India Tourism to Capitalise on Forthcoming Commonwealth Games

 India is set to welcome an estimated 100,000 visitors for the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games which will take place 3-14 October 2010.

Three of India’s leading tourism organisations; the Indian tourism board, Incredible India, Jet Airways, and Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts came together on Monday to share their different sector insights into the Indian tourism market at a media event hosted at London’s famous Bombay Brasserie.

The three key tourism players provided positive insights into how they were set to capitalise on the Commonwealth Games and provide a seamless India visitor experience. Major developments for 2010 include a new Delhi Metro, a new 250-room Leela Palace Kempinski New Delhi hotel and Jet Airways’ focus and investment in First Class suites and Première Class beds.

Upgraded infrastructure - With 5.5 million foreign tourists predicted to arrive in India this year, Raj Kumar Sunani, Incredible India’s Assistant Director, explained how India’s infrastructure is currently being developed in advance of the Games from the new Delhi Metro to the modernisation of the Indira Gandhi International Airport, which will play a major role in improving India’s links with the rest of the world. “The economy is improving and the Government is upgrading and developing the infrastructure” stated Raj.

Supporting this view, Richard Pavia - The Leela Palaces, Hotels & Resorts’ Sales & Marketing Manager UK & Ireland - reported “In the next five years, over 90,000 rooms are being added across India with capital investment in the tourism sector expected to grow at an estimated 8.8% between 2010 and 2019.”

Growth and expansion - Plans were unveiled for The Leela Palace Kempinski New Delhi, scheduled to open for business in Autumn 2010, in time for the Games. The new 240-room hotel situated in the city’s CBD will make it the perfect place to stay for guests wanting to enjoy the Games in style. The Leela outlined plans for a new property in Chennai for 2010 and future plans to double the number of properties in its Indian portfolio with six more properties to be introduced over next three years in Hyderabad, Pune and Ashtamudi (Kerala).

A seamless visitor experience - But for all visitors, the India experience starts at check in, and Jet Airways – which celebrates its fifth anniversary of UK operations on 23 May 2010 – reported an optimistic outlook for 2010. “With our market leadership, continuous and unstinting investment in our product – particularly First Class suites and Première Class beds – we are poised to capitalise on the Games” said Raja Segran, Senior Vice President UK and Europe at Jet Airways.

Key priorities for 2010 for Jet Airways include growing its front-end traffic and increasing expanding connectivity in the Middle East to match demand. A new daily flight to Doha, Qatar, from Delhi started in January 2010. Jet’s first daily direct service from Mumbai to Johannesburg launches on 14 April 2010, in time for the FIFA World Cup.

The event on Monday will help drive an already resurgent tourism industry in India. When discussing post-recession recovery, Raja said “Jet is building on the strong foundations that it has developed and will ride the crest of India’s burgeoning economy with GDP expected to remain high, between 6 and 8%.”

The Commonwealth Games is part of a wider strategy for India which will ensure the continued development of the industry. Other aims include investing in rural tourism; growing the wellness tourism offering; medical tourism; community based responsible tourism; encouraging cruise liners to call at major Indian ports; and increasing awareness of India as a truly special tourist destination at any time of the year.

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