If one has to go by the sentiments of travel and hospitality industry professionals, June 1 proved to be an absolute spoiler. The service tax hike has come in as an additional burden for the industry as they feel this move will further impact business and retard their growth prospects. The news piece on the same in this issue clearly reflects the opinions of the thought leaders. However, on the other hand, the perennial optimists within the trade are awaiting the GST implementation. Interestingly, though the industry is surely going through its trials and tensions, there are a few companies who are sanguine about the business and are in an expansion mode. Within our newly introduced section titled ‘Corporate File’ we have highlighted one such company that coincidentally changed its brand identity on the same day, to match its growing business and to penetrate newer markets.
This June issue of ETW has also evolved adding three new sections in the editorial space, one that speaks about path breaking companies, the other that highlights promising young tourism investors in the section ‘Future Next’, followed by ‘The Torchbearers’ column that honours industry stalwarts who have been pathfinders in their respective domains. Our cover story this issue takes a close look at the business feasibility of online travel start-ups, their survival rate and what makes them attractive for investors despite the challenges. For a greater insight into what’s going on in the African continent, do not miss out on the Indaba 2015 story on ‘Growing Africanness’. The Arabian Travel Market 2015 also proved to be a robust platform for networking. The social media impact was clearly noticeable at the event. Back home, J&K Tourism organised its first travel mart since 1988 and although it is highly commendable in terms of the effort and arrangements, the article in our issue clearly states that the ‘Paradise still needs a push.’
Finally, the man who has made it to our cover this month is none other than the MoS for tourism, Mahesh Sharma. In the pages within, he candidly speaks about tourism, culture, aviation and other topics which are controversial however progressive. The good thing is that there is a desire to give tourism the respect it deserves and if there is some political will to initiate change, the future does seem to hold promise.
Reema Lokesh
Editor