Been Busy

It has been a while since an update and the reason has been unprecedented work (from my day job). I promise to be back as soon as possible. Please bear with me.

5 Top Airports in Asia you must visit

Asia is commonly known as the budget or backpacking destination of the world. However, for those who have travelled in the region, even occasionally, it should come as no surprise that some of the transportation features and hubs available here are among the best in the world. Take Asian Airports for instance. Not only do they handle the world's largest passenger and cargo traffic, but some of them have been topping the list of best airports in the world for quite a few years now!

This list of the top 5 Asian Airports is collated from the The Skytrax annual rankings. These are based on the impressions of over 13 million flyers from 106 countries. More than 550 airports were included in the survey, which covers 39 service and performance parameters, including facility comfort, location of bathrooms, and the language skills of the airport staff. Not only do our Asian airports score high on all the essentials, they also have some pretty interesting additions of their own that will make visiting them a worthwhile experience. Without further ado, here goes the list:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6622688

# 5 - Central Japan International Airport

The Chubu Centrair International Airport is a D-shaped international airport that resides on a manmade island. Domestic flights are handled on the northern side of the airport, while international flights are handled on the southern side. It serves as a hub for all Japan Airlines and ANA. Among the noteworthy features of this airport is the 1,000-foot-long sky deck where passengers can watch ships sail into Nagoya Port. There's also a traditional Japanese bathhouse where you can have a relaxing soak while watching the sunset over the bay. But there's something about this airport that will warm the heart of the Green Brigade as well. The Centrair airport is built with a number of environmental protection measures. The artificial island itself was shaped like the rounded letter "D" so that sea currents inside the bay will flow freely. Its shores were partially constructed with natural rocks and sloped to aid sea life forms to set up colonies. During the construction a species of little tern occasionally came, so a part of the island was selected and set aside to aid nesting!

By Ken'ichi at English Wikipedia

# 4 - Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong

Hong Kong International Airport is the main airport in Hong Kong. It is located on the artificial island of Chek Lap Kok, which resulted in the colloquial name of Chek Lap Kok Airport. It is an important regional trans-shipment center and serves as a gateway to China. HKIA is an important contributor to Hong Kong's economy, with approximately 65,000 employees.

That doesn't mean it offers its visitors any less! Visitors and travelers ccan choose to play 9 or 18 holes of golf at the GreenLive AIR or at GreenLive AIR indoor golf simulator. They can also choose to watch the latest movies in multiple languages at the state-of-the-art IMAX Theatre (2D and 3D enabled!) And at the i-Sports section they can indluge in various sports like soccer, basketball, golf, boxing, skiing, car racing, shooting thanks to some awesome sports simulators.

By 梓設計 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

# 3 - Tokyo Haneda International Airport

Haneda, which is the fourth-busiest airport in the world is also known for its service efficiency, cleanliness and shopping options. But there are several typically cool features that you aren't likely to find in any other airport in the world. Consider these, Terminal 2 has a permanent art exhibition featured in a lounge-like setting with plush seating. Aviation-themed panels and model airplanes are on display in the TIAT Sky Road, a corridor that links Tokyo Pop Town, Festival Plaza and the observation decks on 5F. You can also try your hand at piloting an aircraft in a real flight simulator! You can pray at the airport's own Shinto Japanese shrine in Terminal 1.

T1 is also home to Juveniland Tokyo where you can experience what playtime was like before video games were invented! You can actually play with some of the antique and vintage toys on display. For those with pets that need pampering (small dogs, cats and other pets) there is a Pet Hotel in T1. Finally the Haneda Airport also has its own memorial stamp. It is a cool little reminder of your journey that you can receive as a souvenir rubber-stamped paper, or have them stamp your own paper or item. Which other airport can offer such an eclectic collection of things to see, do and experience?

By Ken Eckert - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

# 2 - Incheon Airport, Seoul

Seoul's Incheon Airport has consistently been not just Asia's, but the World's number 2 Airport! Located on an island just outside the South Korean Capital, this airport's accolades include being the world's cleanest airport as well as the best international transit airport. Apart from a  plethora of dining and shopping options, the Incheon airport boasts of an indoor golf course, spas, private sleeping rooms, an ice skating rink, a casino, several indoor gardens as well as a Korean Culture Museum! A number of cultural performances also enthrall travelers on a regular basis.

Coming to efficiency, airport authorities claim that average departure and arrival takes 19 minutes and 12 minutes respectively, as compared to worldwide average of 60 minutes and 45 minutes respectively, ranking it among of the fastest airports in the world for customs processing. Incheon International Airport also claims that it has only a 0.0001% baggage mishandling rate! That's efficiency for you!

 

By David., Public Domain

# 1 - Singapore Changi Airport

It is no surprise to find Singapore's famed Changi Airport at the number 1 position. After all, it has been here for the past three years in a row! Not only is Changi Airport Asia's best airport, it is also the Best Airport in the World! No mean feat considering the size of the island nation! Since the days of Terminal 1, visitors and transit passengers have constantly praised this airport for its architecture, convenience, facilities and luxurious amenities. The airport continues to raise the bar for all airports worldwide.

Sample this: Terminal 1 hosts the World-famous Kinetic Sculpture called Kinetic Rain, a Cactus Garden with over 40 varieties of cacti and succulents on display, a Swimming Pool with a Jacuzzi as well as a Waterlily garden. Raising the bar further is Terminal 2 with a light & sound enabled Enchanted Garden, an entertainment deck filled with XBox 360s and Kinect stations to movie theatres, an Orchid Garden with a colorful collection of rare orchids and a sunflower garden with 500 bright yellow flowers bring cheer to weary and expectant travelers!

Not to be outdone, T3 hosts a Butterfly Garden that is home to over 1,000 butterflies, Installation art like "Daisy" by Christian Moeller, The world's tallest indoor airport slide and a wine and spirits duplex store for a heightened, spirit-shopping experience. Truly, this airport is an experience in itself and worth visiting for that reason alone!

So there you have it - a definitive list of the best airports in Asia. We can surely take pride in the fact that our home continent has some of the best airports in not just the region, but the world as well! Even airports in the more developed parts of the world have a long way to go in order to catch up.

The truth about Global Distribution Systems

Not many of us, even frequent travelers, know much about what happens when we book an airline ticket. Irrespective of the airline or destinations you book a ticket for, what your online portal or travel agent is using in the background is what is commonly known as a Global Distribution System.

According to Wikipedia, “A Global Distribution System (or GDS) is a network operated by a company that enables automated transactions between travel service providers (mainly airlines, hotels and car rental companies) and travel agencies. Travel agencies traditionally relied on GDS for services, products & rates in order to provision travel-related services to the end consumers. A GDS can link services, rates and bookings consolidating products and services across all three travel sectors: i.e., airline reservations, hotel reservations, car rentals.

GDS is different from a computer reservations system, which is a reservation system used by the service providers (also known as vendors). Primary customers of GDS are travel agents (both online and office-based) to make reservation on various reservation systems run by the vendors. GDS holds no inventory; the inventory is held on the vendor's reservation system itself. A GDS system will have real-time link to the vendor's database. For example, when a travel agency requests a reservation on the service of a particular airline company, the GDS system routes the request to the appropriate airline's computer reservations system. This enables a travel agent with a connection to a single GDS to choose and book various flights, hotels, activities and associated services on all the vendors operating in the same route who are part of that GDS network.”

Considering that there are so many airlines, hotels and car rental companies, it might come as a surprise that there are merely a handful of GDS companies. The market is dominated by just four: TravelPort, Amadeus, Sabre and Pegasus. However, some of the all of these also have a customer facing website. There’s really not much you can do on it except to check if your ticket is really confirmed or not or to view your itinerary. Only ViewTrip goes a little further to offer Passport and Visa information, Local Things to see and do as well as relevant travel advice. However they are worth checking out, if only for a peek into the system that runs global travel.

Virtually There from Sabre

Check My Trip from Amadeus

ViewTrip from Travelport

5 reasons why mobile is critical to tourism marketing success

It was in 2014 that mobile marketing became a mainstream marketing tactic. In 2015, it consolidated its position and started getting more preference (and advertising money). However, it is only in 2016 that mobile marketing has firmly come into its own. Nowhere is this more evident than in the tourism and destination marketing category.

In this post, we will attempt to understand how the humble mobile has come to become ubiquitous in the tourism marketing industry.

The possibilities of personalization

No other device is as personal as the mobile. For the majority of us, it is the first device we look at when we wake up and the last device we use before we go to bed. Through the day it dominates our life with constant updates, calls, messages, chats etc. It would not be an understatement to say that very few people can live without their mobile devices.

However, if you look beyond the near complete domination of our lives, you will notice that no other device is as personalized as your mobile. You have the ability to customize the home screen, add caller tunes to distinguish your callers, store your photos and videos, use apps that are meaningful to you and even link all your social media accounts to it all the time! What this personalization means for marketers is that it gives them a closest-to-reality picture of the real you. One peek into your mobile will help them identify and present options that resonate with you. And guess what happens when you get such options time and gain? Of course you succumb!

The rise of the ‘moment’

Mobile is truly instant. When you look for directions, or a restaurant, or even your friends, you are looking for them near wherever you happen to be at that point in time. Most searches have moved from generic queries to instant queries about the next few minutes. Most activity searches have moved from generic activities to activities near you. Because of the immense convenience it offers, users are more than happy to share their personal information in exchange for immediately useful information. Marketers can harness this to deliver custom services at specific moments in time.

Location, location, location

Think of the number of apps on your mobile device that ask for your location information in order to offer you the best results. The taxi apps need that information to find and send you cabs nearest to you. The food apps ask for that information to identify specific restaurants or cuisines closest to you. Even e-commerce apps ask for your address or location information in order to estimate the time to delivery! When consumer behavior is moving in this direction, should marketers be far behind?

Tourism marketers should include location information in every aspect of their online and mobile communications. With the right kind of tagging, it becomes easier for consumers to find and use that information – leading to greater visits and increased spends.

New lease of life for email marketing

There once was a time when every digital campaign worth its salt included an email marketing campaign. But as social channels arrived and people started spending more time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like, email became less dominant. But does it have to be that way? Consider this: Nearly everyone who owns a smart phone has an email app enabled on it. This makes reaching out to them over email as instantaneous as say any other social channel. The mobile has actually resurrected email marketing by putting it right in the pocket of the consumer, 24/7. Use it wisely and you can gain incremental returns from it over time.

Free Wifi – the Holy Grail

Probably the one time consumers miss their internet connectivity is when they are travelling. The prohibitive roaming charges by telecom operators are just one reason. However, savvy marketers who are able to offer free Wifi can actually earn the gratitude and loyalty of these internet-starved travelers resulting in greater usage and repeated usage of their destination. Consumers will happily trade their email address, phone number and even a pay-with-a-tweet/post in return for temporary or longer term access to Wifi. And if your destination includes cafes, restaurants, libraries, museums etc, offering free Wifi should necessarily be a part of your digital strategy.

So there you have it. Just 5 of the many reasons why mobile marketing is critical for tourism marketers. Use these wisely and you will earn the gratitude and interest (not to mention business) of travelers to your destination.

Book an A380 Aircraft every time you fly

Most airline travel booking websites offer a multitude of options. You can filter by origin and destination airports, preferred airlines, class of flight, number of stopovers, lowest price etc. None of them however tell you up-front what type of aircraft you will be flying in. Until you are halfway through the booking process and go through the flight details link in detail. But that is about to change with the launch of a new website that caters exclusively to the A380.

Why is this important?

The A380 is not just the biggest passenger aircraft in operation. It has a host of other features that make traveling in it a true experience of a lifetime. Consider these: Quieter cabins, better leg room and comfortable features like double beds and spas! The catch: only 13 airlines offer A380 flights and the travel is restricted to about 55 cities worldwide.

iFlyA380

The website exclusively caters to those who want to fly on A380s. Never before was this option available to most commercial travelers. Set up by the parent manufacturing company, Airbus, the logic is understandable. The site makes it easier to search for A380 specific routes and destinations. You are guided to a regular booking site to make the actual booking though. The website also provides a page with additional information about the A380 and a social wall featuring social chatter about the A380 as well. Interesting effort!

So the next time you are travelling to a destination that the A380 flies to you can check this site out. I know I will. Sounds like a filter that may soon catch on? Your guess is as good as mine! 

5 ways influencers actually help your tourism brand

In earlier posts, we've seen how influencers have become an important part of tourism digital marketing efforts and  how you can reach out to engage with them. Today, we will take a look at the actual and tangible ways in which social media influencers can help grow your tourism or travel brand. The fundamental reason to reach out to social media influencers is well established - they have a unique and popular take on nice topics and enjoy a certain amount of clout in the online space. So reaching out to them has a very good justification. In addition to the bigger picture, here are some specific ways in which engaging with influencers can help.

1. Peer recommendations

Most followers of influencers follow them due to their own interest. As such, they view the influencer as someone who is a peer or a trusted friend. They follow the social feed of the influencer in order to gain access to curated and personal information, knowledge or entertainment. Hence, anything that the influencer recommends (in a natural, honest manner) serves as a positive reinforcement of your brand and its products/services. The more specific the recommendation, the better!

2. Influencer created content

While your brand may be creating, curating and collecting content on a regular basis, collaborating with influencers will give you more unique content you can use. Most influencers, especially in the travel and tourism verticals, prefer to experience the brand or destination first-hand. This will allow them to create blogs, photos, videos and other multimedia posts which are personalized and incorporate their unique perspective. This is something that can prove to be invaluable to the brand.

3. User generated content

Having your influencer promote a contest (centered around your brand) to their followers is a great way to not only encourage participation, but also to get hold of relevant user generated content. When the reward is a personalized travel experience, you can be sure that the number of participants will rapidly grow - as will the amount of usable content centered around your brand. Rather than using generic gifts and giveaways, it is better to offer brand experiences to winners. This will weed out the contest junkies while giving you high quality content.

4. Promotions and discounts

Giving your influencers the opportunity to offer their readers/followers with relevant promotions and discounts is a great way to create engagement. Not only does the influencer get the opportunity to reward their followers' loyalty - your brand also get deeply integrated with their audience reach. These promotions and discounts can be used in a multitude of ways. Probably the most effective are time-sensitive discounts which ensure that any unsold inventory you have is quickly disposed!

5. Newsletter Audience

Most influencers who have a blog have the ability to offer a newsletter service through subscription. Getting your brand message integrated into these newsletters gives you yet another way to capitalize on the reach of your influencers. Most subscribers read through the newsletters at their own pace which makes them ideal for reinforcement messages which are not time-sensitive.

These are just some of the tangible ways in which influencers can help your tourism brand reach a larger and more relevant audience. However remember the basic tenets of influencer marketing like allowing them their own tone of voice, giving them relevant inputs and rewarding their followers and you stand to reap great benefits. As digital platforms evolve and more come up every day you need to experiment in order to stay relevant. It is best to plan this as an activity for the longer term, not just as a one off to realize its full potential.

How to use influencers in Tourism Marketing

Of all the categories of blogs and social media posts online, it is safe to assume that a very high percentage is related to travel and tourism. Platforms like Instagram and Snapchat seem almost custom-built for travel, tourism and allied topics like food and fashion. Needless to mention, the ranks of social media influencers are swollen with followers of this niche. However, very little is common among these influencers. Take travel for instance. The spectrum ranges from shoestring budget travellers, to backpackers, through adventure travelers all the way to luxury and bespoke travelers. This becomes a challenge for tourism digital marketers who hope to reach out and recruit influencers to help with their tourism marketing campaigns.

This post deals with some tips to choose the right influencers and the things one can do to make the most of the symbiotic relationship. Specifically, how the right influencers can help grow the brand online.

Finding your influencers

Before you go about trying to locate the right influencer, it is important to know who your brand's current audience is. Where does your audience hang-out online? Whom do they follow in social media channels? Who influences them? What is the authority of these influencers? As you listen to online chatter and monitor social media, you will come up with a lot of insights. Not all thee insights will be in line with your planner positioning for your brand. All of them however will reflect the interesting ways in which your audience chooses to interact with your brand. Spend time finding and mapping these out.

Choosing the right influencer

It is important for a tourism brand to choose the right influencer. In order to do so, one needs to definitely look beyond the numbers. The questions you need to ask yourself before you shortlist influencers to help amplify your tourism or destination marketing efforts are as follows:

• Are they relevant to your category? - No point using a fashion blogger as your influencer if your niche is travel and tourism. Unless your destination has some fashion-association you need to amplify!
• Are they an authority? - Do they have a follower base that follows them for their unique style or insights? Do they have an original point of view about topics relevant to you?
• Are they regular and active? - Do they post consistently? Are all their social outposts updated regularly?
• Are they engaging? - What kind of traction do their posts on social channels get? How often are they shared or liked? Do they get comments? Do they respond to comments? What is the true reach they have?
• Is there a brand fit? - Is the prospective influencer a good fit for your brand? If you are focusing on luxury travel, a budget travel blogger might not be the direction you want to take, irrespective of the authority and numbers!

Do you have any personal travel and tourism bloggers you follow? Please send me your preferences.

Inviting your influencers

Today, a number of companies exist which claim to work with a set of social media influencers across verticals. However, my personal experience with such outfits has not been great. While it is true that they take the hassle out of managing an influencer campaign (think logistics, communication, emails, responses, clarifications, billing etc.) they often don't have the ability to give you a truly custom-built experience. As a tourism marketer, it is expected that you know your brand and its strengths & weaknesses better than any 3rd party agency. Hopefully you are also passionate about your destination or product. Spend some time trying to reach out to influencers to convey this passion across to them. Trust me - they will appreciate it.

What works best is a personal appeal to each identified influencer. When you get to know them, their style, their audience and their work, you will know exactly how they can add value to your brand. And when they see that you've taken the time to understand all of these aspects, their respect - and consequently engagement with your brand - will only grow. It also helps to follow them on social channels and to start sharing some of their relevant updates to your own audience/followers. Remember that you are not engaging with a vendor; you are actually trying to establish a relationship with an influential authority who can help your brand grow.

Getting the most out of your influencers

One of the biggest mistakes a brand can make is to treat influencers as an extension of their PR program. Any influencer worth her/his salt will never be comfortable with simply posting a press release issued by a brand on their channels. Remember that these influencers have spent an enormous amount of time and effort to cultivate an audience that trusts them and their opinion. A sure-fire way to disaster and audience loss is to 'plug' brand messages between their posts.

Invite your influencers to experience your brand. Let them savor everything that your product or destination has to offer. Allow them time to wallow in the experience. Let them write/blog/post about it in their own, inimitable way.

Most importantly, respect their beliefs and principles. Don't ask/force them to commit to anything they are not comfortable with. Provide them with the experience, the facts, the data and the information. Let them craft their own story. If you've done your homework, you will be pleasantly surprised!

In another post we will look at the ways in which your brand can specifically benefit from engaging with influencers.

How influencer marketing is changing tourism marketing

Contrary to popular belief, influencer marketing is not new. It has existed for as long as (or even before) marketing has been around. The very first influencer in the history of mankind was someone who recommended a way to do something or to try a new something. In principle, it stays true to that even today. Another misconception is that influencers have to be celebrities. That is good to have, but not a mandatory requirement. In fact, the more evolved the consumer, the less they are taken in by marketing-speak or brand endorsements. However, they are still open to recommendations from friends, peers and others they willingly follow on social media channels.

At the fundamental level, an influencer is someone who specializes in something of interest to you and has the social presence to distribute their message. They could offer knowledge, inspiration or even just entertainment in a specific niche. But what adds value is the manner in which they do it. Their specific tone of voice, sense of humor or eccentric mannerism that make it resonate with you. Which is why they command the clout they do and why brands - especially in the travel and tourism space are rapidly waking up to their potential.

Most online consumers have been through the entire marketing hype cycle. They are wise to the ways of brands and even wiser to the way advertising hopes to manipulate their feelings and emotions. Which is probably why conventional online channels like display media are slowly losing traction. They have literally become a blind spot for savvy consumers. Search is still very relevant, but the onus of initiating action lies with the consumer. All a brand or marketer can do is to lay out the groundwork and wait for the consumer to show up. Influencer marketing however makes use of the concept of peers - people like you who care about the things you care about too - to reach out to consumers.

Answer this. Would you much rather have a travel company stalk you with multiple messages online on every possible channel or would you seriously consider a vacation destination on the basis of the recommendation of a travel blogger you follow - and admire? Pretty elementary, right? That is in essence the thought behind using influencer marketing for the tourism industry.

In another post, we will look at what you need to do in order to identify the right kind of influencers and the advantages your destination marketing efforts can get by doing so in a planned manner.

Happy World Tourism Day!

Here's wishing all my readers a very happy World Tourism Day!

Worldwide Personal Security for travelers with Fonetrac

With increasing reports being published every day about global terror and terrorist activities, it is no wonder that travelers are usually concerned about their safety and security while travelling. Gone are the days when just some countries or regions were classified as terror prone. Today, domestic and international terrorists have proven that they can strike anywhere and everywhere with impunity.

Travelling abroad can be an enriching and enlightening experience. However, with no social network, family or friends within easy reach, or even familiarity with the local language, travelers can often be easily terrified. And if disaster happens to strike, not only will they find themselves in harm’s way, but their near and dear ones back home will be fraught with anxiety.

Which is why, it makes sense to invest in a good Personal Security App while on-the-move! One of the best such Apps in the market is Fonetrac. Fonetrac is pegged as a Travel Safety App that can double up as a Medical Travel Security App. Designed in consultation with IMG GlobalSecur – a leading global employee and executive travel security firm, it is power-packed with features that will help you breathe easier while travelling.

The main features that make Fonetrac compelling are it’s “Check-in” and “Panic Button” functions. Check-in is used to support secure journey management. It offers participants of the program to check-in at various times of the trip like at the airport, on arrival, at the hotel, at the meeting venue etc. 

The idea is not to monitor the employee’s every move but rather to ensure that schedules are maintained and that an alert is raised if the traveler well-being is compromised. The Check-in feature is further enhanced by a 24/7 global monitoring system coupled with a on-ground personal response team in case any physical assistance is required. The Panic Button is just one manifestation of the various kinds of scenarios that IMG GlobalSecur is prepared for.   

Fonetrac is available on iOS, Android and Blackberry (A Windows version is under development). It comes with a range of subscription packages to suit every need, whether you are a high-powered executive or a student studying abroad. Detailed information and a demo may be requested from the Developer Website.

AI-powered superhuman travel agents | The Lola way!

What do you get when you pair Artificial Intelligence with travel agents and customer service specialists? You get a more organic and convenient travel booking experience for both business and leisure travelers. Or Lola – the latest offering from Kayak co-founder Paul English’s stable.

Currently being touted as “an intelligent travel agent in your pocket” Lola is a Mobile-only application currently only available for iOS. An android version is planned soon. While it is only available in the USA as of now, forthcoming launches in 2016 include Australia, Canada and the UK. None of its features are available on the desktop.

This makes perfect sense in a rather intuitive way. Most travel research by digitally-savvy audiences, as we’ve seen in earlier posts, starts on mobile devices. Now when you add artificial intelligence, natural language processing and a hand-picked team of 15 travel agents and customer service representatives to curate and present content to you, you simply cannot fail!

I haven’t had the opportunity to review the App personally. However a detailed review by Business Insider (available here) offers a screen-by-screen explanation. The App seems to use messaging and filtration to determine the most suitable choices for an individual customer and throws back bespoke, non-touristy options for restaurants and things to see and do.

The App is currently available only through invitation – meaning only current users can invite others to try it out. This will be the case through 2016. Hopefully next year it will be available publicly though the grapevine says it is likely to be membership-based. Stay tuned for more!

India Religious Tourism | New Blog!

In the past few days, I've been posting on Religious Tourism in the Indian context. A fair amount of research has revealed that this topic is pretty vast – enough to warrant a blog of its own! Else this blog, which was started with the intention of discussing Digital Marketing in the realm of Tourism, will soon be engulfed by one specific sub-topic!

Starting tomorrow, I will post all articles related to Religious Tourism in India here. If you are interested in Religious Tourism, especially in the Indian context, I urge you to visit the new blog. This here blog will continue to deal with more generic topics related to Tourism Marketing and specifically Digital Marketing for the Tourism Industry.

Thank you for your continued support!

3 Issues and Challenges with Religious Tourism in India

Jama Masjid By Nimitnigam - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

While it is heartening to note that the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is taking some concrete steps to promote and develop Religious Tourism in India, the sector is beset with a host of problems that make it an ongoing challenge. Some of the top issues include:

3. Lack of a uniform code of religious etiquette

This is a crying need in a country that prides itself on its secular credentials. While many individuals are aware of the requirements and etiquette regarding their own religions, the same may not be the case with other religions. Also, considering that there is no centralized authority, opinions, half-truths and outright lies may easily present themselves as mandatory requirements. If this is the case with citizens of our country, you can very well imagine how foreigners would have difficulty!

It would help is the Government or an executive body comprising representatives from all religions could put together a document detailing the religious etiquette that visitors need to observe at various locations. This will ensure that religious sentiments of various communities are not played with and will help prevent misunderstandings.

2. Infrastructure… or the lack of it!

Infrastructure is a major concern with not only religious tourism, but with tourism development as a whole in India. First and foremost is the lack of suitable transportation. Most religious destinations have seasonality-based traffic. This tends to put a tremendous strain on the available transport options during peak season. To compound the misery, there are several religious destinations which don’t have last-mile connectivity. A part of the pilgrimage can be done through trains and buses, while a considerable portion (especially the case with places in hilly locations) will require foot or animal-based travel options. These need to be streamlined with some analytical demand-supply based planning.

Kumbh Mela  By Prateek1961 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0

Similarly there is a dearth of available accommodation. The little that exists suffers from hygiene and cleanliness issues, lack of proper waste management, lack of qualified service staff etc. All these factors come together to make typical religious travel a veritable trial-by-fire for most pilgrims. Unless these issues are sorted, the sector cannot grow and develop to its full potential.

1. Lack of transparency and credibility

Probably the number one challenge with religious tourism in India is the lack of credibility of religious trusts. Most religious trusts in India literally and figuratively operate beyond the scope of rule of law. They answer to their own self-appointed boards, determine their own fee structures, allocate their own concessions and licenses and even don’t declare the donations and assets held in a transparent manner.

Not only does this breed corruption, but given the global concerns about money laundering and financing terrorist operations, could prove to be a massive hole in our National Security apparatus! The Government of India should take concrete measures to ensure that everything connected with organizations involved in religious tourism is above board and that pilgrims can concentrate on their piety and the pilgrimage experience rather than worry about being fleeced.

While some recent developments have indicated that the Ministry is willing and able to take concrete steps to resolve these challenges, it will take time, concerted effort and willingness among all participants to actually make things better.

Religious Tourism in India | Government Initiatives

The Tourism Department of the Government of India finally seems to have woken up to the potential the sector offers. The Ministry of Tourism finally cleared (as of July 2016) projects worth INR 1,500 crores as part of its focus on religious tourism. The projects identified include:

• The Ramayana Circuit
• The Krishna Circuit and
• The Buddhist Circuit

The projects are primarily spread across the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Centrally funded, these projects will be helmed by the Department of Tourism, Government of India and will include things like infrastructure development, road and rail linkages, tourist facilitation centers, hygiene facilities, security and CCTV facilities and even Wi-Fi!

An interesting aspect is the proposal to develop and sustain permanent displays that showcase the life and times of the era. It will be interesting to see how this shapes up. The details of the various projects are as follows:

Ramayana Circuit

Based primarily in the historic city of Ayodhya, this circuit will be focused on creating an audio-visual tableau depicting the life and teaching of Lord Rama. Some details which have been revealed include a gallery-based display that features life-sized sculptures of Valmiki and Tulsidas.

Krishna Circuit

The Krishna circuit will feature several cities identified with the life and times of Lord Krishna. These include (among others)Mathura and Vrindavan. The project proposal describes the creation of Yatri (tourist) sheds, food kiosks, audio-visual shows as well as well-lit Parikrama (circumambulation) paths.

Buddhist Circuit

Considering that India is the birthplace of Lord Buddha and the religion he founded, it is heartening to note that the projects also include a Buddhist circuit. Based in Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, this will include the creation of a audio-visual led theme park. Sizable numbers of pilgrims come from South and South East Asian countries to visit the birthplace of the Buddha and this will provide them with much to see and do.

It is notable that these projects have been approved in line with the Tourism Ministry’s promise of development of Religious Tourism in India on the back of last year’s “Swadesh Darshan” and “Prasad” Schemes. While “Swadesh Darshan” was to be focused on the creation and development of theme-based Tourist circuits, “Prasad”, was a National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive.

• For information on the Swadesh Darshan Scheme, please visit this link
• For information on the Prasad Scheme, please visit this link 

Disclaimer: The announcements and subsequent details have been gleaned from publicly available news and information sites. It is recommended that readers of this blog make their own enquiries to determine the current status and specific details.

Religious Tourism in Hinduism | Indian Pilgrimages

Most Hindus undertake a variety of pilgrimages at least once during their lifetimes. While this is not a binding religious requirement, the laissez faire approach to religion as a way of life ensures that most Hinduism practitioners self-undertake these visits.

Hindu Pilgrimages in India can be broadly classified into four distinct types. These include:

• Circuits
• Melas
• Holy Cities and
• Temple Towns

In this post, we will attempt to understand how these pilgrimages continue to contribute to religious Tourism within India - namely the Domestic push.

Circuits

• Himalayan Char Dham: The Himalayan towns of Kedarnath, Badrinath, Ganotri and Yamunotri.
• Traditional Char Dham: The four holy towns of Puri, Rameshwaram, Dwaraka and Badrinath (primarily a Vishanavite circuit)
• Jyothirlingas: A circuit of temples where Lord Shiva is worshiped in the form of shiva lingas. there are 12 Jyothirlingas in India.
• Shakti Peethas: This is a circuit that caters to worshipers of the Mother Goddess. There are altogether 51 Shalti Peethas.

There are a few other circuits of varying destinations which attract their own set of followers. Most Hindus undertake one or more of these pilgrimages at least once during their lifetime.

Melas

The Khumb Mela is one of the holiest of Hindu pilgrimages. It is held every three years in rotation among the cities of Allahabad, Haridwar, Nashik and Ujjain.

Holy Cities

Varanasi, Allahabad, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Mathura, Vrindavan and Ayodhya are the holy Hindu cities as defined in the Puranas. Each of these cities has a strong association to Hinduism and may house several renowned temples and ashrams making them ideal places for religious immersion travel.

Temple Towns

There are a number of destinations which are primarily known for being temple towns. They attract their own following. These include Puri for the Jagannath Temple and Rath Yatra, Katra, home to Viashno Devi, Shirdi, home of Sai Baba, Tirumala, home of Tirupati Venkateshwara and Sabarimala, home of Lord Ayyappa. These temple towns typically have a primary deity housed in the main temple and may often have their own mini-circuits or related deities.

Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra

The Government of India is well aware of the potential of religious tourism and has initiated pilot programs to facilitate travel to and from these destinations. For the time being, respective State Tourism Departments facilitate religious Tourism. While this often makes journey within the state easy, there is little or no coordination among cross-state destinations. This requires a central push to iron out by developing models of coordination between various states involved in a single circuit.

We will discuss more about the specific problems plaguing the Religious Tourism industry in India in another post!

Disclaimer: Being a practicing Hindu, I am more familiar with Hindu Religious Tourism! However, in future posts, I will attempt to research and present pilgrimage circuits and destination catering to the other religions in India as well.