Vol. XXXII Issue 21; November 1st fortnight i­­ssue 2020 A DDP PUBLICATION Pages : 28 com ddppl.com TravTalkIndia. Scan & Share Will we learn from this crisis? ................05 Are we ready to go rural? ............. 16 Curbs keep Andaman from revival ..... 10 SpiceJet offers seaplane travel ... 18 Stronger M!CE better for tourism Ministry of Tourism advocates that a stronger M!CE sector would inadvertently mean a more competent tourism industry, a goal that would only be achieved if both government and stakeholders work hand-in-hand, where the former provides support through encouraging policies and the latter catches the pulse of the client. Nisha Verma “It impacts tourism, hospital- government and industry innovate. Digitalisation is a ity, event management and must together build India as major challenge, and we rahlad Singh Pa- a host of other people in the a M!CE destination,” he said. must stay ahead,” he as- tel, Minister of supply chain. India has great serted, adding, “Having a PState (I/C), Tour- potential for M!CE, the chal- He added that the first stronger ICPB and good M!CE ism and Culture, has said lenge lies in building a strong step would be to tell the destinations are a few sug- that M!CE helps create an ‘Brand India’ for conventions world that India is gestions that have found ideal image of the country and events, backing it up with ready to welcome more and also benefits all stake- delivering on promises. We events and conventions. holders while providing em- have to aggressively market Verma said, “We have to Prahlad Singh Patel Rakesh Verma ployment at various levels. Minister of State (I/C), Tourism and Culture India as a M!CE destination. aggressively market India Joint Secretary, MOT & Chairman, ICPB Centres The government has made The government has to back as a M!CE destination; our some changes to confer- I believe that M!CE can be the the industry in bringing more missions abroad can be of “We must make conscious at Khajuraho, ences owing to the new biggest platform to attract events and conventions. The great help. ICPB, as a nodal effort to make our destina- Ajanta can SOPs, which include a re- international tourists and body, can play a key role tions succeed. We have duced delegate limit from popularise India,” the minister in securing support from built convention centres at be considered 500 to 250 and instead of said in his address at the 13th various ministries and other Khajuraho, Bodhgaya, Ajanta for M!CE allowance for one night, an Conventions India Conclave M!CE can organisations, both for win- and many other places, and – Rakesh Verma allowance of two nights has (CIC) by India Convention be the biggest ning bids and for subsequent they can all be considered been made - a benefit that Promotion Bureau (ICPB). successful organisation of for promotion as M!CE des- can be availed by guests. platform to events. ICPB needs to be de- tinations,” Verma said. Sharing a similar view, attract veloped as a single window place in our new tourism “The industry should look at Rakesh Verma, Joint Sec- for meeting such needs.” He Developing professional policy. Soon, we will for- conferences and events not retary, MOT and Chairman, international added that simultaneously, skills is also very important. malise these policy initiatives only for corporates, but also ICPB, claimed that growth of tourists the country needs to pre- “M!CE is a very dynamic which will give fillip to our ef- for lawyers and doctors. We the M!CE industry is crucial pare destinations for holding industry and therefore, in or- forts to strengthen the sector, can provide a platform to for the growth of many other – Prahlad Singh Patel conventions and events, and der to stay in competition, it enabling the synergy of MOT explore such opportunities. segments of the economy. meet the needs of visitors. must constantly evolve and and industry.” BULLETIN Two nights for Statue of Unity With multiple tourism projects coming up in and around Gujarat's Statue of Unity, the latest being the seaplane service starting from October 31, it may well become a two-or-more-night destination for tourists. Hazel Jain destination for tourism, and Switch to domestic the latest development of Many tour operators, includ- he Statue of Unity seaplanes being launched ing Vaghela, are looking at may soon become on October 31 has added switching to domestic tour- Ta symbol of tour- another feather to its cap. ists for the time being. “It has ism revival for travel agents in The monument is the been announced that interna- Gujarat. With so many devel- world’s tallest statue and tional commercial flights will opments taking place in and to visit it by a seaplane will not operate until November be an experience for tour- Randhir Singh Vaghela 30, 2020. So we will look at ists. Currently, they can Chairman - Gujarat Chapter, IATO creating packages for the do- only enjoy seaplanes when mestic market. We shall also We will look they go abroad to countries try to reach foreign expats like the Maldives. Agents tions such as the Children who are working in India. We at creating will start selling seats on Nutrition Park, Vishwa Van, currently have foreign clients packages for the seaplane once they River Rafting, Ekta Nursery, doing a Gujarat tour with us,” announce the opening Cactus and Butterfly Gar- Vaghela adds. the domestic of bookings.” den, etc., have reopened market for visitors with slot tim- The first trial run of the open- ings. Tickets can be booked deck ferry at the Statue of online only. around the spot, the travel trade Unity in Kevadia has already is hopeful that it will become a been conducted and the ser- Vaghela adds, “Believe me, Kevadia is a town in Nar- two (or more) night destination vice is about to start soon. there are so many activities mada district in Gujarat. It for domestic tourists. added at the Statue of Unity is in the vicinity of Statue of There is also a jungle safari that it is now a minimum Unity and ‘Valley of Flow- Sharing his view is Randhir available in Kevadia, which two-night destination and we ers’, and two Tent City Singh Vaghela, Chairman is spread over 375 acres in are hoping that it will soon set-ups available for ac- - Gujarat Chapter, IATO, seven levels and has 1,500 become one of the global commodation have been who says, “The Statue of animals and birds. This, destinations that every tourist developed in Kevadia. Unity is becoming a great along with other attrac- would like to visit.” SHAREDCORNER From the philatelic archives! Gajesh Girdhar, Owner, Paryatan Holi- days and Chairman - Governing Body, VIEWPOINT NIMA, shares this First Day Cover with a stamp dating back to 1982, released to commemorate the centenary of Darjeeling The second chance... Himalayan Railway (DHR). Few years later, on December 5, 1999, UNESCO World Gajesh Girdhar Heritage Committee inscribed DHR as a Owner, Paryatan Holidays; There has been much hue and cry in the travel Chairman - Governing Body World Heritage Site. NIMA and tourism industry about the lack of relief measures being provided to it by Government of India, even when it is amply clear that it’s one of the most adversely affected sectors by the coronavirus pandemic. But, recent reports have Slow recovery ahead for aviation indicated that as part of the next stimulus package, the finance minister will announce sector-spe- According to CAPA India’s ‘Executive Summary of Mid-Year Outlook for Indian Aviation in cific relief measures. Are we standing ready to FY2021’, domestic traffic is expected to be in the range of 30-40 million airline passengers persuade the 'powers that be' to include travel & in the second half of FY2021, approximately 50 per cent down year-on-year. tourism in the list of SOPs or share with them a list of countries that have offered suitable packages TT Bureau International Outbound Estimated Share of Estimated Traffic in Projected YoY Change Estimated Traffic Purpose of Travel Total in H2FY2020 H2FY2020 in H2FY2021 in H2FY2021 to their respective tourism sectors, or are we only n the second half of Leisure 30% 5.5mn -90% 0.6mn going to go back and forth once again? FY2020, there were Business 26% 4.7mn -80% 0.9mn While it is not right to undermine the affect that Iapproximately 69 VFR & Others 44% 8.0mn -70% 2.4mn the pandemic has had on tourism and hospitality, million domestic airline pas- Total 100% 18.2mn 3.9mn adversely impacting several lives and liveli- sengers. This is expected to- decline by around 50 per cent International Inbound Estimated Share of Estimated Traffic in Projected YoY Change Estimated Traffic in hoods, one cannot continue to harp on the ban on Purpose of Travel Total in H2FY2020 H2FY2020 in H2FY2021 H2FY2021 year-on-year, driven primarily Leisure 17% 3.0mn -100% 0.0mn inbound and outbound tourism, a suspension that by a 60-80 per cent decline Business 8% 1.4mn -90% 0.15mn is expected to continue into year 2021. In in business, M!CE and lei- VFR 67% 11.7mn -80% 2.35mn sure travel. Domestic traffic hindsight, and however small or big, state Others 5% 0.9mn -90% 0.1mn in the second half of FY2021 governments have allowed the opening up of Medical 3% 0.5mn -100% 0.0mn is therefore expected to be domestic tourism with hotels and even food joints Total 100% 17.5mn 2.6mn around 30-40 million.