Q & A - "Role of Religious Tourism in reviving the Indian Tourism Sector Post Covid-19"

Question and Answer session was conducted during the Web lecture held on 9^th May 2020 by Prof. Parikshat Singh Manhas and Dr. Nair. Few questions remained unanswered, please find below the replies:

 

Q1: How the social distancing be possible in the Indian society? Where the religious practices are more be intact with social interactions and practices. Please share your views (Parvinder Kour).

This is the real challenge for the religious tourism sector.  It is predicted to be having a severe impact on festivals and religious gathering in the context of physical distancing restrictions. As the nation has been passing through the stage of crisis (the post-crisis period is still packed with abstruseness), this should be addressed more practically. Firstly, limited visitation to the religious sites through the predetermined carrying capacity zoning. Secondly, adequate safety measures and health check-ups facilities. And finally, it may be possible using technological inputs like virtual offerings, Darshan and so on. In this regard, at this stage of the crisis, this is the challenging and the critical issue for the religious tourism in India.

Q2. As everyone knows that Indian tourism especially religious tourism was at its peak pre covid era... so is there any chance in near future that the religious tourism will surpass the old trends.... if yes, according to you how much time approx. will it take to surpass that point in future ? (Raghav Mahajan)

The real concern should be with when will this pandemic is going to end its messy play around the world. Since tourism is very fragile and susceptible to any forms of crisis, it leads to a severe impact on the sector. Yes, as we all know Indian religious tourism sector had been flourishing and the demand was skyrocketing. However, just within months, it is now at ground zero. Therefore, we need to consider three main stages, since the country is just on the stage of the emergency. Above all, it needs to find an end to this crisis, and then it needs to be a short-term recovery stage, finally resilience. As we are not sure when it is going to move on each stage of the crisis, it is unpredictable. The only thing we can do is to find an alternative within the limits of restrictions to make the sector alive. For that, some initiatives such as promoting staycations, micro-holidays and collaboration projects can be used as a short-term strategy.

As the entire world is going through total uncertainty and unpredictability, at this juncture, it is impossible to predict the scope or scale or recovery.

Q3: What innovative Start-ups can be developed in terms of Religious products in India? Kindly share your views. Thank you for the wonderful session. (Nilesh Waghmere).

There are plenty of options for start-ups. However, the safety and security measures and concerns should be the key to any kind of start-ups. Flexibility and adaptable will be going to the motto for the tourism sector to survive. For India, at this time (considering the country is at the stage of crisis) can be concentrated on staycations by exploring the local unexplored religious site, which attracts less crowd. This can be done by the participation of local bodies as a miniature of national-wide theme circuits. Also, according to the COVID-19 status of each state and place, the green zones can be used for religious tourism activities (within the limit of restrictions) by providing micro-holidays.

Last but not least, collaboration packages can do miracles to make the sector alive. Innovative approaches by combining Yoga-Ayurveda-Religious tourism can be a good idea. At this juncture, technological oriented program development will help the sector.

Q4: Can apply footfall management system here to maintain physical distancing? (Dr. Supriya Sikari).

Technically yes. But, the issues of hygiene, sanitation and disinfection still present with travel restrictions. It is a wise idea to go for footfall management, zone segregation or carrying capacity. The prime question that comes up will be the reachability towards the religious attractions at this stage of the crisis.

Q5: What will be the role of transit destination post covid 19 (example Jammu - Shri Mata Vaishno Devi,  Tirumala -for Tirupati)?

They are the key players as they have resources and capability. These transit destinations should take necessary innovative actions to reform the religious tourism sector in India.  Various packages can be used such as solo travellers, luxury visitors, carrying capacity limits and so on.