Travel and Tourism Trends from India:
News and views about the Travel and Hospitality Sector in India

Weekly News Updates on Travel and Tourism in India

Top Travel Destinations
Travel and Transportation Infrastructure
Medical Tourism
Religious Tourism
Holistic Healing
Service Providers
Travel Characteristics of the Indians
Investment Related

Top Travel Destinations

1. Skiing is good business at Gulmarg

At over 14,000 feet above sea level, the Afarwat Mountains in Gulmarg play host to thousands of tourists from across the globe.

In the six months from November to April, Afarwat is a popular skiing destination for tourists especially from the US and Canada.

The thrills and spills in Gulmarg have so far attracted about 15,000 tourists from November 2006.

However, there's a lot more that can and needs to be done to develop Gulmarg. Like improving infrastructure, especially on the slopes by adding ski lifts and increasing the time for which the ski lift is operated.

A skiing trip in Gulmarg is about 20 times cheaper for a foreign tourist than it is back home.

Skiers also don't have to pay for the slopes. Hotel rooms cost about Rs 2,000 a day and a full day's use of the ski lift costs Rs 700.

"It has got beautiful natural environment. It has got big mountains that gives skiers long ride. The service side needs to be improved and lifts should be operated at regular hours," said Peter Robinson, MD, Ski Himaliya Travel.

It's the soft snow and virgin slopes that brings them here. If better facilities are provided to the skiers here Gulmarg can become one of the best Ski destinations of the world.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Source: NDTV

2. Mumbaikars eye Alibaug as a weekend getaway

High-powered speed boats zoom past at regular intervals as the air-conditioned catamaran from the Gateway of India cuts through the Arabian Sea on a recent Friday morning.

Inside the catamaran, lawyer Hussein Mehta and his pregnant wife Geeta (names changed), seem visibly excited. They will be spending their first night in their weekend home, a sprawling 3,500 sq ft bungalow in Chondi village, Alibaug.

From a weekend getaway for the average picnicker, Alibaug just 12 km from Apollo Bunder as the crow flies has become a brand coveted by many of Mumbai's upwardly mobile. In the past one year, property prices in this rustic and agricultural area have doubled. And, according to property experts, close to 400 plots have been sold in 2006.

Most of the buyers are Mumbaikars desperate to own a patch of green. Almost all the beach-front plots have been snapped up and today there are clients who are willing to pay as much as Rs 2 crore for an acre and Rs 4 crore if there is a bungalow squatting in it.

Farther away from the beach, between Mandwa and Alibaug town, land prices have shot up to between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 35 lakh an acre compared to between Rs 12 lakh and Rs 25 lakh an acre a year ago.

"Most people are buying land because they want to get away from Mumbai but, at the back of their minds, there is also this idea that it is one day going to become an upmarket suburb of Mumbai," says Mark Selwyn, a former bass guitarist with the now-defunct rock group Indus Creed. He has now turned into a full-time real estate consultant, specialising only in Alibaug properties.

A speed boat from the Gateway can take you to Alibag within 15 minutes t upwards of Rs 5,000 a trip hereas a catamaran takes about 45 minutes.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Source: Times News Network

3. Dark Side of the Taj
As you gaze with awe at the wonder of the Taj Mahal, it's good to know the Indian authorities are making a serious effort to preserve its classic beauty from the ravages of old age, mass tourism and environmental degradation.

This is, after all, one of the seven wonders of the world, a monument to love which has enraptured visitors for nearly 500 years, and certainly the most beautiful structure I have ever seen.

Yet, tragically, it is not entirely certain that my great-grandchildren will get the chance to marvel at its serene, symmetrical perfection.

For at least 20 years, scientific reports have warned that pollution resulting from India's economic growth is eating away at the Taj's pure white marble quarried from nearby Makrana.

Certainly when I visited a few weeks ago it was, sadly, easy to see discoloured marble sheathing, worn and cracked paving slabs and even damage to some of the beautiful mosaics.

But the authorities seem to be acting on the problem with encouraging determination.

Partly, no doubt, because some 70 per cent of employment in the teeming, chaotic city of Agra, where the population has boomed to 1.5 million as a result of the magnetic effect of the Taj, is reliant on tourism.

But it is also thanks to India's powerful Supreme Court which 10 years ago issued a stern instruction that this national jewel - a world heritage monument - must be preserved.

Among other things it designated a 10,000sq km area around the Taj where industrial activity should be limited, ordered several major industrial units to install pollution control equipment, and identified nearly 300 coal-based factories which had to switch to natural gas or move elsewhere.

Concern about the state of the Taj has also resulted in a campaign to persuade trucks and buses in the adjacent city of Agra to convert from diesel to CNG and to encourage greater use of pollution-free trishaws.

The internal combustion engine has been banned from approaching the monument at all, meaning visitors must now park about 500m away and complete their journey in a free, battery-powered bus (well, I say free, but as this is India foreigners are expected to give the driver a R10 tip, about 33c), and aircraft are banned from flying overhead.

These latter measures are not just aimed at saving the Taj from pollution but also from terrorists who, it is feared, might try to blow up India's greatest monument. As a result, the entrances are protected - fairly unobtrusively - by armed guards, and all visitors must go through a metal detector and undergo a body search. Are the Indian Government's efforts working? My Agra guide, Vivek, was adamant "the pollution problem has been solved".

But I saw plenty of ancient trucks and grotty factories still pumping muck into the air, and my visits to the Taj at sunset and again at sunrise found it swathed in a brownish haze (which, from the air, seems to hang over the whole of India).

Still, they are definitely trying, and making progress on several fronts.

To generate funds for restoration work, the admission fee paid by foreigners was six years ago bumped up from R15 (50c) to R960 ($32), though it has since been reduced to R750 ($25).

Frankly, it's well worth that to see such a uniquely beautiful structure, and it was good to see evidence of the money being put to good use upgrading the surrounding gardens and repairing one of the white minarets.

When you enter the mausoleum itself, you must now either walk barefoot or put on some funny white shoe covers designed to protect the marble floor from damage.

There has even been talk of removing the ramshackle souvenir shops lining the approach road, which might have the added benefit of saving visitors from having to walk a gauntlet of aggressive hawkers offering such goodies as Taj Mahal snowbubbles.

The Indian Government is also offering incentives to encourage retention of the ancient skill of marble inlay - mostly, apparently, still held by descendants of those who built the Taj - which these days is mainly put to use producing tabletops and carvings.

Wealthy foreign tourists who take home a beautifully inlaid marble dining room table can have the satisfaction of knowing that they are benefiting from reduced sales taxes on such products and helping to ensure the availability of another generation of craftsmen to keep the Taj alive.

But such earthly matters are forgotten when you walk through the impressive red sandstone gate of the Taj - itself a work of art - and gaze on the magnificent mausoleum which is the focus of so much attention.

Before you lies a perfect white tulip-shaped dome, surrounded by four lesser domes, flanked by four superb minarets, their symmetrical beauty multiplied by reflections in a series of ponds.

Arriving at dawn, when the rising sun was struggling to pierce the morning haze, I couldn't help thinking of some lines from the Rubaiyat of Omay Khayyam (though in truth, translator Edward Fitzgerald deserves much of the credit):

Awake! for Morning in the bowl of night
Has flung the stone which put the stars to flight:
And Lo! the Hunter of the East has caught
The Sultan's turret in a noose of light.

To be honest, I didn't see a noose of light lasso one of the Taj's white minarets, but I did watch as the reddish ball captured a tower of one of the redstone mosques - one built to be operational, the other merely a replica to preserve the symmetry - on either side of the mausoleum.

Symmetry was a crucial feature of the Taj's design and, as Vivek pointed out, it is breached only in one respect.

As you walk inside the building you'll find a magnificent carved marble screen enclosing two tombs (in fact what visitors see are only replicas, the real tombs are underneath, reached by a locked staircase).

In the centre is the memorial to Arjumand Bano Begum, better known as Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan, greatest builder of the Mughal emperors, who created among other things the amazing Red Forts in Delhi and Agra. And off to one side is the larger tomb of Jahan.

When Mahal died in childbirth the Mughal emperor was so distraught that he stopped a battle he was midway through fighting and poured all his energies into creating a fitting tomb.
Begun in 1632, it took 20,000 men working every day for 22 years to complete. Even when finished, its upkeep required the revenue from 30 villages.

But Shah Jahan paid a high price for gaining a form of immortality for his beloved wife because his grief so distracted him from the affairs of state that eventually he fell ill and was deposed and imprisoned by his son.

He was unable to realise his full vision for himself, which was for a black replica of Mahal's white tomb to be built on the opposite bank of the River Jamuna.

Only the foundations of this black mirror-image of the Taj had been started when he lost power and the project was never completed.

If you get the chance, it is worth going to the other side of the river, where the Moon Garden, established by Jahan as a backdrop for the Taj and a surround for his tomb, has been recreated.

Just getting there is a fascinating experience, providing glimpses of life in the narrow backstreets of India, where tourists rarely venture, as well as a view of Agra's public launderette, where items are washed in the river and laid out over a vast area of sand and shingle to dry.

From the Moon Garden you get a different perspective on the Taj, including a better view of how the two mosques, usually obscured by trees, fit into the overall symmetry of the design.

Climb through the barbed wire fence and walk down to the river - something which gave my poor guide a panic attack - and you'll see the Taj reflected not in the artificial ponds of its entrance walk but in the depleted, polluted waters of the Jamuna.

But, more importantly, in the garden you'll also find the recently excavated crumbling sandstone foundations which are all that remain of the second half of Jahan's plan.

It is an appropriate place to ponder on the tragic end to an emperor who achieved so much - including arguably the most beautiful building on the Earth - but was unable to realise his most magnificent vision or even to build his own tomb.

In his final years, imprisoned by his son in Agra Fort, Jahan's thoughts may well have echoed some other lines from the Rubaiyat:

The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy piety nor wit
Shall lure it back to alter half a line,
Nor all thy tears wash out a word of it.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Source: The New Zealand Herald

Travel and Transportation Infrastructure

1. Indian Railways set to become net savvy

You can travel by train in India and still remain connected with some long-distance trains set to get Wi-Fi connectivity.

Premier trains like the Rajdhani Express and the Shatabdi Express and even the Jan Shatabdi Express will be the first ones to be provided with the facility, officials of the Mumbai-headquartered Western Railway said.

The state-run RailTel Corp of India Ltd has carried out Wi-Fi connectivity tests on a few trains.

'The tests have proved that passengers will experience seamless connectivity on running trains. Considering the revenue it will yield, the project is being given top priority,' said Satya Prakash, divisional railway manager of Western Railway.

Apart from enabling passengers to stay connected on moving trains, RailTel also plans to provide Wi-Fi connectivity at select railway stations to allow commuters to work on laptops and palmtops.

'Important stations in Mumbai like Chhattrapti Shivaji Terminus, Churchgate, Mumbai Central and Dadar will be among the first in the country to become Wi-Fi enabled,' said Prakash.

A RailTel source told IANS: 'RailTel will provide Wi-Fi connectivity at 500 stations. In addition, call centres would be set up at 14 stations by the year-end to provide quick information services about the arrival and departures of trains and the reservation status by simply dialling 139.

'We will soon be short-listing the trains and stations where Internet service would be made available.'

RailTel will also be setting up local area network (LAN) to provide Wi-Fi connectivity within stations. It is also looking at providing Wi-Fi connectivity to tourists visiting small towns through the LAN.

'A wireless LAN will be created in the coaches through transmitters placed inside them. Besides, a roof-mounted antenna would catch the signal from towers which are being set up at railway stations,' he said.

RailTel also plans to set up 250 cyber cafes at railway stations across India. It already operates nine fully air-conditioned cyber cafés offering Internet browsing, Internet telephony, video-conferencing and audio-video chatting
Monday, January 22, 2007
Source: Calcutta News.Net, IANS

2. Air sickness: New airlines wait for takeoff
The government’s keenness to prevent sickness in the aviation industry may slam the brake on half-a-dozen new airlines which have sought green signal to take off. The civil aviation ministry has asked these companies to come up with fresh business proposals and detailed financial plans to operate as scheduled carriers. The minimum capitalisation norms for airlines have been revised recently and Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan wants new entrants to come up with sound business plans.

New entrants shall be given permission only after the ministry is convinced that the companies have sound financials, sources in the ministry said. The move is part of the civil aviation ministry’s efforts to ensure that only serious players with commercially-viable business model enter the aviation sector.

These applications are being vetted carefully to curtail unhealthy competition that may result in sickness among airlines, government sources said. The decision is likely to affect upcoming airlines including Easy Air, Mega Airways, Megapode Airline and Star.

The aviation industry is already facing acute competition with low fares eroding profits of various airlines. Jet Airways recently reported profits for the third quarter and Air Deccan is expected to come out of the red, but the aviation industry is likely to suffer losses to the tune of Rs 2,200 crore in the current financial year. The government is treading cautiously while issuing fresh licences to prevent the airline industry from collapsing, leading to repeat of the situation which led to collapse of carriers like East West, ModiLuft, NEPC and Damania.

The government is planning to impose tough conditions on the entry of new airlines. While increase in the minimum paid-up equity capital has been implemented, clearances for business and fleet plans may be tightened.

Once the new norms are in place, an airline company will need paid-up equity of Rs 50 crore compared to Rs 30 crore, at present, to qualify as a scheduled carrier. This norm will apply to airlines operating with aircraft takeoff mass exceeding 40,000 kg. In case of a carrier having takeoff mass less than 40,000 kg, like turboprops, ATRs and Dorniers, paid-up capital need will increase from Rs 10 crore, at present, to Rs 20 crore.

This restriction of increased equity will be in addition to the present requirement of domestic carriers possessing minimum five aircraft. The existing players will have to comply with these requirements within a maximum period of one year, official sources said. The new criteria may also affect the airline companies that have applied for licence to operate as scheduled carriers, they added.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Source: The Economic Times

3. Government to invite bids from pvt cos for non-metro airports

The government is gearing up to invite bids from private companies to modernise clusters of non-metro airports. Interested parties have to bid for ‘bunches’ of airports rather than indulging in ‘cherry-picking’ to bag the most viable projects. Bunches will be created by clubbing some airports in a region as a bouquet which comprises potentially profitable as well as loss-making airports, highly-placed government sources said.

Civil aviation ministry has identified clusters of 5 to 6 non-metro airports that will be part of each bunch. In the first phase, the ministry has identified 35 non-metro airports to private parties for city-side development and modernisation of these facilities is expected to involve investment to the tune of Rs 7,000 crore.

While the state-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI) will take up the task of modernising the ‘air-side’ of these airports, private companies shall be roped in to develop the city-side. Investment in runways, parking bays and technical facilities would cost Rs 5,500 crore while the city-side amenities would attract investment of Rs 1,500 crore.

Bids from private companies would be only for city-side development, the sources said.

Air-side modernisation will involve developing the entire operational area including runway, taxiway, apron, communication and navigational aids, besides air traffic management systems. City-side involves non-operational areas including the terminal buildings, car park, restaurants, hotels and the entire area outside the operational boundary wall of the airports.

For city-side development, joint venture companies shall be formed in which AAI would hold minimum of 26% equity while the remaining stake will be offered to private parties. AAI’s JVs with private companies to develop the city-side shall be on revenue-sharing basis. The civil aviation ministry will use the revenues earned from the city-side to finance the air-side of the airports, sources said.

The non-metro airports shall be developed in three phases with 10 being developed in first phase, 10 in second and remaining 15 in third. Work on air-side development at 12 airports has already been started.

Phase one, which involves an investment of Rs 1,110 crore, is expected to be completed by 2008.

Meanwhile, AAI, which needs Rs 5,500 crore to modernise non-metro airports, is gearing up to raise funds over the medium term. AAI has appointed AK Capital Services as financial advisor-cum-lead arranger for raising debt. UTI Bank, ICICI Securities and Allianz Securities have been selected as arrangers to help AK Capital.

The advisors are assisting AAI in placement of bonds, other debt funding options, and in identifying the suitable time to tap the market. Initially, AAI will use internal funds to modernise these airports. The airport manager has made more than Rs 700 crore of profit after tax in the year 2005-06 , up from Rs 325 crore in the previous year. AAI will use the debt to modernise non-metro as well as metro airports.

The 35 non-metro airports are located at — Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Agartala, Agra, Agatti, Aurangabad, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Dimapur, Guwahati, Goa, Imphal, Jammu, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Nagpur, Madurai, Mangalore, Patna, Port Blair, Thiruvananthapuram, Pune, Rajkot, Ranchi, Raipur, Udaipur, Lucknow, Vadodara, Indore, Vishakhapatnam, Trichi, Coimbatore, and Varanasi.

Thursday, January 25, 2007
Source: The Economic Times

Religious Tourism

1. Ardh Kumbh mela: Last shahi snan gets underway

The last shahi snan (royal bathing) of the month-long Ardh Kumbh got underway here today at 'Sangam', the confluence of Ganga,Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, on the occasion of Basant Panchami.

The royal procession of sadhus, sants and mahamandaleshwars of Akharas began at around 0515 hrs. The mahamandaleshwars of various Akharas sitting in gilded chariots and palanquins and Naga Sanyasis wielding tridents, swords and spears were the cynosure of all eyes.

Meanwhile, Awahan Akhara boycotted the third shahi snan todayalso.

Basant Panchami snan marks the end of the three shahi snans of the millennium's first Ardh Kumbh.

With today's shahi snan the Akharas and prominent sadhus will leave for their destinations.

The Basant Panchami also marks the start of Basant (spring) season. The first shahi snan had taken place on Makar Sankranti (January 15) and the second on Mauni Amavasya (January 19). Remaining two bathings of the kumbh will take place on February 2.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Source: UNI

2. India missing out on Buddhist tourism: report

India, home to some of the world's top Buddhist pilgrimage sites, needs to do more to capture the Buddhist tourism market, the country's chamber of commerce said.

India could boost tourism earnings from its Buddhist sites to one billion dollars in the next five years from 125 million dollars now if it improves facilities for visitors, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said in a statement Wednesday.

Three of the four most important places of pilgrimage for travellers following the wanderings of the Buddha are located in India, while the fourth is in neighboring Nepal.

But India has done a poor job of attracting travellers from Buddhist countries and of catering to them once they are in the country, the group said, citing the findings of a study to be released Thursday.

India drew just 0.06 percent of world's Buddhist population of about 350 million in 2004 to its Buddhist pilgrimage sites, the group said.

By 2012, India could increase tourist arrivals for the Buddhist tourism circuit by 400 percent from the current 200,000 a year, provided it improves infrastructure, the report said.

Many of the Buddhist sites lack appropriate infrastructure, including good hotels, roads and guides who speak a variety of foreign languages.

India's most renowned Buddhist site, Bodhgaya, is located in the eastern state of Bihar, the country's poorest state, famed also for its lawlessness and backwardness.

India must also increase direct flights from China and Japan, boost the frequency of domestic flights between Buddhist sites and issue Buddhist travellers multi-entry visas, among other changes, the group added.

Some 31 million Chinese travelled abroad in 2005, according to the study conducted jointly with India's ICRA credit rating agency, but only 35,000 of them came to India.

The five countries of China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar account for more than 90 percent of the world's Buddhist population.

India began a seven-million-dollar project four years ago that will eventually link all the important Buddhist sites in the country through a rail network in a bid to become a Buddhist tour hub.

Buddhism emerged almost 2,500 years ago when Gautam Siddhartha, born into the ruling family of the Sakyas, renounced his princely world and meditated and attained enlightenment in the quiet eastern Indian village of Bodhgaya.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Source: Yahoo news

Medical Tourism

1. 'Treated in India' catching on in West

A liver transplant in the United States costs around $450,000. In India it costs $40,000. If any explanation was required to describe why the Indian medical tourism industry is flourishing, this fact will nail it.

Today Indian medical tourism market is worth $700 million and the projection is that by the year 2010 it will swell to $1 billion.

The key is it is not just the south or west Asian population that is coming here for treatment — the UK/US crowd have also realised the value of coming to India. According to estimates, out of 1.5 lakh international patients who visited India, three-fourths came from US and UK.

There are two factors contributing to this. First, the international community is confident of the quality of Indian healthcare practitioners. It is said that one out of six doctors in the US is an Indian. Second, there are huge cost benefits.

Low-cost cardiac surgery in India costs $4,000-9,000 and in the US as high as $30,000-50,000. An orthopaedic surgery costs as low as $4,500 here with a corresponding surgery in US costing $18,000.

Besides, the cost of comprehensive health check-up for a US patient in India is around $80, which in the US costs $600.

The reasons for indulging in health tours also vary from country to country. Medical tourists from the US are seeking treatment at 1/4th or even 1/8th of the cost at home. From Canada, it is often people who are frustrated by long waiting periods.

The typical UK patient is one who is not able to wait for treatment by the National Health Service and in some cases cannot afford to see a physician in private practice.

And then there are patients coming from countries like Bangladesh, Kenya and Vietnam where it is difficult to get quality treatment.

Says Wockhardt Hospitals CEO Vishal Bali, "What started as a low-cost, low-value medical care destination is today turning into a superspeciality zone.

There is a "Treated in India"brand going around."International patients are coming to India for cardiac surgery, spine correction, hip replacement and other such high value treatments. "The market is growing by 30% a year,"says Bali.

"Another reason why people fly into India for treatment is our holistic approach,"says Apollo Hospitals CEO V P Kamath. "We weave in things like yoga, aromatherapy and ayurveda into our treatment. It's a unique basket."

The majority of the clinical population here speak English and Indian surgeons have world class skills and surgical exposure too.

Another aspect that is helping Indian medical tourism is the fact that there are 50 million uninsured US citizens.

"High insurance premiums have kept a lot of people away from taking health insurance policies in the US,"says Kamath.

The health insurance sector in India, however, does not even cover 10% of the population. "But it will eventually grow.

Already the Indian health insurance market is worth Rs 5,000 crore," says Bali. The growth in health cover would be crucial for the betterment of the domestic MT market.

Saturday, January 27, 2007
Source: The Times of India