Tour operators in the city gear up to resume domestic travel, but plum deals might not be enough to lure travellers in a post-COVID world
A few tour operators, are planning to resume inter-state buses post June
Even as Mumbai is crawling its way out of the lockdown, tour operators in the city are struggling to find solutions that will help them get back to business. While discounts and deals are being offered to lure tourists for future travels, it might not be enough in a post-COVID-19 world, where health hygiene and safety, will be top priority.
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"People are still scared," said Viraat Kasliwal, owner, Raconteur Walks Tourism Company. According to Kasiwal, because the tourism business involves too many stakeholders, the need of the hour would be to ensure that each one of them works together, for people to feel confident enough to travel again. "Just the tour operator adhering to social distancing isn-t going to be enough. Everyone, including hotels, tour operators, transportation suppliers, food and beverages have to adhere to social distancing and health hygiene standards. I think only offering -private- value for money tours will be the way forward," he added.
Chitra Acharya
Tourist guide Chitra Acharya, member of the Tourist Guides Association TOGA, Mumbai, the only group comprising government-approved guides in Mumbai, who are licensed and trained by the Ministry of Tourism, said that it is highly unlikely that tour operators will start their businesses anytime soon. "They are indeed making plans for special packages and will concentrate on domestic tours. However, the fact is that while people still want to go out and take vacations, the fear of virus is still at the back of their minds," she said.
When mid-day reached out to a few tour operators in the western suburbs, we were told that some inter-state buses would resume post June 16, but with fewer passengers, in order to maintain social distancing while travelling. Bookings for Goa have opened. But, the prices of tickets have nearly tripled. Where a one-way trip on a non-AC would cost R1,000, the price has now gone up to R3,000; similarly, those travelling on an AC sleeper bus, will have to cough up about R3,500. One tour operator who will be resuming Goa to Mumbai buses soon, said the last halt will not be in Goa, but at Banda, which is on the Maharashtra-Goa border.
The domestic tourism industry is amongst the worst hit due to the pandemic. Incidentally, in-bound tourism took a beating nearly three weeks before the lockdown was announced, said Kasliwal. "The outbreak was the final nail in the coffin. We are now at a stage where large scale government intervention is required to -bail- tourism out. We are perhaps not talking about just financial relief, but also the need for the government to promote India as a destination in a more comprehensive manner," he added.
Measures to improve hygiene standards are already being taken up in full swing. MakeMyTrip, for instance, has partnered with Meru to provide ultra-sanitised cab services across all major airports in India. Some of the safety procedures include ozone sanitisation that helps control the spread of virus inside the cab, and Isopropyl Alcohol IPA sanitisation of the cab-s exteriors.
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