Post COVID-19 travel to boost regional tourism

Travel restrictions will influence land-based cross-border tourism
Rate this post

The Mangroves of Sundarbans | Photo Credit: Kazi Asadullah Al Emran

The fallout of COVID-19 could actually boost traffic in travel within the South Asian region as Indian outbound visitors would face challenges to travel to their favourite destinations.

Since the world began fighting a virus that seems to know no borders and literally flies from a country to another, the first victim of the virus was humans’ travels. With all flights grounded, trains, buses, cruises stopped and all kinds of travel restrictions imposed, tourism, aviation and hospitality industry as a whole has come to a complete halt, clueless about the long term and mid-term impact of the virus on the industry and human behaviour.

The most optimistic scenario is that at the end of the pandemic, life may return to some degree of normalcy and people may begin travelling again. But the travel itself would be very different from what it has come to be in the last three decades or so.

Of course in the very beginning, it will be only emergency travel or need-based travel for job, education, returning to families or medical purposes.

However, there will be complexities even in this. Air travel may not only be complex and difficult but also extremely expensive as various governments would impose unprecedented travel restrictions. Now compared to European and the American soil, or the far southeast, South Asia’s tourism industry is no less flourished as seen in the growing number of tourists’ traffic mainly from the big brother India to its neighbours!

According to India Tourism Statistics 2018 published by the ministry of tourism, in 2017 India received 10.04 million foreign tourists for the first time, where Bangladesh accounted for 21 pc arrivals with 2.16 million tourists. The total number of tourists that flocked to India from Bangladesh was even higher than the number of total tourists who arrived in India from all western European countries. India receives the highest number of tourist visitors from Bangladesh via Haridaspur Land Check Post. The case is similar for Nepal and Bhutan as well. As per the available data, 2018 saw a rapid increase with approximately 424,887 Indian tourists visiting Sri Lanka, as compared to 384,628 arrivals in 2017 and 356,729 in 2016.

The tea gardens of Nuwara EIliya, Sri Lanka

Thanks to India’s booming outbound tourism market, the aggressive tourism promotions of Nepal and Sri Lanka as well as niche marketing by Bhutan, South Asian tourism landscape is standing in front of a new goldmine.

Though the neighbourhood of India has numerous jewels in tourism, offering a wide variety of experiences – from water sports or paradise islands in the Maldives to the high altitude Himalayan sports in Bhutan and Nepal as well as the mangroves of Sundarbans and the hill tracts of Bangladesh – most of these natural and cultural wealth have remained hidden from a majority of Indians who are very much aware of every major hillcrest in Switzerland.

But due to COVID-19, it may be South Asia’s turn to be discovered by a much larger number of Indian tourists. They may be obliged to accept that for a considerable period now, travel will be more convenient and less complicated if the destinations are nearby and preferably accessible by road. This presents an unprecedented opportunity to countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as all these nations can be accessed by road from India.

Annapurna Mountain Range, Nepal

It may sound like forced tourism to restrict the movement within the sub-continent. But the case is not easy for all. Though tourist movement is less complicated between other countries, getting a visa to Bangladesh is very challenging and that to Pakistan is no less than a nightmare.

“It is very clear that we have to get tourists from next door and we have to go to the next door also. We have no other option but to look at India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives! The current visa regime has to change and we are talking to the ministry of home affairs to do the needful,” a clear statement comes from Javed Ahmed, the chief executive officer of Bangladesh Tourism Board.

Besides simplifying visa formalities, South Asian nations also need to enhance marketing and promotional efforts in each other’s territories.

“Branding and positioning of the products to the target source market needs immediate attention and reworking. It is not only just about tourist movement, but about overall responsible tourism that will help improve the entire subcontinent’s economy. And for that standardisation of facilities, skill development and at the same time packaging entire South Asia as one packaged product is very crucial for sustainable development,” says Debjit Dutta, the CEO of Impression Travel Services, a destination management company from Kolkata that specialised in South Asia.

“Travel and tourism is a sensitive industry and extremely volatile in response to the changes in various influencing factors currently happening due to COVID-19. We have to work together with more organisations and industry stakeholders in the region from the tourism fraternity towards achieving our long-term vision for responsible and sustainable tourism development,” says Suresh Singh Budal, the CEO of PATA Nepal Chapter.

With international mobility compromised for the foreseeable future, regional tourism is expected to recover first. The uncertainty around challenging travel procedures will inspire travellers to seek out places to visit that are in close proximity to where they live, often somewhere easy to travel by road. It will also be a critical task on the part of each country to attract the individually closer source market pockets with proper strategic marketing approach considering the common interests, shared culture and physical proximity to resume tourism.

You may also like
Red Dot Representations bags Sri Lankan DMC Serendipity
Red Dot Representations bags Sri Lankan DMC Serendipity
Red Dot Representation bags mandate for Kenya’s luxury DMC Wild Whispers
Red Dot Representation bags mandate for Kenya’s luxury DMC Wild Whispers
PATA APAC
APAC to see 111.6 pc rise in international tourists by 2026: PATA
Female employment in tourism rose 24 pc in 2010-19: WTTC
Female employment in tourism rose 24 pc in 2010-19: WTTC

Leave a Reply

Get Magazine