be an interesting place for soft adventure and now is the right time to project the same. He shares an interesting fact - that Myanmar is easily accessible from where one can drive through into the country. Guwahati proves to be an effective gateway to the North East. The adventure fraternity has matured over

Vikas Arora

Akshay Kumar

Amit Sankhala

time and from what it was in the past, Kalra feels the fraternity has come a long way.

Captain Swadesh Kumar, founder president, ATOAI says candidly, “I want the young generation to find out new routes and adventure trails.

Sabarmati – Nagaland, India and Myanmar border and will be hot selling items in the future. It is essential to research your itineraries and walk the path. Our team of ATOAI is committed towards the cause of adventure tourism and are always ready to explore new areas and unexplored paradises.”

He further adds, “The trend of adventure tourism has also witnessed change over the years. From long trips and journeys of 45 days to that of just 21-23 days, tourists are opting to do shorter climbs and treks and we have to offer them all the specialities in that short duration of travel, which can be challenging.” He also hopes that tour operators will learn from each other and sharpen their skills further at the convention.

Akshay Kumar, honorary secretary, ATOAI, is of the opinion that this convention will definitely bring the smaller operators of the

North East in touch with the mainstream operators. It will open new areas of growth and though there is a lot that needs to be done, the beginning is made.

Sharing some statistics on the convention, Vikas Arora, admisitrator, ATOAI, mentions that the convention is scheduled to attract around 100 international delegates and 300 delegates from within the country.

Nine states will be participating. Amit Sankhala, executive committee member, ATOAI, feels that exposure to a new destination will eventually improve the facilities at the destination as there is a need felt to provide trained guides, first aid course, training the local manpower, etc. The convention in Assam will open doors of the region to new business opportunities. This will also prove to be a great opportunity to experience Kaziranga, as he feels a lot of people sell it without knowing or experiencing it.

The time is right to move away from the established destinations to the untapped ones.

The Assam government is organising a North-East Tourism Carnival with cultural troupes, fashion shows, etc by all North-East States and West Bengal, to coincide with ATOAI convention within the same complex. In addition to this, a North-East Bazar is being designed with shops being set up for handicrafts of the region for delegates and buyers to take as souvenirs.

Vital to brand the Himalayas as a unique tourism product Sanjay Basu, convention chairman of the tenth ATOAI annual convention firmly believes that the North East is a new chapter of India’s tourism and it is time to seriously position the Himalayas and the Himalayan region as a brand in itself. He feels that giving the Himalayan region its due importance will also go a long way in solving the off season summer lean tourism phase that India tourism experiences. Tourists can head to the Himalayas in the summer and also explore the surrounding regions. The lean months of April to almost September-October can be converted into regular touristic months. He believes that it is essential to build a destination by simultaneously working on it with a multi-dimensional approach and plan. Branding, accessibility, infrastructure development all go in sync. Destinations Sanjay Basu also need to be developed with a sustainable approach.

He emphasises on the unique elements of the North East region. The region is blessed with four distinctive assets, namely, the mountains, rivers, forests and tribal culture. It is essential to display and showcase these assets in an organised manner. Kaziranga is unique to the region which needs to get better air connectivity. It is under promoted and hence needs to be given further impetus. The Brahmaputra river, has its only distinct history, which is not known to the world. It offers a panorama which is special to the region. Boat safari, jeep safari and elephant safari are offered in that belt, which is worth highlighting both for the national and international clientele.

The inland waterways are responsible to maintain the rivers and there is lot that can be done in the area.

January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

25

North East - Only place in India to get the Balance right Belinda Wright is the founder and executive director of the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), she highlights the vital picture of India’s rich wilderness and feels North East is the only place in India that can get the crucial balance right. By Reema Lokesh ragile, endangered and to a large extent neglected, wildlife protection and conservation in India needs an extremely serious and sensitive urgent action plan.

Wildlife tourism can be an important tool for wildlife conversation. This is done across the world but not successfully in India. Good, regulated wildlife tourism can be beneficial to wildlife.

Tourism is good for the health, working and functioning of our protected areas as it keeps the management on their toes in terms of being vigilant and in their approach toward wildlife. There is always a tendency to slip when it comes to accountability and transparency especially since wildlife protection is a public interest issue. People have the right to see their wildlife wealth and experience India's unique wildernesses. It is important for people to appreciate and enjoy the wealth, but with

F

Belinda Wright respect; it brings an element of responsibility. To much of intervention is dangerous, hence there has to be a fine balance between exposure to humans and protection of wildlife habitat.

Wildlife tourism needs to be better managed to make it sustainable. It is extremely crucial to control the number of resorts mush-

rooming around the periphery of our wilderness areas and tiger reserves. Many of these, even if they are on private land, block critical wildlife corridors. With good science and satellite imaginary one can identify critical wildlife corridors that should not be tampered with. We need better land use policies around wilderness areas. Such policies can only be achieved if it is an inclusive process with all the stakeholders involved.

It is time we looked at the big picture. It is crucial to strike the right balance between need and greed and what is best for wildlife. If this is done right then it’s a win-win situation for all.

Protection of wildlife, sustainable and responsible tourism, with participation and benefit-sharing with local communities will give visitors the opportunity to enjoy our natural wealth and be sustainable for future generations. The authorities and stakeholders

need to understand this, but sadly people are just not listening. Everyone is on this rapid highway to so-called development and the biggest tragedy of the nation will be if India's wildlife is destroyed in the process.

How will future generations judge us if we allow this to happen?

India’s North East region has some of the richest biodiversity in the world.

Places, like Namdapha, Balphakram, Kaziranga and Manas, to name a few, are some of the most beautiful and awe-inspiring, wilderness areas in the world. The great opportunity here is that many of the North East's protected areas have not been developed for tourism. This is a fantastic opportunity to get it right and learn from the many mistakes from elsewhere. It is a chance to create the perfect balance between protection, community participation and sustainable tourism.

Tiger Trust focuses on ‘Hunting the Hunters’ in Assam REEMA LOKESH - Mumbai

iger Trust, a national non-governmental organisation (NGO), based in New Delhi is working extensively in the area of clamping down poachers in various parts of the country which also include Assam.

In September 2011 the team conducted a focussed Legal Training Programme on Wildlife Crime for the Forest Department Government of Assam, which was aimed to arrest the issue of poaching in the region.

In an exclusive with Express TravelWorld, Anjana Gosain, functionary officer, Tiger Trust said, “We are a very focused group and we conduct capacity building programmes to tackle

T

26

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

the issue of poaching in some parts of the country.

We have worked in Assam and have definitely been effective in building awareness of the issue and provide solutions for the same.”

She added, “We provide guidance and legal training on prosecuting wildlife crimes. We train the forest staff on how to successfully prosecute poachers who are involved in killing of animals, encroachments, trespassing, illegal entry, etc.”

The NGO has in total conducted six capacity building programmes with the seventh one in progress in the North East. Work has been conducted in Kaziranga, Manas as well as Guwahati. Training prowww.expresstravelworld.com

Anjana Gosain grammes are scheduled for over two days and those who hold the rank of

forester up to divisional forest officers (DFOs) are involved in the programme.

She further added, “I feel there is so much more to achieve as the conviction rates are very low at the moment. But I feel the beginning has been made and since the time we started in 2009 there has been a steady progress in this area.

We are keen to train more forest staff to successfully prosecute these poachers and pass on a strong message so that others do not follow these unethical practices and serves as a deterrent.”

Tiger Trust was started in 1989 by Kailash Sankhala, Padma Shree, founder director of Project Tiger, Government of India.

January 2013

M|A|N|A|G|E|M|E|N|T EVENT ROUNDUP

Travels of the faithful Busting the myth of pilgrimage tourism being a niche and insipid segment, the recent CII conference saw deliberations focusing on how pilgrim tourists could be lured to extend their stay combining it with leisure. By Sukalp Sharma ne of the key segments of I n d i a ’ s tourism sector, pilgrimage or faith based tourism might very well hold the key to India’s effort to augment the flow of foreign tourists in the country and to facilitate domestic travelling,” according to Parvez Dewan, secretary, ministry of tourism, Government of India. The fact that pilgrimage tourism the world over has proven to be the most recession free segment in the sector adds weight to Dewan’s argument. The secretary was speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) roundtable on pilgrimage tourism in Delhi recently, which saw participation of various stakeholders in deliberations aimed at finding ways to tap the explosive potential of this segment.

While there are no reliable industry numbers available pertaining to pilgrimage tourism in particular, some rough estimates put forth by the participants were enough to highlight the growth opportunity at hand. “It is already a US$ 10 billion industry in the US. And in India, we had over 850 million domestic tourists in 2011, out of which, an estimated 14 per cent would be religious or pilgrimage tourists, and eight of the top 10 destinations in India are religious destinations,” said Rakesh Tandon, managing director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). A quick calculation based on these numbers highlights a figure of around 120 million domestic pilgrimage tourists. “Even if you are looking at a figure

“O

January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

of about 100 million people, if you increase the per person spend of these 100 million tourists by `100 or increase the number by 10 per cent, you are looking at infusing an extra `1,000 crore per year into the economy,” said Ashish Gupta, founder, Strategy Pluto.

Diverse offerings Dewan and others present at the roundtable insisted that such estimates were enough to bust the myth that faith based tourism was a niche and insipid segment.

“Faith based tourism is not niche at all, in fact it's very mainstream. Shankaracharya can be considered to be the first tourism minister and Shravan Kumar the first great tourist - such has been the relationship between faith and travel in our country.

Today, conventionally regional religious centres like Shirdi, Vaishno Devi and Tirupati have become national phenomena. Religious tourism is not just Hindi or Marathi speaking. Even western tourists do it,” Dewan said. He also threw light on developments at the ministry of tourism with regard to this segment, including plans to open Jewish pilgrim centres in cities like Kochi which once upon a time was teeming with Jewish population.

Even the Sufi circuit has caught the eye of the ministry. As it is common knowledge, this year MoT appointed a National Level Consultant (NLC) to identify some spiritual tourism circuits, including the Sufi Circuit, for integrated development in association with the states/ Union Territories for development during the 12th Plan period. Also pres-

ent at the roundtable was eminent film maker, and executive director of the Rumi Foundation, Muzaffar Ali, who spoke on the potential of Sufi tourism within the larger ambit of faith based tourism in India.

“Sufi tourism is an extremely important aspect of Indian tourism. The world's growing interest in Sufi thought is primarily because the disillusioned western youth is looking for solace. Rumi has become the largest read poet in the US. He has come to life for them after 800 years,” said Ali. Rumi Foundation organises the popular Sufi music festival Jahan-e-Khusrau and has brought out several publications on Sufism and its shrines in India. “We set up Rumi Foundation which organises the Jahan-eKhusrau festival. We are also now looking at Jahan-eKhusrau tours, both before the festival as well as shortly after it. We need to have retreats in India where people can go and spend time and introspect. We are now engaging with the government and need to draw a holistic plan. Marketing in the west is a specialised area and needs a lot of our focus and attention,” he added.

Deliberations also focussed on the question that how can a pilgrim tourist be lured to extend his stay and also combine leisure and other nearby tourist attractions to his itinerary rather than visiting just a religious centre. Urging the fraternity to take the baton in its own hands rather than depending on and waiting for the government to take up the cause, Karan Anand, head, relationships and supplier management, Cox & Kings said, “ We need to extend pilgrimages to holidays. If we link pilgrimage tourism to safety, comfort and experience, it will actually translate into the realisation of the explosive potential this segment has.

We need to develop that synergy. Pilgrimage tourism is right now very purpose driven in this country and we need to link it to experience.”

The secretary also urged the industry to be a little more sensitive towards the religious beliefs and faith of the travellers as it would help the EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

27

M|A|N|A|G|E|M|E|N|T

little sensitive to these concerns, they can do well in terms of revenue and occupancy. And it cannot be harmful for a normal secular hotel if they are a little more sensitive to such concerns,” added Anand. It was also announced that MoT will soon come out with a website listing important tourist destinations in the country and facilities that are available in such centres. So far details of 243 destinations have been compiled and the effort is to make it cover every tourist spot in the country, including religious destinations. Other web based tools and new media technologies will also be employed. Arjun Sharma, cochairman, CII National Committee on Tourism and managing director, Passage to India, stressed on the need for strengthening infrastructure, enhancing connectivity and mapping of tourist destinations that can be developed.

Challenges

hospitality and travel sector in terms of volumes and revenue.

“Take the Jain community for example. They would ideally want rooms where there is no leather and where beef hasn't ever been served and so on. If hotels become a

28

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

Industry stakeholders raised concerns about the lack of physical infrastructure in and around religious centres becoming a major hindrance for operations as well as quality of services.

The problem was highlighted

by Tandon, who told Express TravelWorld, “When we take a pilgrim special train with 800 people and we reach a destination, there are teething troubles we face in terms of basic tourist infrastructure like shortage of decent hotels and guest houses where all the passengers could wash and change.

We have to move people to at least six to eight hotels and at times to even dharamshalas.

Buses too are not allowed to be parked close to the shrines www.expresstravelworld.com

while smaller vehicles are usually allowed. Most people taking up pilgrim packages are elderly and all this causes a great inconvenience.”

When asked about the building of infrastructure facilities around pilgrim centres, Dewan said that his ministry is doing its best with whatever limited resources it has at its command. He explained that the nodal agencies for such decisions are the ministry of surface transport and the state governments and such decisions were taken on a holistic basis and not necessarily driven by tourism needs alone.

However, he mentioned that his ministry funds last mile connectivity projects. “Last mile connectivity is not a priority for the state government, so we do help out there. Roads and highways are primarily the job of the state governments. As far as interstate connectivity is concerned, our sympathies are with you. It is a call which the state governments need to take. We have made efforts in this regard and we will continue to do so,” he said, while responding to questions raised by a few tour operators present in the audience. It was also agreed that Campaign Clean India, a joint cleanliness campaign by the ministry of tourism and the ministry of railways, must take up religious centres on a priority basis, as sanitation concerns and pollution also cropped up as major irritants affecting the well being of the sector.

One of the more important and engaging sessions was focussed on the Buddhist circuit. This circuit has been identified as a priority circuit, which is evident from the fact that India had

signed an MoU on tourism with ASEAN in early 2012, with a work plan for the development of ASEAN-India cooperation in Buddhist pilgrimage tourism. Calling it an extremely focussed circuit and market, Nalin Singhal, director, IRCTC asserted that the current volume of foreign tourists on the circuit is below potential. “That total estimated population of Buddhists worldwide is about 400 million. Now estimates of inbound Buddhist travellers to India stands at around two lakh, which is way below potential. So if we take a target of getting two million foreign Buddhist tourists a year for the Buddhist circuit and more, and if we take an average figure of US$ 1,000 being spent by each of them, we are looking at something like US$ two billion. And this is totally achievable” he said.

IRCTC already runs a Buddhist Circuit Special train which includes an eight-day tour covering eight most important sights of Buddhism in India. It was also announced at the roundtable that IRCTC in association with the Odisha government will be starting an Odisha Buddhist circuit train, which will be starting this month. Sri Lankan tourists also feature in IRCTC's plans with a 22 day Buddhist special train being planned for them, which they can board from Chennai after reaching the city by air from Colombo. State owned helicopter company Pawan Hans too will be starting helicopter services for the Buddhist circuit to connect centres like Varnasi, Bodhgaya and Singroli, announced Sanjay Kumar, general manager, Pawan Hans.

January 2013

M|A|N|A|G|E|M|E|N|T STRATEGY

Renovate to reinvent Pan Pacific Hotels Group has invested in multi-million dollars for renovating several of its properties in different countries, along with opening new hotels and serviced suites. A Patrick Imbardelli, president and chief executive officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group talks about the group's strategy of sustained growth. By Sudipta Dev an Pacific Hotels Group recently invested SGD 80 million in the transformation of Pan Pacific Singapore. This year has also witnessed the group carry out important renovations projects of many Pan Pacific and PARKROYAL properties across the region. “As an organisation we are fairly unique as we are a branded organisation with two brands, which is PARKROYAL and Pan Pacific. Each of the brand has their own positioning in the market,” says A Patrick Imbardelli, president and chief executive officer, Pan Pacific Hotels Group (PPHG). He adds that while a lot of hotel companies are today in the franchisee model and management model, PPHG still owns and develops many of the hotels. “We have got serviced suites and hotels. We believe that there is a real opportunity in the serviced suite market. They are actually a little different from serviced apartments and provide an envelope of services,” adds Imbardelli.

Pan Pacific Manila just had a major refurbishment, while PARKROYAL in Darling Harbour Sydney is just undergoing renovations. Pan Pacific Orchard in Claymore, Singapore has also gone through refurbishment. There has also been SGD 14 million renovations of Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort.

PARKROYAL Yangon, which

P

A Patrick Imbardelli

January 2013

has witnessed record-high occupancy rates, also completed renovations in 2012.

“So while we are doing refurbishment we are also opening new hotels for both brands like opening of the 415-room Pan Pacific Ningbo in Zhejiang, China and the first Pan Pacific serviced suites product in China with Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, Ningbo in December,” states Imbardelli.

PARKROYAL Service Suites is opening in Shanghai.

Ningbo and Shanghai are service suites that are managed by PPHG for owners.

Sustained growth “Our focus for growth is that we do not want to open 50 hotels a year, that is not the idea. We'd like to open five or six properties each year so that we have a sustainable growth and the product must exemplify the brand,” mentions Imbardelli. He points out that for a company that has over 10,000 associates in North America, China, Australia and South East Asia, it is not easy to grow too quickly to keep up the pace of growth. “So while we are growing, for every hotel or service suite that we are building, opening/owning it will probably be one out of three that we are managing for other people. When it comes to specific markets then there are plans for Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Bangkok and

www.expresstravelworld.com

Phuket in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” informs Imbardelli.

The focus of the group is not about opening a hundred hotels but to go where its customers are going. “In Singapore the company has five/six hotels and service suites, a lot of our customers who come to Singapore also go to, for example Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Sydney. So what we try to do is understand where they are going and put hotels in those places and not just where we want to open these properties. If we put hotels just where we want to then there might not be the customers,” asserts Imbardelli.

He acknowledges that India is an interesting market however PPHG has no plans in the immediate future to open properties in the country. “While we know India as one word, it is actually many states. Then there is Mumbai and Delhi outbound, Mumbai is the cosmopolitan capital where lot of business is done, while Delhi is the government capital. At present while we have a strategy, it does not include India. We believe that to build or manage hotels in India we cannot have one or two properties, you need have it in 10 key cities and then you need to have hotels in destinations like Goa. Whenever we enter the Indian market in the future it will be big time,” he states.

Like any business leader one of the challenges that he has is to prioritise resources, and that does not only mean capital, it also means people.

“At the moment from a developer's perspective our focus is South East Asia and China these are our key areas,” he explains.

As a source market the outbound leisure segment from India goes to Pan Pacific Singapore, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Penang in particular. “One hotel that draws a lot of traffic from India is the PARKROYAL Kitchener Road that is right at the edge of Little India. As a source market India is gaining in importance but not in mass market area. We are getting people to know, understand our brands and search our brands out. I do not see 20 per cent increase in customers but I see an

ongoing increase,” mentions Imbardelli.

Talking about the most difficult challenges of operating hotels in different countries, he remarks that in developing countries manpower and infrastructure are the two biggest challenges. “There is need for more flights/airports.

As far as manpower issues are concerned the focus is on training, developing and then retaining them. We give a lot of training to our people, including language training eg English, Mandarin,” adds Imbardelli. He believes that there is no government that makes things difficult for a hotelier. “It is just that sometimes they need an understanding - in Thailand it's about what licenses you get, in Vietnam it's about understanding the masterplan of each city and working within that. India is very interesting, in the past the country has been characterised by Indian companies in the luxury fivestar space - the Taj, Oberoi, ITC. And they tried to create joint ventures. Now international companies are going in and the infrastructure is being refreshed,” he says.

The sales strategy is bottom up and top down. For example, when each hotel makes its plan for 2013 – they see where the customers will come from and whether they are for leisure or business.

“Then we see where our growth comes from. For China there is a different strategy, we have a sales office in Shanghai and there will be one soon in Beijing. We will try and capture the traffic in a different way,” he says.

Over the last three years PPHG has been averaging four to five new hotels a year.

“I'd like to think that from a sustainable perspective that is type of growth average. We are only as good as growing what happens around us. We do not see ourselves doubling every year,” states Imbardelli.

The company is soon adding to its Singapore portfolio PARKROYAL on Pickering and Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Beach Road, Singapore.

These openings will bring the group’s Singapore portfolio to eight hotels and serviced suites with an inventory of over 2,600 rooms.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

29

Edge

T H E C U T T I N G E D G E I N T R AV E L T R A D E

IN FOCUS

Royale ride down the ghats MTDC recently inaugurated Konkan Royale – a luxury bus tour service to discover the lesser known terrain of Maharashtra's Konkan.

By Sayoni Bhaduri In December, 2012 MTDC in its effort to promote the Konkan region inaugurated Konkan Royale.

Five luxury buses specially created by Volvo will run on the roads to different locations in the region. The 43seater Konkan Royale luxury buses will ply to and from Mumbai/Pune and Konkan.

Chhagan Bhujbal, minister for tourism, Government of Maharashtra, said at the formal inauguration of the buses, “Maharashtra has a vast avenue of tourist destinations. The Konkan region holds prominence and attracts tourists from all parts of the country and world. The high-end Volvo service will add one more reason to visit Konkan.”

State-of-the-art in all aspects, the bus is not just he rich geological history of the western ghats apart, the region boasts of some uncharted and pristine beaches. The Konkan belt of Maharashtra is a region which is a known secret for inhabitants of the state, but

T

30

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

for rest of the domestic and inbound travellers the region is still unravelling itself. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) on its part has set up resorts in some of the best locations. The railways already has a relevant net-

www.expresstravelworld.com

work of trains charting the region.

equipped with a mini-pantry with a microwave, coffeemaker and a refrigerator but also a chemical toilet to make the journey as seamless as possible. Also on offer are wi-fi connectivity, two LCD televisions and a GPS tracking system. “The concept of Konkan Royale is fathered by MTDC to generate substantial tourism in the Konkan region. Whereby tourist can relish the entire 1300 km stretch of the serene Konkan in a state-ofthe-art modern luxurious transportation and accommodation at affordable prices,” says a MTDC spokesperson. He further adds that five buses from Volvo have been purchased at around ` 1.25 crore per bus.

These Volvo 9400XL buses have an equipped toilet with fresh-water flushing system. The design focuses on a long-term reliability, powerful flushing action January 2013

and easy access for service purposes. The bus model was introduced in 2008, today it is Volvo's bestselling product. It is also India's first multi-axle bus with features like electronic suspension, electronic brakes, sophisticated multiplexing and a range of other safety and performance features. It also raised the engine power to 340HP. The Volvo 9400XL offers about 20 per cent extra occupancy/revenue and at the same time provided better fuel efficiency per passenger kilometre. It is built at the manufacturing plant of Volvo Buses in Hoskote near Bengaluru.

The Konkan Royale route includes Harihareshwar, M u r u d - J a n j i r a , LotaParshuram Temple, Baate Beach, Sindhudurgh, Malvan Tarkarli, Kudaleshwar and Sawantwadi. The route from Pune includes Kolhapur.

However the buses are not plying commercially yet.

The package will offer a 1300 km drive and stays at the luxury resorts of MTDC on the way. The inaugural tour that MTDC conducted provided glimpses into how the package format would work. The shorter tour took passengers from Mumbai to Ganpatiphule onto Vijaydurg and finally to Tarkarli. The second tour had the additions of Kunkeshwar temple, Amboli and Devbagh beach and backwaters.

The passage through the ghats is a novel experience, the view out of the bus windows reminds of things familiar but together with the terrain and local communities offers a refreshing newness. Even though the buses offer the best of luxury that an automobile with compact space can offer, pitstops are a must. A word of caution to the novice road traveller and those with motion sickness – the roads on the western ghats although are of quality, the snake like movement along it make it difficult even for the seasoned traveller to keep their insides from churning. The added advantage however are the priceJanuary 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

less locations of the MTDC resorts. At Ganpatiphule, the resort is located on the beach with the famed Ganpatiphule temple right beside it. The resort has two styles of accommodation – huts and rooms. Similarly, the resort at Tarkarli is also on the beach and the resort also provides shack like structures to enjoy the view.

The resort cottages or huts are designed on the local Malvan style with full modern amenities.

The tour is one which cannot be completed in a rush and MTDC plans to introduce five-day packages.

These packages are not yet active since MTDC is looking for a private operator to take on the management and operations of these buses. They have invited proposals from well established and reputed transportation firms for operating and managing package tour services in the region through the Konkan Royale buses. The operator shall be responsible to market and manage the packaged tours, operate and maintain specified buses on specified routes working in tandem with MTDC in scheduling them. The operator will also be responsible for booking and ticketing the tours as well as assisting MTDC for logistics such as hotel arrangements, tourist facilitation at destinations, etc.

Operators who are to bid for the tender may be a firm, joint venture, consortium, partnership firm or company with minimum five years of experience in conducting luxury package tours in India. Special experience in Maharashtra would be preferred. They should have minimum five years of experience in operation and maintenance of luxury coaches with a minimum average annual turnover of ` five crore in preceding three financial years ending March 31, 2012; they should also have minimum net worth of ` 1.25 crore as on March 31, 2012.

Involvement of a private operator would make this initiative an example of a PPP project.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

31

Building a Credible Konkan To tap the potential of the naturally endowed Konkan region, the Maharashtra government is working with Kokan Bhumi Prastishthan (KBP), an umbrella organsiation of hoteliers, tour operators and tourism services set up with aim of developing the region's tourism offerings and promoting it globally. By Steena Joy

onkan, a coastal region in Maharashtra spread across four districts - Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg - is attracting the attention of tourists both, inbound and outbound. With a 72 km coastline, its pristine beaches and backwaters, forts

K

32

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

and ghats (the Western Ghats which runs through the region was recently declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO), farms and fruits (the world renowned Alphonso mangoes are endemic to this region), the Konkan region is a tourist haven waiting to be explored.

Realising this, the Kokan

www.expresstravelworld.com

Bhumi Prastishthan (KBP) was set up 10 years ago to spearhead development in the region and give it a definite direction. With the support of hoteliers and tour operators in the region, the KBP has taken many initiatives with the main aim of promoting the destination as well as encouraging

entrepreneurial ventures like Farm Tourism Centres which will provide employment to the youth in the region. To tap the tourism potential of the region, KBP has been organising initiatives like Village Tourism Festival, Beach Festival and Global Kokan every year. Partnering with the Maharashtra government, KBP launched the Global Kokan initiative in 2011 to provide a global perspective to nature, tourist spots, industries, artists, culture and folk arts of the region. The next Global Kokan will be held from January 4 to 7, 2013 in Mumbai which is expected to draw around five lakh visitors.

Speaking to Express Hospitality, Sanjay Yadavrao, president (KBP) and executive president, Global Kokan said, “Global Kokan 2013 will be historic for us in many ways.

At the event we will be launching a one stop online portal www.konkanmall.com with a 24-hour helpline.

Hoteliers in the region can register on the portal so that tourists can find all their needs at one spot. We will January 2013

also be launching the first coffee table on Konkan tourism which will cover all tourist destinations in the region, from Dahanu to Vengurla, from Jawahar to Amboli.

There will also be Maharashtra's first Fish Aquarium and Fish Festival where we will showcase all varieties of marine life including and sea fish like bangda, bombil, surmai, etc which are endemic to the coastline of the region.” As precursor to the event, in December, the Global Kokan Motorcycle and Car Rally is being organised

January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

covering 2,000 km and a Village Tourism Festival will be held where visitors can stay in villages and experience village trekking, cultural fests, local cuisine, beach sports and fishing. In 2015, KBP plans to organise Global Kokan overseas.

Citing examples of Kerala and Madhya Pradesh, he urged hoteliers and tour operators to change their outlook and bring in more energy and channelise their efforts to sell the destination. “We should promote Konkan not just in India but also globally. We want to put Konkan on the world map. And we can do this only by upgrading our facilities and bringing in standardisation and professionalism. Konkan attracts around one crore tourists every year without much promotion. So if we work harder and upgrade all our hotels, and improve infrastructure, then tourism will flow to the region,” Yadavrao reiterated.

He believed that the region should benefit from its proximity to Mumbai and Pune, which account for most of the present tourist traffic.

Vithal Kamat, CMD, Kamat Hotels India said, “We should use the case studies of Kerala and Rajasthan as benchmarks. We must strive to go beyond the standards set by these states. If we can have an Incredible India, why not a Credible Konkan? We need to develop all classes of tourism and not just 'mass tourism'.

People already know about Konkan as a region, but we need airports, good roads and good hotels to increase the region's credibility. A tourist anywhere in the world is the same. All he needs is a good bed and a clean toilet. What

distinguishes a good hotel from the bad is the quality and service. You should provide a customer what you would expect from a good hotel.”

Kamat also urged the tour operators to promote religious tourism, adventure tourism and eco tourism in the region.

Taking Goa as an example, he added, “We must turn calamity into opportunity. Goa played up its monsoons and promoted monsoon tourism and now tourists flock to the place during the rains. A lean season has now turned into a peak period.” He believes that hotels should be transparent in what they are offering. “If it is a basic adventure tourism resort with no TV and no air conditioning, let the tourist know about it beforehand,” he advised.

Kamat felt that planning is needed to promote niche tourism products like ecotourism. “It is not about just selling mangoes!,” he exclaimed. He also stressed on the need for training and coaching of guides, taxi drivers, etc.

Yadavrao agrees, “Every district in Konkan must have a hospitality institute. All parties concerned – tour operators, hoteliers and associations must meet every month to brainstorm and make improvements.”

He also revealed that KBP is planning a promotion campaign titled 'No Kashmir. No Kanyakumari.

No Kulu Manali. Only Konkan' for the coming summer peak season.

“We are also developing some Adivasi villages which tourists can visit. We also want to build tourism circuits within the region like from Matheran to Alibag, from Jawahar to Dahanu, etc.”

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

33

Travel

Life

CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY

Creating change For hotel companies Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives are an extension of their organisational vision to make a difference in the community and work towards a sustainable future, engaging their employees in the process. By Sudipta Dev

Team members of The Leela Palace Udaipur participating in the lake cleaning drive SR initiatives have become an integral part of those hotel companies which recognise that besides doing their bit for the society or the environment, they are also developing a positive brand image that can go a long way in impacting their business in the future. Engaging the employees in such activities is a great motivator and helps in creating a holistic work culture in the organisation, along with attracting and retaining the workforce. The CSR initiatives introduced by hotel companies cover a whole gamut of activities that might not bring about a wide ranging change, but certainly a focused impact.

The CSR focus areas for most hotel companies differ with the international groups introducing their global corporate responsibility platform in India, eg Hyatt Thrive. “To achieve our goals, Hyatt Thrive focuses on four areas that we believe are essential

C

34

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

to a thriving community environmental sustainability; economic development and investment; education and personal advancement; health and wellness. The two programmes - Hyatt Earth and Hyatt Community engage our associates around the world in these four areas.

Hyatt Earth drives environmental stewardship across our hotels, while Hyatt Community strengthens our community impact through volunteerism, philanthropy and disaster relief,” says Yasmin D Poonegar, director of Corporate Communications, Hyatt International South West Asia.

In the Leela Group, it is the chairman Capt. CP Krishnan Nair who inspires the entire group’s CSR activities. There is a programme called as Leela Cares for social and environmental activities. The ITC Group has a number of projects focused on education, community,

health, environment, etc.

According to Aradhana Lal, vice president - Corporate Communications & Sustainability Initiatives, Lemon Tree’s vision for 2020 is to build a reputation for ‘responsible growth’. “Lemon Tree Hotels goes beyond the simple paradigm of CSR and believes in running its business in a sustainable manner.

We are driving sustainability through the three pillars – people, planet and profit,” states Lal. Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport has been associated with a few CSR initiatives, notable among which is the work done with Sneha Sadan a non-governmental organisation that provides a home for homeless children living on the streets of Mumbai.

“These homes have given these children a chance to escape life on the streets, gain access to a shelter, education and a future. We are also associated with Hope Foundation," says www.expresstravelworld.com

Oppenheimer Pinto e Fernandez, general manager, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport.

Among the many initiatives that these properties are associated with, there are of course a few projects that are close to the heart of the organisation/hotel. Graham Grant, general manager, The Leela Palace Udaipur avers that the project that provided training and employment to underprivileged students from local community, is something that the hotel is particularly proud of. At ITC Maratha, Mumbai, it is the fact that the hotel has employed a respectable number of differently abled people in various key departments like housekeeping, F&B production, HR, front office. “We’ve made sure that they are at par with the other employees. This initiative speaks volumes about our culture of inclusiveness,” states Dhunji Kavarana, area manager (West) and general manager, ITC Maratha.

Lemon Tree Hotels takes a 360 degree view of engaging with differently abled people.

“While we have robust policies for employing the differently abled, we are also equally concerned about guests who are differently abled and who we believe should have easy access to all areas of our hotels. That too has required a paradigm shift in the way we look at access – from hotel design, architecture, facilitation and sensitisation of staff,” states Lal.

Aligning with business strategy It is necessary that the factors that drive the CSR initiatives should align with the organisational goals and strategy. Poonegar points out

that Hyatt Thrive brings together teams of passionate people to focus on local projects that contribute to the prosperity and well-being of their communities.

“Its design draws on the knowledge and insight of a global cross section of stakeholders – including corporate leadership, property owners and associates throughout our organisation, community leaders and guests. Hyatt Thrive harnesses the power of our associates at our properties around the world to help our global community of colleagues, guests and neighbours do one thing - 'thrive'.

Hyatt Thrive builds on our rich history of community engagement and environmental stewardship and is a global framework for teams of passionate people to bring to life local projects that benefit their communities,” she explains. At ITC Maratha all activities are aligned keeping in mind the triple bottom line philosophy. “We believe that profit can only be measured economically, socially and in terms of the environment, which is our triple bottom line philosophy,” states Kavarana.

There are many tangible as well as intangible advantages of CSR activities for a hotel. The key ones, believes Graham Grant, general manager, The Leela Palace Udaipur are - employee engagement through CSR activities and guest participation and acknowledgment being a responsible company.

According the Lal it makes sense to impart relevant employability skills to EWD’s (Employees with Disabilities) in those job profiles where their disability is not a disadvantage. “So we try for optimal placement – giving differJanuary 2013

T|R|A|V|E|L| L|I|F|E

CSR initiatives in India Hyatt International

energy-saving gadgets and environment-friendly material.

Introduction of an apprenticeship/training/hiring programme for underprivileged

* Helping the economically deprived: ITC Maratha provides vocational training

youth at Hyatt Regency Mumbai, in conjunction with NGO partners YCI and the

and advocacy for economically deprived.

Kherwadi trust.The hotel follows YCI's training curriculum and hires the trainees at

* ITC Maratha also organises blood donation drives on a regular basis.

the end of the programme.This is a pilot project that might be extended on a broad-

Lemon Tree Hotels

er platform in the coming years. The hotel group has also initiated several sustain-

The company philosophy is to make Lemon Tree Hotels an inclusive workplace and

able green practices in its properties like recycled water being used for gardening.

to build processes with appropriate learning that will facilitate this objective. The

Replacing of steam traps with energy efficient steam traps. Since the introduction

company currently has over 100 Employees with Disabilities (EWDs) in the team,

of seven energy efficient Toyota Prius to the hotel’s car fleet the usage of fuel has

who are all hearing-and-speech impaired. They work across different areas of

reduced to 10345 liters from September 2011 until January 2012 as opposed to

hotels, eg housekeeping, kitchen stewarding and F&B service. This is currently five

14099 liters from September 2010 until January 2011.

per cent of the total staffing of the 18 hotels the company owns/operates across

The Leela Palace Udaipur

India. The goal is to take this to 10 per cent of total staffing in 2013 or about 250

* Adopted remote villages nearby Udaipur for Leela Care activities

EWDs.

* Lake cleaning drive by team members and involve local community, and support

Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport

Jheel Smarakshan Samiti

* The hotel is are associated with Sneha Sadan, home for orphan children, every

* Celebrating World environment week

quarter some play activities are arranged for children, who are also provided fresh

* Public garden maintained by The Leela Palace Udaipur

food and clothes from the hotel thereby assisting the welfare of the children

* Blood donation camps

* On Environment Day dustbins are distributed to the shops near the hotel premis-

* Providing training and employment to underprivileged students from local com-

es and shopowners are educated to dispose the waste in the dustbins

munity

* The hotel’s garbage is disposed only through a recognised and certified vendor by

ITC Maratha

the BMC (Mumbai Municipality)

* Employing differently abled people: Rising to the challenge, ITC Maratha has

* The neighboring community are invited to the hotel to participate in Independence

made a commendable effort to accommodate people with disabilities and draw them

Day celebrations

to mainstream of life as far as possible.

* Through SOS (home for abandoned children) an NGO that has a children village

* WelcomEnviron: As responsible corporate citizens, ITC Maratha recognises its

in Alibag, the hotel sponsors academic educational expenses for one child, the staff

commitment towards maintaining a greener and healthier environment.

visits the village and spends the day with the children

WelcomEnviron is the vision for a green world. The guiding principle is Reduce,

* Hope Contribution – during check-out, the guests are asked if they would like to

Reuse and Recycle. Each hotel has its own programme, encompassing local partic-

donate to the Hope Foundation. Upon their agreement the donation proceeds.

ipation, creating awareness among employees and internal conservation through

ently abled employees roles or placing them in positions where they are not at a disadvantage (for instance in workplaces where there is significant noise, it can actually be an advantage to have a hearing and speech impaired employee in that area),” says Lal, pointing out that EWDs have a greater sense of loyalty to the organisation and the turnover ratios in this group is much lower than that of the company overall. For them, being given

an opportunity to make a living for themselves and becoming a part of society makes them feel proud and happy and hence loyal to the organisation. “Due to these two outcomes, they can then be employed routinely and on an equal footing with other people (rather than as a CSR or charitable initiative) which is the only sustainable policy in the long run,” she adds.

Fernandez believes that while CSR initiatives have its own benefits, however they are not related to business.

“Through such initiatives we try to give back to the society in whatever small way we can. It helps in staff engagement as they enjoy participating and contributing in such activities. Also, it gives us immense satisfaction that other than our business we are also looking after the community which enables us to raise the bar on our Responsible Business Quadrant objectives,” he mentions.

Employee engagement Dustbins being distributed by Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport team January 2013

Employee engagement is an integral part of any CSR initiative. Hyatt International www.expresstravelworld.com

has a well organised process for this.

“Employees want to feel proud of the organisation they work for. An employee with a positive attitude towards the company is less likely to look for a job elsewhere. It is also likely that you will receive more job applications because people want to work for you,” says Poonegar. At the Leela Palace Udaipur this is driven through HR activity calendar taking nominations from departments. The benefits, avers Grant, are many - it leads to emotional satisfaction, team building, and identification of key behavior indicators – initiatives and leadership.

At ITC Maratha to sensitise new employees towards differently abled people, sign language classes are organised.

“We’ve received tremendous response for the sign language training,” states Kavarana. Lal explains that an initiative of this nature is never easy to implement. It requires sensitisation of the entire team and brings its own share of challenges.

“However, we have been able to implement a comprehen-

sive programme pan India that is functioning reasonably well. We pioneered this initiative in 2007 and have successfully conducted sensitivity training for all employees, including subsequent new hires. This was led by an external expert whose forte is Indian sign language and who has worked closely with hearing-and-speech impaired people. This has since become an integral part of our system and employees now welcome their differently abled colleagues,” she adds.

Environmental and community investment provides exceptional return to the user, asserts Grant. “We as a unit contribute to the wellbeing of society through responsible environmental action. In most cases there will be a financial benefit, certainly education, awareness and protocols to conserve energy have this impact,” he adds. The community investment provides genuine satisfaction not only with those less fortunate but as a unit to share and appreciate the ability to give, the return is a healthy and uplifting morale.

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

35

T|R|A|V|E|L| L|I|F|E

WTTC, India Initiative The World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative (WTTCII) has appointed Priya Paul, chairperson,The Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels as chairperson, WTTCII for the year 2013.

Paul, who was the vice chairperson of WTTCII for the year 2012, took over from Vikram Madhok, managing director, Abercrombie & Kent India Dipak Deva, CEO Destination Management, India & South Asia, Kuoni Destination Management has been appointed as the vice chairman of WTTC, India Initiative for the year 2013.

TripAdvisor TripAdvisor has appointed Leslie Chu as head of Display Advertising Sales, Greater China. Based in Beijing, Chu is responsible for driving the growth of the display advertising business for TripAdvisor in Greater China.

He has over 13 years of marketing experience in the internet industry. Prior to TripAdvisor, he was country director for Microsoft’s advertising and online business in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Kuoni Business Travel

Kuoni Business Travel has appointed Malvinder Singh Rikhy as the chief executive officer. In this role, Rikhy would endeavour to bring global best practices for local application and leverage global volumes and industry contracts. He will also be additionally responsible for exploring business travel in other countries. He has been associated with Kuoni Business Travel for over four years as chief operating officer.

Airbus Corporate Foundation Airbus Corporate Foundation has appointed Fabrice Brégier, Airbus president and CEO, as its new chairman of the board, succeeding Tom Enders, CEO of EADS, who headed the Foundation since its creation in 2008 and who has been appointed honorary chairman of the Foundation.

ABCN Travel Management

South African Tourism

Pramod Dalvi has joined Bafna Enterprise and is heading its new travel division ABCN Travel Management as senior vice president. He has spent almost 38 years in travel and airline industry. He was associated earlier with Thomas Cook India , Carlson WagonLit Travel, P&O Travel, International Travel House, Korean Airlines, Forvol International and retired from FCH Centrum Direct as senior vice president in 2010.

South African Tourism has appointed Janine Hutton to the position of chief marketing officer, effective from February 2013. She takes over the position from Roshene Singh, who retires at the end of this year.

Hutton has over 15 years of senior management experience and is currently the cofounder and owner of the online marketing company, Social Act, and is also a partner at a destination consulting company Ivy League’s Africa office.

AirAsia AirAsia Japan has appointed Yoshinori Odagiri, board member and head of operations, as the new CEO and representative director.

Kazuyuki Iwakata, who was representative director and CEO, now assumes the role of chairman. In another appointment, James Rhee has joined AirAsia as CEO of the newly created region of North Asia. This covers Japan, Korea, China and the Philippines.

Hong Kong Tourism Board

The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has appointed Kenneth Wong as general manager of MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) and cruise. Prior to his appointment, Wong was head of Product Marketing at the HKTB. In his new role, he will oversee the formulation and implementation of business strategies of the Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong (MEHK) Office, and develop strategic plans to grow the cruise business in Hong Kong.

Dusit Hotels

Dusit International has announced the following GM re-assignments, effective January 2013: James Wilson, currently GM of Dusit Thani Dubai, will relocate to Bangkok as GM of the Dusit Thani Bangkok.

Wilson who joined Dusit International in 2000, pioneered the IIP Standard Certification for Dusit Thani Dubai, the only hotel within Dusit International certified

by IIP.

hotel properties in the Middle East.

Prateek Kumar, currently GM of Dusit Thani Manila, will move to the position of GM Dusit Thani Dubai. Kumar has extensive experience in luxury hotel brands in Singapore, heading up the successful relaunch of the Dusit Thani Manila property.

Alex Willats, currently GM of the Dusit Thani Bangkok, will move to the position of GM of the Dusit Thani Manila, .

Willats' career prior to joining Dusit International has included senior positions most notably at Rocco Forte’s The Lowry Hotel,The Ritz and Claridges in London before moving overseas to leading

36

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

January 2013

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

Call us 1800 103 9933 January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

37

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

38

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

January 2013

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

39

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

40

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

www.expresstravelworld.com

January 2013

Express TravelWorld Business Avenues

January 2013

www.expresstravelworld.com

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

41

Shopaholic's haven

WEEKEND E

V

E

N

T

S

Experiential travel

L-R: Sunil Kallyat, regional manager, Western India, Emirates with Saeed Al Falasi, director- strategic alliances, Dubai Events and Promotions Establishments (DEPE) at the launch of Dubai Shopping Festival in Mumbai

Joyful giving Air Arabia in association with Grand Hyatt, Amman and Al Thurraya, organised an experiential visit to Jordan for some of their key business partners in India

Showing gratitude

Macau Government Tourist Office (MGTO) India organised an end-ofyear appreciation lunch for its travel partners at the Metropolitan Hotel in New Delhi

L-R: Ram Mohan K M, head IT, Kuoni India; Vishal Suri, deputy chief operating officer, Tour Operating, Kuoni India; Rajeev Wagle, MD, Kuoni India and Irene Tayshete, program head - West, Smile Foundation along with children from Smile Foundation donating 10 desktops to the foundation

Perfect alignment

Appreciation time

Duncun Bureau, senior vice president –Sales & Distribution, Malaysia Airlines; Mohamed Sathik Ali and Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, CEO and MD, Malaysia Airlines with agents from north India at the south Asia and Middle East Awards Night held at the duty-free island of Langkawi, Malaysia

Vinay Gupta, CEO, Via.com; Swaminathan, COO, Via.com; Kaneswaran Avili, commercial director, Tiger Airways at the announcement of the exclusive strategic alliance partnership between Tiger Airways Singapore and Via.com in Bengaluru

Formal launch

New offering

Members of SITE launch the India Chapter at The Oberoi Gurgaon.

The event saw the presence of participants from the MICE industry.

42

EXPRESS TRAVELWORLD

India delegation at the FAM trip to Khao Yai organised by Tourism Authority of Thailand organised for nearly 100 agents and media from 11 Asia Pacific countries

www.expresstravelworld.com

January 2013

REGD.WITH RNI UNDER MAHENG/15993/05, MH/MR/SOUTH-156/2013-15 PUBLISHED 11th OF EVERY MONTH AND POSTED ON 12, 13 & 14 OF EVERY MONTH POSTED AT IND.EXP.PSO.