“Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has maintained the status quo from the tourism point of view.
Double taxation still exists. We pay luxury tax + sales tax + service tax and the GOI tax is on an average 50% to 200% higher than the actual owners net profit, making tourism in India an expensive product. This causes mid-market tourists (that are usually the most profitable) to visit SE Asia which has better products at lower price points.
New projects arent coming in because of 15% prevailing interest rates, which is higher than the 8 to 12% EBIDTA on new resort projects thus making the project unviable. If you still borrow at these interest rates and manage to complete a project, then you end up selling a product that is more expensive than similar tourism experiences in SE Asia, thereby causing the Indian traveller to spend their tourism dollars in these countries as against in India. Plus, these countries have infrastructure which is way superior, resulting in a much better experience at lower prices.
So how do you grow captive domestic tourism at a higher pace? After all, domestic tourism is going to become the biggest employer in India within the next decade leading to more inclusive growth. Instead of encouraging the SME enterprises, the budget is giving sops to Rs 100 cr-plus projects only! The biggest tourism players like the Tatas aren’t investing in even established zones like Mahabaleshwar and Lonavala because of poor average occupancy. The Oberois aren’t even interested in investing in India anymore. They will only come in once the smaller sub-100 cr investors pave the way for them! So why isn’t the Finance Minister encouraging the SMEs in tourism?”
Ravi Goel, CMD
Co-founder and director of Ecomantra
Ravi co-founded Ecomantra in the year 2000 and has successfully managed over 35000 travellers, 15000 students and more than 150 corporate, schools and colleges with their first experiential travel experience with Ecomantra. He is the vision behind Ecomantra, chief motivator and inspiration for the entire team of Ecomantra. He believes in the potential of experiential tourism rising to a new high, both in India and abroad. He is constantly involved in creating new projects, strategies and partnerships like the India Sustainable Tourism Network (like-minded eco-travel companies), and Trip Origin taking the company progressively forward in a positive way.
He is a serial entrepreneur and has created profitable companies including Design Origin India PLC. and Weblogic Corporation besides the Ecomantra brand. Ravi is a Textile Technologist and Textile Chemist from ‘The Silk & Art Silk Mills Research Association’ and was a practicing Textile Consultant from 1994 to 2005. He has a rich background in conservation in the past. He was part of the team instrumental in the notification of 3 new wildlife sanctuaries; Mhadei WLS & Netravali WLS in Goa, & very recently the Bhimgarh WLS in Karnataka.
About Ecomantra:
Ecomantra is a sustainable tourism venture promoting eco-friendly, activity – oriented eco holidays and experiential learning. Ecomantra operates its own eco-camp, designs unique eco holidays and activities with an interesting insight into nature and local culture and promotes local ownership in operations. Ecomantra’s main forte is the wide variety of experiential activities and programs that are constantly innovated upon.
At Ecomantra, they aim to create awareness about nature through pro-active learning in the outdoors. They are involved with responsible travel to natural areas that enables travelers to experience and explore the Indian wilderness in an adventure filled, educative and enjoyable way, while conserving the environment and sustaining the well-being of locals.
Ravi Goel and Mahrukh Bulsara are the company’s original promoters and have between them over 22 years of experience in knowledge-based creative industries. They are serial entrepreneurs and have created profit-making companies in the businesses of advertising, design, software, textiles and fashion consulting. They started this company as a hobby and are now full-time entrepreneurs. They are the company’s original promoters and have amongst them over 22 human years of combined experience, in knowledge-based creative industries. Mr Goel has a rich background in conservation in the past. He was part of the team instrumental in the notification of 3 new wildlife sanctuaries; Mhadei WLS & Netravali WLS in Goa, & very recently the Bhimgarh WLS in Karnataka.
They have acquired 12 years of experience in Responsible Travel and Corporate Training which has successively driven Ecomantra’s knowledge-intensive core activities. They have worked extensively with corporate groups, individuals, families and children. They also have the experience of working closely with the various international and government bodies including wildlife offices and NGOs.
The directors of Ecomantra are serial entrepreneurs and have created profit-making companies in the businesses of advertising, design, software, textiles & fashion consulting. They have acquired 12 years of experience and expertise in Responsible Travel and Corporate Training which has successively driven Ecomantra’s knowledge-intensive core activities and deliveries. They have worked extensively with corporate groups, individuals, families and children. They also have the experience of working closely with various international and government bodies including wildlife and NGOs and understand their needs and requirements.