Sanity must prevail

We are perched on the brink of that traditionally hectic period, which annually heralds the beginning of every new tourist season in India. It also traditionally signals a time when tour operators are apprehensive and hoteliers walk around with moneybags in their eyes. While hoteliers are planning their annual rate hikes at the start of every season, tour operators do their best to rationalise the hoteliers' demands and leave the rest to divine intervention. Lately though, the tension between these two essential elements of Indian tourism has scaled new heights, with tour operators and hoteliers finding themselves at loggerheads more often than not over room tariffs and other issues that dominate almost every interaction between these two factions of industry. While tour operators are of the view that hoteliers are outpricing the destination and killing the golden goose. Hoteliers, as a matter-of-fact, stating that they are merely making hay while the sun shines after a lean period that spanned more than a couple of years on both sides of the new millennium. What is disturbing this time around though is the fact that hotels around the country are planning a minimum tariff hike of 20 per cent, with some cities even contemplating a 25 to 30 per cent annual revision in room rates. Even for an impartial observer like me, an upward revision of this scale would seem unreasonable and only reflects the complacency of the hotel industry at this stage, which could prove to be the undoing of the industry as a whole in the long term.

While the proposed revision in room tariffs comes into effect from October 2006, the various industry conventions slated in September are probably the ideal platforms to sort out this and other issues of coordination that seem to plague the Indian tourism industry today. This hotelier and tour operator dispute is currently superseded by the ongoing commission crisis between the airlines and travel agents, as also the issues concerning ADMs and joint bank guarantees. Well, September plays host to the TAAI, IATO, UFTAA, WTTC India Chapter and KTM conventions and exhibitions. Hopefully some of these trade issues will come up for debate and see an amicable settlement in the common interest of Indian tourism. The only annual industry convention absent from this line-up is the FHRAI's (normally also held in late September), which is slated for November this year in Chandigarh. Unfortunately, that may be too late to resolve any rate revision issues with the travel trade. Let's hope that common sense prevails before that.

The action never seems to stop in September as the month also marks the annual celebration of World Tourism Day (September 27). No guesses for which topic will hog centre stage this year at the various forums organised across the globe to mark the occasion. While tourism is a global phenomenon, it's the other 'T' that seems to be making its mark worldwide and today poses a real threat to the tourism industry. Yes, Terrorism has been hogging the limelight recently and could put the future of the tourism industry in jeopardy, according to most experts. However, the converse is also true and tourism can be used as an effective tool to promote global peace and understanding. However, for this industry to fight against external forces, it is a prerequisite that the internal disputes and contentious issues need to be resolved. Unless hoteliers, tour operators, airlines and other stakeholders in this industry come together on a common platform for a common cause, I do not see much being achieved. While fighting Terrorism with Tourism seems to be the only way forward for this industry as we look into the future, sanity must prevail within the industry first.

Sheldon Santwan
sheldon@expresshospitality.com