India has witnessed a whopping 75 per cent drop in foreign tourist arrivals in the country in 2020 due to pandemic plunging the hospitality sector into a worst ever crisis in history. There is, however, a silver lining of recovery in domestic tourism markets. But lack of infrastructure and incentives to locals rendered jobless have yet to see the light in other side of big Himalayan mountains of India's big North.
The unaddressed part of story of tourism industry is that most of local units in Himalayan mountain destinations are shut in Lahaul-Spiti, Ladakh and Uttarakhand for winter tourism in view of the rise in corona cases and the freezing of water supplies due to lack of proper infrastructure in this big snowbound region, an untapped storehouse of winter and snow tourism.
As a result of pandemic and shutdowns, thousands of local mountain unemployed youth, who work in hotels and homestays as cooks, guides, waiters and front managers in Himachal, Uttarakhand, Ladakh, Northeast were robbed of their sources of livelihoods, but no incentives from the governments have come their way so far.
But there are reports that Jammu and Kashmir UT and Himachal received more than expected footfalls of tourists in December and January, but not enough to bail the slack hotel industry out from the losses it suffered due to the pandemic lockdowns and restrictions.
The ten states and union territories - Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Ladakh, and Chandigarh have been able to do well in this unprecedented time, observed a CII- JLL report. Tiled as “Tourism in North India - A Closer Look,” the report was released today at the CII Northern Region Summit on Tourism & Hospitality 2022 - “Reviving domestic demand”.
Though the figure for the domestic tourist arrivals is not out yet, India’s massive domestic demand-base helped sustain the tourism sector with a rise in special interest tourism such as spiritual tourism, adventure tourism, snow tourism in this pandemic time, the captains of tourism industry observed.
Both domestic and foreign tourists make beeline for northern region, which is a home to India’s most popular tourist destinations, pilgrimage and monastic Buddhist circuits and a melting pot of various cultures. The pandemic has also exploded a myth that it is tropical country. North is a storehouse of vast varied temperate climate that attract both foreign and domestic tourists alike with Delhi megacity as its epicenter.
The report reveals that tourism in India has grown consistently and steadily for the last 10 years. But the pandemic gave rise to a stronger domestic market with more and more people looking to capitalize on travel opportunities with a renewed appreciation for the outdoors. Indian travel industry began witnessing an overall improvement in key performance indicators towards the end of pandemic, says the report.
The recovery of the North Indian tourism sector is reflected in growth in occupancy levels across hotels in all states. The hospitality sector in most leisure locations in India witnessed a faster bounce back post the second wave in comparison to the first wave. This was primarily due to the easing of travel restrictions and improved traveller confidence due to rapidly growing vaccination numbers, report says.
Hospitality sectors in most North Indian states have been driven by domestic leisure travel over the past two years and witnessed significant growth in 2021 in comparison to 2020. Business destinations such as Delhi and Chandigarh have also witnessed a significant growth in occupancy and other indicators.
Addressing the CII virtual meet today, Rakesh Verma, Additional Secretary, Tourism, Government of India CII Meet today said the biggest challenge is to accelerate the recovery of the Indian tourism sector and hospitality industry which holds the potential to blossom into a huge market. “We need to bring all stakeholders of Industry and the state governments on board for greater collaboration and engagement”, he said.
Verma said the government has launched national tourism mission and is also working on various areas for the recovery of the sector, which includes fiscal and regulatory relief measures, confidence building measures for travellers, digitalisation of tourism sector, destination management, and ensuring health and safety protocols. “The Ministry will also be adopting a new Tourism Policy soon to further strengthen the sector”, he added.
Emphasizing on the revival of domestic demand in tourism Zubin Saxena, who is co-chair, CII northern regional committee on Tourism and Hospitality and Managing Director and vice president, Radisson Hotel Group said, “Tourism in India has significant potential considering the rich cultural and historical heritage, variety in ecology, terrains and places of natural beauty spread across the Northern Region”.
Saxena said India needs to stimulate its domestic demand by ways of promoting domestic tourist destinations through proper outreach by way of advertisements and leveraging social media along with providing safe and hygienic options that will ensure a greater footfall of tourists”.
He said they need bring all stakeholders- Government of India, state boards, and various ministries- on board for the on-ground implementation of a domestic tourism policy. “It will roll out confidence-building measures and encourages the best of smart and digital technologies.”
Jaideep Dang, Managing Director, Hotels and Hospitality Group, South Asia, JLL mapped the damage the sector suffered during the pandemic and sounded an optimism saying that new highways and airports have provided long-lasting benefits to the travel trade. “Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are set to gain due to improved flight connections. Jewar Airport is now ready. Uttar Pradesh and Delhi are set to witness increased foreign and domestic footfalls once normalcy returns,”, he hoped. Kang said the covid-19 has also proved to be an unexpected catalyst for digitalization and the integration of new technologies. The adoption of digital solutions may be challenging, particularly for remote locations, which in turn, may hamper efforts to attract visitors there as compared to more mature destinations, he said.
“The governments need to invest in the digital infrastructure of new destinations and remote areas as well as to enhance digital skills within local communities,” he added.
Verma laid out an action plan for revival of the tourism industry by roping in both overseas and domestic tourists. To mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector, the government has eased travel restrictions, supporting the sector with fiscal and liquidity measures, introducing health protocols, promoting domestic tourism, and investing in and encouraging innovation and digitalization, he said.
The participants batted for public-private partnerships to improve tourism infrastructure and tackling of problem of poor connectivity in newer destinations in the mountain region. New destinations will prove to be a boon for tourists and local home stay units and will save congestion and promote green growth in touristy towns, they added.
The hospitality industry needs enhancement of sources of working capital, manage fixed costs, payroll support, and provide liquidity relief. As the tourism sector adapts to the new normal, the government could consider policies incentivizing travel including individual and MICE travel. Tax subsidies or short term tax holidays may be provided to improve financial health of travel businesses, they demand.
Furthermore, transparency in communications will become even more important, with consumers increasingly looking for detailed, reliable information to plan their travel. Destination and marketing communications must be planned in line with this. Health and safety have become increasingly important, and stakeholders must work together to establish and share best practices, they said.
The experts reveal that although the recovery of tourism has started domestically and regionally, it is essential to re-open international travel gradually to ensure the sector’s speedier recovery. The tourism sector not only create jobs and promote growth as well and it will happen once key stakeholders, governments, the private sector, local communities, and even travelers proactively come on board to support growth”, they said.
(Kuldeep Chauhan is Editor, HimbuMail based in Shimla)
