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‘Traditional itinerary must change to meet new demands’, says IRCTC official
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Tourism Conclave in Delhi, Hasjia, who is the tourism and marketing director of IRCTC, said the travel sector is set to undergo a transition from multi-destination tours to offbeat and slow-paced destinations.
There is a need to move out of the traditional itinerary and adopt new ways of travel amid a change in pattern in the tourism sector, Indian Rail Catering Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) official Rajni Hasjia said on Thursday, citing Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the Hindustan Times Tourism Conclave in Delhi, Hasjia, who is the tourism and marketing director of IRCTC, said the travel sector is set to undergo a transition from multi-destination tours to offbeat and slow-paced destinations.
“The hospitality and the tourism industry are still finding it difficult to come to terms after being hit badly during the pandemic. IRCTC has a pan-India presence and has products ranging from ₹800 to 800 dollars a day. Mass tourism is gradually coming back to normal. However, we cannot forget that there is a certain transition from the multi-destination and fast pace tours to the offbeat destinations and the slow-paced tours. We need to explore and move out of the traditional itinerary and come to the adventure itineraries. The time has come to think of adopting new ways and methods on dealing with tourism,” she said.
The official said that IRCTC has already introduced river cruise tourism, biking and caravan tours to meet the changing needs of travellers and will soon introduce wellness tours in the country.
Amid a spurt in domestic tourism, IRCTC has been working on the deluxe luxury segment and has also received a good response from consumers, Hasjia said.
“IRCTC is blessed with the strength of railways that we carry along. We are an extended arm of Indian Railways. We were anticipating that due to visa restrictions, luxury tourism is not going to happen... We have done a lot of work for domestic tourism as well and launched several products in the deluxe segment, for example Char Dham, Padharo Rajasthan and the Ramayana Express. To our surprise, we got a very good response and were able to sell the full inventory,” she said.
The railways-owned body is hoping to get back its foreign tourism with India gradually opening its economy. People are waiting for India to open and we are likely to have a good number of bookings from the UK and USA market, she said.
Speaking on the public private partnership (PPP) with the hospitality and travel agents sector, Hasjia said IRCTC believes that showcasing the infrastructure of the states through virtual mode would help promote digital marketing.
“When infrastructure comes up, tourism activity gets facilitated. When services are improved, there is a direct impact on tourism. At this time, focus is directed on tourism and the ministry of tourism is going its way,” she said.
