The COVID-19 pandemic has been a harsh blow to several businesses around the world, especially the travel and tourism sector. With people cooped up in their homes, travelling has come to a screeching halt. The late 2020 and the early months of 2021 had witnessed a dip in the virus cases and tourism had started resuming gradually. But the second and third wavebrought back the lockdown restrictions, moving the industry back to the struggles. However, the travel sectors of various states are now formulating many strategies to revive businesses post-pandemic. For example, Maharashtra Tourism is aiming to focus on domestic travel and inter-state tourism and also on promoting tourism digitally, keeping pace with the trend. After being shut for over a month, Ajanta and Ellora caves and other tourist attractions are reopening in Maharashtra for visitors. However, you need to show your vaccination certificate and purchase tickets online to visit most of these tourists sites.
Curly Tales spoke to Dr. Dhananjay Sawalkar, Director, Directorate of Tourism, Government of Maharashtra, who provided an insight into post-pandemic travel in the state. Here’s what he said:
What’s in store?
Maharashtra is well-endowed with a variety of tourist attractions including golden beaches, magnificent forts, pristine hill stations, historic caves, heritage wonders, revered religious places, villages and wildlife sanctuaries.
What’s new?
The new thing that we have come up with is the agrotourism policy and under that, we have got a good response. More than 250 farmers have offered their properties as agrotourism units, and informally also in Maharashtra around 700 agrotourism units are working. So this is the new thing which we are offering. We have also started the policy of caravan tourism and under that, some agencies have come forward or are running the caravan tourism in the state of Maharashtra. So these are the two new things. We are also coming up with camping facilities or tents at different locations like Bhandardara, Nashik and some offbeat places like Tapola.
Also Read: Caravan Tourism To Come Up In Maharashtra For Travel Enthusiasts; Here’s Everything To Know
How has customer behaviour changed since the start of the pandemic, and how is it expected to be in the coming days?
There is a lot of change in the behavioural pattern of the customers or tourists. People are looking for an escape from the hustle-bustle of city life and crowded places. They are keen on taking short holidays and are more interested in exploring natural locations. Also, they want to visit places where hygiene and COVID protocols are followed. There is a change in the eating patterns of tourists too. People want to eat only hygienic food in hygienic places. They don’t want to eat street food.
So, the positive thing of Maharashtra is that we have a lot of destinations to offer, which are in the remote and isolated places and are in the nature. And also agrotourism will be a boon for such kind of change in behavioural pattern. Similarly, now the rainy season is coming and in Maharashtra, there are so many waterfalls and so many trekking sites, which will also help in the revival of tourism.
Also Read: 10 Best Spots You Will Find On A Road Trip From Mumbai To Goa
Are there any offers coming up for post-pandemic travel?
We have a separate commercial wing, MTDC, which runs commercial resorts. They are already extending concessions/offers to senior citizens and govt. employees. We are thinking of offering concessions at a few offbeat places which see fewer tourist visits.
As told to Suchismita Pal
First Published: February 04, 2022 12:58 PMFAQs
1. When are Maharashtra Tourism planning to reopen?
Regarding the reopening of tourism in the state of Maharashtra, there is a very positive note. If you see the figures of the Covid affected patients in the last 15 days, it has come down drastically from 65,000 to around 26,000. So, that is why we are very hopeful and if the trend continues for the next 15 days, then slowly we are thinking of opening in a phased manner. Then in that strategy also, we have analysed the figures of the different destinations and the districts, where there are huge cases. In that case, the local administration will take a call on that, but slowly in the month of June-July, there are possibilities that we will open up the Tourism industry.
What’s in store of Maharashtra tourism?
Maharashtra has a lot of things to offer. Other than the Himalayan snowfall and the deserts of Rajasthan, everything is here in Maharashtra. From beaches, hill stations and tracking sites to heritage villages and wildlife, all things are here.
What’s new coming up in Maharashtra tourism?
The new thing, as you may know, that we have come up with is the agrotourism policy and under that, we have got a good response. More than 250 farmers have offered their properties as agrotourism units, and informally also in Maharashtra around 700 agrotourism units are working. So this is the new thing which we are offering. We have also started the policy of caravan tourism and under that, some agencies have come forward or are running the caravan tourism in the state of Maharashtra. So these are the two new things. We are also coming up with camping facilities or tents at different locations like Bhandardara, Nashik and some offbeat places like Tapola.
The pandemic hit the travel industry hard. Can this be explained from the Maharashtra perspective?
Maharashtra has been the worst-affected state in India during the pandemic, in terms of the number of cases and the period. So, in that sense or travel industry of Maharashtra is also hit hard. Recently, we did a survey and in that survey, it was found that only 14% of hotels are operating. Even though we have allowed these hotels to operate, only certain people are working for essential services. Few hotels have opened for the staff who are working for the Covid hospitals or Covid patients. Even certain hotels are converted into hospital kind of facilities. And for the essential things are for the essential travel, we have allowed the hotels to operate, but only 14% of them. It means that the 86% of the hotels are shut down in this second lockdown. So, definitely, there is a huge loss. Even the international tourist arrivals are completely stopped in Mumbai.
Flights have been cancelled. So, the last thing which we will revive is international tourism. So our whole focus is currently on domestic tourism and within domestic, inter-state tourism. Fortunately, Maharashtra the third-largest state in India areawise and the second-largest population-wise. So we have a lot to offer within inter-state tourism also. Geographically, five regions are there. So we want to offer the people of Konkon the wildlife of Vidarbha, or people of Vidarbha the beaches of Konkon. We have decided our strategy for the next 6 months, or 1 year because there is a change behavioural pattern of the people. People do not want to go for longer duration, tours now. And so, one more hopeful thing from here is that there are certain infrastructural facilities, which will come up in next four, or five months or six months, which is going to be very, very beneficial for the revival of the tourism.
I want to particularly mention about the Samruddi highway, which is going to start in next 6 months, which is going to connect Mumbai and urban Nashik to the rural Nashik area and rural Vidarbha. Similarly, Konkon expressway or the Goa highway is going to be in the final stage and that highway will also be really beneficial for the tourism in Koukan region. Similarly, ro-ro services are going to start immediately after this rainy season, in the month of August-September. The services have been extended up to Kashid Beach, almost 73 kilometes from Mumbai. So that is going to be very much helpful for beach tourism in the Konkon belt, particularly the south Konkon.
How has customer behaviour changed since the start of the pandemic, and how is it expected to be in the coming days?
There is a lot of change in the behavioural pattern of the customers or tourists. Number one is that the people don’t want to go to the crowded places. They don’t want to go for longer duration trips. People are thinking of short breaks or the weekend holidays. People want to go to places of nature and hygienic places. Tourists want to go the places where the COVID protocols are followed and they don’t want to eat street food. There is a change in the eating patterns of tourists too. People want to eat only hygienic food in hygienic places. So, the positive thing of Maharashtra is that we have a lot of destinations to offer, which are in the remote place, which are the isolated places and are in the nature. And also agrotourism will be a boon for such kind of change in behavioural pattern.