Buenos Dias , Senor!

birds eye view  of the resort 

Travel, tourism and hospitality sector has the potential to generate a lot of employment and revenue of course. Human capital can really be leveraged since this is a service intensive sector of an economy.

I have had a brush with this sector from time to time. For a few years I worked with the  Hyatt Group and looked after their marketing communications design. ITC welcome group and Air India were my regular clients for years.

 

ITB Berlin is a highly regarded tourism exposition that occurs every year in the month of March. For six years I designed India pavilion in the show. I also designed India pavilion in WTM London twice. This is also a highly regarded travel exposition. The structure of such national pavilions are designed to facilitate participation of private travel, tourism and hospitality companies that use the platform to market their services.  Obviously I had to interact with nearly everyone that's anyone in the Indian travel and tourism industry. I had to understand the business of fifty odd clients in order to design booths specific to their business and brand image, simultaneously  keeping true  to the master design  of the pavilion.

One thing that struck me that the entire industry was focused on corporate business. Personal travel for leisure was just an after thought.  Not a lot of business was expected to be generated in this segment. Things apparently have changed a lot in the intervening years. Two things in the news however stood out recently. Paris alone gets more tourists than entire India. Secondly there was a miles long jam due to tourist vehicles on the roads leading to several hill stations in India recently. How in the world do we let it happen? 

 

Gulf of Mexico

Sea is fascinating . It looks limitless, uplifting and full of hope. There is a reason why a seaside vacation is so therapeutic. Though I can not really decide if I personally like the hills more or the sea more!

 

 As long as You take me on a vacation..... I am good either way.

 

 

Plan of the resort [ Courtesy Paradisus Playa Del Carmen]

I was in a resort recently and it set me thinking. I remembered a few previous times in some other locations and how things compare. I am an Indian at heart and always will be. Don't want to believe that we can not do  as well as others! So this resort was designed by Spanish  architect Alvaro Sans.  His practice  almost entirely consists of Hotels and resorts and apparently he has worked on over 200 projects world wide. This property is marketed as two separate resorts although as  you can see it is one plan. Smaller Left wing of this complex is reserved for adults only.  There is no physical barrier between the two wings except a sign on the corridor that says 'adults only'. Restaurants in this wing wont take your dinner reservations if you plan on bringing kids along and of course you will not get a room assigned here. Otherwise circulation is  seamless and unobstructed,

My observations based on the room interior design is that originally the project was not designed  for families in mind. Soaker tub that can be seen and  reached from your bed is more suited to a romantic getaway than 'change your kids diapers' holiday! Ground level rooms have open balcony steps that take you straight into the swimming pool! Not exactly child safe! Managements was smart to respond to changing times ; a rise in disposable incomes and  family travel trends.

Apart from policy failures at the government level ; trouble in  managing  different social norms and a poorer demographic to cater to; let me tell you what we need to work on in India. Let us take two comparisons to this resort , which is in the Cancun area of Mexico.  Goa in the  west of India and Sri Lanka as a similar lower Income location, I have been to these locations so It is as first hand as it can be.

Firstly let me admit. Mexico is part of North America and just a stone's throw from the affluent US markets. US dollars are commonly used and it is a favourite destination for US and Canadians holiday makers. This is an advantage that is fully used by policy makers, Travel industry and even airlines that bombard package after travel package on the target markets.

So let us start with Food. Personally  I liked the food in Sri Lanka the best. The seafood laden banquet that I gorged on at Bentota Beach is something I will remember for a long time. This one goes to Sri Lanka. Specially their combination of quality , service and price is unbeatable. Mexico comes second. A lot of similarity with the Indian palate is their secret but again the quality of food and service is top notch. Price is a lot cheaper that US/Canada and specially if you compare it with Bahama's. They however can't beat Sri Lanka. Goa comes last on every count except maybe price. 

Morning Walk! 

Secondly talk about service. India in general does not understand the concept of service. Just because you provide a service does not make you a servant, and it definitely does not make you a scammer. You must be professional and meticulous at all times, specially in the service industry. So I was on my morning walk at the beach. Went over to lounge  and think for a bit at the cabana for a bit. The server quietly came over to see if I needed a drink. He would have received a couple of dollars as tip had I ordered since unlimited drinks were part of my package and it did not cost me anything further to order one. I did not want any drinks and he did not pester me any further. He was needy but not greedy! 

Just get to any tourist spot in India and see for yourself how visitors are pestered and pressured to buy!

While on the subject of free unlimited drinks, I did not see a single holiday maker over drinking or drunk. Not one! Not ever! Just attend any marriage banquet in India  and see for yourself what free drinks provided by a host does to people. Imagine the nuisance they will be in order to get value for their money If they pay upfront for a  drink package! Zoom to Goa and I sadly saw a lot of tipsy Joe's and only slightly fewer in Sri Lanka. We definitely need to learn how not to over do it!

Competition is another area of comparison. Although I do not like the economy to be totally dependent on one single sector but as you leave Cancun airport on the coastal Highway 307 towards Tulum there is nothing but resorts after resorts for the next 100 odd kilometres. They are all either good, better or best. It creates a healthy competition and provides a varied choice in the market. Why can't  Goa provide a similar experience ; beats me? There are  places for back packers and places that are super luxury in Goa. But then there is such a small  exclusive market for them that they give whatever they give for the price they will. They do not have any incentive to give more for your buck. People like me can't afford them anyway. There is hardly any middle ground.

Safety is another big one. So let me tell you what happened to me. Two days into my trip I was walking on the beach one morning. I walked a little far. Went  out of the resort property lines along the beach to a point where the sea came inshore a little bit. It made a  shallow, around 8/10 meter wide channel of water that could be safely crossed on foot.  There was a municipal botanical garden some 500 meters across it . I crossed over to visit it and as I returned 30 minutes later I realized I do not have my cell phone on me. I had dropped it somewhere!

It is a 5 years old phone and not very expensive either; but losing it in the middle of an overseas trip......very, very inconvenient indeed! So I waded back through the shallow channel a second time to retrace my steps - without any  luck. A bunch of labourers nearby were working on cleaning up weeds from the shoreline. Their supervisor had picked my phone from where I had dropped it! The old phone was still worth her month's wages!

 " You lost phone?" 

Contrast that with the news that recently a Japanese tourist in India had his Iphone stolen on a train and police were unable to trace it. Mexico is crime infested and associated with cartel violence & gang activity ..... isn't it what we like to say? Guess who is coming back for another visit? Hint: it is not the traveller from Japan!

Sri Lankan's are well mannered and soft spoken. Goans can be very disinterested in you and it shows on how service is provided. Landscape maintenance staff at my resort; very obviously contract workers; always greeted me with  a smile  on my early morning walks. "Buenos Dias Senor!" Made me feel good every morning. They  were shabbily dressed ; clearly poor.  Temporary labour, not even remotely in a guest facing role,  they did not have to do any PR. They certainly did not even know the basics of those marketing concepts in the first place . They did it as  part of their culture ; positive, innocent mental make up and staying true to their traditional roots!

 "Good day, gentlemen! Good day to you too! Gracias!

Mangrove Wetlands

A last word about environmental matters. I could see how carefully landscaping was done by the designers. Palms do look pretty but very 'tourist brochure'! They were there but  designers purposefully  included several others beautiful tropical plants and bushes native to the area in their layered landscape plan and I appreciate that approach. It really places the project in its geographical context and  imparts a distinct visual character. Inner building corridors wrap around koi fish ponds. There is a tortoise pond and a few internal mini gardens as well.

However their greatest achievement and a highlight of my experience was the walk through a real live mangrove forest. Designers thankfully did nothing to it! So they crafted this long winding slightly elevated boardwalk through this forest. In about a two minutes  walk you reach deep inside the mangrove. It envelops you gently on all sides. Little forest animals like coati cross your path randomly ;  it is their home. Ground is wet and fallen vegetation has imparted a deep red translucent hue to it. Sunlight filters through the green tree canopy and you suddenly become an eternal part of this slice of  nature.  Stay there awhile! Hear the profound sounds of stillness. Take a deep breath; close your eyes ; feel the connection with  earth! God is somewhere around you! You are blessed!

Absolutely ethereal experience!

All were pictures shot by me on my now famous  cellphone  camera and colour corrected using free AI tools.