Rebuilding the tourism sector must be done by exploring alternatives: Karan Rathore, Vice President, SEPC

The Covid 19 pandemic, the subsequent lockdowns and social distancing measures have had a significant impact on the contact intensive services sector. During the first half of 2021, the service sector contracted by almost 16 percent. Air passenger traffic, rail freight traffic, port traffic, foreign tourist arrivals and foreign exchange earnings all contracted sharply following the lockdowns in the first, second and third phase of the pandemic. For example, Inbound tourist arrivals declined 74 per cent between January and December 2020 and according to the Ministry of Tourism website, foreign tourist arrivals for medical treatment in India in the calendar year ending December 2020 fell by 73 per cent to 1.82 lakh as compared with 6.97 lakh in 2019. But now, with travel restrictions being lifted and international flights slated to resume normally from May 2022 and domestic travel already touching pre-pandemic levels, there is renewed enthusiasm and optimism in the services sector. This year, the sector expects to reach the target of $ 240 billion and by the end of next financial year 2022-23, presuming that there will be no further virus variants causing disruptions, the services sector is well on course to achieve the target of $ 325 billion by FY 2023. With surging vaccination rates, travellers are gaining confidence to make holiday plans, leading to the tourism industry seeing early signs of rebound. FinancialExpress.com caught up with Karan Rathore, Vice President of SEPC set up by the Ministry Of Commerce and Industry in 2006 to understand the current state of the travel and tourism sector. Excerpts:

How travel and tourism have been affected by Covid19?

The ongoing pandemic had brought the travel industry to a halt. The development and distribution of vaccines have been helping to get the virus under control and giving the much-needed push to the travel and tourism industry. Prior to covid 19 industry was a core part of the economy accounting for almost 10% of global GDP and over 300 million jobs globally. Pandemic brought millions of jobs at risk, Between January and October 2020. It triggered an estimate of 70% decline in tourist travels compared with the same period in 2019, leading to a collapse in international travel. Pandemic massively led to huge losses in international revenues for tourism-dependent economies, specifically in exports of travel services and exports of transport services. The after effects of the pandemic are still persistent, but soon might see a change in the demographic as the restrictions to international travel shall be lifted.

Do you see the tourism sector, which massively contributes to the services segment, gaining momentum in 2022?

Yes, definitely. As the restrictions are soon being lifted for international and national travels will be completely open with obvious covid protocols being followed by the airport authorities. 

What are SEPC’s recommendations and suggestions for the upcoming National Tourism Policy 2022?

We have set a few key objectives in terms of the upcoming national Tourism policy 2022, which we have set out to streamline our vision towards the upcoming announcement. We have given importance to clean hygienic tourist spots and monuments across every corner of the country while ensuring the safety and security of the visitors. Additionally, we have also made sure in order to monitor tourists overflow at a destination, we have opted to develop plan B to handle such situations especially during summer and winter vacations. We support the government’s initiative of private sector led growth of the industry and creating indirect employment. We also anticipate Introduction of application forms for e-visa in multiple foreign languages online. This will help increase in foreign tourists’ arrivals including other major suggestions that SEPC has put across.

How destinations could attract inbound tourism after COVID-19?

Tourism continues to be one of the sectors hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the outlook remains highly uncertain. Domestic travel has been the focus ever since the travel restrictions have been lifted in India. Rebuilding the tourism sector and providing tourists with rewarding experiences must be done by exploring alternatives to mass tourism, such as sustainable rural tourism, nature tourism, and theme-based circuit tourism. Traveller behaviour is hugely influenced by the way the pandemic crisis unfolded, making social distancing an imperative. Travellers became overly cautious and gave up on travel plans. This pattern may lead to some long-term consumer trends that could reshape the future adaptations for the tourism industry. This would include the emergence of new niche market segments focusing on safety protocols and contactless tourism experiences.

Karan Rathore, Vice President, SEPC 

How does SEPC plan to encourage local tourism for sustainability?

SEPC works towards making local tourism attractive and accessible for domestic tourism. We promote and encourage government policies like “Dekho Apna Desh” by the Ministry of Tourism which boosts travellers to visit at least 15 tourism hotspots across India by 2022 to win rewards. Such initiatives push tourists to commit to visiting various tourism destinations across the country. SEPC supports the kind of tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.

Are there any focus areas for the national tourism policy, such as sustainable & green tourism and increasing more digitalization in the sector by making it more user friendly not only for the operators but also for the tourists which will make travel much more convenient?

The theme for the national tourism policy this year shall be on the core areas and focus largely on promoting sustainable & green tourism. More inclination towards digitalisation in the sector by making it more customer centric and easily accessible not only for the operatives but also for the tourists which will make travel much more convenient. A massive emphasis is also given to skill upgradation further creating centres for those employed in the hospitality industry. Lastly, an online training programme for guides who are the major driving factor of the tourism industry, who acts as the face of the whole sector. The sector has a huge employment potential thus this policy announcement will not only have a host of other incentives but will also swarm the environment. This shall create more investment opportunities in the sector for both domestic and Indian from international sources.

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