International travel is likely to remain affected for quite some time but domestic tourism may witness a surge in the near future

The Covid-19 pandemic is all about social distancing and curbing travel to the extent of restricting movement beyond the front door of homes. Travel in these times is almost an oxymoron. With no end of the pandemic yet in sight, the options are either to sit at home, or move about with precautions and restrictions or be an eternal optimist and plan for the post Covid-19 era when pent up desiresto go out would suddenly find an uncontrollable opening.

I clearly remember the 30th and 31st of January last year when the first rescue flights took off majestically from the Delhi airport for Wuhan, to bring back the stranded Indians. There was a nationalistic fervour and a feeling of accomplishment when the Boeing 747s took off and there was no feeling of fear. Who could have imagined that bright wintry morning that the coronavirus would soon start wreaking havoc.

March 22, 2020, when the lockdown was first announced is a date difficult to forget. Suddenly we were confined indoors. But people adjusted fairly quicklyto the first wave of coronavirus and eventually resumed going out, even out of cities on short-term holidays. Going to Maldives, a nation that remained unaffected by the virus for a long time, became a fashion statement. But the virus returned with a vengeance this April.

International travel is likely to be affected for quite some time, atleast till the vaccination drive gathers momentum and covers the majority of our population.Till then domestic tourism may witness a surge. Many of us visualize a distinct change in the travel habits of people with the majority seeking an experience within the country's tourist destinations, at least in the short-term.

The “Aas Paas” brand of tourism piloted by the state of Madhya Pradesh almost a decade ago is likely to witness a resurgence. People are more likely to feel safe and confident in exploring nearby places and seeking a different experience within drivable distances from their homes. Delhi and its surroundingswould perhaps witness a lot of road travel to hill stations in Himachal and Uttarakhand. And similar could be the state of affairs almost all round the country. Cross-country movement for tourism in all probabilitymay witness a decline by train or road in favour of air travel. 

Rail travel in my view may take a long-term hit. Majority of passenger trains are docked since Covid-19 onset and there is palpable fear among people of getting infected in this mode of travel. This fear may weigh heavy on the minds of travellers who are likely to prefer air travel that takes much less time and is safer with controlled air flows and HEPA filters. Short distance Shatabdi type travel may sustain but long-distance travel is likely to be impacted in the short to medium term.

Domestic air travel may even go up now, but international travel may continue to be impacted for sometime. And both aircrafts and trains would have to aggressively follow Covid-19 sanitation protocols regardless.

Visits to tourist sites would definitely remain affected though tourist destinations especially of the hill station varietymay start thriving. People may travel for a different experience, a change of environment and feeling the outside, but they may not exactly like visiting tourist sites. And obviously for reasons of social distancing, resorts would take precedence over conventional hotel type accommodation and traffic to non-city hotels may witness an increase as compared to city hotels.

The efforts of International Air Transport Association towards initiating Covid passportsare commendable and need to be implemented at the earliest after working out the modalities.

The operation of private passenger carrying trains may in the future give a new dimension to passenger comfort and overall experience. And the planned rapid pace of adding to the fixed infrastructure is likely to alleviate decades of congestion on the tracks and increase overall capacity. On the aviation front, the UDAN scheme has already given a new dimension to air travel and going forward would add to the same in increasing measure.

Regardless of the forecasts by different soothsayers, we need to prepare for a future that would definitely witness a resurgence in tourism, albeit of a changed mix. We need to focus on and build tourist infrastructure innovatively and put in place systems for improving tourist information and facilitation.  Incidents like the ongoing pandemic must be regarded as temporary setbacks; the sector would bounce back much faster than others once things improve. With vaccination gathering pace, good times have to return.

The author is former Chairman & Managing Director, Air India and former Chairman, Railway Board. The views expressed are personal.