Chattisgarh: The Silver Lining

It's not a sugarcane scenario as we know that Indian tourism is projected to book a revenue loss of Rs 1.25 trillion in calendar 2020 as a fallout, the shutdown of hotels and flight operations after the onset and spread of the coronavirus pandemic and our state Chattisgarh will be no different.

The travel & tourism business is on its knees, borders are sealed. Our cities are at a stand-still. Flights are grounded. Trains are stationary. Buses are not plying. Hotels are shut. F&B outlets are shuttered. One knows little when the fury of the virus will abate, people are cloistered, no one is even thinking of a holiday let alone planning for one now.

But the silver lining is that certain demand is expected to be impacted on account of the ongoing concerns, India and its states are also expected to benefit from it as demand for MICE from other Asian countries and domestic states which are being affected the most is expected to be diverted to and within Green zones in India to a greater extent, benefits of which will be seen post the pandemic. Marriages and Destination Marriages are also going to benefit the Green zones, once people are comforted by the arrival of a vaccine. Chattisgarh is definitely going to be one such hot destination, given its rich flora, fauna, historical and cultural relevance.

On the back of marginally positive sentiments for the domestic tourism led by social and industrial activities, we expect the momentum to pick up and going forward the industry should be able to register some positive revenues in the third quarter.

India is a very big country and religious sentiments are always rife here leading to considerable emotional travel, so it has an advantage in improving the domestic tourism demand and Chattisgarh is one with ultimate resources in lieu to encompass. The fair trend may be of solo tourism or in small groups of families indulging in religious & spiritual tourism, avoiding international travel. There is a decent scope of smart business leisure travel post-Covid and the state is definitely going to lead in terms of being a dormant offbeat destination till date.

Time is ripe to expose and explore the silver lining in the domestic Travel & Tourism circuit... CHATTISGARH!!