AT THE WORLD TRAVEL & TOURISM COUNCIL PRESENTATION A ROAD MAP FOR INDIA……WTTC CEO & director Julia Simpson briefed media people about the A’s of good tourism like attraction, accesibility, accommodation and activities. Incredible India she says has a lot to offer international tourists and should work on more promotion at travel and tourism events.
How much is travel and tourism worth in the world today. About US$10 trillion globally but this is 2019 figure, before the covid pandemic lockdowns. There’s good news. It’s something like US$9.3 trillion now as envisioned by figures provided by the UK-based World Tourism & Travel Council in Goa currently to review Goa and India as a tourism destination for international tourists and travellers.
The UK-based WTTC is a forum for the travel and tourism industry and its members are from the global business community, it works with governments and stakeholders to raise awareness about various issues to do with tourism and travelling because there are tourists and tourists, some tourists like to keep it private and comfy doing their own thing far from curious eyes. All they want to do is enjoy sun, sea and sand and catch up with refreshing sleep; while others will do their homework on a country of destination and take in the places of sightseeing, the people and how they live, what kind of a governance they enjoy!
The pleasant WTTC CEO and president Julia Simpson who’s spent years in aviation is very well clued about travel destinations and she says India is incredible rich with holidays but perhaps the country could come up with something useful for foreign tourists like an e-visa or QR or coded visas as is happening in Dubai on arrival, it should also participate more in international promotional events to market India’s many beautiful and historical places! They work with governments to facilitate smoother and happier holidays, they have something like 200 company representatives listed with it and they do check out many things including environmental friendliness of destinations and accommodation recommended for international tourists who are perhaps more discerning than domestic tourists – who she is aware contributes majorly towards India’s tourism earnings – domestic earns Rs12.6 trillion while international stops at Rs2 trillion maybe. The tourism business sees high employment and in India she understands than one in 13 jobs are in the travel and tourism industry.
Julia Simpson of WTTC at its media summing up presentation at the new Taj Convention Hotel in capital city Panaji on June 15, 2023 was very useful in that it gave one an overall picture of where India stands in the global travel and tourism scenario. Over some weeks now the G20 meetings of health, environment, tourism have been taking place with various delegates from the G20 group of countries meeting and presumably enjoying their excursions to Goa’s renowned sight-seeing places like the heritage churches of old in Old Goa, Reis Magos fort, the Latin Quarters of Fontainhas in capital city Panaji and so on and so forth. There is a Goa beyond sun, sea and sand and a growing number of five-star luxury hotels and other agreeble accommodation.
Things are looking up, says Julia for Indian tourism and travel and this year it is supposed to contribute Rs16.5 trillion revenue to the economy! All this and much more. It was interesting going for this high-end media meet in Panaji. The world may be going global but the economies remain disparate and although our successive governments in India may pretend to themselves that we’re a first world country like the US of A, or UK or the northern European countries and China and Russia perhaps (currently engaged in unbelievably prolonged warfare with Ukraine) – it is a world still seeking freedom, equality and fraternity no matter how disgruntled it may be in countries where the government itself abandons its key role of putting decent if not state-of-the-art infrastructure for the people of the country first!
For example, cut to Goa. For weeks now we have seen Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant’s government going on overdrive to facilitate and please the G20 meetings and the story is several crore public money has gone towards doing up the main road of capital city Panaji and refurbishing and decorating the sightseeing places in Goa – some Goans would say how come there is so much money for building up infrastructure for tourists, have any G20 representatives taken a walk down some of the local inner roads running parallel in Panaji? They would be so shocked.
Then the question arises: Why is it so easy to promote a selective infrastructure for wooing tourism (not to forget entertainment) with public funds, but so hard to give the common people of the country surety of clean water, food, power, homes, well-designed roadways, kerbsides, gutter-sewage drainage systems…in short everything our globe-trotting ministers see and appreciate while on their official junket holidays abroad in first world countries!
One can only pray and hope that ache din come for aam aadmi and not khaas aadmi alone in a country which is being forced to still live in the past, determined to rake up history in the present … perhaps losing sight of the future altogether. Think about all this and don’t just think. Preaching “Vasudeva Kutumbukum” around the world is fine, but it must first surely apply equally to your own people before extending it to the rest of the world and tourists rich or not so rich? On that note its avjo, selamat datang, poite verem, au revoir, arrivedecci and vachun yeta here for now!
—Mme Butterfly