Sunday, Nov 30, 2003
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By Ramnath Subbu
"There are all the signs of a return to good times. Inbound traffic has been good and in all likelihood, could be one of the best years so far — it could even beat the peak of 2.6 million arrivals achieved in 2000 — a 22 per cent growth," Sunil Gupta, Head, Leisure, Thomas Cook India, said. "The Indian outbound tourism market is one of the fastest growing. Indians travelling abroad spent Rs. 7,000 crores in 1999 and this is expected to grow to Rs. 19,200 crores by 2004," said Frederick Divecha, Senior Vice President, SOTC, adding, "In the recent past, the outbound tourism market saw a growth of 12 per cent and it is projected that about ten million Indians will be outbound travellers by 2004. Gauging from the response received thus far, we can safely state that we are experiencing a productive season during peak travel time since September which will stretch till December-end". L. P. Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Leisure, Cox & Kings India, felt that inbound tourism would show a growth of about 25-30 per cent in the current year against the previous year. "We benefited because we were untouched by the SARS scare and there are also newer and more attractive options on offer albeit in the usual destinations such as Goa, and Kerala. Other States have to really start marketing themselves aggressively". However, old problems persist for the industry. In spite of a prospective boom, the Indian tourism industry is hamstrung by lack of airline seats. There was a sharp cutback in seats after 9/11 with Swiss, and Sabena reducing their flights significantly. But the entry of carriers such as Malaysian, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa offset the 9/11 effects. Tour operators believe capacity in inbound and outbound can be augmented easily by one million seats. "We may congratulate ourselves but the issue which needs to be addressed is availability of airline seats and this affects both inbound and outbound travel. Although there is talk of the New Aviation policy, open skies with ASEAN countries and the like, the issue of infrastructure such as airports, and connectivity are only subsidiary issues," said Mr. Gupta. Mr. Singh believes that unless there are two-way charters and more airline capacity added, the growth would be restricted. "Issues such as fuel tax, and inland aviation tax have all got to be addressed. The ball is in the government's court and it has to realise that larger economic benefits far outweigh the benefits that accrue by protecting the Indian carriers," said Mr. Gupta. One area, which grew when everything else came to a grinding halt — because of SARS, Iraq war, Indo-Pak tension — over the last two years, was domestic tourism. Some States like Chhattisgarh have jumped onto the tourism bandwagon and tapped the opportunities that exist in catering to the domestic market. "The Government is also waking up to the importance of heritage structures and the tourism ministry has a new approach which is paying off. The Golden Quadrilateral and new expressways have also helped in no small measure," said Mr. Gupta.
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