Sensitive and collaborative tourism is the need of the hour | April - 2020

Sensitive and collaborative tourism is the need of the hour: Shoba Mohan

The founder of RARE India says post pandemic business will see offbeat destinations and domestic travel bounce back first.

Sakshi Singh | ETTravelWorld | April 13, 2020, 13:43 IST

“Should the lockdown lift by May, the domestic market will be the first to revive and take advantage of the few weeks before schools reopen,” says Shoba Mohan, founder of RARE India. With a collection of boutique hotels, palace stays, wildlife lodges, homestays, and retreats spanning three countries, India, Nepal and Bhutan, RARE India has 64 hotels across 16 States in India.

Mohan said that post-Covid, off-beat destinations and domestic travel may see a better prospect. “Flights would still mean too much proximity, driving short distances for vacations will probably be on the agenda and hence off-beat destination by definition may be the perfect option for travellers to consider,” she said in a conversation with ET Hospitality.

Post-Covid, travel is going to be more insecure but there are enough reasons to suggest offbeat and experiential destinations will provide some answers. “But that cannot be a blanket presumption,” Mohan said.

According to her, experiential travel will have to reinvent itself to address hygiene issues for both staff and guests and activities that do not engage moving in crowded places.

The sustainable mode of tourism is likely to play a major role in reviving the sector post the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most of the hotels in the off-beat areas are shut. If they open and start operating with minimum staff, they should market themselves by highlighting exclusivity, luxury, proximity, hygiene and safety concerns, she said.

“Since we are looking at an evolved community of Indian travellers who have travelled around the world, we also have to be geared to meet service and quality standards which the RARE community of hotels are well equipped and audited to provide,” she added.

Domestic travel will have to be backed by an awareness campaign about the facet of travel. “Or the numbers that are expected to drive to close by destinations for a ‘backyard’ vacation can completely negate the learnings that we are seeing during the lockdown,” Mohan said.

She felt that this was the right time for marketing companies to rework on their brand strategy and the negative impact of mindless number-driven tourism to work towards building a sustainable global model in all respects.
“A ‘business as usual’ attitude will not work. Sensitive and collaborative tourism is the need of the hour,” she concluded.