TravTalk India Online Magazine
Sharing a few words of positivity during a period of mostly dejection is Saurabh Tuteja, General Secretary, Enterprising Travel Agents Association (North India). He encourages his fellow travel agents and industry members to look at what it is the traveller will look for now and focus their energies on domestic tourism.
Being at home for almost five months now, everyone is looking for a change. When the world is still fighting a negative mindset and insecurities, people are indeed looking for the first opportunity to break the monotony and take small holiday breaks. Let it be a weekend to a drivable location or a drive to a hill station, which is of course a safer location in these COVID times.
Here comes the bigger responsibility for the tourism sector to play. We can’t forget that the world is opening not because it’s now 100 per cent safe, but it’s the need of the hour to bring life back on track, to support a dying economy. It becomes really important to check how safe a destination and property are before suggesting them to the client. The next couple of months will surely see some movement happening, and the key to success is ‘Go Domestic’. With more and more states opening borders for tourism, it is indeed an opportunity for our stressed minds sitting at home to move out and start exploring. We are lucky to be in a country that is, any day, far more resilient as compared to the Western world. This is the time to move the steering to beautiful local destinations, drivable destinations to begin with. This is surely the perfect time to get the right value of a client’s money, with most domestic properties offering massive discounts to fill their rooms. Luxury properties are available at nearly 40-50 per cent discount and that surely gives an opportunity to clients to upgrade their holiday. It is indeed a time when your aspirations of staying in a palace property or utmost luxury becomes affordable at a much lower price. With packages including pick and drop from home, which may be a few hours’ drive, by luxury cars to inclusion of all meals and private pools at a certain price, clients would surely love to indulge.
One day, the first call I got in the morning was from a client inquiring of a boutique property in a place that had good weather and may be 4-5 hours’ drive from Delhi. That brought a smile to my face. This is surely a positive sign – a perfect opportunity to boost Indian tourism and the Indian economy. I personally believe that this is the time to explore offbeat destinations that are close to nature and activities that are in sync with the current need of social distancing, such as trekking, mountaineering, wildlife camping, wellness, etc. Yes, people are hesitant to move out, so we need to check, recheck and then assure them that the place they are going is safe to stay, eat in and roam around in. This will surely infuse positivity.
Our industry has understood the need of the hour. Innovative SOPs are being prepared by leading players in the trade to ensure that domestic tourism gains the confidence of the guest and can act as a stress buster for them to move ahead in life. With a major shift towards safety of guests, it is definitely a positive sign for the industry to open and welcome the world.
