The Hindu Business Line : Post-tsunami, `tourists are coming back'

DESPITE the setback caused by the tsunami and political unrest, the tourism-dependant economies in the Indian Ocean rim are fighting to get the industry back on track.

Sri Lanka set the ball rolling last week, followed by Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia. These countries are aggressively targeting the Indian traveller with attractive packages and a variety of options.

Inaugurating the Travel & Tourism Far and Outbound Travel Mart here on Saturday, Mr V. Ramadoss, Tamil Nadu Tourism Secretary, said that it was fitting that the tourism fair should start from Chennai before moving on to other cities. Tamil Nadu was affected by the tsunami and this fair would serve as an opportunity for the State to prove that the recovery process has started, he said.

Immediately after the tsunami, there were about 40 per cent cancellations in Tamil Nadu, but the tourists have started coming back, he said. There are around 100 participants from five countries and 12 States at the three-day fair. Overseas participation includes Nepal, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The fair aims at making travellers aware of the all the holiday options and what the best buys of the season are.

More than 15,000 general and 2,000 trade visitors are expected to visit the fair. The fair will cover six major metros and will have over one lakh general visitors and over 5,000 travel trade visitors. With each of the general visitors spending an average of Rs 12,000 to book holidays, travel options at the fair generated business of about $280 million in 2003-04.Though Europe, the US and South East Asian countries are more popular among outbound Indian travellers, the awareness of New Zealand as a destination has being growing.

Mr Kiran Nambiar, Country Manager, New Zealand Tourism Board, said that travel into New Zealand from India has been growing at about 5 per cent, despite the lack of direct air connections. Film crews, business and leisure travellers and those visiting friends and relatives have formed a sizable chunk of the traffic. Last year, he said, 10 per cent of the total leisure traffic into New Zealand was from South India.

New Zealand continues to be the filmmaker's paradise with the next billion-dollar fantasy, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe from C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, set to be filmed here. This would be the next big budget Hollywood film to be shot here after the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Song and dance sequences from over a 100 Tamil and Telegu films have been shot here, Mr Nambiar said.

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