NE BUSINESS BUREAU
AHMEDABAD, SEPT 27
Coronavirus-hit travel and tourism sector is optimistic of bouncing back with double vigour on the strength of “AtmaNirbar India” by promoting domestic tourism during this festival season. Further, it will tap opportunities in the new normal by adopting all SOPs, industry experts said on Sunday. Experts suggested that short vacations and holidays nearer to home are likely to be in trend post-COVID-19. They called for novel strategies to attract domestic tourists to enjoy the pristine purity of Mother Nature by undertaking tribal tourism in Gujarat.
On World Tourism Day, they were speaking on ‘Tourism and Rural Development’, this year’s international day of World Tourism observation comes at a critical moment, as countries around the world look to tourism to drive recovery, including in rural communities where the sector is a leading employer and economic pillar. Over five crore people are dependent on this industry in the country. The industry had a hit of over Rs 1,000 crore in the last seven months, they added.
With Such Positive thoughts and Vision in mind to expedite ideas on how to move ahead, Paresh Dave of Bhagumama Holidays Pvt. Ltd and Ali Tinwala of A to Z holidays organized a Talk Show and Presentation Session on the Theme of “Tourism Bounces Back”.
“We are ready to Restart, Reopen and Recover and we hope this programme would give us new ideas to look ahead,” shared Paresh Dave, and Ali Tinwala shared, “Overall sentiment in the industry is that travel has to revive from baby steps again. For tourism industry and travel to restart, people should first start moving out of home for work/office as usual. As they get into their pre-Covid groove of driving/travelling from home to office daily, slowly and steadily they will also develop confidence for short-haul trips for personal or professional trips.”
Jigar Dudakiya, Chairman – Gujarat Chapter, Travel Agents’ Federation of India (TAFI shared his Positive Sentiments during the discussion. “We are looking towards the futuristic developments in a positive and hopeful manner and are quite confident that the Industry will bounce back to its glorious days and we would be ready to support our customers with all necessary information and support. Hence we decided to Power this discussion session as well.” Ankit Bajaj, Partner of Collective Consultancy Services shared a wonderful preparedness presentation with the audience.
In the next session, Hemant Patil of Velemark shared his thoughts on Leisure, MICE and the need for planning offbeat holidays during this time. “Initially, people will be more comfortable travelling by road in private vehicles. They will be looking to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the cityscape to more wilderness locations which are standalone. Resorts with independent cottages will be preferred,” he shared. Krinal Raval then presented her thoughts RANN UTSAV.
Renowned Independent Author and Writer, Anil Mulchandani who has extensively covered all aspects of heritage – architecture, arts and crafts, food, and folklore, in leading magazines and newspapers of the country shared his views on Sustainable Tourism. His thoughts were followed by the presentation of another dynamic author and real estate developer Kaushal Shah who spoke on his Back to Bachpan project at Lothal.
Programme Anchor Subhojit Sen invited Jitu Mishra an Archaeologist & Senior Educational Specialist to share his views on Prospects of Tribal Tourism in Gujarat. Aravalli, Dangs, and Sabutara in the tribal belt of Gujarat are worth enjoying, Mishra said
Dinesh Shekhawat of Kanj Resorts shared a presentation on the preparedness of various tourist locations in Gujarat and Rajasthan during these pandemic times. “At Sasan Gir, the company offers attractive packages coupled with EMI facility and tariff complimentary for below 10-year children without compromising their services.”
But the Final word shared by Khushbu Shah of Little H in her vote of thanks speech was that the Tourism Industry is all in readiness to Bounce Back.
