There are many similarities between Kerala and Manipur. Kerala is an achiever as far as its status in the National Human Development Report prepared by the Planning Commission is concerned, closely followed by Manipur in terms of literacy, infant mortality rate, life expectancy rate and other human development indicators. But the similarities end here. While Kerala has leapfrogged to become a model state, Manipur doesn’t come even as a flicker in the radar of the achiever states of India. Kerala is not even an industrial giant like Maharashtra, Jharkhand (part of Bihar until recently) or Gujarat, and it is also not an agricultural state in the league of Punjab either. Yet, it is a star state of India, a beacon of development and example of good governance for the rest of other underperforming states (and terminally ill ones like Manipur) to follow.

What makes Kerala click? The resounding answer is its near obsession with developing tourism as its USP. And rightly so. According to a report published by the Brussels-based World Travel and Tourism Council, Tourism is the world's most rapidly growing industry, and that by the year 2005, the contribution of Tourism to the world economy would be more than doubled from the base level of 1994. Kerala must be gifted with some very sharp brains and a pro active government who do not fail to miss the point. The next logical step was to jump into the global tourism bandwagon which it did before others wake up to the new opportunity. The rest as they is history.

As early as 1986, Kerala had declared tourism as an industry and subsequently all appropriate benefits granted to industry have been accorded to the sector. These include subsidies, technical guidance, marketing assistance, publicity through Government publications, help in availing loans etc. One particular incentive to investors in tourism is hard to resist: general investment subsidy of 10% of capital cost including land, building, furniture, furnishings, equipment, landscaping etc. is granted on approval of proposal and more follows on implementation. All these incentives would have been of no value if there were bureaucratic delays. Fortunately, red tapism is not a rampant norm in Kerala as in our beloved Manipur.

If you browse through the tourism products of Kerala in its publicity pamphlet/brochure, you will not fail to notice that most of them are related to Kerala’s traditions and cultural heritage. The jewel in the crown of its tourism products, for example, is its Ayurveda health rejuvenation package. Kerala didn’t have to invent new attractions and build expensive theme parks. It cleverly capitalizes on its natural strength and tailors it to suit to tourist’s fetish for exotic pleasures. The focus on traditional Ayurveda, backwater boat races, performing arts, cuisines, etc., is intentional and deliberate. The upside of this strategy is that it has promoted in the process its culture and tradition to the world and carved out a niche for itself a distinct identity, without Talibanising, say, the dress code of the women as many of us have taken a fancy to lately.

Marketing gurus often swear that brand image is more important than the product itself. That’s why soft drink companies like Pepsi and Coca Cola spend a huge sum of money on advertising and creating unforgettable catchwords like "Yeh Dil Mange More", "Life ho to Aisi" to strike a chord with the consumers. Kerala does it even better. It calls itself "God’s own Country". What a nomenclature indeed. I am sure some tourists might have been tempted to visit Kerala just to see why they call it by that name. The catchword excites the curiosity of any potential tourist. This is another example of clever marketing from Kerala and there goes another feather to its cap.

No wonder, Kerala is sweeping almost all the tourism awards in the country and earning favourable epithets from various quarters. Kerala has been awarded the Best Performing State Award for the year 1998-99, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 by 'Government of India’ for achieving rapid growth and also the Best Performing State Award instituted by Outlook Traveller for the year 2000-2001. But the most notable recognition comes from National Geographic Travel which has, after 2 years of research, chosen Kerala as one of the 50 must see destinations of a lifetime as one of the 10 paradises of the World.

Even as the heady feelings of all the avalanche of awards is yet to sink in completely, the WTTC, the authority on global tourism industry has recently named Kerala as a partner state in Asia. Moreover, the southern state also has garnered the following titles from various eminent publications and trade journals as:

• One of the 100 great trips for the 21st Century, by 'Travel and Leisure'
• One of the ten hot spots for the millennium, by 'Emirates Inflight Magazine’
• One of the best breakfast in the world, by 'Travel & Leisure’
• One of the ten love nests in India, by 'Cosmopolitan’
• One of the six destinations of the millennium, by 'Khaleej Times’

These glowing plaudits for Kerala Tourism will seem more than justified if you take a quick glance at the facts and figures of Kerala Tourism which is simply awesome. In a matter of few years, the number of foreign tourists and domestic tourists visiting the state has crossed 2 lakhs and 50 lakhs respectively. The percentage share of Kerala in foreign tourists’ arrival is more than 8% in the country.

The direct revenue generated in the economy due to Tourism is assessed as about 2000 crores during last year which comes to about 3% of GDP of the state. Considering the multiplier effect of 2.07, the direct + indirect revenue generated comes to 6.29% of the GDP (this revenue will be enough to pay the salaries of state employees of Manipur for many years).

Tata Consultancy Services estimates that direct employment generated by the tourism sector in the state comes to about 1.50 lakhs. If multiplier effect of 4.62 is taken into account, the direct and indirect employment in tourism in Kerala is estimated as 7.0 lakhs. (Now wait a minute, who says the problem of unemployment cannot be solved?)

If you think Kerala must be sitting back with complacency, after all, with its success story, then you are terribly wrong. Instead of resting on past laurels, it is working even harder to push the limits of success. Its visionary leaders have set for Kerala ambitious targets to fulfill in the coming years, and probably to earn more awards and business. Among others, it has taken upon itself the uphill task of boosting the earnings from tourism at the rate of 10% annually and to achieve an annual rate of growth of 7% in foreign tourist arrivals and 9% growth in domestic tourists. It will also strive to create employment opportunities of 10000 every year by expanding the tourism sector at a phenomenal rate.

Manipur can learn a lot from Kerala. To begin with, it should adopt tourism as a thrust area of development and planning, and then work vigorously towards making it a reality as Kerala has shown. Skeptics may try to pour cold water on the very the very idea by pointing out that Manipur has no proper infrastructure, no good roads, drinking water, electricity, transportation facilities and other basic amenities to cater to the needs of tourism industry. All right, but will all these come up suddenly one fine morning if we don’t make a beginning somewhere? Just by watching the sun goes up and down every day will not solve any of our teeming problems waiting to be addressed. We have to race against the time and do it fast. For, in the words of Klaus Schwab of the World Economic Forum, "We have moved from a world where the big eat the small to a world where the fast eat the slow".

Instead of planning countless trips to Delhi with a begging bowl, our ministers should do well to put their heads together to formulate an aggressive tourism policy. If they don’t have any head, so to say, then they should borrow some leaves from Kerala and better still consult with its tourism planners for advice. People in the "God’s own country" should know how to help us because they have had gone through the same path before and therefore has lot of experience.

But before this, we should create an exclusive Ministry in the state to take up this gigantic task to co-ordinate with other States, with Government of India and with international tourism bodies like WTO, WTTC and financial bodies like UNDP, World Bank, ADB etc. for seeking assistance in tourism development. Of course we should have a convincing tourism blueprint in place before we approach them. And also an unshakeable political will which is very important. Meanwhile, our politicians should now begin to lobby hard to remove the barriers of free access to the disturbed areas of Manipur to facilitate tourism.

However, tourism is basically a sector dominated and run by the private players. Usually, the government acts as the catalyst, make guidelines, subsidies private initiative, does promotion, maintains law and order and pass favourable legislatures. The government’s role is to create a conducive state of affairs and opportunities to attract private investment.

As far as the tourism worthiness of Manipur is concerned, she is no less breathtakingly beautiful than any other tourist spot in India. Like Kerala, Manipur has a rich cultural heritage, and its colours, sounds and festivals can captivate the heart of even the most fastidious tourist. We should turn our major festivals like Thabal Chongba, Lai Haraoba, Hiyang Tannaba, Cheiroaba, etc., into tourism products. We should extend the period of certain festivals and even modify them to pander to tourists’ taste.

One very effective way of attracting tourists during such festivals is through tour operators. Manipur should tie up with leading tour operators in India like Thomas cook, SITA, TCI, UVI etc and convince them to feature Manipur prominently in their national and international holiday brochures. But the emphasis here should be more on building an image in the domestic tourism circuit first which will eventually find its way to international tourist’s itinerary.

Talking about international tourists, IT has a great role in introducing the foreign tourists to the pristine beauty of Manipur. Not only will it help getting tourists to come to Manipur, it will also make great business sense to launch a travel portal of Manipur that could offer Visa assistance, travel permits, accommodation and traveling guide to potential tourists. I wish all the IT geeks of Manipur were reading this and being inspired.

The benefits of a booming tourism industry in Manipur will be quite impressive to say the least. Jobs will be created. Business opportunities will be galore. Pressure on the government will subside and the government will have more time and money to implement development projects. As trickle-in effect, handicrafts industry will flourish to fill the void of a souvenir market for the tourists. Your grandmother’s old handloom may suddenly work over time to mint money. New ideas of business and lifestyle will spring as we come to interact more often with the foreign tourists.

Tourism is the fastest growing multi-billion dollar industry in the world. Our mantra should be "think global, act local" and be a part of this engine of growth. A tiny state like Manipur with few resources of its own should turn its disadvantages like hilly terrain and landlocked geography into its strength. Tourism is an idea for Manipur whose time has come.

Snatch the opportunity or regret



Links to Kerala Tourism:
http://www.ktdc.com
http://www.keralatourism.com

Some more tourism links from the Seven Sisters
http://www.nagalandtourism.com
http://www.assamtourism.org
http://www.meghalayatourism.com