Old endings, new beginnings
Every year brings with it new hopes and plans, some that succeed while others stay static. Year 2012 too had its share of highs and lows. Express TravelWorld looks back at the year that was.
If some doomsday predictions are to be believed then 2012’s December cover story may be the last one written. But as optimists we feel 2013 will bring in renewed energy and hope once again for all of us to live and learn. Factors like dollar rate shooting up and increase in airfares have attributed in dampening the general morale of the industry. Diwali this year was, in particular, lacklustre. There have however been some positive developments and decisions (though very few on paper) that the industry should take note of. Countries that had ignored the Indian market in the past have made inroads in 2012 to tap the India outbound business with Portugal and Bulgaria being the latest to join the bandwagon. India won special awards at the WTM 2012 event and also had an encouraging participation there.
New circuits, sanctions and tie-ups
On the home turf, in January 2012 the ministry of tourism identified 45 Mega Tourist Destinations/Circuits in consultation with the concerned state governments/Union Territories(UTs) to be developed. During the same time, India signed an MoU on tourism with ASEAN. This lead to some progress made in the implementation of the work plan for the development of ASEAN-India cooperation in Buddhist pilgrimage tourism including the production and promotion of materials and documentary films on Buddhist pilgrimage
Be the first to comment.
