How Incredible is Incredible India?

According to Indian tradition, tourism was first conceived as Tirthatan then as Deshatan and finally as Paryatan with the purpose of encouraging intermingling of people belonging to different cultures and traditions. Tourism also helps people to acquaint themselves with eating habits of natives and understands the way of varied life of the host countrymen. During visits to Incredible India, foreign tourists celebrate Indian festivals apart from visiting monuments and other similar sites in the city.

A glimpse of the Incredibleness of Incredible India

A tourist visits a country like India for various reasons. India is ‘all seasons’ tourist destination and the objective of travel has a wide range like:

•          Visiting monuments and historical places (Like Taj Mahal)
•          Business meeting
•          Purpose of Faith tourism
•          Medical treatment
•          Yoga / spiritual retreat (in Rishikesh)
•          Beaches (in Goa)
•          Nature trails (in Andaman and Nicobar islands)
•          Snow clad mountains of Himalayas
•          Backwaters (of Kerala)
•          White sands of Rann of Kutch
•          Shopping and buying souvenirs
•          Recreation
•          Visiting friends and relatives
•          Observing Indian traditions and customs on Indian festivals like Holi, Diwali etc

Today, the travelers discover everything online and chalk out a customized itinerary. Though the feedback and reviews available on the Internet are believed to be authentic, one cannot rule out the possibility of fudging data for vested interests. In hotels, the workers are professionals and will not be able to provide the traveler with detailed information due to the paucity of time and their defined scope of work. 

Experience Incredible India in a BnB

When a tourist comes to India, he finds that commercial accommodation is quite expensive because there are various taxes and tariffs applicable in commercial hotels. These taxes even amount to 20 to 25% of the actual cost of the room while in other Asian countries including China, Thailand etc and in western countries, the total taxes are not more than 5% to 6%. Therefore, the accommodation in regular Indian/Delhi hotel is quite expensive while on the other hand, the accommodation with same facilities in BNB stays in India has difference of 25 to 30% rates per night if one stays in BNB stay and therefore, the tourist can save a lot of money from their accommodation. This money saved from accommodation budget can be spent by these tourists in purchasing souvenirs, booking a heritage walk or visiting other places. 

A warm BnB in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

A hospitable BnB in South Delhi

Moreover, in the present scenario of rapid urbanization in India and the rising aspirations of Indian middle class, it is seen that both husband and wife are working and at times, they are working at odd hours. This has led to a gradual fading away of the joint family system in India and therefore, staying with family and friends is not practicable. On the other hand, in a BnB, the traveler is on his/her own. He/she can interact with the BnB host as much as he/she wants and can maintain his privacy. Furthermore, the guest can expect an optimum level of attention, emotional support, and bonding with the BnB host which makes it a win-win situation for the traveler as well as the BnB host.

I shall be posting multiple versions of Incredible India in my future and my findings and observations are elucidated in my recently published book titled, 'Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector'.

My book, 'Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector'

If you wish to grab a copy, send a mail on ambuj@bnbnation.com

Book on Indian BnBs: Hospitality sector overview

"So you hail from the city that I shall be visiting soon, huh"- he confirmed with her and continued "Do you know a good place to stay in the city?" 

"You mean a hotel??!"- she enquired. 

You generally notice that ‘Hotel” is used whenever ‘accomodation’ criteria are discussed, be it amongst tourism stakeholders or academia pursuing tourism courses/vacations studies.

With homestays and other experiential accommodation especially BnBNation (www.bnbnation.com) Airbnb etc. coming into the picture monopoly of hotels is going to be over. 

Beautiful and homely Bed and Breakfast accommodation in Delhi NCR

Furthermore, in U.K., the homestays provide almost 40% off accommodation for inbound tourists. The hotel industry, at least in India, is unable to cope up with the demand of incoming tourists mainly in the budget category. You may be thinking that hotels are generally lying vacant or there is less occupancy there, you may be right but it is true for 4 or 5 star or equivalent category hotels where occupancy rates may be less than 60% ( lesser occupancy makes hotel construction, an unviable proposition for hoteliers). The main problem is of non-availability of budgets /economy hotels or 1 to 3-star or equivalent category.

Current scenario of Indian Hospitality sector

In the year 2012, India was short of about 1,90,000 hotels rooms while inbound tourist arrival (8% per year growth) was more than world tourist arrival (3%to to 4% per year growth). Above it, domestic visitors in India are growing at the rate of 15% and there are already 1.25 billion such tourists visiting other places in India. These tourists too are not staying with friends and/or relatives. Thus, there is more demand for budget accommodation but the question that comes to the mind is where are the rooms?!

Another scenario is that today’s tourists including foreign individual tourist is not keen to stay in 4 or 5-star hotels but prefer good quality authentic haveli type of stay. Are haveli type homestays available in India? When did you stay in a haveli last time? Do you remember? 

A type of Haveli BnB in Rajasthan offers a beautiful view of Jaisalmer

Homely haveli BnB accommodation in Rajasthan

Haveli type BnB accommodation in Rajasthan

Havelis are only available for stay in Rajasthan and a few are available in Delhi. As per my experience as one of the authors of the book (Secy. Tourism Andaman Nicobar Island or MD & CEO of DTTDC), there was exclusive demand from country’s tourist operators” to provide havelis”. We have a long list of foreign tourists who visit India and want to stay in Haveli type accommodations.

My co-authored book titled, Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector. It is co-authored by co founders of BnBNation

In India, we are unable to meet demand in the response of adequate supply. So, what is the solution? The need of the hour is to construct and reconstruct the heritage of India by taking care of our tangible and intangible heritage sources. 

BnBs as an alternate mode of accommodation

Among the alternatives in the accommodation, the sector is BnBs / homestays, which are carved out of existing rooms in the homes. At present, there are about 10,000 rooms all over India are registered to be used as  “stays option for tourists”. 

India is always bubbling with activity be it a fair, religious event, conference, sports extravaganza like the IPL or for medical facilities etc. Such events and activities attract larger footfall. Naturally, organizers and stakeholders are in search of homes where incoming guests/spectators/participants would be accommodated. Such homes converted into BnBs/Homestays could be a very useful way of matching demand and supply of rooms. No authority or agency can create temporary hotels to meet the intermittent demand of rooms in the wake of such fair/festivals/tourist meets.

So as tourism expert, I can foresee the future of homestays as a disruptor in accommodation aka hospitality industry. This demand is being met by international players like Airbnb which court controversy on and off. It is claimed by Airbnb that there are already 75000 rooms listing in Indian cities through hardly 5%  or so are registered or authentic. Can you stay in a home who is not accountable to the government? Thus, registration of BnBs is a necessary prerequisite.

Staying in a BnB has its own set of benefits such as cultural exchange and since the bond between the guest and the host gets deeper as time passes, the guest not only gains a friend in a foreign country but earns a loving and caring Indian family. 

The bond of love is intangible and deeper than a monetary transaction! 

Are you ready to embrace a new experience, a new culture and a new home? 

Book on Indian BnBs: A perspective on Environmental feasibility in the Hospitality sector

Wishing you a very Happy World Environment day 2018! This blog is an attempt to bring to light the various issues that the Mother Earth is facing and how we can all focus on them from a Tourism and Hospitality perspective. In addition to this, I shall also throw light on my co-authored book, ‘Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector’ and present how Bed and Breakfast accommodations (BnBs) are environmentally friendly!

About World Environment Day 2018

World Environment Day is a UN Environment-led global event which takes place on June 5 each year. It is celebrated by thousands of communities worldwide. It marks a day when 7.6 billion (as on June 2018) people spread across the globe are expected to take ownership of their environment and to actively engage in the protection of our Earth.

World Environment Day 2018: Beat Plastic Pollution

The theme of this year’s World Environment Day 2018 is “Beat Plastic Pollution”. The objective is to urge all stakeholders ie. Every single person on the Earth to come together and explore sustainable alternatives to energy production and consumption.

As a Tourism and Hospitality expert and academician, I shall throw light on how you as a tourism stakeholder can reduce the stress on Mother Earth. Whenever we think of travel and tourism, the first thing that comes to the mind is the relaxation of mind and enjoying a few moments in luxury. However, do you know the Environmental cost attached with the term of ‘Luxury’?

Hotels vs BnBs: Environmental sustainability check

Hotels are the luxurious way of living with a waiter serving you like you were of royal lineage and everything available at the ring of a phone. Is such a luxurious treatment costing anything on the environment or is the environment is in full charity mode since decades?

My co-authored book, Indian BnBs: An Emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector throws light on the environmental feasibility of hotels and how such an issue can be overcome through alternate accommodation option like Bed and Breakfast accommodations (BnBs).

Book "Indian BnBs: An emerging disruptor in the Hospitality sector"

In India, not only hotels are in shortage, there are other bigger problems to meet the demand for more hotels in Indian cities. It is mentioned in my book that availability of any additional room in 5 stars or 3 star or equivalent category costs INR 10 million and INR 3.5 million respectively. Thus, huge investment is required in this sector. High-cost impediment is clubbed with other rigmaroles like seeking 62 Licences/permissions right from building plan, firefighting, FSSAI certificates, bar license etc. Land is too scarce in cities and our latest land acquisition policies make it further difficult to think about new hotel to come up.

BnBs as an alternate mode of accommodation

Among the alternatives in the accommodation, sector are BnBs / homestays, which are carved out of existing rooms in the homes. At present, there are about 10,000 rooms all over India are registered to be used as  “ stays option for tourists”. India is always bubbling with activity be it a fair, religious event, conference, sports extravaganza like the IPL or for medical facilities etc. Such events and activities attract larger footfall. Naturally, organizers and stakeholders are in search of homes where incoming guests /spectators/participants would be accommodated. Such homes converted into BnBs/Homestays could be a very useful way of matching demand and supply of rooms. No authority or agency can create temporary hotels to meet the intermittent demand of rooms in the wake of such fair/festivals/tourist meets.

A homely Bed and Breakfast (BnB) in Delhi

So as tourism expert, I can foresee the future of homestays as a disruptor in accommodation aka hospitality industry. This demand is being met by international players like Airbnb which court controversy on and off. It is claimed by Airbnb that there are already 75000 rooms listing in Indian cities through hardly 5%  or so are registered or authentic. Can you stay in a home who is not accountable to the government? Thus, registration of BnBs is a necessary prerequisite.

Question is how BnBs will disrupt hotels? Sooner or later market share of BnBs is going to increase in India.

In next 3-4  years, tourism development authorities /corporations in states and UTs are expected to handhold BnBs’ registration process to provide convenience and develop confidence amongst aspiring home owners to convert some of their rooms into BnBs. Kerala, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka are already taking leads while northeast states are also catching up with rest of India.

India has to go a long way to meet rooms requirement and further longer way to get existing vacant rooms to be converted into “ authentic BnBs”.

Here’s wishing luck to Indian Hospitality sector and to the BnB owners!

Impact of e-Tourism Visa scheme on Tourism sector in India

World Tourism Day is celebrated on 27 September to foster awareness among the national and international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The theme of this year’s World Tourism day is Tourism for All: Promoting Universal Accessibility with Thailand as the host nation.

World Tourism Day 2016

Tourism is an engine for growth of a nation. As per Government of India website, on every Rs. 1 million spent on tourism, employment for 78 citizens is generated. With the same amount of investment, Manufacturing sector generates 45 jobs and agriculture generates 18 jobs. India ranks 42^nd in Global FTA with 0.68% share of Global FTA, though India ranks 8^th in natural resources and 24^th in cultural resources globally. 

Taj Mahal- the Jewel of muslim art in India
Source: wikipedia

It can be understood that safety, security, hygiene, sanitation, last mile connectivity, rigid visa regime could have been the factors behind the dismal share in global FTA. Since Narendra Modi led NDA government came to power in May 2014, we have witnessed various high voltage campaigns and schemes across various sectors of the economy such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Make in India, Digital India, Startup India, Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana etc. In the tourism sector, E-Tourist visa, Hunar se Zaika, Smart city, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan etc have the potential to positively affect the Indian economy in direct and indirect ways. Through this blog, we shall bring to your notice whether such tourism sectors schemes are doing as well as they had promised. This is important as there has always existed in the gap between policy announcement and its execution. For example, Govt of India had targeted 1 billion FTA by end of 12^th Five Year plan which needed an increase in annual growth rate from 8% to 12% from 2012 onwards. However, such ambitious targets were not achieved. In this post, we shall talk about the impact of e-tourist visa on the tourism sector.

Impact of E-Tourist visa scheme:

E-tourist visa scheme was started on 27^th November 2014 and met with great success of 1200% increase in FTA through this scheme. It offers convenience to the incoming tourists with flexibility to plan their trips to India.

e-Tourist Visa scheme launched in 2014

Since its inception almost 7.5 lakh E-tourist visas have been issued and 4.4 lakh tourists arrived on E-visa. The year 2015 witnessed a growth of 4.5% FTA and a growth of 9% in Foreign Exchange Earnings (in terms of Rupees and not dollars).

Here is a comparison of the number of Foreign Tourist Arrival (FTA) in India for the years 2014 and 2015.

FTA in 2014	FTA in 2015	%age change in FTA 2014-15
7.5 million	8 million	6%

On the whole, we can see that there has not been a great gap in the FTA before and after the scheme was launched. This is partly because there are only 16 airports where this facility can be availed. Though this scheme is now available to 150 countries. There is no option of renewing the visa or extending it due to which foreign tourists who are here for a prolonged treatment are not able to stay for a long time.

Nonetheless this has been a good initiative and can be extended to more airports and major ports in the years to come. It has shown promise and is a bright spot in the growth story of tourism in India. It is bound to have a spread effect on the entire tourism sector including Bed and Breakfast accommodations which foster cultural exchange between Bed and Breakfast host and guest.

Kindly share your views in the comment box about the scheme and how it can be made more lucrative for India’s tourism sector.

In the next part, I shall discuss the impact of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan on the tourism sector in India.           

Religious Tourism in India

Definition of religious tourism

Religious tourism can be defined as travel with the core motive of experiencing religious forms or ancillary products such as art, culture, etc. India is an ancient civilization and boasts of rich cultural and religious heritage. In this blog, we shall analyze the International scenario of religious tourism and the scope of religious tourism in India. It is also referred to as Faith tourism.

International scenario of Religious tourism:

As a sector, religious tourism is not well researched and documented. But in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Israel, religious tourism is the most significant type of Tourism and consequently, the Authorities measure it as a clearly defined activity.

Saudi Arabia:

More than 7 million pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia's holy sites every year with religious tourists spending about USD 10,000 per visit. The revenue from the pilgrims to the holy city of Makkah, Madinah and other religious sites in the kingdom, accounts for about 3% of the kingdom's Gross Domestic product.

Mecca- Saudi Arabia

Israel: 

In 2013, more than 3.5 million tourists visited Israel. Twenty-two percent defined the goal of their visit to Israel as a pilgrimage which accounts for almost 0.77 million religious tourists.

Jerusalem- Israel

Religious tourism in India:

India is a land of pilgrimages. India has the unique distinction of being the birth-place of four important religions of the world – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Practically, all religions – Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism , Sikhism and Sufism have their major and minor pilgrimage centers in different parts of the country. 

Varanasi

Sun Temple- Konark

Mata Vaishnodevi 

Apart from the holy rivers and the Teerth Sthanas, India also houses the Shakti Peeths, the Jyotirlingas as well as the four sacred shrines of Adi Shankaracharya in the four corners of the country. Some important circuits based on the importance of the religious places can be identified.

According to a recent annual report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), 2014 is expected to be a year of "Above-average growth" for travel and tourism in India. WTTC's annual Economic Impact report 2014 for India shows Travel and tourism's economic contribution is expected to grow by 7.3% this year, outperforming the general economy by 2.5 percentage points. Revenue from domestic tourism is expected to increase by 8.2% this year compared to 5.1% in 2013, the report noted. 

Initiatives taken by the Government to boost Religious Tourism in India: 

With a view to overcome challenges, facilitate travel to and stay at religious places, the Ministry of Tourism has already identified 35 destinations in phase I and shall cover another 89 destinations in phase II.

The historic places associated with these religions are spread all over the country. Both foreign and domestic tourists would like to visit more than one place of their religion if proper planning and requisite facilitate are made available to them. These religious circuits would cover Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, Sikh and Sufi circuits.

Integrated Tourism Circuits:

Buddhist Circuit:

Buddhism

Buddhist circuit 1

Buddhist circuit 2

Buddhist circuit 3

Jain Tourist Circuit:

Jain temple

Jain Tourist circuit 1

Jain Tourist circuit 2

Jain Tourist circuit 3

Jain Tourist circuit 4

Sufi Tourist Circuit:

Sufi religion via http://www.happehtheory.com

Sufi Tourist circuit 1

Sufi Tourist circuit 2

Hinduism Tourist Circuit:

Hinduism

Hinduism tourist circuit 1

Hinduism tourist circuit 2

Hinduism tourist circuit 3

Sarv Dharam Tourist Circuit:

Sarv Dharam tourist circuit 1

Sarv Dharam tourist circuit 2

There are other Religious tourist circuits in the pipeline as well such as National mission on pilgrimage, rejuvenation and spiritual augmentation drive (Prasad) and a national heritage city development and augmentation yojana (Hriday). “Hriday” will be launched in Mathura, Amritsar, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Vellankani and Ajmer this year. He further added that “Sarnath-Gaya-Varanasi Buddhist” circuit would be developed with “world-class tourist amenities” to attract tourists from all over the world. He also said that services provided by Indian tour operators to foreign tourists in relation to a tour wholly conducted outside India will be taken out of the tax net to promote tourism. 

Scope of Bed and Breakfast scheme in Religious Tourism in India: 

During my PhD thesis on Bed and Breakfast accommodation in Delhi, survey revealed that tourists who come for a pilgrimage or for visit to monuments or business or outdoor activities do not necessary need the facilities which are only available in regular hotels like spa, round the clock restaurant, gym etc.  However, these Tourists certainly need exchange of thoughts and one on one information with the host.  These tourists might prefer staying in a Bed and Breakfast accommodation.

Bed and Breakfast 

I reviewed 48 BnB Units in which total 16389 Domestic tourists stayed. It is surprising to observe that there is a large group of domestic tourists numbering 5614 out of total of 16389 preferred to stay in cheaper accommodation having tariff range of Rs. 1000/- to Rs.2000/-. They are generally the pilgrims who come to Delhi to have darshan of shrines and hails to get an accommodation in dharmshalas and sarais.  

Ideally if a religious tourist wishes to visit Akshardham temple, then he would seek a nearby BnB accommodation in East Delhi. Such B&B owners should be sure that they have special arrangement of the followers of that faith like Swami Narain group and the rooms should be so decorated that it looks as if these are the rooms only meant for the followers of that faith.  Similarly, if it is near some mosque or some dargah like Nizamuddin Aulia dargah, then B&B owner may draw special attention of those persons who come for prayers for Salim Chisti Sahib.  For this purpose, they may make mention as to what are other important religious or suffiana facilities are available nearby.  Similarly, other owners who have a famous Gurudwara nearby may attract tourists belonging to Sikh religion and so on.

Concluding Remarks:

It is very unfortunate that in some of the religious places, hygiene and sanitation are not up to the mark. The tour guides and touts are not generally tourist friendly. In a few religious destinations, there is no last mile connectivity up to the shrines. It is upto the local municipalities of the cities to deploy appropriate manpower for cleanliness and educate the stakeholders near the shrines to make tourists comfortable. There is a silver lining that the Swachchta Abhiyan and Smart cities concept is likely to provide convenience and encourage inter-alia religious tourists particularly NRI’s and other foreign tourists to visit Indian shrines.

Though Govt of India has taken the right steps towards building a religious ecosystem in India but it remains to be seen how the policies are developed and the benefits thereof. As someone passionate about the tourism industry, I am keeping my fingers crossed hoping for the best results.

Source:

Report of the Working Group on tourism, 12^th Five Year plan, Ministry of Tourism, Govt of India.

"Role of Bed and Breakfast scheme of Delhi in Development of Tourism in Delhi" Ph.D Thesis by Dr. G G Saxena

http://store.mintel.com/religious-and-pilgrimage-tourism-international-february-2012?cookie_test=true

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/saudi-reaps-16-5bn-from-religious-tourism-484586.html

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4475168,00.html

http://forbesindia.com/article/india-budget-2014/govts-protourism-vision-to-boost-travel-industry/38196/1#ixzz3Gu55zKnF

Diverse Beliefs: Tourism of Faith; Religious Tourism gains ground; Report by FICCI and YES Bank Ltd.