The tourism time bomb

Tourism has to be projected as a revenue earner and creator of employment. And it has to be given a human face

The Indian tourism industry is witnessing a boom time. Reports say that by 2033 airport traffic in India will multiply five times to 1.6 billion, and that 55 new airports are needed to meet these increased travel demands. More and more millennials are taking short and long breaks. While Goa continues to be the all-time favourite, Indian tourists are also exploring exotic destinations, both within India and outside. 

One remembers how Taj Hotels used to be a lone warrior three decades ago trying to build tourism into Goa. They even had advertisements playing in movie theatres extolling the virtues of ‘Goa in the rains’. Today, there are flight operators who fly planeloads of tourists into Goa early morning, only to take them back the same night. While the tier III Indian is having his high visiting Goa, the urban millennials are exploring new international destinations, and trying to out-Instagram/Facebook their peers. And all that may not be good news for the world. 

In an article, ‘The Tourism Time Bomb’, published in the Harvard Business Review way back in April 2008 the authors Paul F Nunes and Mark Spelman pointed to an impending global crisis. They said, ‘Indian call-centre employees, Russian petrochemical engineers, Chinese middle managers and Brazilian sales persons are already scouring the web for deals on trips.’ This increased interest in travel is expected to boost the annual number of international tourist arrivals to roughly 1.6 billion by 2020, according to the UN. They say that while a billion or two additional international tourists represents a great potential, they could also indicate a massive headache. The article was indeed prophetic. 

The cover story of Time magazine (August 6-13, 2008) titled ‘The Tourism Trap’ points towards the travails of the tourism sector. The article points out how countries and cities are imposing restrictions on tourist arrivals. Barcelona has put in restrictions on construction of new tourist lodgings. The craze of the TV show Game of Thrones has put little Croatia on the global tourist map to the extent the old town section of Dubrovnik has installed cameras to implement the 8,000 tourists per day rule. The Wall Street Journal in its front page story on May 23, 2018, calls it out with its headline ‘Anger Over Tourist Hordes Sparks Global Backlash’. The crisis has reached epic proportions and as is always the case a new term has been coined — overtourism. 

The hurdles set up by global tourism hotspots is great opportunity for Indian tourism spots — those that have been exploited and those waiting to be opened up. 

I for one thought three states have stolen a march in developing tourism in India: Kerala, Goa and Rajasthan. Hotel operators in Kerala have pioneered new types of tourism including ‘eco tourism’, ‘health tourism’ etc. I thought that hotels in Kerala were cognizant of the environmental challenges and adhered to all the best practices. So it was with much trepidation that I read Arundhati Roy’s comments (The Week, September 2, 2018): Unbridled greed, the shocking denuding of forest land for mining and illegal development of resorts and homes, illegal construction that has blocked all natural drainage, the blatant mismanagement of dams, have all played a huge part in what is happening. There is probably some truth in what she is saying. While there are trendsetting hotel chains in Kerala, there could be unscrupulous hotel operators who are violating all environmental norms.

The bigger challenge facing tourism marketing is the need to balance the many messages and the many target audiences. Increased tourist arrivals is a big boon to the local economy. But the local population have their own challenges. Some of them directly benefit from the tourist inflow, while many may see tourists as an intrusion. Tourism marketing now has many new tasks to perform. 

The traditional messaging for tourism was aimed at the traveller. It pushed him to get out of his sofa and pack a bag and explore. The second typology of messaging was about treating tourists as welcome guests — ‘atithi devo bhava’ as we say. The message was aimed at those who were indulging in scalping unsuspecting tourists. And those who were watching this happen. 

I submit there will be other types of tasks tourism marketing will now need to perform. Tourism has to be projected as a revenue earner and creator of employment. But it has to be given a human face. Tourism marketing globally has to ensure that the tourists are regulated and are taught how to behave. What is needed is cultural acclimatisation. The time to defuse the bomb is now. 

The author is a brand strategist, author and founder, Brand-Building.com. ambimgp@brand-building.com