‘Road show OK but Govt must do more’

Vikram Madhok, head of Abercrombie & Kent, believes there has to be a more meaningful dialogue between the Tourism Ministry and the trade. ‘‘So far, the Ministry has acted in a knee-jerk manner,’’ says Madhok. ‘‘Suddenly, you hear there is a road show and the launch of a huge publicity campaign abroad, which is great, but why can’t it be planned well ahead? Key players in the trade should be taken into confidence. Frankly, I’d reserve my comments on the success of the recent road show.’’

But Madhok is delighted by the coming boom, as are all tour operators. Arjun Sharma, MD, Select Hotels, formerly of SITA Travels, says the big problem today is how to cope with the boom in tourism. ‘‘This season (September to Easter) is sold out, we are turning away customers except those who are willing to pay a premium for holidays in India,’’ says Sharma. He believes the ‘‘Incredible India’’ campaign has done a splendid job, but the Government needs to fill in the gaps in infrastructure, like increasing accommodation. ‘‘There is a shortfall of 5,000 rooms in Delhi alone,’’ says Sharma.

While Choudhury has written to the Urban Development Ministry to allow more liberal land use, Sharma says the answer lies closer home. ‘‘The Ministry should focus on infrastructure building.’’

Peter Kerkar, MD of Cox & Kings, is harassed by the taxes. ‘‘Delhi government has just imposed a luxury tax on the rack rates of star hotel rooms, which is totally unfair, because we sold these rooms as part of our package at least two years ago. Now, we have to bear this additional cost.’’

Subhash Goyal, chairman of STIC Travel Group and president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators, says the Ministry’s publicity campaign is ‘‘one-sided’’ as ‘‘it does not match with the final product’’. Says Goyal, ‘‘The ministry is doing a great publicity job, but what happens when the tourist actually arrives?’’

Goyal says the industry, too, invests money to promote India abroad. Kerkar says he spent £3 million in Britain to produce his publicity material for India. ‘‘We take all the risks, so shouldn’t the Government build safety nets for us?’’ he asks.