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Top Travel Destinations

Places in the news

1. Joy ride: Matheran chugs back on the tourist map

“Saheb, room paijhe?” asks an eight-year-old kid, perched atop a rock to tourists flocking along the two-foot gauge tracks from Aman Lodge to Matheran. He sweetens the deal a bit, “Sir, Sasta Milega.” After 18 months of a long, dry sabbatical, Matheran is back in the tourism business. Thanks to the main attraction, the Light Neral-Matheran train.

One of the five, remaining light rail trains in India. After 18 months of lull, brought about by the unsparing monsoons of 2005, shops which were otherwise crowded and had become vacant are now bustling with activity. Cottages and hotels are getting back to what they used to be; cramped and crowded.

Tourists are trooping back. Almost everything seems to have fallen in place with the return of the light rail. Says Anand, a road-side grocery store owner, “Since the train service was stopped, the business was affected but now it is a much better time.” Very true.

Once the light rail service was restored, tourists began flocking Matheran in huge numbers. Almost 800 to 1,000 per day.

Advance bookings are going in full swing and current bookings are virtually impossible, unless one is lucky enough to make it to the booking window early. Central Railway has lapped up this opportunity and is running five pair trains on weekends as compared to four on weekdays. Says V K Kaul, general manager, Central Railway, “Matheran has always been very famous as a tourist spot with the light rail being the major draw. That is why, there was a sense of urgency to initiate services as quickly as possible. The entire stretch of tracks have been renovated and our guys have done a wonderful job.”

Evidently so, as in the monsoon of 2005, the tracks had suffered immense damage, to the extent of almost 70% and Central Railway has spent Rs 2-2.5 crore for renovation expenses. Adds Mr Kaul, “We are prepared for the approaching monsoons and this will be our first test. The bridges have been widened and drainage capacity adequately increased.” However, an interesting twist to this is that just like any passenger rail service in the country, this Neral-Matheran train also runs in losses, to the tune of almost Rs 1-2 crore.

On April 15, Matheran was in some kind of frenzy. One could easily notice that the bolts on the tracks had been freshly oiled, gangmen dressed in orange clothing had been dispersed all along to ensure that the service was working smoothly, sweepers were on their feet with brooms and a smell of fresh paint was in the air.

The town was there to witness the centenary celebrations of the Neral-Matheran light rail service. An event that also saw bureaucrats and members of the Peerbhoy family grace the occasion. Matheran light rail service has an interesting story behind it. Sir Adamjee Peerbhoy, frequently used to visit Matheran and conceived the idea of a light rail service.

After fire-fighting with the government for six odd years, finally on April 15, the first Neral-Matheran service was started. During the period, Sir Peerbhoy spent 16,00,000 for setting up the service. Today, Matheran stands in glory and is seemingly getting back to prosperity.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. Park can endanger Taj Mahal: Mughal historian

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has created a park between the main Taj Mahal structure and the Yamuna river to beautify the complex but a prominent Mughal historian says it can endanger the 17th century monument.

D.D. Dayalan, the ASI chief in Agra, says: "We have beautified the riverfront which was earlier an eyesore, with litter thrown all around. Visitors were always throwing all kinds of things from the main platform of the Taj."

But noted historian Prof R. Nath, who has at least 60 books on Mughal history and architecture to his credit, disputes the ASI's claim.

"It has all the potential to endanger the heritage monument. The ASI has created an artificial park that did not exist in the original Taj complex plan. The Yamuna river has been pushed a good distance away, around 100 feet," Nath said.

Past records and documents show the river flowing close by, even touching the rear wall of the structure. Most conservationists agree that the river should be full of water and touch the foundation on which stands the Taj Mahal.

"In the original Taj plan, as is clear from old photographs of the Taj Mahal, including the 45 odd maps and designs of the Taj Mahal prepared in 1942, the river is seen flowing touching the rear wall. In fact there were two gates leading to the staircases used by the Mughals to climb up the Taj from boats.

"Instead of clearing the debris and bringing the river back to its original status and glory, what they have done is a huge cover up which is violative of a directive of the Supreme Court which had clearly stated that there should be no tampering with the physical settings in and around the Taj Mahal." Dayalan said that long back there used to be a bathing ghat and special entry points for royal family members. In the course of time, the patch became a big dumping ground for dirt and garbage.

"The ASI therefore chose to develop the area into a lawn which definitely provides a better and more beautiful setting. The cleaning and de-silting process would have meant incurring huge expenditure and since there is no water in the river we thought it would be better to turn the area into a green patch," Dayalan said.

But the problem is not with the greening effort. Nath says there's a big difference between dynamic momentum and dead weight piled up at the foundation of the Taj Mahal at the rear.

"They should have de-silted the whole area and allowed the river to flow on its original course, as the water is absolutely necessary for the structure," Nath said.

He charged that the ASI did not consult anyone, nor did it conduct an investigation on the likely repercussions of the new facility on the 350-year-old monument.

Emperor Shah Jahan is believed to have selected this particular location for building the Taj Mahal because of the huge water body in the background. But now the ASI has created a big barrier between the river and the Taj.

"They are playing with the Taj Mahal. It is not conservation," said Nath.

ASI, however, says no harm will come to the monument. "We have no basis to suggest that there should be water in the river or the river should flow touching the foundation of the edifice," argued an official.

The 100-metre long park from Khan-e-Alam to Dussehra Ghat has further distanced the Taj from the Yamuna, which unfortunately has been reduced to an open drain.

India earns millions of dollars from Taj centric tourism, but when it comes to spending money on conservation and upkeep the response is always negative.

The ASI had earlier overlooked former chief minister Mayawati's controversial Taj corridor project, which would have entailed construction of a shopping mall and a tourist complex. It was disallowed by the Supreme Court as it was considered a threat to the monument.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: MSN India

3. Nalanda university tipped to be World Heritage site
The architectural remains of the ancient Nalanda university are all set to become the second World Heritage site in Bihar after the Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.

P.K. Mishra, a superintending archaeologist with the Patna Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Thursday said India has approached Unesco (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) to turn Nalanda university, 100 km from here, into a World Heritage site.

The fifth century architectural marvel, which was home to over 10,000 students and nearly 2,000 teachers, are protected as a site of national importance.

"The ASI and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) have taken the Nalanda case to Unesco for World Heritage status for its preservation," Mishra said.

The Mahabodhi temple at Bodh Gaya, 110 km from here, where Buddha attained enlightenment 2,550 years ago, was declared a world heritage site by Unesco in 2003.

The university of Nalanda - Sanskrit for 'giver of knowledge' - existed until 1197 AD, and attracted students and scholars from Korea, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia and Turkey, besides being a pedestal of higher education in India.

Though it was devoted to Buddhist studies, the ancient varsity also trained students in subjects like fine arts, medicine and mathematics

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Source: MSN India

4. The road to Shimla is a foodie's delight
This is one journey that should definitely be undertaken empty stomach. The one thing those driving uphill from Kalka to Shimla are not likely to miss is food.

From the times when 'desi dhabas' (local eateries) were the only option along this 85-km stretch, the National Highway 22 now boasts of a McDonald's, a couple of Café Coffee Day outlets and many more family-owned restaurants.

"There is never a boring moment on this road. The eating joints lined up on both sides of the road and the cool breeze from the hills makes for a heady combination," says entrepreneur Rohit Sehgal. "For those coming uphill to beat the summer heat, the options are there for the taking."

The small town of Dharampur along the highway now has nearly three-dozen well-established dhabas, restaurants and fast food joints.

With the road to Kasauli hills and the famous Sanawar boarding school - where the likes of Sanjay Dutt and Omar Abdullah have studied - also taking off from here, the convoy of travellers is almost non-ending.

The most popular food joint for tourists though is still 'Giani da Dhaba' on the outskirts of this town.

For nearly three decades now, this dhaba has been satisfying the appetites of those going to and coming from Shimla and other places. It has expanded considerably, from being a small eating joint a decade back.

"We get hundreds of customers every day. The rush is particularly high on weekends," said an employee of the dhaba

Bang opposite Giani's is Shan-e-Himachal, run by a retired Indian Army officer and his family. This dhaba-cum-restaurant is famous not only for its food but also the midnight knock that it got from celebrated author Salman Rushdie five years back.

The India-born Rushdie - one of the most well protected persons in Britain following an Islamic fatwa against him - came here in a cavalcade of five black Mercedes cars en route from his ancestral property in Solan, 20 km away.

Near these two dhabas are the modern Café Coffee Day, Golfer's multi-continental cuisine restaurant and Chandigarh's fast food chain Hot Millions.

Everyone along the highway does brisk business - be it dhabas or the regular restaurants. Many people just travel uphill from Chandigarh, Panchkula, Mohali and other nearby towns of Punjab and Haryana for a drive and a meal.

"Business is good for all eateries that make good food and offer a variety of services like phone booths, confectionery and proper sitting arrangements," says dhaba owner Pawan Kumar.

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: MSN India

Travel and transportation infrastructure

Sector: Aviation

1. Jet-Sahara deal: heralding new phase
India's leading private airline Jet Airways finally announced a takeover of the much smaller Air Sahara at a cost of Rs 1450 crore ($346 million) last week, ending prolonged speculation over the deal which had been announced originally in January 2006. With this merger, the process of consolidation has begun in the country's civil aviation industry. It will emerge as the largest player in the Indian skies.

The private sector Jet-Sahara combine will end the dominating role of the public sector with the new corporate commanding as much as 32 percent of the domestic market space. The scene may change after a few years with the proposed merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, but Jet-Sahara will be the leader for some time to come.

The merger is not likely to impact domestic fares for the time being, in view of the stiff competition between the numerous players in the civil aviation sector. This is despite the fact that Jet-Sahara along with the public sector Indian Airlines will hold a commanding 55 percent of market share. Besides Jet Airways has now decided to transform Air Sahara into a low cost carrier, to be known as Jetlite though officially maintaining that it will be positioned somewhere between a low cost carrier and a normal one.

The merger of the two airlines will give Jet Airways access to the entire leased fleet of about 27 aircraft of Air Sahara as well as to the infrastructure and logistics of the smaller airline. It will also give Jet a pan-India presence as Sahara is operating in many areas where Jet is not present. Even in the international arena, Sahara becomes complementary to the larger airline. While Jet has a presence in long-haul routes to the US and Europe, Air Sahara is operating to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Nepal and Thailand. Currently Jet Airways has about 62 aircraft and operates 320 flights to 44 destinations within the country and six in foreign countries.

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: Economic Times

Sector: Hotels & Restaurants

1. Stars & Strife: Hospitality sector demands parity in CAS charges
The hotel industry is up in arms against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) tariff order, which categorises hotels with ratings of three-star and above, heritage hotels and any hotel having more than 50 rooms as ‘commercial’ subscribers, resulting in widely fluctuating charges per television channel on a monthly basis.

The industry is demanding parity with one and two-star hotels in conditional access system (CAS) areas, which, according to Trai order, enjoy the monthly tariff of Rs 5 per channel for each room.

The commercial tag goes against the grain of big hoteliers who have to invariably cough up Rs 600-1,000 per bouquet each month, which makes pay TV unwieldy and cost plus. The loser: hotel guests who now end up paying a higher tariff.
The hotel lobbies cry hoarse about arm-twisting by pay channel broadcasters while negotiating rates. “

Since the TRAI order of November 21, 2006, doesn’t favour hotels with ratings above three-star, we are at the mercy of collection agencies of broadcasters, such as Novex Communications and Titan Media, with whom rates have to be regularly negotiated,” Rajesh Mishra, president, Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) told ET.

In December last, FHRAI had moved an appeal before the Telecom Disputes and Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to bring parity in the rates of pay channel in conformity with its earlier order for smaller hotels. Similarly, the Hotel Association of India (HAI) had also filed a petition in the Supreme Court to this effect.

Both cases will be heard on May 15. However, when ET contacted TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra, parity seemed an alien word. “We are not reviewing any order on tariff,” came the taut reply. Five-star hotels located at prime properties seem to be feeling the pinch the most.

“Broadcasters are increasing rates at their own free will and commercial prices are being linked to property. For every room, we have to cough up Rs 600-1,000 per bouquet each month and the cost burden is obviously being passed on to the guest,” claims a source in a five-star hotel, who sits regularly with commercial broadcast distributors on the negotiating table.

Some FHRAI members, with less than 50 rooms, have also written to the apex body that they are being charged as much as Rs 1,118 per bouquet by the various collectors. This discrepancy, apparently, has occurred on account of twin records with distributors and the FHRAI. According to the latter’s records, they are hotels with less than 50 rooms and worthy of the non-commercial tag. However, distributors now claim these hotels have more than 50 rooms and fix charges accordingly.

Today, there are 1,10,000 hotel rooms in the approved category, and 20,000 more in the pipeline.

With discriminatory and ‘arbitrary’ pricing by broadcasters gaining ground, it’s becoming increasingly difficult for hoteliers to provide in-house viewing to their patrons.

Friday, April 20, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. IRCTC to set up budget hotels
Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Railways, has decided to set up budget hotels in Howrah, Sealdah, Darjeeling, New Jalpaiguri, Gaya, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Visakhapatnam and Tatanagar though the private-public partnership (PPP) route in the next two years.

Plans include offering space at railway stations and land owned by Indian Railways to private parties. "The entities will construct the hotel on a lease basis for 30 years following which, the lease may be renewed," said senior IRCTC officials. They were speaking at an IRCTC event here on Tuesday.

Interestingly, IRCTC has roped in Ganguram Agro Food for setting up a fast food centre at the newly built Kolkata Terminal. It is expected to be inaugurated towards the month-end. In the same line, it plans single outlet fast food centres at Seoraphuli, Chandannagar, Bolpur, Srirampur, Rishra, Tarrakeshwar, Rampurhat, Bandel, Barrackpore, Ranaghat, Naihati, Krishnanagar and Ballygunj.

Meanwhile, the budget hotels will try and attract passengers travelling by rail and IRCTC intends to open such hotels in two years. Here, the private party offers a licence fee to IRCTC on a yearly basis and they make additional investments in setting up hotel infrastructure.

"For the 60-room budget hotel at Sealdah station, IRCTC has roped in GL Hotels and PAN India Paryatan Group. The Sealdah property is likely to be opened in the next one year for which IRCTC will receive a licence fee of Rs 80 lakh and private parties will invest about Rs 6-7 crore, said the IRCTC official.

Meanwhile, IRCTC on Tuesday inaugurated a food plaza at Sealdah station. With this the total number of food plazas at railways stations in India touched 43 and the number for east zone touched 12. In Bengal, IRCTC plans to set up similar food plazas at Bardhaman, Asansol, Durgapur and Maldah

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Source: Economic Times

3. Indian Hotels, ITC in race to develop RCTC property

Leading hotel chains such as the Tata group-owned Indian Hotels and ITC as well as developer-hotel chain consortiums like Ritz-Carlton-Nitesh Estates, DLF-Hilton and Emaar MGF-Accord are in the race to bag the development rights for Royal Calcutta Turf Club’s (RCTC) Russell Street property.

RCTC plans to convert the Russell Street property, standing on a four-acre plot in the heart of Kolkata, into a five-star hotel. Sources close to deal said Purnendu Chatterjee’s TCG Real Estate and Harsh Neotia’s Bengal Ambuja are also in the race.

RCTC’s erstwhile main office at 11, Russell Street is somewhat secluded from public eye. It remains, nevertheless , as one of the remarkable architectural structures of the city.

RCTC’s secretary Boman Parakh told ET, “We are looking at various alternatives for our Russell Street property. We have invited proposals from developers and a number of them have shown interest. We will soon invite technical and financial bids from them.

The bids will then be placed before the Stewards who act as RCTC’s board of directors and they will take a decision on it.” He said RCTC does not want to sell the land but rather lease it out for the hotel project. “That way, the club is assured of a steady source of revenue,” he said. RCTC’s office is now located at the Race Course.

Real estate consultants feel the Russell Street property, which is situated at the heart of Kolkata, could fetch Rs 250-300 crore, while total cost of the hotel project is estimated at Rs 800-1,000 crore. Real estate consultant CB Richard Ellis and global hotel consultancy firm HVS International are believed to have bagged the consultancy job for the project.

Real estate developers like Emaar-MGF, Nitesh Estates and DLF had formed joint ventures with Accord group, Ritz-Carlton and the Hilton group to bid for hotel properties across India. The club was founded in 1847. The earliest mention of office premises for the then Calcutta Turf Club is in 1888. The offices moved to the current location in February 1920.

It was acquired by JC Galstaun following negotiations that started in 1919. His asking price for the property at 49, Theatre Road at Rs 4.5 lakh was considered too high, and eventually the deal was struck at Rs 1.75 lakh. Another property at 9, Russell Street was bought in January 1920 and a deal for the property at 5, Middleton Row was signed two months later

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Source: Economic Times

4. Lehman Brothers to ink deal with Future Capital
Lehman Brothers Holdings, the investment arm of the US investment banking group Lehman, is close to inking a partnership deal to invest over $100 million in a hospitality venture with Future Capital, the financial services arm of Kishore Biyani’s Future Group.

The group has set up a separate subsidiary, Future Hotels, to build 50 hotels in the three- and four-star category involving an investment of $300 million. It is also in talks with a hospitality group that can step in as a partner to run the business.

The hospitality venture will be led by KK Malhotra, a former president of ITC Hotels, and Rahul Nair, vice-president (merger & acquisitions) of the Taj Group). A steady growth in the travel business and decent return on investments have triggered a slew of private equity and foreign investment deals in the local domestic hospitality industry.

Raj Sundaram, head of the real estate arm of Lehman Brothers India, refrained from commenting on the deal. “We are looking at investments in the hospitality sector. But I will not be able to comment on specific deals,” he said. The hospitality project has been conceived by Samir Sain, managing director of Future Capital, and Shishir Baijal, CEO and managing director of Kshitij Investment Advisory, the real estate arm of Future Capital.

“We are building hotels in India. But at this stage, I cannot comment on who we are partnering with for investments in the business,” he said. The hospitality venture will target middle management business professionals who are also value-conscious, sources said.

Lehman Brothers Holdings, which owns a large portfolio of hotels outside India, was founded in 1850 and is a diversified, global financial services firm. Headquartered in New York, the firm has regional headquarters in London and Tokyo and offices in various markets. Future Capital currently incubates new lines of businesses and offers shared services and capital to all ventures under it.

Spiralling land prices and rising interest rates in India are forcing many hoteliers to upgrade their two and three-star hotel projects to four- and five-star levels. Out of the 300 hotel projects recently approved by the government, 55% of its development is understood to be four- and five-star hotels, accounting for about $1.6-billion investment. The key reasons for this are the higher profitability and revenues that accrue from a four-star hotel room as compared with a two- or a three-star one.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Source: Economic Times

5. Rural to royal, ITC's on fire without smoke
For six years there have been no fullstops in ITC. Now, fresh from upgrading a 30-year relationship with Starwood Hotels & Resorts from the Sheraton badge to the top-of-the-line Luxury Collection tag for his seven biggest metro hotels, ITC chairman YC Deveshwar can add another line to his three mantras “From seed to stomach”, “From fibre to fashion” and “From tree to text”.

Dare we suggest, “From rural to royal?” or “From livelihood to luxury”? Why not, since Mr Deveshwar is way down the road to transforming the tobacco-to-hotels major ITC into the country’s largest FMCG company. From the cane-field to the catwalk, Mr Deveshwar’s strategy is to capture value across the entire spectrum of ITC’s businesses — tobacco, food, apparel, retail, hospitality, and perhaps even personal care in the future — and play across the income pyramid.

“We want to be the champions of rural India. The future of the Indian markets is in its villages,” says Mr Deveshwar. So, even as ITC becomes a major player in the food business, it is following a strategy which is different from its competitors. “We want to have a potato chain, a wheat chain, and a corn chain. And we want to capture value throughout the chain,” he says.

While these are early days yet, the ITC chairman fresh into another 5-year term, appears satisfied with the progress that the company has made in the food business. “If we annualise last month’s sales of Sunfeast and Aashirvaad, each has already become a Rs 500-crore brand in a three-year period. The confectionary business, with Candyman and Minto, is also worth around Rs 200 crore, on this basis.” And then there’s the Rs 5,000 crore that ITC plans to pour into hotels, from budget Fortune Lodges in mofussil areas to the last word in luxury for its top metro properties.

Notwithstanding his enthusiasm for the non-cigarette FMCG business, when it comes to plans about entering the personal care segment, which ITC is said to be eyeing, Mr Deveshwar chooses to remain silent. “I am not saying that we are entering the personal care segment, in addition to the premium range that we already have,” he says, but agrees that ITC’s goal of becoming India’s top FMCG company would probably not be realised until it enters this segment.

Of course, it’s important not to be carried away with all the excitement around the non-cigarette FMCG business. While it’s true that the share of cigarettes in ITC’s total revenue has declined to less than 50%, cigarettes still account for 75-80% of the company’s pre-tax profits.

Monday, April 16, 2007
Source: Economic Times

Medical Tourism

Religious Tourism

Holistic Healing Service Providers

Travel characteristics of Indians

1. Jump in Indian diaspora in New Zealand
There has been a surge in the population of the Indian diaspora in New Zealand, growing by 68% between 2001 and 2006 and on track to catch up with the ethnic Chinese, a report has said. New Zealand’s ethnic make-up has continued to change. Chinese are the biggest Asian ethnic group, with their numbers increasing by 40.5% in the five year period to 148,000.

The ethnic Indians are catching up, growing 68% between 2001 and 2006 to 105,000, a report released yesterday by Statistics New Zealand said. People identifying themselves as Hindu, Sikh and Muslim rose, reflecting the immigration patterns. There was a decline in the population identifying themselves as Christian, from 60.6% in 2001 to 55.6% in 2006.

Asians are the fastest growing ethnic group in New Zealand, becoming the third largest part of the population, census figures show. Their numbers increased from 238,176 in 2001 to reach 354,552 in 2006 (an increase of almost 50%).

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. Indians largest group among new immigrants to the UK
The largest number of migrants into Britain during 2004 and 2005 were from India, according to latest official figures that show that people from the Indian sub-continent account for two-third of net immigration. Although the largest single increase in new migrants to Britain came from Poland, with 57,000 arriving in 2005 compared with only 17,000 the year before, more long-term migrants came from India, figures released by the Office of National Statistics said.

ONS tables show that 99,000 new migrants came from India during 2004 and 2005, compared with 76,000 from Poland, with China third with 59,000.
The ONS said: “There has been a noticeable upward trend of out-migration in recent years. This, coupled with lower numbers of in-migration of British citizens, has resulted in increasing net emigration since 2000.” It added: “Conversely, immigration of non-British citizens has more than doubled since the early 1990s.

Out-migration of non-British citizens has been considerably lower. This has resulted in a pattern of high and increasing net immigration.”

In 2005, there was a net emigration of 107,000 British while net immigration of non-British people amounted to 292,000. In 1991, one third of all citizens entering the UK were British.

By 2005, this dropped to 16%. Most of the departing British citizens were bound for France, Spain and Australia. The largest group of arrivals were people from the Indian subcontinent - who accounted for two-thirds of net immigration, mainly fuelled by family reunions - and from Poland.

There was a net increase of 185,000 in Britain’s population due to immigration in 2005 - the equivalent of an extra 500 people a day. The ONS estimates that 565,000 migrants arrived in Britain in 2005 intending to stay for at least a year.
At the same time 380,000 people - over half of them British citizens - left the country to live abroad, with Australia the most popular destination followed by Spain and France. The annual level of migration from Britain has risen each year since 1998 when 251,000 left in the first full year of Tony Blair’s government.

A breakdown of the occupations of new migrants also shows that 170,000 describe themselves as professional or managerial and only 143,000 intend to work in manual or clerical jobs.

Work is the most important reason for immigration to Britain, with 28% having a definite job to go to and 15% of those who came saying they were looking for work. A further 128,000 of the total came to Britain as students.

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: Economic Times

3. Egypt eyes greater Indian investments, tourists
Leveraging its vastly liberalised economy, Egypt hopes for a quantitative jump in Indian investments and for greater tourist inflows from this country, its officials say.

India is currently the second largest Asian investor in Egypt and 12th overall and hopes it will propel into the top 10 among all foreign investors in the not too distant future, Walaa M. El Hussieny of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zone (GAFI) said.

Simultaneously, Egypt hopes the number of Indian tourists will double to 130,000 in two years from the present 65,000, said Khaled Makhkouf, CEO of the tourism ministry's Tourism Development Authority.

The two officials are part of an eight-member high-level delegation that is currently here on an investment and tourism promotion drive. The delegation will also visit Mumbai before heading for other East Asian destinations.

While in India, the delegation members will be interacting with industry lobbies, industrialists and government officials to point to the huge changes effected since 2004 to make the country investor-friendly.

To promote investments from this country, GAFI has established a separate Indian desk with each investor being allocated an accounts officer to process applications, arrange for visits and meetings with Egyptian officials and iron out any problems that might arise both during the establishment and the running of a project, El Hussieny pointed out.

"Our reforms for a better business environment have seen taxes on profit and income reduce to 20 percent from 40 percent, restructuring of the customs regime, and allowing full foreign ownership and full profit repatriation," she added, explaining why Egypt was such an attractive investment destination.

Over 40 Indian entities have currently invested some $450 million in the African country. Among the major companies represented are GAIL, Tata Motors, Ranbaxy, Oberoi, NIIT, HDFC, Dabur, Unit Trust of India, and Kirloskar.

"India currently ranks second among Asian investors in the (export-oriented) free zones and sixth in the inland investment zones (from where products can both be exported and sold in the domestic market), El Hussieny told IANS.

"Indian investments currently rank 12th overall. We hope India propels to the top 10 among foreign investors in the not too distant future," she added.

El Hussieny, who graduated from Cairo University's Faculty of Economic and Politics just nine years ago, holds four key posts in GAFI: head of research and market intelligence, head of promotion, vice chairman and advisor. She worked for six years as an executive manager to the Egyptian cabinet before joining GAFI two years ago. El Hussieny, in fact, personifies the new Egyptian woman for whom gender imbalances are "not an issue.

"If you are educated, efficient, capable and deliver what you are meant to, there are plenty of opportunities. You are on an equal footing with your male colleagues," she pointed out.

Speaking about the new investment climate in Egypt, El Hussieny said this had seen foreign inflows increase to $6.1 billion in 2005-06 from a meagre $407 million in 2003-04 - a huge jump of 300 percent.

Along the way, GDP had risen to 7.2 percent in fiscal (July 1-June 30) 2005-06 and to 7.9 percent in the first quarter of the current financial year.

"Market capitalisation is 86 percent of GDP and our foreign exchange reserves have risen to $26 billion from a mere $4 billion in 2003-04. Our exchange rate is a stable 5.75 Egyptian points to the dollar," El Hussieny declared.

On Egypt as a tourist destination, Makhkouf said the accent was now on moving away from the traditional visits to the Pyramids and Nile Cruises into developing golf courses in various parts of the country, yachting marinas along the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and desert safaris.

"You have good hotel management skills. We have good experience in tourism development. Together, there is much we can do since we both have great potential," Makhkouf maintained.

"Hitherto, we have been focusing on the mid-section tourists. We now want to target the upper-end segment as also promote mass tourism," he pointed out.

Egypt currently has 176,000 hotel and hopes to increase this to 240,000 by 2011. The industry also generates 2.2 million job opportunities, both direct and indirect.

Thursday, April 19, 2007
Source: MSN India

Investment related

Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Policy Related

1. World Travel & Tourism: The Golden Age
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has released a 2007 Travel & Tourism Economic Research country report titled 'India Travel & Tourism: Navigating the path ahead' in association with Accenture. Express TravelWorld presents a summary of the report findings.

From a customer perspective, the travel industry is in a golden age. Never before have travellers enjoyed such a range of destinations at such low prices. Never before has travel and tourism contributed so much to so many national economies in terms of employment, tax and GDP. But despite continued forecasts of steady growth, not all players will benefit - and some may disappear completely. Why? Because many companies have shackled their ability to grow by running competition on a cost-only basis and have foregone innovation as a differentiating factor. And, in this consumer golden age, some companies are decidedly in the dark ages in terms of their ability to respond to the inherent volatility of the travel market.

Accenture's view is that the organisations which will benefit most from anticipated industry growth will be those that are quickest and most flexible in reacting to the unforeseen. To be able to manage industry volatility, organisations need to possess three distinctive capabilities:
• Flexible operating models
• Customer centricity as a core capability
• Operational excellence.

Flexibility first
Most important for riding out the volatile nature of travel and tourism is a flexible operating model. Consider this: as recently as a decade ago, the majority of travellers came from predictable points on the globe and travelled to a limited set of destinations. Now there are more people from regions throughout the world choosing amongst a more diverse range of destinations.

And these new markets require different strategies in terms of production and distribution. Also, leisure traveller preferences are evolving away from packaged tours to individually bundled options. In order to respond to this increasingly dynamic customer base, travel companies need to have the ability to flex their capacity, flex their distribution and flex their pricing strategy accordingly if they want to achieve high performance.

Which leads to supplier relationships: There was a time when relationships with suppliers were based on locking in capacities and rigid adherence to long-term booking. Now industry players need to strengthen their skills to manage a network of vendors. This will allow them to expand or shrink supply based on the fickle shifts in demand. And by doing so, travel companies can offer more dynamic packaging that responds to customer need.

The end result: increased average revenue per customer. One way to access new markets is through M&A which is mainly driven by the want to gain complementary businesses capabilities; the traditional goal of consolidation and synergy does not work in travel and tourism where regional expertise is a must.

Ultimately, flexible companies should be able to:
• Decrease pre-packaged travel volumes, moving to core product and additional services type of ‘packaging’
• Develop multi-channel distribution strategies (full integration, seamless customer experience)
• and create new brands that address specific values; i.e. luxury, family-oriented.

Customer centricity at the core
How can companies react to ever-shifting customer trends if they don't have the ability to know their travellers? They can't. Instead they will continue chasing travellers using price as the primary 'net'. But that has lead to a continued downward spiral on margins in many parts of the industry.

Winning companies will be those that compete on more tailored services. These companies strive to serve as trusted advisors, not bargain-basement traders. As such, they build a trust level that leads, in turn, to loyalty and repeat business. With an abysmally low incidence of repeat business in this industry, the potential of a loyal return customer base becomes compelling for profitable growth. Winning companies are those that see 'solutions' instead of 'products' and create added-value by offering experiences in response to the wants and needs of the customer. However, to become a trusted advisor, companies need to know their customers. But many have lost touch with consumer demographics and the travel behaviours that define them. Market behaviour and segmentation has changed over the last decade. Knowing your customers requires the systematic capture of customer expectation, experience and inquiries - and the ability to turn this information into business intelligence. These insights will help guide investments so that spending is not sunk into areas undervalued by customers.

Operational excellence
In an industry that literally changes with the weather, achieving operational excellence is critical. Yet the industry as a whole has been plagued with poor shareholder returns, price erosion and low profit margins. Minimising cost and exceeding customer expectations - one definition of operational excellence - makes the difference between winning and losing: Companies that achieve the right balance between cost management and innovation will pull ahead of competitors.

An even brighter future
The future of travel and tourism could be as 'golden' for the industry as it appears to be for travellers. To capture the light of future growth and profitability players involved need to adopt flexible operating models, have customer centricity as a core capability, and achieve operational excellence. Most companies, destinations or governments may find it hard to pull all three of these levers. But those that do will not only grow but will do so profitably, delighting customers along the way; achieving true high performance.

Thursday,April 19, 2007
Source: Indian Express

Service Providers

1. New Online Travel Portal from India Offers Tour Packages and Destinations
SLS Tourist a Bangalore based travel agency recognized by the department of tourism, India. SLSTourist.com is offering a variety of tour packages to different parts of India with all kinds of travel related services for corporate world and tourists coming from all over world. Aim of this website slstourist.com is to make every single tourist fully satisfied by providing world class services to make their tours memorable and enjoyable.

The company aims to promote tourism in India by providing tours to all parts of India with the best of services in this industry. SLS Tourist have branches in Chennai, Cochin & Coimbatore, all are equipped with necessary infrastructure & man power for all kinds of query at anytime. SLS Tourist is committed in maintaining the ethical standards of this industry. The company is in this field since last 15 years and hence gathered immense experience in the sphere of tours & travels in India. 

Services Offered:

Package Tours - We arrange a number of tour packages based on various themes like religion, culture, hill station, beach, wildlife etc. We have carefully planned your tour packages, suiting both the group and individual travellers. We take into consideration the budget and time of our customer before constructing any kind of tour package. Besides, we also offer customised tour packages, in which we help our customers, design their tours according to their interest.

Package details can be found on following dedicated pages for different locations: 

www.slstourist.com/South-India-Tour-Travel-Itineraries.asp
www.slstourist.com/North-India-Tour-Travel-Itineraries.asp
www.slstourist.com/East-India-Tour-Travel-Itineraries.asp
www.slstourist.com/West-India-Tour-Travel-Itineraries.asp
www.slstourist.com/International-Tour-Travel-Itineraries.asp

Car/Coach Rentals - We provide car and coach rental services including economy and luxury class vehicles that will provide the best of comfort and luxury. We acquire high model cabs and coaches to serve our valuable clients and tourists, coming from different parts of the globe. Hotel Reservation - We the SLS Tourist arrange accommodation facilities in hotels of all categories for individuals as well as groups in any part of India with all kinds of modern facilities.

Air Ticketing - We also provide air-ticketing facility to any parts of India and at any time. Just let us known the place and time and we will do the rest as soon as possible.

Documentation - The Company also do all the formalities for the documentation of Visa & Passport on your behalf to save your valuable time and for a comfortable journey.

Infrastructure - The company has very dedicated and committed professionals, who provide personalised services with full professionalism. Our well-maintained cars and coaches of all sizes with expert drivers and guides try their best to make your journey comfortable and hassle-free.

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Source: http://www.pressrelease365.com via Google India news