Having a vision for the tourism industry is one thing but executing plans in a time-bound manner with clear deliverables is quite another
While small island countries are busy promoting their tourism industry internationally and simultaneously working to develop their tourist attractions, India seems to be not yet ready to compete with the best in the world.
Ambassador programme
Yes! Create an ambassador programme involving bus and taxi drivers and create some inspiration and aspirational value for them by not being just mere ‘drivers’. They can double up as guides while piloting the whole journey. Train them bit of history, culture, customs and heritage of the place and brush up their conversational skills. Age doesn’t matter. Pick those who have knack for showman-ship. Ultimately, this writer learnt more about New Zealand intimately through the eyes of the smart and conversation savvy bus drivers than from a tourist guide book.
Marketing plan
Have a vision for the tourism industry is one thing and executing them in a time bound manner, in select geographies with clear achievable short and long term objectives for building sustained organic traffic levels from both with in India and abroad, is another thing. Incentivising tourist operators not just on the turn over basis but also for promoting sustainable tourism and environment friendly practices, is required.
Interactive website
This is your window to the world. Have a contemporary visual design, which is visually rich, designed intuitively, offering actionable information in a user-friendly language, with multiple language options to select. It will reap rich dividends by converting a casual visitor into a potential prospect and eventually a tourist. The information dissemination through digital mediums is cost effective and have a wider footprint and can be instantly reached to the global audience. A professional and contemporary website, is the starting point to resurrect our shabby professional image.
Seamless connectivity
No brainer right! Yet this is one key area in dire neglect.The more we do, will seem to be less with the passage of time.
Circuits created should be easily accessible within the travel distance of 3-6 hours from point to point. These nodes on the periphery should be well-connected to a core tourist hub point much like the hub and spoke model as in transportation sector. Tourist can travel short haul points and comfortably travel back to the hub location or continue onward further upstream.
Seamless connectivity and interconnectivity are both vital and good frequency of transportation options including rail, road, air and water will provide further fill-up in increasing the tourist traffic. Air travel supplemented with a good convenient, comfortable and cost-effective and reliable road transportation can rev up the sector's fortunes. A lot more needs to be done to address this issue.
Efficient airports
Airport experience can be quite a sour or sugary one with a hangover that outlasts the actual trip.
Small and efficient airports where cost of running the business is low and where passengers can avail basic facilities and amenities without various fees levied on them will enhance the attractiveness and reach of the tourism. It will also cascade down the benefits and evenly spread the tourism pie to not just the metros and towns but also the hinterland, uplifting the local economy and creating jobs. The current focus on encouraging domestic tourists is a welcome step.
Immigration and Customs still are areas where professionalism and courtesy is on short supply and can be improved upon. Already we have experienced at various international airport the processes are over in a blink of the eye with least hassle to the traveler. Why not emulate similar steps to make the airport experience in our country virtually something that you end-up noticing more due to its absence, above all else!
Public spaces
We seem to have a knack of converting even the best Tourist destinations in our country to utterly un-tourist spots. let us admit — we do have a hygiene issue at a fundamental level. Else, why would we behave so irresponsibly in public places. Why public spaces are our trash binsIJ It is a pain to see monument after monument being vandalised. Why do we have such lack of disrespect for our heritage and history. This is our collective failing and unfortunately, this is the social identity we end up showing to visitors coming from abroad.
The contempt with which we look at our history and the past is at times astounding.
How can we start to shape-up these behavioursIJ For a start, if need be let’s declare monuments, museums, religious places, etc. as (Quiet Zones) with strictures on how to behave at these places. Any body found flouting rules should end-up paying hefty fine.
Appoint ambassadors from within the community. It could be young, old, male or female. The point is to have someone with in the community who can act as responsible custodian and a moral guardian of the place and intimately showcase the visitors the heritage of that place.
This would involve the local community to get involved with their own heritage and reinforce a sense of belonging and reiterate the need to the victors to act responsibly and with sensitivity.
I’m reminded of my visit to “Glow worm caves” in Waitomo in New Zealand. The world-famous caves are taken care by a family with in the “community”. Visitors were strictly instructed to remain silent throughout the boat ride inside the caves -to not disturb the ‘glow worms’ by our talk and chatter. I realised that day, how far reaching that gesture would be in shaping the behavior of the public at large and appreciating the sense of place. It is a gesture worth emulating.
Media blitz on “Athithi devo bhava” didn't seem to have made any dent in the overall public behavior. Therefore, Tourism police is a great idea. It should be ensured that they themselves are well trained in soft skills and more importantly dish out fines for any violation.
lastly,our history books singularly fail to catch the imagination of our younger generation. As such history as a subject is treated quite dismissively. It starts with education and schools need to ensure history doesn't end up being taught as a dead subject, but a vibrant and lively narrative still alive amidst us,and help showcasing the younger generation of the glorious past and our collective responsibility of conserving and preserving them for posterity.
We in India have vast cultural riches. It is only a matter of how we restore our past, preserve our present and reverse our social idiosyncrasies and behaviors. India has the scale and vast potential to achieve a pole position on the global tourism map. let us not waste the opportunity in front of us.
(Concluded.)