28 Indian States Set to Lose Tourism as an Industry During 2020-21

Key Pointer

* 1.8 billion+ domestic tourism footfalls, 10.5 million + foreign tourists and 6 million + NRI tourist footfalls hit
* Each foreign tourist has a multiplier effect of 2.8 times across Indian states, hence 10.5 million foreign tourists lead to 28 million +foreign tourists footfalls across states
* COVID-19 Pandemic has jeopardized all top performing foreign source markets for tourism impacted (USA, Canada, UK, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Italy, Spain), interstate domestic season which is almost 60%+ in the April - July period has collapsed for the FY 2020-21

Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), the policy federation of all the national associations representing the complete tourism, travel and hospitality industry of India (ADTOI, ATOAI, FHRAI, HAI, IATO, ICPB, IHHA, ITTA, TAAI, TAFI) has appealed to the Chief Ministers of each state for coming up with a state specific package.

FAITH has shared with each state their share of domestic and foreign tourists and how most of those total tourist footfalls will now not be available for 2020-21.

This tourism business has almost completely come to a standstill in FY 2020-21. Almost all of India’s top performing foreign source markets for tourism (USA, Canada, UK, Germany, China, Japan, Singapore, Russia, Italy, Spain), are severely impacted and are not likely to travel before FY 2021 - 22.

The interstate domestic season which happens almost 60%+ in the April - July period has collapsed for the year FY 2020 - 21 and will be negligent for the rest of year with stringent travel restrictions and reduced connectivity across Indian states. FAITH has been repeatedly saying to all key Government bodies that the Tourism industry of India first needs to SURVIVE, then needs to REVIVE and then only can it THRIVE.

FAITH has appealed to the Chief Ministers of each state for coming up with a state specific package.

* A complete waiver of all fixed electricity and other utility charges for FY 2020-21 without any penalties.

* A complete waiver of all excise duties for FY 2020-21 without any penalties.

* A renewal of all licenses, permits, permissions which were expiring in FY 2020-21 without any financial charges or penalties.

* A refund of the FY 2019-20 of SGST collected from all travel agents, tourist transporters, hotels, tour operators, restaurants and any other tourism, travel & hospitality enterprises in the state which will help manage their working capital crisis. This can be paid back in subsequent years interest free and without any penalties.

* A complete waiver of any other taxes, fees, cesses or levies such as the property taxes or interstate tourist transport taxes levied at the level of the state, municipal, district or panchayat on the tourism, travel & hospitality industry.

Additionally, FAITH has also requested the Chief Ministers for their support with the following:

Request to the Finance Minister, of Govt of India for a complete waiver of income taxes, GST, PF & ESI and any other statutory taxes, fees, cesses or levies on the tourism, travel & hospitality industry for FY 2020-21
Request to Governor RBI for increasing the moratorium period on loans from three months to full financial year of 2020-21 without any penal or accumulated interest.
Request to Finance Minister, Govt of India & Governor RBI for setting up a Tourism COVID 19 fund for 10-year interest free loan for enabling tourism, travel & hospitality industry to meet salary costs. This could be for a minimum fund size of Rs. 50,000 crores which is almost equal to the gross banking credit to Indian tourism, travel & hospitality industry. This will help retain jobs, ensure that tourism business don’t go bankrupt and also will protect the principal amount of loan and overall banking exposure.

This crisis emanating from COVID 19 is the worst ever to hit the tourism industry, bigger than the combined financial impact of 9/11 and economic downturn of 2009 and said to be even bigger than the impact of world war 2 and the Great Depression.

FAITH has thus appealed for urgent support to prevent mass bankruptcies and unemployment in tourism, travel & hospitality industry in each state.

care.fit and Columbia Asia Collaborate To Enhance Teleconsultation Services Across India

care.fit, cure.fit’s primary healthcare vertical, announced that it has partnered with Columbia Asia India, one of the largest and fastest-growing healthcare companies in Asia, to enhance its teleconsultation services in the country. As part of the collaboration, doctors from more than 20 specialties and super specialties from Columbia Asia will be available on the care.fit platform for a tele-consult.  Customers can also book an appointment on demand for Columbia Asia doctors via the cure.fit app or website.

Speaking about the partnership, Madan Somasundaram, Head care.fit said, “We are delighted to collaborate with one of the most trusted and high quality hospital chains, Columbia Asia India to provide quick and easy medical consultation to those in need, during these testing times. We are trying to pool every resource we can, to help serve people. Our association with Columbia Asia India will help in making health easy and touching more lives.”

This announcement comes weeks after care.fit launched telemedicine services across the country. The organization offers primary care services, including both online and offline consultation services along with full-body check-up in its state of the art clinics and customized health plans for various specialties.

Dr. Nandakumar Jairam, Chairman and CEO from Columbia Asia India said, “As a leading healthcare provider in the region, we are always looking to find new ways of connecting with patients in the country. care.fit’s teleconsultation service is the apt platform to bridge the gap between patients and doctors. This will surely enable us to provide optimized services to our patients. “

Columbia Asia India is one of the leading hospital chains in the country with hospitals in Bengaluru, Pune, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Kolkata, Mysore and Patiala.

Twitter Brings Fans Closer to their Favourite Hockey Players with #AskTeamIndia and Behind-the-Scenes Action

Sports and socialising go hand in hand so how is it faring during this time of social distancing? Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) takes you behind-the-scenes on Twitter with live Q&A and a rare peep into the day of players amid COVID-19.

As the world combats the COVID-19 pandemic, all the major sporting events in India and across the globe have either been postponed or cancelled including 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which the Indian hockey fans had been eagerly awaiting. While there is no live on-field action, Hockey India (@TheHockeyIndia) took to Twitter to engage with fans of the game and bring the players from both the men’s and women’s national teams to answer questions from passionate followers of the sport. This unique, open and real-time action harnessed the positive power of Twitter in the form of real-time engagement.

During the lockdown, @TheHockeyIndia conducted a special Twitter Q&A, #AskTeamIndia, and went live on the service with four players - India women's hockey captain Rani Rampal (@imranirampal), India men's hockey captain Manpreet Singh (@manpreetpawar07), India men's hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh (@16Sreejesh) and defender Harmanpreet Singh (@13harmanpreet) - all of whom interacted keenly with their fans.

PR Sreejesh (@16Sreejesh) shares, “Twitter has always been a great service to engage with our fans, we are happy to have their support in #AskTeamIndia initiative which is fun, meaningful and also in some way I hope we are motivating fans to stay positive and active during these difficult times.”

TATA Cha Walks the Talk with TATA Tea JaagoRe to Serve 5000+ Kits of Chai & Breakfast to Senior Citizens in Bangalore During COVID-19

Battling the fight against Covid-19, TATA Cha, the Out of Home initiative of TATA Consumer Products is walking the talk with social campaign- Iss Baar #BadonKeLiye #JaagoRe. This initiative is to support the elderly in the city and spread warmth to lighten the anxious hours.

TATA CHA has pledged to sponsor Chai and Breakfast to elders as a part of their campaign Tata Tea - Iss Baar #BadonKeLiye #JaagoRe. In the last two days ~ 1200 breakfast kits have already been distributed. Tata Cha has also reached out to concerned individuals around Bangalore to share details of elders who need support and has also invited individuals to join them to serve the breakfast.

Youth can join the initiative to serve or help register an elderly person for breakfast, by sending their name & location as a WhatsApp message to +919964050246 or logon to jaagore.com.

Commenting on the initiative by TATA Cha, Sushant Dash, President, Beverages– India & Middle East, TATA Consumer Products, said, “In the wake of the extended lockdown, it is time we stand up for those who need our care and support the most. TATA Cha has always been a space that spreads warmth to everyone. We are hopeful that our initiative to help the elderly in the city along with Iss Baar badon ke Liye JaagoRe will inspire the larger society. We urge one and all to join us in this cause and let the senior citizens know they are not alone in this. We are ensuring this initiative is run in compliance with the Covid-19 guidelines, as provided by the local administration.”

The Indiranagar, Jayanagar & Cunningham Road cafés will be delivering morning Chai & breakfast to the elderly homes in their respective vicinity.

SHAREit Contributes in COVID-19 Relief Efforts to Help Feed 500,000 People in India

SHAREit Joins Hands with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to Provide Cooked Meals and Grocery Kits to People Affected by the Ongoing Pandemic in India

SHAREit, in an attempt to help fight the adverse effects of COVID-19 in India and with the intention to provide aid to vulnerable families impacted by the pandemic, has partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation. The global content discovery, consumption and sharing application has committed to donate INR 1 crore as a part of the initiative which would help feed 500,000 people in need.

“The world is going through extremely harsh times at the moment and we at SHAREit believe that it is times like these that demand everybody to join hands to help each other. While the world is trying to find a way out of this pandemic, it is crucial to ensure that the people affected by the crisis are taken care of. Providing meals and groceries to these people is our way of showing that we are all in this together”, said SHAREit spokesperson Hitesh Dhingra.

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Shridhar Venkat, CEO - Akshaya Patra, said, “We are immensely grateful to SHAREit for their support in these crucial times. Their generous contribution will enable us to serve freshly cooked meals and distribute essential groceries kits to thousands of people from vulnerable communities, affected by the nation-wide lockdown. In these testing times, only collective efforts in the service of those in need will carry us through as a nation.”

SHAREit has also taken steps to increase awareness about the virus by setting up a live updates section on the application. The application updates the consumers about the number of cases discovered both in India and globally as well as the state wise bifurcation of the spread of the virus. The application also offers a helpline number to ensure safety.

SHAREit is available both on Google Play Store and iOS App Store. 

Britannia Launches a WhatsApp Based ‘Store Locator’, Enables Consumers to Shop for its Products Nearby

Britannia Industries Ltd has launched a ‘Store Locator’ service to enable consumers to find their favorite Britannia products in stores nearby. Given the context of the ongoing lockdown, the GPS-based Chatbot publishes a list of stores near the consumer’s current location, which have been recently serviced by the Company.

The technology solution has been built to swiftly respond to the surge in consumer demand and the consumers’ increasing need to find the range of Britannia products at close proximity to where they reside.

Commenting on the quick turnaround of the WhatsApp based Store Locator, Mr. Varun Berry, Managing Director, Britannia Industries, said, “Given the ongoing lockdown, our teams are constantly innovating to ensure high accessibility to our products, across geographies and town classes. The WhatsApp Chatbot is one such timely solution built to help consumers discover our products in their neighborhood.”

Mr. Berry added, “The high degree of familiarity that the Indian consumers have with WhatsApp makes it an ideal platform to reach a wide demographic of consumers.”

The Store Locator has been launched pan India. A consumer can interact with the ‘Store locator’ by sending ‘BRIT’ on Whatsapp to mobile number 4071012222 and following the instructions.

TRA’s Covid Mental Wellbeing Index Shows Mumbai at Lowest; Delhi Citizens Cope Second Best

TRA Research, a consumer insights and brand analytics company, today released a new finding from its recent white-paper, a research survey conducted across 16 cities with 902 urban citizens to delve deeper into the Mental Wellbeing of citizens across urban India.  Guwahati citizens showed the highest mental Wellbeing (84%) in their ability to cope with their current worries of family health and work stability as well as their fears on the country’s health and economic impact. This was followed by Delhi-NCR (78%) which had the second best Mental Wellbeing score. Other cities which displayed a ‘Good’ ability Mental Wellbeing of their citizens include Indore (75%), Coimbatore (73%) and Pune (72%). Mumbai showed the lowest Mental Wellbeing Index at just 28%, showing severe stresses and anxieties among the citizenry, followed by Lucknow at 36%.

N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research, explained the concept of Mental Wellbeing and said, “The Mental Wellbeing of citizens in the context of this research is seen as their ability to cope with current worries regarding the pandemic. The ability to cope with worries depends on the individual’s mind-set of course, but also depends on the city’s general acceleration rate in patients, as also the a city’s complex demographics that may impede coping with the pandemic. The rapid spread in Mumbai with the highest number of Covid-19 patients is also reflected in the low Mental Wellbeing of its citizens with regard to coping with the disease.” The Mental Wellbeing Index has been calculated with Coping Index as the numerator and the Worry Index as the denominator, measured as a percentage and the Coping Index was measured on four parameters and the Worry Index on six.

Dr. Jalpa Butta, MD, Consultant Psychiatrist, practicing at Global Hospital and Hinduja Khar, said, “Coping skills are determined by one’s resilience, attitude, belief system and support system. It is reassuring that most of the people in smaller cities are coping better with good Mental Wellbeing. In the larger cities there could be many factors responsible like worry on account of stability of work. When our identity is determined by our career and earning capacities, people can feel at a total loss when that may get impacted. Relationships are also getting fragile in bigger cities, giving poor interpersonal support, which is much needed for a sense of mental wellbeing.”

Chandramouli elaborated further on the difference in cities, “The smaller cities have a relatively higher Mental Wellbeing Index as compared to the larger cities and Guwahati, Jaipur, Indore, Pune, Coimbatore are coping better with the situation, than their counterparts in cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.”

Dr. Bhuta suggested attitudinal alterations to cope. She said, “It is important for all of us to find peace within ourselves, develop a more spiritual and accepting attitude, learn to deal with change and embrace the higher power during difficult times.”

About TRA Research
TRA Research, a Comniscient Group company, is a consumer insights and brand intelligence Company dedicated to understanding and analyzing stakeholder behavior through two globally acclaimed proprietary matrices of Brand Trust and Brand Desire. TRA Research conducts primary research with consumers and stakeholders to assist brands with their business decisions based on Consumer Behavior insights.

TRA Research is consulting brands on transitioning during and after the Covid-19 crisis, to help them be more aligned to consumer and client expectations. TRA Research is the also the publisher of TRA’s Brand Trust Report and of TRA’s Most Desired Brands.