New itineraries: A look at four key trends that shatter some myths - Economic Times
New itineraries: A look at four key trends that shatter some myths - Economic Times |
| New itineraries: A look at four key trends that shatter some myths - Economic Times Posted: 28 Sep 2019 10:30 AM PDT TREND #1 Bangladeshi tourists, not just medical Bangladesh has of late been getting more than its usual share of attention in India. One reason has been the controversial National Register of Citizens in Assam that was tasked with identifying illegal migrants who moved to the state after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971. Another is the criticism that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been soft on the influx of undocumented Bangladeshis into the state. But Bangladesh has also made an economic contribution to India. In 2016, it pipped the United States to become the largest source of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India. Bangladeshis continued to retain the top spot in 2017 and 2018, according to India's ministry of tourism. Every fifth foreign tourist in India is now a Bangladeshi. FTAs from Bangladesh totalled 2.2 million in 2018, twice the figure in 2015 and four times the number in 2013. In every month between January and August this year, the share of Bangladesh in FTAs has been higher than the year-ago period. In August, it accounted for 30% of all FTAs. One usual comment on this surge is that most FTAs from Bangladesh are medical tourists. But that is not the case. Only a tenth of them came for treatment in 2017, the last year for which a split of the data is available from the tourism ministry. More than four-fifths were here on holiday. In fact, India is a popular foreign destination for Bangladeshis. "We have grown up watching Indian channels and most of our border is with India. So it is a natural choice for a holiday," says Montakim Ahmed Chowdhury, a 32-year-old businessman from Dhaka, over phone. Chowdhury first visited India in 2010 and has returned 14 more times — four this year alone. He says none of these visits was for business; he came as a tourist. He has been to Delhi, Agra and Chennai, among others.
In 2016, New Delhi made it easier for Bangladeshis with confirmed air, train or bus tickets to submit a tourist visa application. Later it lifted entry and exit restrictions at 24 airports for Bangladeshis. In 2018, India's largest visa application centre on a foreign soil was opened in Dhaka. TREND #2 India's rise as a tourist destination
Much smaller Asian countries, including Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, had an edge over India due to less cumbersome visa process. India has addressed that over the past five years. While FTAs in Sri Lanka's FTAs are one-seventh of India's, Thailand's is more than twice as many as India's, says UNWTO. India has a huge advantage over other countries in terms of the varied experiences and terrains it offers. That means the average length of stay for a tourist in India is 12-14 nights, while it is 2-3 nights for most other countries, says Deva.
India needs to address these issues if it wants to be among the top tourism markets in Asia, if not globally. But it cannot afford to just think of the economics of tourism, given the damage it has caused local communities and the environment in many parts of the world. An incredible, safe and sustainable India may be the way to go. TREND #3 Dominance of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is not known for its tourism-promotion campaigns the way Kerala or Madhya Pradesh is. What, then, explains the state's status as the most favoured destination of Indian and foreign travellers? The oft-quoted reason is its ancient temples in Mahabalipuram, Madurai, Thanjavur and Chidambaram. Then there are the popular but crowded hill towns of Ooty and Kodaikanal. Romil Pant, senior vice-president-holiday, Thomas Cook India, says Tamil Nadu is among the company's top five states in domestic tourism. "The infrastructure in the state, the number of airports and its perception as a safe state for tourists have helped."
The other factor could be medical tourism. According to a 2015 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Grant Thornton, Tamil Nadu was the preferred destination for 40-50% of foreign medical tourists to India. Runa Rani Roy brought her father Shambhu Nath from Rangpur in Bangladesh to Apollo Hospital in Chennai in May 2017 after he suffered a brain stroke the previous year. "The public hospitals in Dhaka are overburdened with a huge number of patients and private hospitals are expensive." They ended up staying in Chennai for nine days and spent Rs 50,000. In 2017, the most recent year for which data from the tourism ministry related to medical tourism is available, there were 5 lakh FTAs on medical visas. There are no figures available for intra-country medical tourism. Tamil Nadu's share of domestic tourist visits has slipped from a fourth in 2014 to a fifth in 2018, but no state seems close to replacing it at the top. TREND #4 Indians head to newer destinations An interesting development is that Indians are choosing newer destinations such as Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Tanzania and Myanmar. Between 2011 and 2016, the latest year for which country-wise data is available, the number of Indian arrivals in these countries at least doubled, says the tourism ministry. Vipul Prakash, chief operating officer, MakeMyTrip, says, "There is a noticeable shift in destinations preferred by Indian travellers, with many moving away from well-known to offbeat and experiential destinations." His fascination with Japan made Advait Ubhayakar, a Mumbai-based copywriter, and his parents to take a trip to the country last year. Ubhayakar opted for a package tour as it meant he did not have to plan the itinerary. "It made sense to do a group tour as it was in line with the kind of place Japan is — disciplined and structured." They spent Rs 1.8 lakh per person on the 7-day tour and decided to stay an additional week with the friend. A trip of a similar duration to France and Switzerland costs around Rs 1.1-1.2 lakh. Between 2011 and 2016, Indian arrivals in Japan more than doubled to 1.2 lakh. Romil Pant, senior vice-president, holidays, Thomas Cook India, says the number of Indians they take to Japan has grown by a third annually over the past three years.
While Dubai and Bangkok might continue to be popular among Indian travellers, it is clear that many are choosing to look beyond the usual suspects. |
| ‘Dedicated domestic airport need of the hour in Pune’ - Times of India Posted: 30 Mar 2019 12:00 AM PDT  The Italian loves everything about Pune except that he feels a dedicated airport, even if only for better domestic connectivity, will serve the city well. "When we have to go to another city for meetings, we have to plan a day in advance or come back a day later because of the restricted flight timings in Pune. Even for leisure trips to places such as Goa, a weekend getaway spills over to a day more." For now, much of his flight trips happen from Mumbai. He rues the long travel to and from the Mumbai airport. Graffi moved to Pune two years ago and chose to stay in an apartment complex in the Magarpatta township for its proximity to his workplace and also because of easy access to all modern amenities. His acceptance of the city and country is evident in the Hindi ringtone that plays as his phone rings midway through the conversation. Paneer is another thing he has grown fond of. In restaurants here, he prefers to have authentic Indian food over mixed Italian food. "I like the city. I have been to Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, but I like the spirit of Pune. It is a lively city as many youngsters stay here. It is also a good place for business. If I have to select one city to live in India, Pune is definitely one of them," he says. "I particularly like how people are open here. It is easy for Europeans to deal with Indians as the mentality and approach to life is very similar. It is easy to start talking about business and leisure with people here. Even in the club where I play tennis, they treat me like an Indian and that is really nice," he says. Pune in particular, Graffi observes, is a relatively 'safe world city'. "I have observed that young girls go out in the evening and it seems like a safe city. It is not so easy in some other cities in the world," he says. For Graffi, Pune just got easier as time passed by. Figuratively, he got used to the traffic rules and multiple 'invisible' speed-breakers on the roads. He is elated that his travel time is cut short by a new bridge connecting Magarpatta to Koregaon Park Annexe. "The bridge has changed my life. It saves me a good 15 minutes one-way," he says. The Italian automaker's India chief does indulge in a bit of riding and driving on weekends. He prefers to ride a bike than drive a car. "When I drive here, my wife keeps looking at me as my driving is different here from Italy. I like to drive here, just that you have to be more aware. It is more crowded but the average speed is very low. In Italy, no lane-cutting happens but the speed is high," he says. For Graffi, the summers in Pune are more manageable than monsoons. He says he is still getting used to it and people's perspective here about rains. "For Indians, rain is good weather, for us it is bad. My Indian friends find rains romantic but I still do not love it. On the brighter side, Lonavla looks beautiful when it rains," he says. The maker of Vespa and Aprillia two-wheelers also has a word of advice for Puneites, some of whom have protested the helmet mandate. "Helmets are compulsory whatever the speed and distance. In 99.9% of the time nothing will happen, but the 0.1% can be dangerous," he says. |
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