Inbound has some grim milestone to its credit now. Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) to India fell by 75 per cent in 2020 and by 87 per cent in 2021 in comparison to pre-Covid arrivals of 2019. The first couple of months this year have barely brought any cheer to an industry that has not only weathered the Covid storm in the last couple of years with tenacity, resilience and hope but also with bankruptcy, premises shutdowns, layoffs and what not. Month of January, which would usually record one of the highest arrivals, received just over 200,000 FTAs as against pre-Covid January 2020 when FTAs was recorded at over 1.1 million.
Although uncertainties remain, from Covid as well as the emerging geopolitics that has brought Russia and Ukraine at war, Government’s decision to open the Indian skies to scheduled international air travel from March 27, 2022, will significantly change the current scenario of international arrivals into India.
There is unanimity across the board that it is high time India opened to foreign tourists and did whatever it takes to engineer a resilient tourism recovery. And not only that. It is also time to kick-start a new era of India’s tourism development and marketing that is not only in sync with the ambitious tourism targets proposed in the new draft tourism policy but also play a catalyst role in building US $ 10 Trillion economy by 2030 for the country, as is being proposed.
Pandemic ready?
Where do we go from here? After two years of pandemic related disruption there are signs that the pandemic is now reaching towards the endemic stage. Continuing vaccinations has greatly contributed to the hope and confidence. Almost five billion people, 65 per cent of the global population, have received at least one dose with more than half of world population fully vaccinated. And it’s continuing. Millions of doses are being administered globally every day.
“Covid is done and dusted. I think that governments and people have come to a stage where there is acceptance of the presence of the virus and the fact that we will have to co-exist with it. We can’t keep on bouncing back and forth between lockdowns and freedoms. People are exhausted and the world has to return to some sense of normalcy,” says Rajeev Kohli, Joint Managing Director of Creative Travel.
Besides, with over two years of living in the pandemic, the industry is absolutely ready to cater to guest with adequate safety with some arguing that the adoption of stringent protocols and hygiene standards across businesses in travel and hospitality industry provides guests and travellers greater safety compared to most of the other industries.
According to K.B. Kachru, Chairman Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, “The hospitality industry has displayed great resilience and optimism to overcome unprecedented challenges brought by the COVID-19 outbreak. Hotels are now prepared to host their guests once again by transforming the hospitality landscape to meet with the ever-changing consumer trends and expectations. Hotels are investing in enhancing their preparedness through advanced technological solutions, refined skill set, and a safety focused approach to meet the current need of the customer.”
“It looks like the Covid-19 pandemic is reaching its end, however there is a new report that has predicted a surge in Covid-19 cases by June. So the uncertainties remain and we cannot totally drop our guards. But that said, international flights will start from March 27 and with that I think tourism will start soon. We can look forward to reasonably good season starting November provided there is no resurgence in pandemic or lockdowns etc.,” adds EM Najeeb, Sr. Vice President, IATO.
IATO President, Rajiv Mehra, points to the need to sensitise overseas trade and travellers on India’s Covid preparedness or what he calls as “To start on a Reputation Management note.” “We need to tell the world that 180 Crore (1.8 billion) doses have been administered and nearly 100 crore (1 billion) people have been vaccinated. SOPs on health, hygiene and safety have already been imbibed by the stakeholders of tourism in India and States have embraced seamless connectivity. The Perception of India needs to change. The Ministry of Tourism or MEA may like to appoint a strong PR Company in some key source markets for this purpose.”
Turnaround
While there are challenges ahead to recover India’s pre-Covid inbound market, at the same time there are strong opinion about bringing in a fundamental shift in developing overseas tourism source markets so that India’s future inbound numbers are in accordance with what the ambitious tourism targets that have been proposed in the new draft National Tourism Policy, key being almost doubling International Tourist Arrivals and receipt to 33 million and US $ 56 billion which were 17.91 million and US $ 30 billion respectively in 2019.
Mehra says, “Incredible India 3.0 is needed. Region specific strategy / positioning is needed that will highlight places over faces. Marketing and promotional strategies on international road shows, FAM trips for Foreign Tour Operators and engagement of international media needs to be redesigned. Other countries have offered financial support that is also released within the time frame by the successful tourism destination. Thus, we need to have a comprehensive scheme to grant financial support to foreign tour operators for promotion and marketing in whatever region they wish to promote their tours. Besides, the five-lakh free tourist Visa needs to be extended till 31st March 2024 and so is eVisa facility for all international visitors along with reduction in entrance fees at moments for two years, equivalent to the SAARC countries.”
“It is possible to achieve our targets. We have a very pro-active tourism policy. The government has given thrust to infrastructure development at tourism locations in order to develop world-class destinations. If this happens then the competition will not be between states, instead the destination would be competing. If the thrust is on building destinations with world-class connectivities and facilities, we can achieve whatever we want to provide we have capacity to bring in tourists internationally with the flight operations. India has an enviable and tremendous diversity of products. I don’t think there is such variety of experiences anywhere else in the world,” Najeeb says while further adding that there is need to ramp up road, rail and air connectivity as well as other related infrastructures like ports and others.
Pressing home the immediate steps that is required, Kohli says, “First, work on a new brand proposition for India. We need to re-ignite the imagination in the consumers. We need to excite travellers. Second, we need to get our pricing in order. Indian hotels are increasing their prices rather than helping recovery. This worries me. India has a lot of competition. We need to be smart on how we come back. Third, support the private sector in their marketing efforts. We need some government help in doing sales & marketing. These are three short term things to work on.”
Furthermore, Mehra stresses the need for the Government to empathize with the industry first stating that the implementation comes later. “Rationalisation of GST and understanding that TCS makes us uncompetitive is an imperative,” Mehra says. “Tourism needs to be recognized as an industry. We need industry status, because that is the root of every single problem and infrastructure status, so that one can avail section 35 AD of income tax act that is 100 per cent deduction towards capital investment. This will attract big investors,” he added. He also drew attention to the need to adopt sustainable tourism practices, women empowerment through the force multiplier of tourism and responsible tourism practices. “Slow tourism, Staycations & Bleisure will be in vogue and Technology will drive the industry,” Mehra added.
With a war raging within the European frontiers, India’s biggest tourism source market, and the challenge of rebuilding India’s inbound tourism, source market diversification is, says Najeeb, a greater need than ever before. “We need to shift our focus to new source markets also, increase our connectivity with those destinations and promote India in those new markets. For example, internationally Middle East is an important tourism source market, and we have advantages like proximity and good connectivity with the Middle Eastern countries. Why can’t we look at the Middle East market? Same is the case with the Far Eastern countries. There are very attractive tourism source markets, but not for us. We need to have a lot many source markets and also well connected with India and numbers will follow,” he says.
IATO Sr. Vice President also pointed that India’s inbound marketing strategies will also need to evolve. “Leveraging internet and digital platforms are of course important. But strategies need to be adapted depending upon competition, market needs and demands and, importantly, in accordance with the inputs and consultation from the tourism trade,” he added.
Kachru says that the industry may utilize the next couple of years to get back to where it was pre-COVID as multiple variables affect the trajectory of this recovery. “This makes it even more important to acknowledge the silver lining and seize the opportunities that COVID-19 provides: to create more resilient operations; deeper, digital guest relationships, and a refined set of strategic priorities aligned with today’s traveler,” he said while further adding, “We believe hospitality will be a sunrise industry in India, and the next few years will see a significant number of new destinations emerging, especially in tier III, IV, V cities and leisure markets. We see an exponential demand for high quality lodging accommodation in India, driven by the vast infrastructural development planned across the country and young, discerning travelers looking for unique experiences.”
Challenges
There no point debating what the pandemic did to the inbound travel to tourism industry in India or worldwide. Some of the grim milestones like declines of 75 per cent and 87 per cent in inbound tourist arrivals in 2020 and 2021 respectively over 2019 foreign tourist arrival number are ugly reminders. Kohli says, “The memory of the horror in India last April is still lingering. We need some serious positive re-enforcement in the media. We will also be challenged by other destinations who are fighting for the attention of the same consumer. We cannot rest on our past laurels. It’s a whole new game out there now.”
According to Najeeb image management, hassle-free travel experience, safety quality of services and healthcare assurances are some of the immediate challenges. “We need to put this all together. And if we do that, any number of tourists that we want to bring in in our country will not be an issue at all,” he says.
Echoing similar sentiments, the IATO President also pointed that unless domestic tourism flourishes, international tourism cannot come as safety and infrastructure will be addressed well with ongoing domestic tourism and these two aspects will combine well in attracting foreign tourists. Furthermore, he said that one of the immediate challenges will be the lack of funds in the hands of the tour operators for marketing and promotion as business was shut for two years. One-time financial grant, loans with lower interest rate with a minimum two-year moratorium would be needed.
Mehra insists that there is pent up demand from across the globe because of the pandemic and restrictions on international travel, therefore it is important to move in quickly to encash on this latent demand. “The demand on hygiene, health and safety will be paramount and the tourism industry has to proactively gear up and meet the SOP challenge effectively and efficiently. For the traditional and emerging source markets we must ensure that there is a no quarantine policy for fully vaccinated travelers so that when tourists go back to their country post India tour they do not face the problem. At the same time, we need to ensure seamless movement within India and one pandemic related travel SOPs for all the states.”
