Odisha Tourism's digital transformsation becomes a case study for Adobe

Last year, Odisha Tourism revamped its website to position it as a one-stop shop for all needs of tourists.

Software giant Adobe Systems has decided to highlight the digital transformation of Odisha Tourism as a succinct, yet insightful case study. The selection recognises the one of its kind implementation of the Adobe stack in the government, or public sector.

Last year, Odisha Tourism revamped its website to position it as a one-stop shop for all needs of tourists. Moreover, the launch of the 5T (Technology, Transformation, Teamwork, Transparency & Time) governance framework has accelerated Odisha’s bid to leverage technologies to unlock its potential in an inclusive manner.

Vishal Dev, secretary (tourism & sports affairs), led the transition in Odisha’s digital presence before the Men’s Hockey World Cup was organised in Bhubaneswar in November 2018.

The tourism department envisioned the website to be a one-stop solution for all travellers, supported by an entire ecosystem of tourism service providers on the same platform. In a span of a little over a year and three developmental stages, Odisha Tourism’s website, social media and digital campaign now run as an integrated well-oiled machine, disbursing uniform brand messaging across platforms.

AEM’s Adobe Analytics continues to be used to increase the efficacy of targeting travellers, influence their purchase decisions thereby resulting in increased tourist footfall in the state. With the use of an extrapolated Return on Investment (ROI) model, the company aims to orient digital marketing spending strategies to attract high value tourists. The website features a travel aggregation portal for travel and tour operators to showcase their products and services, a contribution portal for bloggers and vloggers (video bloggers), a ready reckoner on 50+ tourist destinations in Odisha, along with a trip planner. It also features booking for Odisha Tourism Development Corporation (OTDC) hotels, heritage properties and various hotels.

“The digital initiative has come a long way from its nascent version of just being an idea backed by will, to a tangible asset positively impacting tourism. We plan to leverage the website to bring onboard affiliate travel agents from different geographies to increase the influx of tourists across the globe”, Dev said.

Tourists turn their back on Delhi as air pollution reaches record levels

Rising pollution levels is an added problem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is trying to reverse an economic slowdown as he seeks to lure investors to the South Asia nation.

Business travelers and tourists are avoiding New Delhi, as air pollution in India’s capital reached record levels, travel agents said.

Booking inquiries for hotels and flights to New Delhi have slumped since the festival of Diwali on Oct. 27, said Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer of the business-to-consumer segment at Yatra Online Inc. Bursting of firecrackers as part of the festivities worsened pollution caused by farm stubble burning in areas around the capital city.

Business travelers are looking to reschedule their visits to a later date, Dhall said in an email, adding that tourists are preferring Himalayan hill stations and destinations in the state of Rajasthan, home to the Thar desert, over New Delhi, famous for the 12th-century Qutab Minar and the Red Fort, built in the 17th century.

Pollution levels in New Delhi surged to more than three times of what’s considered hazardous over the weekend, increasing the risk of stroke, heart disease and lung cancer. While both provincial and federal governments have taken steps, including limiting private vehicles usage and shuttering factories, they have been unable to stop farmers from burning crop stubble -- smoke from which is the main reason for air becoming a lethal cocktail at this time of the year.

Bookings and travel searches for New Delhi from key international areas including Singapore, Thailand and Qatar have fallen 44 per cent, according to travel website Ixigo. On the other hand, bookings and queries from New Delhi to other destinations have increased 25 per cent, Ixigo said. Last-minute bookings from Delhi to other metros like Mumbai and Bangalore have also surged 20 per cent.

Rising pollution levels is an added problem for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is trying to reverse an economic slowdown as he seeks to lure investors to the South Asia nation. Almost 11 million foreign tourists arrived in India last year, government data showed, as Modi’s administration unveiled a campaign to showcase everything from the country’s mountains to deserts and rain forests to wildlife parks.

Business Standard

Thomas Cook falls: What next for the company that survived two world wars?

Thomas Cook employs 21,000 people and is the world's oldest travel company, founded in 1841.

Business Standard : Thomas Cook, the world's oldest travel firm, which survived two world wars pioneering travel packages and tourism, collapsed on Monday, stranding hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers around the globe and sparking the largest peacetime repatriation effort in British history.

What happens now and why did it collapse?

Who is affected?

The firm ran hotels, resorts and airlines for 19 million travellers a year in 16 countries, generating revenue in 2018 of 9.6 billion pounds ($12 billion). It currently has 600,000 people abroad, including more than 150,000 British citizens.

Thomas Cook employs 21,000 people and is the world's oldest travel company, founded in 1841. The company has 1.7 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) of debt.

what happens to tourists?

The British government has asked the UK Civil Aviation Authority to launch a repatriation programme over the next two weeks, from Monday to Oct. 6, to bring Thomas Cook customers back to the UK.

"Due to the significant scale of the situation, some disruption is inevitable, but the Civil Aviation Authority will endeavour to get people home as close as possible to their planned dates," it said.

A fleet of aircraft will be used to repatriate British citizens. In a small number of destinations, alternative commercial flights will be used.

The Civil Aviation Authority has launched a special website, thomascook.caa.co.uk, where affected customers can find details and information on repatriation flights.

For those customers not flying from Britain, alternative arrangements will have to be found. In Germany, a popular customer market for Thomas Cook, insurance companies will coordinate the response.

What is the advice to passengers?

"Customers currently overseas should not travel to the airport until their flight back to the UK has been confirmed on the dedicated website," the Civil Aviation Authority said.

"Thomas Cook customers in the UK yet to travel should not go to the airport as all flights leaving the UK have been cancelled."

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also confirmed that a passenger aircraft has successfully landed in Kannur International Airport.

The first passenger aircraft has successfully landed in Kannur International Airport, marking the readiness of the fourth airport in Kerala for commercial operations. The airport, which is getting ready with an investment of Rs 22.92 billion is expected to help the state attract tourists.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has also confirmed that a passenger aircraft has successfully landed in Kannur International Airport.

"The trial was carried out by the Air India Express aircraft IX 555. It is part of the final procedures for getting clearance to commence commercial operations. KIAL has informed that the trial was successful," he said.

The project is being developed by Kannur International Airport Ltd (KIAL), promoted by Government of Kerala, to build and operate airport of International standards at Mattannur, in Kannur District, the northern part of Kerala, primarily to cater the need of large Non Resident Indian (NRI) population in the region who travel frequently to various international destinations, the business community and tourists.

According to the company, around 32.86 per cent of the shares of KIAL is held by the state government while 22.54 per cent is by central public sector undertakings, 9.39 per cent is by Airports Authority of India and 32.21 per cent by others including qualified institutions buyers, individuals, companies, cooperative banks and societies.

This will be the second greenfield airport in Kerala, being built on Public Private Partnership model in an area of about 2,300 acres. The land is acquired by the state government through KINFRA, the Nodal Agency, and will be transferred to the company in a phased manner. The airport will be operational in 2018, and the company has earlier claimed that it would make Kerala the only state in the country to have four international airports. As per the Information Memorandum prepared by SBI CAPS, the airport is expected to have an approximate annual traffic of 1.65 million international and 0.16 million domestic passengers in the first year of operation.

It is estimated that currently 13% of the district population is employed overseas which is forecasted to be increased is a considerable rate in the coming years, it added.

Article Source Business Standard

Why we shouldn't be blaming the Indian tourist alone for Goa's troubles

By playing the victim card, Goans abdicate their responsibility for the self-created mess that they find themselves mired in.

Tourism in Goa has been in the news recently. A piece in a weekly conveyed Goans’ sense of outraged desperation at the behaviour of Indian tourists visiting Goa. Vijai Sardesai, the minister for town and country planning, was quoted calling a section of tourists’ ‘scum of the earth’.

The annual number of tourists visiting Goa is more than five times its 14.5 lakh population. Reports like the one in Open indicate that Goa is finding it difficult to keep its head above the surge. At the same time, a local newspaper has suggested that 35% of the population in Goa now consists of migrants. Are these the fount of Goa’s problems?

Goa is like a veritable pie that everyone wants a piece of. Drawn by its beauty and, the much spoken of laid-back lifestyle, there is a steady influx of people making the state their home. These features attract tourists too. Others come in search of employment. It comes as no surprise, then, that property is a gold mine and land is coveted. Not only are Goans selling, converting or renting their old houses, but land too is being converted for commercial and residential purposes.

With Goans migrating and families becoming smaller and residing in different parts of the world, maintaining properties is no longer easy. Selling it, therefore, becomes the best way to cash in and divvy-up the proceeds before the land is usurped while renting properties becomes a source of income and also ensures that they are maintained.

The Economic Survey 2017-18 finds double-digit percentage growth in the construction sector over previous years in most years between 2012-13 and 2016-17. During a low growth year in the construction industry, electricity/gas/water services – basic requirements for sale of new construction – have shown double-digit growth. That there has been no corresponding dip in this sector is intriguing, to say the least. At the same time, an official from the directorate of census operations has stated that one out of every five houses remains unoccupied.

Does the much vaunted susegado approach of the Goan cloak a desire to make hay at all times? During colonial and pre-liberalisation times, the landed were unable to sell or convert their property because of the poor economy. Pre-liberation Goa ran mostly on remittances from Goans working outside the state and from agriculture. Others were employed in the Portuguese bureaucracy or were involved in import/export. Smuggling from then Bombay also helped.

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Article Source BS