TravTalk India Online Magazine
Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, explains how a firm economy is directly proportional to the growth of tourism in India, while a fast-paced vaccination drive, digital and sustainable growth would just be the right propellers in this regard.
Nisha Verma
Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog, has said that the confidence within the travel and tourism industry is coming back.
Vaccination is the driver
“India’s vaccination drive has been at the forefront of restoring normalcy. Without vaccination, tourism can never grow. I have been a witness to the travel and tourism sector going through many crises. We had launched the Incredible India campaign after the parliament attack, the Afghanistan war and other adversities. Every crisis is an opportunity and I am sure that tourism will bounce back and that too with a vengeance,” he said.
Dependence on economy
He insisted that tourism is very intricately linked to the economy. “If Indian economy does well, tourism will do well. If the Indian economy doesn’t grow at a rapid rateof 9-10 % per annum year after year for the next three decades or more, it will be very difficult for India to emerge as the leading tourism destination. Thus Indian economy must grow rapidly and at a higher rate on a sustained basis over a long period of time,” stressed Kant.
Road to recovery
Claiming that India is getting back into a high trajectory growth than its expansion across the entire economy, he said that the recovery is firmer, which will sustain. “I have seen the tourism industry bounce back after the 9/11 crisis as well as the Mumbai attacks, and a range of innovative measures started being carried out at the time. While a crisis is an opportunity, it’s also important to understand that the basic nature of the industry will undergo a change. There will be a radical difference from how the travel and tourism industry was working earlier and how it will operate in the future,” he shared.
Go digital & green
He further claimed, “My belief is that not merely in the tourism industry, but around the world, in future only those companies will survive, which will go digital and green. Only such companieswould be able to attract capital and grow & prosper.”
Future is shared economy
Another point Kant highlighted was that tourism industry is moving towards a sharing economy. “Take for example Airbnb. Its valuation is around US$100 billion, which is more than any of the large hotel companies, just because it’s a sharing company. The world is moving towards sharing economies and experiences. Hoteliers will now have to look at creating unique experiences for the travellers in the world,” he explained. Lastly, he claimed that technology will be the key driver for growth.
Domestically forward
Commenting on the growing Indian domestic market, he continued, “The size and scale of the domestic market will enable you to benefit global markets. Hence, domestic market will be the key to the growth in the tourism sector, while we open in a calibrated manner as the world normalises. People will then be looking at unique experiences across the world and there will be no one better than the Indian tourism and hospitality sector to provide that.”
