FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1975. ACROSS S E C TION P UBLI ca TION. JUNE 2020. ` 50 Reimagine, TOURISM CARES It is time for industry to Reinvent and adopt a Shared Mission IT’S TIME TO Reskill WALK THE TALK, Hospitality leaders moot durable solutions says veteran hotelier to the Covid disruption Habib Rehman contents EdITORIAL 04 Aerocity may take another 2 years to reach 2019 levels 52 INDUSTRY CURRENTS 05 GUESTCOLUMN BY ASHWINI KAkkAR Covid-19 Impact and Revival of Travel and Tourism 06 Reimagine, reinvent and reskill: Hospitality leaders mootdurable solutions to the Covid disruption 12 HAI makes a pitch to government, pushes for sharing industry’s best practices to cater to the new normal 16 Hospitality will re-imagine itself, learn to bounce back! 19 CII actively campaigns for a better deal for tourism TOURISM FIRST 20 20 It’s Time to Walk the Talk, says veteran hotelier Habib Rehman 24 Travel and Tourism industry gasping for breath, say industry leaders in a CNBC-TV18 discussion initiated by CII HOTELSCAPES 27 COLUMN BY NAVIN BERRY Aerocity may take another 2 years to reach 2019 levels 28 Expect Recovery Tail to be Shorter, says Marriott’s Neeraj Govil 30 Wait and watch as the high drama unfold in hospitality, says Arun Saraf 32 Uptick in hospitality will depend upon demand, says Zubin Saxena 34 GUESTCOLUMN BY RAKESH MATHUR In dark clouds, there is a silver lining and Indian tourism will bounce back, for sure! 36 35 Hotels should be allowed to sell liquor by Home delivery! 12 TRANSPORT 36 COVID-19 and the State of the DESTINATIONS Indian Aviation Industry: CAPA 52 WEBINAR: Tourism and Mata report Vaishno Devi Yatra; Measured steps needed to revive TRENDS IN TRAVEL confidence and livelihood; focus 40 Tourism Cares: it is time for on well-being industry to adopt a Shared 60 WEBINAR: CII Webinar underlines Mission, give individual efforts an Odisha’s challenges; a multi- industry face, too! pronged approach critical 44 Winds of Change are Here to Stay 64 GUESTCOLUM BY KINGSHUK BISWAS and How, say industry insiders Covid-19 and Need for tourism 49 Travel suffers early and re-branding; Bring the Change Now significant setback; VFS hopes for resilience in the sector LAST PAGE 50 Shape of Things to Come in 65 Innovations can be entertaining, Travel, Tourism and Hospitality creating a new demand 16 DESTINATION INDIA is a registered print title with RNI, Ministry of I&B, Government of India and was first published in 1975. Presently, it is published by Cross Section Media Private Limited, as an e-magazine from 401, Surya Kiran, 19 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi – 110 001. Editor: Navin S Berry. Website: www.tourismfirst.org Tel: 011-42341401. (Total pages 68) DESTINATION INDIA | JUNE 2020 | 3 editorial TIMES LIKE THESE WArrANT WE GIVE NEW NAMES TO TOURISM AND HOTELS sure that the new norms come into place, as the nation starts mov- ing again. Can we become more responsible than before, as a people? Ironically, again, much of the new norms are not difficult to implement, essentially meant to maintain the highest standards of hygiene. Keeping a safe social distance, for example. Or washing hands often. Or not sneezing and coughing with disregard to people around us. We expect that the initial confusions, with a multitude of restric- tions in different states, would settle down to some common code, and perhaps sooner than you imagine. Common Protocols will soon become a reality; some patience is needed. Out of this challenge, hopefully, we will come out as more conscious and responsible citizens, and that much of the new norm would hopefully get im- bibed into our psyche for good. Travel is the essential kick-start needed for any economy. Travel is the bigger picture. In developing economies, much that is travel has got inter-locked with tourism, which is still seen as a luxury. But travel is not. Therefore, we believe it is time that some of our activities would do better to be given new names! In the last few weeks, all segments of the industry have been he wheels of the nation have begun to move, after a clamouring for big-time reliefs. None has been forthcoming. All most ominous pause, that at one time looked danger- segments of the industry have been hugely impacted. The loss of ously moving into a full-stop mode. Then, the stop jobs, businesses and an uncertain future have thrown the entire appeared to become a comma, then, slowly started industry into disarray. One possibility is that we continue to suffer giving way to making short sentences, and now bigger from an elite image, as a business unrelated to the common man. Tones. While the threat of lives, continues, the threat to livelihoods For example, when you consider the hospitality industry across has become greater and given a calibrated move towards normal- segments, the elite part may possibly be only in single digits as part ization, the world, and we in India, would start learning to live of the overall numbers; the largest component would be single or with the Corona. no star accommodation! Much of what appears in this issue was written during the last In looking for new names, Like Tourism may be seen in a better month when the industry was in a full lockdown mode. With air- light as Travel and Tourism (T&T, or T2), hotels may become more lines and airports shut, hotels and restaurants closed, with every acceptable as 'accommodations', and civil aviation better under- possible outlet downed, behind its shutters. Never had the world stood as 'air transport'. The industry may need to ponder these imagined such a situation. Never had the world witnessed such a over, as essential to bringing shifts in the larger understanding (and closure. Ironically, it was the world traveller, namely Coronavirus, acceptance) of what our industry delivers to the nation. that roamed the globe, causing havoc. Came a time when borders between states within the union, some within the NCR region that had taken few decades to get removed, in the first place, to come back, making people look only inwards. The home became the only safe place. It was a far cry from invoking people to travel, which is what our business is all about. Navin Berry But indeed, the wheels are setting in motion, calibrated to en- [email protected] DESTINATION INDIA | JUNE 2020 | 4 guest column Covid-19 Impact and Revival of Travel and Tourism oronavirus has emerged as a very low single-digit occupancy rates, if major black swan event and they are at all open. The US Hotel Industry, dealt a crippling blow to the unlike their Indian counterparts has already entire Travel and Tourism indicated a 40 per cent downsizing of jobs. by Ashwini Kakkar industry, not only in India, Travel Agents, Tour Operators, Online Cbut in the entire world. The disruptions that Travel Agency’s (OTA) and Specialists are it has caused are across the entire value staring at a loss of revenue of about 60,000 chain i.e., Airlines, Hotels, Travel Agents, crores. These include Adventure, MICE and Tour Operators, Restaurants, Rail Net- Cruise supporters. Most of these companies are not going to make it easier. While the in- works, Roadways, Water Transport and are in the Micro, Small and Medium Enter- dustry needs to look at its cost structures and Cruises, Taxis, Auto-rickshaws and a slew prises (MSME) sector and this slump will emerge leaner as well as more innovative, this of other indirect providers. Equally, all impose huge stress on their liquidity and is a moment for the Government to step in segments within inbound, outbound, and financial health, leading to numerous bank- with a big, bold package for this industry domestic arenas, like Corporate Travel, ruptcies. In fact, the airline FlyBe and For- which fully covers cash loss on salaries to Leisure Holidays, MICE, Weddings etc. eign Exchange major Travelex have already employees in MSME part of the industry. have all come to a grinding halt. gone into Insolvency. Rescheduling the loans at lower interest rates The underlying assumption, for the with a three to six month moratorium on re- COVID19’s Impact on GDP above has been provided by World Travel payments for the large and small players, and Between Non-Resident Indian’s (NRI) and and Tourism Council (WTTC), which consider serious GST cuts including the shift foreign visitors, 11 million of them spend states that this entire sector could take 10 of ATF into a low GST regime. Like for the around US$ 28 billion in a year, 28 million months to recover, placing at least 50 mil- Government, lower oil prices may be one of outbound Indians spend about US$ 25 bil- lion Travel and Tourism jobs at risk. This, the very few silver linings for the industry, lion and 1.8 billion domestic tourists are especially the airlines. the mainstay of the local industry. In spite of strong Gov- In spite of strong Government support, While airlines had a good February ernment support, the the next 12 to 18 months will be bumpy and with 9 per cent growth in traffic carrying it is expected that 20 to 30 percent voluntary 12.3 million passengers across India, next 12 to 18 months or involuntary consolidation will happen. from around mid-March onwards, both will be bumpy and it is Those companies that can conserve cash and Domestic and International flights were expected that 20 to 30 stay close to their customers and employees all grounded, resulting in virtually no will definitely survive the crisis.