By IANS
New Delhi : It is not enough to open up the skies without also opening up the land and creating more hotels and resorts for the heavy inflow of tourists, according to participants at the India Summit of Aviation and Tourism.
The Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA), a body with members from 70 countries that promotes tourism and is supported by the United Nations World Travel Organisation (UNWTO), Monday invited prominent members of the industry from India to discuss various matters related to the issue.
Subhash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Travel Operators (IATO), said that the advent of more airlines is a very good thing but without as many hotels to cater to all tourists and visitors, it does not hold much meaning.
“I had a word with Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken recently and suggested that the shortage of hotel rooms that Delhi is facing can be removed by converting the guest houses into motels and motels into hotels.
“There are so many beautiful farmhouses in the vicinity of the capital which can be easily converted into hotels,” Goyal said.
Among the other topics discussed was the safety provided by the airlines and the service provided by them.
“Airlines must give safety the topmost priority. One unhappy incident and the mark will remain forever. Besides the lives that are at stake, safety is one thing which also affects insurance and the markets,” said Robey Lal, former country manager of the International Air Transport Association.
“Quality of service is another issue which airlines need to concentrate on. When we talk about being a world-class airline, we have to ensure that the quality of service that we provide the passengers, on board as well as on the ground, is vital,” he added.
This is the third time that PATWA, a decade-old organisation, has organised its seminar in India.
“PATWA, with its 100 members from 70 countries, has two meetings annually in London and Berlin. In these meets, the members talk about a wide array of issues related to travel and tourism as well as those which affect the world at large, such as global warming or the tsunami, and present papers on that.
“These are being collected by the UNWTO and put together in the form of reports,” Sagar Ahluwalia, secretary general of PATWA told IANS.