A Billion People Home Alone: Indian Tourism in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of life and tourism was perhaps one of the hardest hit, nearly frozen still. The first lockdown month in India – March 2020 – reportedly saw the number of foreign tourists drop by 66 percent from the previous year. A September 2020 report by the Confederation of Indian Industry predicted that the Indian tourism sector, which employs 8 percent of the country’s population, may collectively suffer a loss of $65.57 billion in the worst-case scenario. It was only in winter 2020 that hotels in certain areas of the country, such as the mountain states in the north and the sunny Kerala in the south, saw arrivals pickup again. 

Yet a characteristic feature of the Indian tourism industry is the sheer number of domestic travelers (as opposed to international), and the importance of religious sites as destinations. Given its size and the diversity of its attractions, India does not attract as many foreign tourists as it conceivable could. As per New Delhi’s own data, the country saw the arrival of over 10 million tourists from other countries in 2019, as compared to over 145 million who went to China the same year (there is obviously no point in comparing 2020 statistics). The number of domestic tourist arrivals to all of India’s states is many times higher, however. While foreign visitors may bring more money, under current circumstances the Indian tourism sector should likely focus on attracting domestic tourists.

Moreover, the tourism and hospitality industries have not been mentioned in the 2021-22 budget among the sectors whose financial wounds are to be healed with the support of the central Indian government. New Delhi has, however, worked out travel bubble connections with a number of countries. Some of these may indeed lead to more tourists from wealthier countries (such as France and Japan, which are on the list), though in some cases, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, such a connection will matter little for India’s overall economy (even though tourist arrivals from such countries usually fall under the health tourism category). What is notable, however, is that India has established travel bubble connections with only one of its neighboring countries – the Maldives – and in this case it is reverse tourism traffic that will be of more economic significance.

Some state governments are working out their own strategies. One of India’s most popular tourism destinations, Kerala, is hoping to attract more tourists during the off-season (which in its case means the monsoon season, around June and July). The government of Kerala, a southern state, has also put out video ads in Hindi, in an attempt to woo travelers from northern India. The eastern state of Odisha has in turn initiated an “Odisha by Road” campaign. Launched in September 2020, it focused on attracting travelers coming by road from nearby states, with a realization that tourists are more hesitant to travel by trains or by planes. The initiative’s other objective is to promote Odisha’s less frequented and more distant sites. However, the campaign appeared to be realized mostly through events, such as bike rallies, and not through a specific focus on infrastructure leading to tourist sites. It has also set its eye on wealthier tourists.

The question remains whether wealthy travelers may indeed be attracted more easily – not only in Odisha but across India. To that end, it will be essential for the hospitality business to upgrade its sanitary conditions. Many Indian hotels are doing this already, with more frequent sanitizing, a reduction in the number of tables in restaurants, and the banishment of buffets. High-end hotels and restaurants have the space and the funds to adjust to stringent norms. A restaurant with a large lawn may obviously find it easier to maintain distancing rules, but that is a luxury availed by few. In a country like India, many entities may simply continue running without complying with new norms and hope they will be spared by government controls. 

One of the obvious ways that the hospitality sector in India has begun to adapt is through offering home delivery of food, something that even restaurants in luxurious Indian hotels have started doing. In June 2020, Taj Hotels, a chain of high-end hotels, launched a food delivery platform, Qmin.

Perhaps most importantly, high-end hotels depend on foreign travelers much more than smaller hotels, and thus will likely have to wait much longer for their core customers to start returning. Smaller hospitality businesses and restaurants, by comparison, seem to be already benefiting from what is being termed “revenge tourism” – people’s tendency to travel anywhere close, even to a nearby town for a weekend, just to get out of their homes as soon as lockdown rules allow it.

India launched its vaccination drive in January. The country is in a rather comfortable position given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is being produced by the Serum Institute of India, making New Delhi one of its immediate and largest customers. Lockdown rules are already being eased in India – although the situation varies from state to state – and first reports suggest that “revenge tourism” is already picking up.