Sharing details of the safety precautions taken by the destination, Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head, South African Tourism, says, “We continue to prioritise visitor safety by promoting socially-distanced, safe holidays in natural settings. We have devised bio-safety systems at all private game lodges and national parks, shopping hubs, restaurants and accommodation facilities.” This will be highlighted during its virtual roadshow from 20th to 22nd October.

Deloitte, in its Global State of the Consumer Tracker analysis, divulged wave 22, indicating a consumption revival in India.Decreasing number of COVID-19 cases and an aggressive vaccination drive have brought in a new surge of confidence amongst Indian consumers. Latest findings reveal that the Indian consumer is ready to spend more on discretionary items, feels safe about returning to work place, wants to spend on travel and is less hesitant about in-person events and activities—all of which are positive trends for India’s economic revival.

Rupinder Brar, ADG, MOT, has said that in the first week of October, we will be taking a domestic FAM tour on the Buddhist train from Delhi to Bodhgaya, Nalanda, Rajgir and Varanasi and then coming back to Delhi. “The idea is to showcase the IRCTC Buddhist train as a product and these destinations as important part of the Buddhist circuit and beyond. Hon. Minister will also be present in the Varanasi leg of the journey,” she updated.

Alison Cryer, Founder & MD, Representation Plus, has said that the industry needs to innovate and come up with new experiences to meet the new needs. “The modern global traveller is much more conscious than before,” she added while speaking at the PATA India webinar recently. She also advised that regular communication from the industry as well as the tourism boards is expected by UK tour operators when it comes to destination India.

Oyo Hotels have filed for a local listing, seeking a valuation of $10 billion to $12 billion that could be the first for a hospitality firm since 2019. The initial public offering (IPO) comes as travel restrictions are being alleviated worldwide and the tourism sector sees a rebound, with stuck-at-home people heading out on vacations. The offering will consist of a fresh issue of shares of up to 70 billion rupees and an offer for sale of as much as 14.30 billion rupees, as per a copy of its draft red herring.

French hospitality major Accor is launching a full-service 120-room Novotel property in Chandigarh, with an outdoor plunge pool, a gymnasium and multiple meeting, wedding venues, that marks addition of 21st Novotel in India. “India presents substantial opportunities to grow our midscale brands. We believe that Novotel will be an ideal brand for the Chandigarh market as it caters to both corporate and leisure travellers. We are excited to enter a new market which further bolsters our position in North Indi,” said Puneet Dhawan, Senior Vice President of Operations, India and South Asia, Accor.

The pandemic has brought about a shift in consciousness for many. It is high time that we start looking at the impact of businesses on the environment and on communities in a more holistic manner. At the Tree of Life, it has always been our endeavour to minimise our carbon footprint and improve the standard of living of our neighbours in the local communities at the destinations we operate in. We strive to make continuous improvements to this end

Inclusive tourism must be the way forward, especially after COVID. Currently, tourism only benefits a very small marginal section of the society and the community in large is totally left out. It’s not just for COVID times, but for other times as well, there should be an inclusive approach, starting from the government, and I am sure it will have sustainability. For inclusive tourism, it’s the people of the land who should be stakeholders in the activity of tourism, and not remain just menial employees. In fact, whenever a new destination is being developed, it would be the ideal space to work on this, in the right earnest. Also, if all hotels localise their purchase, it would help the local economy. Hotels can do partnership with the local communities or help the local government where there could be activities to support.

I would like to see more community-based tourism, for it to become a central feature, with its rich cultural, historic and tribal heritages. This can only be done by catalysing local communities/villages to bring together their key assets and own them – to ensure they are not exploited – so ensure that visitors can become a force for good in their lives. Tour operators can also contribute to building and developing sustainable tourism. They play a critical role in informing clients, in highlighting places, working with destinations and indirectly influence clients to make better, more informed decisions. This will ensure client are satisfied and the local destination will be the primary beneficiary.

I believe that India is already late but thanks to corona, the travel and tourism fraternity is now talking about inclusive tourism. Tourism without benefits to the local communities is not fair tourism but exploitative tourism. While the world can talk about sustainable tourism or eco-tourism, India has a privilege of talking about regenerative tourism because we had it implanted in our community and day-to-day life, but we lost it. Hence, we need to regenerate and go back to where we were. INDeco Hotels established rural tourism way back in the 90s and we saw development. For Indian villages, rural tourism is a magic wand that can resolve many of development issues. I strongly believe that it should be taken seriously and see what we can do to make it effective nationwide.