Tourism has reached a watershed in India. Our Incredible India campaign has created an awareness of India as a land of incredible variety and endless fascination. The people who have been enchanted by these images must now feel rewarded by the Indian experience.
Sadly, in spite of statistical juggling, potential tourists still feel deterred by the credibility gap between the Incredible India image and abrasive reality.
Recently, at Rajasthan’s colourful Pushkar fair, an elderly French couple feared that their tourist camp was under siege. They saw cars with flashing red beacons rushing in where all other cars had been banned. Surrounding these intruding vehicles was a cordon of guards bristling with weapons. We had to explain to our alarmed tourists that such ostentatious displays have become a status symbol with our administrators and politicians.
These “servants of the people” had come on an ostensible “inspection” of tourist facilities along with their assertive wives, who broke food queues; unruly children and freebie-seeking hangers-on.
Indian tourism is bogged down by political avarice and bureaucratic cupidity. IAS officers who, today, have infiltrated every state tourism organisation, are selected and groomed to exercise Raj-era authority through their subjective enforcement of petty-fogging rules and regulations. They abhor creativity and out-of-the-box thinking.
The Balakrishnans, Amitabh Kants and Ashok Pawhas are the notable exceptions to the IAS-obtuseness rule. When appointing tourism officials we need to emulate the most successful tourism countries like Britain. We must break the IAS stranglehold on tourism and recruit creative professionals on performance-pegged contracts. The foundations of Goa’s tourism success was laid by tourism professional VAP Mahajan, Karnataka’s Jungle Lodges and Resorts became internationally famous under the guidance of the redoubtable Col John Wakefield and Forest Official Vinay Luthra. Madhya Pradesh is surging ahead under Railway Officer Ashwini Lohani. Rajasthan’s Tourism Corporation has been given a new lease of life by former ITDC Officer Rakesh Saini.
We must choose the best for our government-run tourism organisations and send the redundant IAS officials back to do what they have been trained, and paid, to do: Administer.
Few people realise that an essential part of tourism infrastructure is civic governance. Prime tourist destination, Switzerland, is the epitome of excellent civic governance. Their public transportation system is superbly efficient, their towns are immaculately clean and they have no discernable law and order problem. In contrast, we neither visit nor write about certain areas in our country because we, and our readers would feel threatened when travelling in them.
This is where our IAS officials should do their job.
There are three primary areas in which our district and civic officials have failed in their duties; and which have hampered tourism development. These are — the cleanliness and hygiene of their domains; The co-ordination of the activities of various civic bodies in their districts; Transparency.
Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur attracts hundreds of domestic and international tourists. And yet it remains squeaky-clean. In the same town are the Mandore Gardens. These are almost a shrine with the cenotaphs of past rulers and the images of revered folk heroes. And yet the grounds of Mandore are unkempt and littered with piles of garbage. Mehrangarh Fort is run by a private trust; the Mandore Gardens are under an uncaring civic administration.
When Singapore laid its high-speed highway between its international airport and the town, it planted grown trees as an avenue as the road was being laid. There was no mismatch between the authorities involved. No one indulged in the finger-pointing blame-game that is endemic to Mumbai. Its sanitation, telephone, electricity and public works authorities seem to live in their own independent worlds refusing to co-ordinate.
Then there is the culpable blight of official secrecy. All through history, the ruling class has hoarded information. They have guarded it jealously and milked it for personal gain. Today, with investigative journalism, cable TV, sting operations and the Right to Information Act, these bastions of secrecy and disinformation are being battered down. But the spectres of the Big Brother Raj of Inspectors still haunt would-be tourism entrepreneurs. In sheer frustration they are forced to grease palms to cut through entanglements of red tape.
The administration should ensure that all requirements for the starting and running of tourism enterprises — hotels, restaurants, taxis, whatever — are listed and explained in clear language on the Net. This will give citizens the authority to resist bureaucratic arm-twisting while depriving them of the excuse “I didn’t know that I had to conform to this rule!”
The true Indian experience will only be realised when tourists can snack in Udaipur’s Chaat Bazaar with the confidence that they can in a tratoria in Rome or a food court in Singapore. Or when they can check into a hotel in Delhi’s Pahar Ganj with the assurance they feel in a pension off Athen’s Plaka. Which is not to say that rules should not be enforced. Good governance calls for good order; and good order comes from civilised codes of conduct.Transparency will ensure that neither the inspector nor the inspected can cross the line.
Finally, with the departure of Amitabh Kant to Kerala, the Incredible India campaign seems to have fizzled out, apart from a dubious splurge in New York. Compare this with Malaysia’s sustained promotional blitz which has survived the recent political queering of the Indo-Malaysian pitch. In India the cost of its ‘Malaysia Truly Asia” exposure has paid for itself 187 times over in tourism earnings.
And it really is strange that only Madhya Pradesh has created an eyeball-catching campaign specifically targeting our burgeoning middle-class. MP’s “Hindustan ka Dil Dekho” is the brilliant brain-child of their unassuming director marketing, Guru Chahal. Why isn’t our Ministry of Tourism focusing on this high-spending segment?
We need to get on with promoting our unique pan-Indian experience both abroad and to our increasingly affluent domestic travellers.
Around many worlds in Karnataka
Karnataka is rich in heritage and culture. Karnataka tourism department rightly puts the State — ‘one state many worlds’ — the slogan to promote tourism in the State. However, poor infrastructure to connect tourist destinations is proving detriment to the growth of tourism industry.
Kodagu is the one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Karnataka. But it is the only district in the State which has no train connectivity! Tourists have to depend on roads, which are bad. According to Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation personnel, tourist influx in Kodagu has come down drastically as the roads connecting the districts are bad.
Similar is the condition with hill stations in Kemmannugundi, Bababudangiri. These places lure tourists for its natural beauty. There is no train facility to these places and roads are in bad state. Besides none of these hill stations possess good hotels. Tourists who wish to stay for a night have no option.
After Mysore, Hampi in Bellary district is the most sought-after destination in Karnataka. Tourists who opt to reach Hampi from Bangalore by road can enjoy good road till Chitradurga. But from then onwards, they have a tough time. Despite this Hampi is attracting tourists because of train connectivity till Hospet (11 kms from Hampi).
Guides
Apart from bad connectivity to tourist destinations, what tourism in Karnataka is lacking is well-trained guides to help tourists in understanding the rich heritage of the State. Most of the guides who are in the field lack professionalism.
Karnataka tourism department has decided to tackle this problem by conducting special courses on tourism in Karnataka. The five-year course is called Masters course in Travel Administration (MTA) where candidates will be taught history, geography, climatic condition and other issues related to tourism.
Golden chariot
Karnataka tourism department is all set to flag off the Golden Chariot (luxury train) covering major tourist destinations of Karnataka and Goa. Coaches of the train are being furnished in Chennai.
The train will cover Mysore, Srirangapatna, Belur, Halebid, Shravanabelagola, Hampi, Aihole, Badami, Pattadakal and Goa in its seven-day (six nights) journey.
The trip is a mix of heritage, culture, eco tourism and beach life. The train will have 19 coaches, including a restaurant coach, a conference coach and a gym.
The total passenger capacity is 103 and each passenger will be charged USD 350 per night. Each passenger will have two attendants in the coaches. Tourism department director C Somashekhar said that the luxury train would be flagged off in January 2008.
Atithi
Atithi or homestays, is a new venture to promote tourism in Kodagu, one of the major tourist attractions in Karnataka. It has been successful in increasing investment for well-being of tourism industry and also help the common people enjoy income. At present more than 450 homestays are functioning in the district.
Following the success of the project in Kodagu the department has decided to implement the same in other districts as well. During Dasara celebrations the government identified around 40 heritage houses of Mysore and converted them into homestays to meet the demand of more rooms.
The department has set a target of 1,500 more homestays in the next three years. The state government offers financial help for those willing to convert their houses into homestays.
Satish Shile
karnataka tourism
Annual visitors
International tourists: 55,000
Domestic tourists: 27 lakh
Important destinations
Heritage
Mysore, Hampi, Srirangapatna, Belur, Halebidu, Shravanabelagola, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, Somanathpura, Bijapur, Bangalore, Chitradurga
Nature
Kodagu, Western Ghats, Jog, B R Hills, Nandi Hills
Religious
Dharmasthala, Horanadu, Murudeshwara, Kukke Subramanya, Sringeri, Karkala, Udupi
It’s destination ‘heaven’ for Uttarakhand tourists
Road accidents are taking a heavy toll in Uttarakhand. The saying that the long serpentine roads in Uttarakhand, also known as Devbhumi (Abode of God) lead straight to heaven has been held virtually true in the wake of a spate of road accidents.
At least 366 people, mostly tourists, were killed this year and most of the accidents occurred during the Chardham yatra season.
Besides this, another 1,028 have been injured, says official data available with the Disaster Management and Mitigation Centre (DMMC), a state government nodal agency set up for disasters in the state. In a way, these road accidents affect tourism. “When such accidents occur, people are scared of travelling on buses in the absence of air connectivity and rail service,” said Giridhar Sharma, a travel agent.
But the state which houses Chardham comprising four religious shrines — Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri — as well as other temples like Hemkund Sahib attracts lakhs of pilgrims every year.
Take the case of Lambagard, a total of 50 road accidents have occurred in this obscure place in Chamoli district leading to Badrinath shrine in the past three years.
“Even if we presume that tourists coming to Uttarakhand do not bother much about the accidents, this does not mean that the government should not improve the connectivity at these shrines and infrastructure and try to minimise the risk in travelling,” said an official of the tourism department.
Citing the example of China where the government has now taken the train to Tibet, experts in Uttarakhand wonder how long the government will wait for carrying out a feasible study about the train service to Garhwal region. At present, Dehra Dun in Garhwal and Haldwani in Kumaon are the last stations connected with rail.
Thereafter, only way to reach tourist destinations like Mussoorie, Nainital and Almora are bus and taxi services.
Both Jollygrant and Pantnagar airports are being expanded now. But once you land in these airports, it becomes a total jigsaw puzzle to find a way out to reach your destination. For example, if you want to visit the hill resort of Auli in Garhwal, the only way to reach the area is either through bus or taxi which can only be availed from Haridwar or Rishikesh. Travelling from the airport to both these areas is not an easy task in the absence of proper taxi or bus service.
“What is happening is that people are bringing their own buses. Drivers who come to Garhwal are not very familiar with roads which also contribute to the accidents,” said Ranjan Rai, a top police official.
Though tourism is being regarded as the mainstay of Uttarakhand’s economy, it has never been a profitable business in the hill state. It is mainly because of lack of infrastructure and other amenities. “The government has never given any thought about improving tourism and developing tourist spots,” lamented a tourism official.
Shishir Prashant
Take a trip to God’s own wasteland
Some things don’t change. Potholed roads and garbage strewn along the beaches and backwaters still welcome visitors to Kerala. People of the state coolly live with all this and surprisingly, even the tourist seems to be accepting this inevitability. How else can one explain the ever-increasing tourist influx to God’s own country?
“Nowadays we tell our clients in advance to accept these facets as part of our culture. Like the government, we have no solution to offer,” says Sreekumar Menon of Chalukya Grace Tours, who brings mostly European tourists.
Thanks to the incessant rains — Kerala had almost six months of continuous rain this year — the roads have resembled cesspools most of the time. At one point, the Kerala High Court described them as “the worst roads in the world”.
Garbage piled up on the streets of Kochi some months ago, leading to fears of an outbreak of plague. The chikungunya epidemic has already claimed more than 200 lives in the last two years and tens of thousands were bed-ridden. Not one city or village in the state possesses an effective waste-disposal system. Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan admits that garbage is a menace to the tourism sector. “We are in the process of formulating projects in association with the respective local bodies to make all tourist centres garbage-free,” he said.
Rising pollution levels and unbridled construction are other worrying aspects that may prove detrimental to tourism in the long run. Many hotels and resorts in places such as Kovalam violate the Coastal Regulation Zone rules and continue to get away with it. In the hill station of Munnar, the Achuthanandan government launched a crackdown on illegal constructions and encroachments by razing down over 100 structures, including hotels.
However, the mission had to be called off under pressure and amid fears that it would harm state tourism.
Over 500 houseboats plying on the Vembanad and Ashtamudi lakes in Kochi, Alappuzha and Kollam continue to empty sewage into the backwaters.
“We have sewage tanks in the boats which need to be emptied only once a year. We do that outside these days on the department’s instruction. But a sewage treatment plant on land still remains a pipe dream,” says Tomy Pulickattil, a leading houseboat operator in Alappuzha. Though the government introduced grading for the boats by prescribing various norms, including environment friendly measures, the system is yet to be effective.
Despite all these ills, it goes to the state’s credit that tourist arrivals have been increasing. From 2.98 lakh foreign tourist arrivals last year, the figure has risen to 3.54 lakh till September this year.
With the relative fall in air fares thanks to the growing air traffic, domestic tourists have also been flocking here. From over 45.67 lakh domestic tourists last year the figures have gone up to 48.09 lakh till September this year. However, North Kerala continues to suffer neglect owing to connectivity problems as well as its skewed branding as a backwater destination too.
A 45-day-long Grand Kerala Shopping Festival linking trade and tourism was launched recently in all the 14 districts. North Kerala is expected to reap good dividends from it.
The government has identified certain key areas like responsible tourism, health tourism and culture tourism to woo tourists.
“One of the main objectives of responsible tourism is the empowerment of local communities by encouraging them to make use of the maximum potential of tourism sector. For this, the industry should make use of local resources and the tourists should be encouraged towards more local spending,” says tourism secretary Dr V Venu. Responsible tourism has been introduced in places like Kovalam and Kumarakom.
R Gopakumar
