Make my trip.fta

TRADEZONE/ INDUSTRY VIEW

Tourist visits can help unlock great business ideas

If one is asked to find a single common thread running through most framework trade and investment agreements signed by India at a bilateral and regional level, which have culminated into FTAs, the only answer one can get is 'tourism'.

Although for a layman 'tourism' is mere entertainment and a way to enhance one's knowledge about another country, for negotiators tourism has tremendous strategic value. We need to realize that 'tourism' facilitates exploration of understanding how a symbiotic relationship amongst societies across nations can be better created. A tourist visit can even unlock a tremendous opportunity for an entrepreneurial mind. For example, the author knows of many traders and SME proprietors who had merely gone to Thailand for pleasure and have returned back with a firm business idea. The FTA and the comprehensive economic engagement frameworks amongst countries then provide such entrepreneurial minds with a negotiated, legitimate and mutually accepted trade framework between nations to transform this opportunity into real business.

The other reason for inclusion of tourism in most of the FTAs is by the virtue of the fact that India is blessed with some of the most scenic and stimulating geographical and architectural sights of the world. Tourism is therefore a big-ticket opportunity in India provided it gets organically supported by good infrastructure and safe social climate in a consistent manner. Comprehensive Economic Partnership/ Cooperation Agreements (CEPAs or CECAs) become a vehicle for foreign direct investors from the Partner-country(ies) to invest in various avenues of the tourism sector such as hotels, ticket-booking services, information provision, advertising, etc.

The following are excerpts from some of the key Framework Agreements signed by India vis-à-vis the tourism sector:

The India"�Thailand Framework Agreement: Article 6 of the Framework Agreement clearly mentions about strengthening economic cooperation between India and Thailand on tourism and other sectors such as biotechnology, finance and banking, space technology, fisheries and aquaculture and other sectors.

The BIMSTEC Framework Agreement: Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and Thailand are Members of the BIMSTEC grouping. Article 6 of the Framework agreements identifies tourism as a sector of cooperation within BIMSTEC Members. In fact after signing the Framework Agreement, the BIMSTEC Secretariat has also prepared a concept paper on the tourism sector potential in the region.

India"�Singapore CECA: India and Singapore have agreed to reaffirm their rights and obligations under previous agreements and recognize the importance of air connectivity to support the expansion of tourism,

India"�ASEAN Framework Agreement: Like the India"�Thailand Agreement, this negotiated document, also in Article 6, identifies tourism amongst a host of sectors on which India and ASEAN countries have agreed to cooperate.

The above clearly shows the intent of governments to strategically utilise the tourism sector. It is now for the SME players in this sector to utilise this opportunity to its fullest and grow with the sector. The language of cooperation paves the way for enhancing business tie-ups across borders. The strides in the information technology sector have provided the tourism sector with a cost effective tool to translate this language into a true business opportunity.

So what is the sector waiting for!

The author is chief economist at Economic Laws Practice, Advocates & Solicitors