“Measures put in place in the present day will reshape tourism for tomorrow”

The IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry organized an online interaction to discuss multi-faceted strategies for rebuilding tourism and travel with industry leaders.

According to WTTC, the contribution of the tourism and travel sector to India’s GDP was 6.8 percent of the total economy, and the sector supported 39.8 million jobs, nearly 8 percent of India’s total employment in 2019. The devastating effects of Covid The pandemic against the global Tourism continued through 2021. New data shows that the number of international tourist arrivals fell 87 percent in January compared to 2020.

Rajiv Poddar, President of the IMC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, started interacting online with these hard facts.

The aim of the online interaction was to bring the leading representatives of the tourism and travel industry from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Australia and Thailand together on one platform in order to initiate a dialogue in which they discuss the measures of the individual nations exchange tourism to rebuild and improve regional coordination for a sector that is going through its darkest hour in recent history.

The speakers included Rupinder Brar, IRS, Additional Director General (Tourism), Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, Sigit Witjaksono, Director of Tourism Marketing – East, South, Central Asia, Ministry of Tourism and Creative Industries, Republic of Indonesia, Kimarli Fernando, Chairman, Sri Lanka Tourism, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India and Golf, Tourism Australia, Vachirachai Sirisumpan, Director, Tourism Authority of Thailand and Rohit Khosla, Executive Vice President – Operations, North and West Indies, Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL). Mandeep S. Lamba, President – South Asia, HVS Anarock moderated the discussion. BW HOTELIER was the exclusive media partner for the show.

In his opening remarks Farhat Jamal, Chairman of the Travel, Tourism and Hospitality Committee, IMC stressed: “South Asia itself would see 50 million job losses and a GDP loss of about $ 50 billion in the South Asian region.”

Government support and measures in 2020

Despite the disappointing numbers, the South Asian countries are working hard to manage the situation in the best possible way. Fernando underpinned the efforts of Sri Lankan tourism in this regard by preparing them long before a patient was discovered. Early identification and consistent preparation helped them to control their situation. “We are now fully operational, with tourists coming mainly from Middle Eastern countries,” she said. Sri Lanka has also developed a bio-bubble which, according to Fernando, works quite well.

When asked what the tourism industry has done over the past year and what support the Indonesian government has given the sector, Vitjaksono said that the country’s new tourism minister was working to revitalize the tourism sector, including the creative industries.

“You can see from data that now all Covid cases in Indonesia are being reduced and recoveries are increasing day by day. As the situation improves, we will open Bali and other destinations to tourists. The Ministry of Tourism and Creativity The Indonesian Business (MoTCE) also introduced the Cleanliness, Health, Safety and Environmental (CHSE) protocols in Bali. We have certified the CHSE protocol to 5700, “he commented.

On the same question, Sirisumpan said: “Right now we have to position Thailand as the most popular and trustworthy travel destination. People have to have the confidence to travel too. Looking back over the past year, we have done pretty well. We had a lot.” strict measures – 14 days of quarantine and screening of incoming people. “

He added that there is currently a third wave in the country, but the people are quite responsible and the country has very systematic internal persecution and persecution. So you hope that Thailand will get better soon.

Brar went on to elaborate on how the Indian government was helping the travel and tourism industries, saying it had been a major challenge given the size of the country, the diversity and the broader socio-economic spectrum.

“The most important thing was to make sure everyone was safe. India has a lot of foreign tourists, usually from October to March. At the time the lockdown was announced, there were still many people in India. And so the first major challenge was to ensure that anyone who was scattered across the country had to be brought to safety and sent back to their homes if they so wished. We see this as a success story in the sense that anyone who was not home or was traveling in our country, found support mechanisms through this platform and returned home, “she explained.

Regarding the Australian scenario, Kashikar stated that due to the government’s discipline and efforts, there have been no cases of COVID-19 in Sydney and Melbourne in the past 30 days. The Australian Department of the Interior waived VISA fees for travelers between March 2020 and December 2022. In addition, a $ 130 million program was launched for travel agents. There is also a $ 50 million exhibitor scholarship program for the MICE community, and a $ 40 million fund has been set up for indigenous communities. “Tourism Australia supports 1,800 products and experiences,” said Kashikar.

“Our main focus was on security,” said Khosla. In every crisis there will be an opportunity. “I think all the role technology is playing in this pandemic, to connect everyone, helped us start this new business, the Bleisure business. We have stays – it became another very important type and Way we could get back to business because people were sick and I was tired of being in the houses and they just wanted to take a break and then moved to hotels, “he continued.

Trends in travel and tourism that will stay here

In addition, during the meeting, executives from the tourism and hospitality industries spoke about the various trends that will persist even after the pandemic situation improves. Sustainable and responsible tourism, workcations, staycations have emerged as common trends in the countries.

Fernando spoke about the current situation in Sri Lanka and said that people these days are ready to pay and have something unique like unique AI, unique food, wildlife, etc.

Regarding the future, she stated that sustainability, which was previously taken for granted, will be one of the main requirements for the new projects.

The trends that would definitely remain, Brar said, are the smaller hospitality units, especially the B&B and the host family. Another trend, in her opinion, is immersive experiences. “The need for these is also something that we see tremendous growth in,” she added.

Expressing his views on the trends that will stay here, Khosla stated that sustainable tourism, immersive travel, and homestay will be there. Khosla stated, “Our AMA brand, we’ve seen exponential growth and people will happily connect with our brand and offer us their products.” He continued, “We are seeing tremendous growth in immersion experiences. One thing that has worked out well is that everyone is talking about digital, but the reality will be Phygital because Phygital is what really helps us today in the MICE segment , and we have a product called Acumen. It’s a home delivery app where we host digital conferences and also offer your own meals during the conference. “

Sisiruman said that Thailand, on the other hand, is focusing on expats as they are really driving domestic tourism in the country. He believes that green tourism and responsible tourism are the trends that will stay here.

Way to normal?

The road to recovery looks daunting and is fraught with many challenges. The speakers were asked about their plans to get things back to “normal”. All speakers agreed that the focus is on safety protocols and vaccinations.

The director of the Thai tourism authority, Sirisumpan, had set up a clear road map for the country. As of April, they have reduced the quarantine period from 14 days to seven days for vaccinated tourists and 10 days for people who have not yet been vaccinated.

He added: “Starting July 1st, we plan to open Phuket Island to vaccinated tourists without quarantine. We also plan to vaccinate 70 percent of our population. And then the next step is October; the main targets will be without quarantine.” open to vaccinated tourists. “

On India’s Roadmap, Khosla said technology and communications would play a key role in promoting India as a travel destination. He said that IHCL would like to work with the government on a PPP model and promote Incredible India with diverse and rich experiences.

Way ahead

Commenting on the Australian government’s efforts to revitalize the sector, Kashikar said, “There are three things we are doing: keeping the lights on; getting ready once the borders are open, and keeping India’s dream alive receive.”

“It’s not the number, it’s the rate of return that we’re going to look at,” said Fernando. “We are ready; we face challenges, we will thrive and get out of it,” she added.

The hospitality and tourism industry needs to ensure that it is sustainable in order to capitalize on all potential growth opportunities and hedge against all types of crisis situations, including national disasters and pandemics.

Only then will the hoteliers’ belief, expressed by Khosla, “2023 will be the time when international tourism will resume in India” will be realized.