I am a little disappointed by our pink papers? analysis of the impact of the government?s move towards an ?open skies? policy for flights from Colombo and Asean countries. The focus of the discussion has been confined to which airline will gain or lose from deregulation of flights, hitherto governed by bilateral agreements signed by the ministry of civil aviation with various countries. The change in civil aviation policy that allows all Indian carriers, public and private, to fly to Colombo and provides unlimited access to Sri Lankan Airlines to Indian destinations marks a radical departure from the prevailing policy of regulating flights to and from foreign destinations to India.

Media reports suggest how some foreign and Indian private carriers would gain at the expense of Air-India and Indian Airlines. This argument misses the big picture totally. Though the reasoning is simple, it is worth running a tutorial since simple fundamentals get sacrificed in lofty analysis. Why do we need air links to other countries? Because people, Indians and foreign nationals, need to travel in and out of India for a host of reasons including business, tourism, academic, medical and personal. Fortunately, for all economies, the impact of such travel goes well beyond the purpose of such travel.

When people travel or become tourists, the services they need generate a large number of jobs. Travelers need taxi drivers, travel agents, airline staff, cooks for preparing in-flight meals, ground and cargo handling staff, hotel staff etc. In addition, travelers, while shopping, create demand for retailing services and for manufactures. The linkages of travel and tourism are numerous and penetrate a number of sectors. Not surprisingly, tourism today is the largest industry in the world and the biggest contributor to global GDP.

The multiplier impact of air travel and hence tourism is indeed large and India is no exception to this principle. Some studies say that on an average, every foreign visitor creates a turnover of over US$ 1,000 for the Indian tourism industry. What is more, being a highly labour intensive industry, tourism creates nearly 50 direct jobs per million rupees of investment.

It is well known that regulation of number of flights in and out of India has created a huge shortage of passenger seats, particularly during the peak tourist season. Reliable estimates suggest that if seats were freely available, the number of tourist arrivals into the country could within a year jump to 3.6 million up from the present 2.6 million. In three years time, this number could cross 6 million. Therefore in three years time, the turnover of the tourism industry would rise by at least $2.5 billion or well over Rs 10,000 crore creating millions of new jobs. By 2010, the tourism business in India could triple its present turnover, contributing substantially to government revenue, jobs, incomes and GDP. Tourism could become as big a foreign exchange earner as pharma, software or call centres.

Current restrictions on inbound and outbound flights from India are killing tourism and depriving millions of new jobs and incomes. Therefore, the biggest gainer from deregulation of air travel and open skies is the Indian economy and people ? and India is the biggest gainer from the welcome turnaround in aviation policy. That some Indian or foreign companies could gain or lose in the process is a secondary issue.

But even here, the argument that any company should lose is baffling. If an ?open skies? policy could create travel demand for another two to three million seats over the next two to three years, there is enough market for all Indian carriers to increase business manifold. The argument that only foreign airlines would corner this business obviously casts a doubt on the competitive ability of Indian carriers. Should one protect a few Indian companies and few thousands of their employees at the cost of the country, thousands of small and large tourism service providers and millions of people? The answer, at least to those who believe that national interest should override sectional interests, is obvious.

It?s time we congratulated the civil aviation ministry and the PMO for deregulating civil aviation and hope that the policy soon covers all sectors worldwide to create a surplus of seats for those wishing to experience Incredible India.

The author is an advisor to Ficci. Views expressed herein are personal