20 ka, 21 ka , Sabka Badla lega 2022

Post Covid Revenge Travel and Platforms

Mar 27, 2022

Covid19 pandemic forced us inside our homes for the larger part of 2021 and majority of 2020 and thus created new paradigms of leisure. Lot of my friends ended up taking stayactions and platforms like AirBnB have promoted local experiences over international travel. AAGAAS Federation at Pipalkoti, Chamoli Garhwal in Uttarakhand has pioneered community based voluntary non-profit making bio-tourism initiative to promote deliberate living.

More on AAGAAS and ecotourism opportunities in the OTM section at the end of this issue.

DTW

During the Week, we completed two years of international flights suspension. Back on March 23, 2020; Indian government had suspended the scheduled international flight services but later on flights under Air Bubble agreements and Vande Bharat Mission from July 2020 onwards were initiated with limited countries.

I wrote about Platforms and Travel with emphasis on following takeaways- businesses especially in travel and tourism would have to reimagine the customer journey and experience through triple lenses of Safe (Mostly Contactless), Seamless (Mostly Digital) and Sensitive (Mostly Empathetic).You can also find the summary of three earlier post in this newsletter about Travel and Platforms

Revival of travel and tourism industry could be understood in three phases- back to normal, gaining confidence and creating resilience.

Phase One has already begun last year and included lifting travel restrictions along with working with businesses apply revised health protocols for safe travel, and help to diversify their markets both domestic and international. More and more travel is going forward would be very private. Companies and Service providers should not wait for the group bookings to pick up. They are too risky for all stakeholders- guests, service personnels and larger community. Instead of large groups , tourism industry must look for small private family/close friends social bubbles. Platforms like NotOnMap have started promoting longer term stays for small intimate groups to support the communities where they have established their presence.

Phase two should focus on restoring traveller confidence and stimulating demand, creating information apps for visitors and promoting domestic tourism. We have also seen an increase in camping which has proven to be resilient in the face of a covid19. It has an added advantage of offering accessibility of space to discover and perceived security in bring-your-own-stuff. My PBEL City neighbours Gangadhar and Ramya along with their home-schooled twin daughters- Amulya and Ananya- have made it their goal to introduce more and more families to outdoor life. Of course, the usual camping is not for everyone and hence a more luxurious and increasingly popular alternative is “glamping”(glamorous camping). This option combines the comforts of hotel with views of camps. Closed space travel with complete strangers whether in flight or train would be still off limits for many families. Multiple travel portals have reported increase in activity both search and booking for travel but mostly for driving distances from their current residences. According to Microsoft latest research studies

“….traveling continues to be the most sought-after type of experience for consumers today. According to Luxury Traveler, 57% of all Americans are saving their money specifically for travel, and not surprisingly, Millennials were higher than the average, with over 65% doing so.”

General feeling is to control as much as possible and then perhaps access a facility with proper safety and sanitisation.

Third phase would be more future looking and may involve envisioning comprehensive tourism recovery plans, to rebuild/rebrand destinations, encourage innovation and investment, and generally rethink/reimagine the tourism sector.

For example, the NotOnMap Mystic Village was named Travelers’ Choice Winner in YEAR 2020. Through their intervention , NoM created new work opportunities to stop the migration of the skilled youth to other places. They also helped the village inhabitants become self-sustainable by building a structured revenue system which now helps the village to earn a living while maintaining their traditions, culture and heritage.

There is also lot of interest in Blockchain solutions for travel and tourism. Major use cases for travel and tourism industry may come from hotel rooms booking, customer loyalty points, feedback/review and supply chain management.After all, transparency and credibility based on blockchain technology can go a long way in infusing confidence in the currently opaque customer review mechanism.

OTW

Over the Weekend, we had the first 2022 offline session (simultaneous Google Meet Broadcast) of MountainSpeak monthly session. This special session “Spaces“ is part of series of interaction in association with BuckSpeak and Trice Community. Idea of Spaces is to encourage conversations on wide range of topics with thought leaders and active members of society at large.

Anubhav is currently working with Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) at IIIT, Hyderabad and Heads the Deeptech & Medtech Incubator. Our conversation with Anubhav Tiwari was mostly concentrated on Start up ecosystem.

You can watch the recording of the interaction with Anubhav Tiwari and Naveen KL by going to the following link- https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WSYLn51_sa4a7tDxCtCHC_Tp8UkwI_FO/view?usp=sharing

One of the important themes was the importance of hard work and grit. Multiple members of audience also emphasised on the role of hard work and as to how grit and perseverance is more important than your grades and degrees. One of my favourite stoic scholar Marcus Aurelius has to say this in his wonderful book Meditations.

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: ‘I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?’
— But it’s nicer in here…
So you were born to feel ‘nice’? Instead of doing things and experiencing them? Don’t you see the plants, the birds, the ants and spiders and bees going about their individual tasks, putting the world in order, as best they can? And you’re not willing to do your job as a human being? Why aren’t you running to do what your nature demands?
— But we have to sleep sometime …
Agreed. But nature set a limit on that — as it did on eating and drinking. And you’re over the limit. You’ve had more than enough of that. But not of working. There you’re still below your quota.”
– Marcus Aurelius. Meditations.

Hustle More. Get it Done.

I Love You

Shailendra

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20 ka, 21 ka , Sabka Badla lega 2022

Post Covid Revenge Travel and Platforms

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