The media went berserk after the Mumbai attacks. Taj Mahal hotel was under siege for 60 hours by a handful of gunmen. That had hampered the reputation and induced fear in tourist’s mind. Would the business and atmosphere at Taj be the same again? Adding to this was the Tata Nano fiasco in West Bengal.

Tata Nano, the car the world is waiting for, hit a roadblock in 2008. West Bengal government has granted 1000 acre land to Tata Motors for building the plant. Tata Nano business model is a lean model. It has invited its suppliers to build their shops around the main factory so that the cost of logistics would be trimmed down. That would put the final price of the car at 1 lakh.  Mamatha Banerjee had other ideas. She did not get the whole supply chain thing for whatever reasons. So, she picked up few farmers and went on strike at the Tata plant. Tata has to return 400 acres to the farmers. Since the factory was almost built, Tata cannot absorb losses and go back. So it is win-win situation as per Ms.Banerjee. Can we blame her? That is what is happening in India so far.

Nano fiasco along with the Taj incident made 2008 a forgettable year for Tata. But, Is it really? What if I were to say :  2008 is a year Tata’s would like to remember. In fact, whole of India Inc would remember 2008.

Why exactly?

When was the last time someone stood up to a politician or a hunger strike and got something done? I don’t remember any such incident. An agitation or a strike, backed by politics almost certainly would produce the desired results. This is 100% guarantee in India till 2008.

Ratan Tata, stood up to Mamatha’s agitation. He said, the factory needs 1000 acres and that’s what I am gonna get. It could be in Bengal or some place else. Everyone thought he is bluffing. Some thought the price of Nano would go up as the supply chain would become expensive. Some even thought Mamatha would have her way and get back the 400 acres.

Ratan Tata is no poker player and he ain’t bluffing. Tata abandoned half built factory and took his Nano to Gujarat. Thanks to pro-growth Narender Modi. For the first time in Indian history, politics took a back seat. Growth took the driver seat.

This unprecedented event almost went unnoticed. Everyone is too busy figuring out Tata’s losses. Ratan Tata has won something no one else had dared to.

PS  : The best industrialist of the year goes to : Ratan Tata.  The best Gujarati of the year goes to : Mamatha Banerjee.

Related posts:

1. Will the Nano come out on time and at what price?
2. Secret is out ! 1 Lakh car Tata Nano unveiled – First look !
3. Poll Results – When and at what price will Tata Launch?

I do cover a lot of online travel agencies and destinations on this blog, but most of them cover elite and traditional travel destinations. But today’s post talks about a place that is known for poverty and notoriety.

I accidentally stumbled upon this site of a traditional travel agency that offers guided tours to Dharavi….yes, Dharavi – The largest slum in Asia.

I was amazed when I read that because Dharavi is not a place where you would ideally like to be in most circumstances (at least that’s what most of us think!).

But in reality, there are hundreds of people – most of the westerners – visit Dharavi every year and come out with a completely new image.

Reality Tours and Travels is a brainchild of two motivated people, Krishna Poojari and Chris Way. One of their main aims of arranging these kinds of tours is to break the negative image of Dharavi and of people living in slums. Along with it, they also give 80% of the profit generated from this venture to an NGO. Surely a noble cause, I must say.

Here are some of the tours that you could take:

It was amazing to read the comments left by people who took this tour. All of them recommended it whole heartedly.

Here is what some of them had to say.

Tomi says:
My partner Marilyn and I had the amazing experience through Dharavi in May this year, and as a newcomer to India, it is an absolute must in my opinion! I could not think of a better introduction to this fantastic country. I’m not sure i’ll ever be able to explain the effect this tour had to me personally, but it certainly had a huge impact on my way of thinking, i’m forever grateful! Thanks for the experience!

Sandra Wolton says
It gave us a fascinating introduction to Dharavi focusing on the enterprise, activity and hard work of the various communities living there, a  positive and enlightening experience helping us understand something of the inhabitants and the problems they struggle with daily in pursuit of a better life.  My strongest memory of Dharavi is the warm welcome we received, the huge smiles -  we can all learn such a lot! 
A Reality tour is worth every rupee the company works with a network of local contacts which make the tour especially interesting.  Reality runs various local projects for the people in Dharavi which are really making a difference.  A must!

After reading these comments, my pre-concieved *negative* notion about Dharavi has already subsided. Now that I am moving to India, this will be an interesting tour to take.

if you live in Mumbai, I highly recommend you try out. It would also be interesting to know if any of the readers have actually taken this tour.

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1. India crowned World’s No. 1 Travel Destination!
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3. Ugly, yet excellent Indian Travel Search Engine !

The leading UK Authority, Condé Nast Traveler UK, has announced that India tops the list of preferred travel destination in the world.

This feat has been achieved for the first time in history of Indian Tourism. Surely, it is great moment and pride for all of us Indians and we should rejoice it whole heartedly.

I had earlier written about the rapid strides India has made in travel and tourism sector. The Incredible India campaign remains to be one of the best International campaigns to come out of India.

Taj Mahal being voted as one of the top 7 new wonders of the world also has also helped the cause of Indian Tourism.

Last 4 years has seen India rise from 10th most preferred destination in 2004, the 4th in 2006 and is now at the top in 2007.

Here are the top 5 rankings of most preferred travel destinations in the World as published by Condé Nast Traveler UK

1. India
2. Italy
3. Thailand
4. Australia
5. New Zealand

According to me, the biggest achievement for India has been the Global change of perception about India. Honestly speaking, no one refers to India as third world country any more. India is referred to as the emerging global super-power. Indian companies are now becoming MNCs in their own right. India is not only the preferred Travel destination, but also one of the most favored Business destinations of the world. It is amply visible from the amount of foreign companies making its foray into India in recent times.

Details about the Survey done.

The survey besides being inserted into the April 2007 issue of all 26,600 UK subscriber copies and 33,000 UK newsstand copies of CN Traveller (which went on-sale on 8th March) was also live on the cntraveller.com website for this period. The replies were collated and analysed by an independent market-research company, Market Management.

The nominations were judged on a range of criteria particular to each category, from ‘range of accommodation’ to ‘environmental friendliness’.
The influx of British tourisms to India is growing with every passing year and the respondents to this survey are some of the most sophisticated and avid travelers across the world. They form an integral part of the discerning and growing numbers of readers of this widely read magazine, which is considered to be the leading authority on travel and tourism in the UK.

Related posts:

1. India set to become the favorite International tourist destination.
2. Indian Tourism Ministry embraces E-Commerce
3. Indian Web2.0 Travel Portals: Comparative Analysis of Air fare search

New 7 wonders of the NATURE ? give me a break !

This is stretching things a bit too much. With no affiliations from either UN or any other accredited organization Mr. Weber and his FOR-PROFIT Swiss organization – now called as NewOpenWorld Foundation – consider themselves “The One” for deciding all kinds of 7 wonders. Are you not satisfied with money you have already made by making a fool of millions of people and thereby filling your own pockets ?

During 7 wonders of the world voting, even though I wrote about the scam, I my self voted, just because it seemed that the voting got some kind of acceptance and would help Taj from Tourism perspective. However, now they are taking things too far by announcing the new 7 wonders of Nature. You are going to see a lot of negative forces from this blog in coming months.

After new 7 wonders of the world, they are requesting nominations for New 7 wonders of NATURE which will run till 08.08.08 . I dont understand why they did not go with new 8 wonders of nature as the culimation of this is going to happen on 08.08.08. Then after that maybe something like “New 9 wonders to make money” with results announcing on 09.09.09.

Here is what they have put on their website for New 7 wonders of NATURE:

The nominations will continue through 08.08.08. Then a panel of experts will create a list of 21candidates  from which voters worldwide will elect  the 7 wonders of nature. (Who are these panel of experts ?)

Criteria: 
Nominations must be for a clearly defined natural site or natural monument that was NOT created or significantly altered by humans. Physical or natural phenomena like the northern lights, the gulf stream or shooting stars are not eligible.
The nominees MUST be one of the following:

• natural site
• natural monument
• landscape

Categories:
Overview of the categories that help us to sort and evaluate your proposals:

• Animal Reserve
• Canyon, Fjord
• Cave, Grotto
• Coastline, Cliff
• Forest, Wood
• Geological site
• Glacier
• Mountain, Volcano, Rocks
• Nature Conservancy Park
• Oasis , Deserts
• Prehistoric natural site
• Underwater World, Reef
• Water, Sea, Lake, River
• Waterfall
• other

Examples:

Valid examples are:

• Aletsch Glacier,  Switzerland
• Baikal Sea, Russia
• Dinosaur Provincial Park, Canada
• Galapagos Island,  Ecuador
• Geirangerfjord, Norway
• Grand Canyon, USA
• Great Barrier Reef,  Australia
• Iguaçu Waterfalls, Argentina/Brazil
• Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
• Kilimanjaro,  Tanzania
• Redwood National Park, USA
• Sagramatha Park, Nepal
• Serengeti Park,Tanzania

The following examples are NOT valid:

• Bird Migration
• Gulf Stream
• Monsoon Rain
• North or South Po
• Northern Lights
• Milky Way

Make your nominations:

I have already covered quite a bit on the New 7 wonders of the world scam. Please see related posts to read  more on it.

I would be interested in hearing the comments of readers on what they think ?

Related posts:

1. New 7 Wonders of the World: Scam to make millions of profit !
2. Comeback by Taj Mahal at New Seven Wonders Voting
3. New 7 Wonders Results officially announced – Check out !

The D-Day has arrived!

Final list of new seven wonders of the world has been announced in the ceremony held in Lisbon.

I have been consistently writing about the way this voting process is a big money making scam and the Swiss based for-profit organization has made millions of dollars in this process.

Here are the official new 7 wonders result for you:

These 7 wonders came from the 10 finalists out of originally 200 nominated for the coveted list. The 10 finalists out of which these 7 wonders chosen are:

The Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Greece’s Acropolis, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Colosseum in Rome, Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid, the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island, Brazil’s Statue of Christ Redeemer and Jordan’s Petra.

The Taj Mahal was not in the top 7 list, however, it made a comeback in last couple of months on back of huge surge of voting’s from Asian region, specifically South East Asia.

Stay tuned to this blog for more detailed coverage…

Related posts:

1. New 7 Wonders of the World: Scam to make millions of profit !
2. The voting process for New 7 wonders of the world is faulty !
3. Comeback by Taj Mahal at New Seven Wonders Voting

Indian Tourism Industry has been upswing for last few years partially due to an excellent “Incredible India“ campaign. I think this was one of best campaigns that Ministry of Tourism was able to successfully implement. The spurt in number of International tourists travelling to India shows that “Incredible India” campaign was a big success. The campaign has enabled India to penetrate global market and reach the ultimate consumer through electronic, print and internet media.

Given the unique and immense potential India has as a ‘vacation destination’, The World Travel and Tourism Council has identified India as one of the foremost tourism growth centers in the world, in the coming decade.

Considering the Global Tourism perspective, buoyancy in the Indian Economy and growth in the related industries like Infrastructure and Aviation, the Tourism Industry is expected to be on an upswing in India. Lower Airfares and growing middle class Indian consumers have given additional boost to this Industry. Foreign tourist arrivals to India have been showing an increasing trend, currently standing at 4.43 million in 2006, up 13% from 2005 (3.92 million). In 2007 itself, it is estimated to touch 6 million. Taking into account the fact that these figures exclude the NRIs visiting India, the total number of international tourist arrivals in 2007 is estimated to be over 9 million.

Across the Globe Indian Taj Mahal is very well known. However, India’s rich cultural and geographic diversity provides the basis of a wide range of other tourist attractions and experiences, which include among others – leisure, culture, adventure, spirituality, eco-tourism and wellness & health.

Here are some of the experiences that a tourist can have while travelling to India. There is a lot more in India other than Taj Mahal. Here are a few “Incredible India” campaign microsites that will give insight on various destinations that a tourist can plan on visiting while travelling to India.
MICE	Crafts of India	Pilgrimage
Wildlife	Buddha	Medical Tourism
Adventure	150 years of India ‘s Freedom Movement	The Himalayas
Indian Heritage	Walk with the Buddha	WildLife
Central India	Come to Paradise	Fair and festivals of India

Due to the efforts of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India have led to India winning the following international acclaims:

1. Conde Nast Traveller, the worlds’ leading travel and tourism journal has ranked India amongst the top 4 preferred holiday destinations of the world
2. India amongst the top 5 favorite destinations – Lonely Planet in a survey of 167 countries
3. ABTA (Association of British Travel Agency) has ranked India as No. 1 amongst top 50 places for 2006.
4. The Incredible India campaign has been the winner of PATA Gold Award for best Print Ad Campaign and PATA Gold Award for Best Destination Marketing Campaign
5. The Incredible India Campaign has been ranked as the ‘Highest Recall Advertisement worldwide by Travel and Leisure.
6. World Travel Awards received for
   1. Asia’s Leading Destination
   2. World’s leading Travel Destination Television Commercial
   3. Worlds’ Leading Responsible Tourism Project, for Endogenous Tourism Project
   4. Asia’s leading tourism and convention bureau

Related posts:

1. After all what is the India Story and what has caused it ?
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3. Investing or not investing? Analyzing the risks of new India.

The voting for new seven wonders of the world is one of the most talked about subject in blogosphere currently. I had resisted urge to post about it till now, but with it becoming increasingly visible that Tajmahal is not going feature in this Elite list, I had no option but to voice my reservation.

Okay, Can you tell me Why Taj does not feature in Top 7, it is the same why Sanjaya stayed for so long on American Idol. The public voting process is flawed.
The outcome is in the hands of millions of people, most of them who do not have either knowledge or are too knowledgeable about the voting process to actually manipulate the whole thing to tilt the result in the way they want. The 7 Wonders voting actually goes a step further. The organization behind this voting process is actually urging people to buy votes, thereby filling in their pockets. So more rich you are the more votes you can buy for your favorite wonders. Isn’t that cheap for a place in History ?

Here is the excerpt from Wikipedia about New 7 Wonders of the world

The New Seven Wonders of the World is a proposed revision of the Seven Wonders of the World, organized by a Swiss-based, for-profit corporation called New Open World Corporation (NOWC). The selection is being made by free and paid votes, through telephone or online. The first vote is free to registered members and additional votes may be purchased through a payment to NOWC. In addition to the sale of votes, NOWC relies on private donations, the sale of merchandise such as shirts and cups, and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

So, this Swiss based firm is a “FOR PROFIT CORPORATION”, and where profits are involved, how can one have a fair and impartial voting ?

Even with all this background, I had not doubt that Taj Mahal would be in Top 5 if not top 3, purely based on the population we have. But I guess, I was wrong. If you think deeper, you will realize that although we have a huge population, more than 60% of the voting has happened through Internet, and Internet penetration in India is next to zilch as of now. Not only that, more than 97% of Indian population do not even know that something like this exists.

The number of Internet users in western world are atleast 20 times more and most of them are totally unaware of what Taj Mahal is. There are few other factors too, but the reasons I mentioned above are enough for Taj Mahal to get voted out.

Okay, even after all this I have voted and urge all of my readers to vote too. You never know :)

Register and cast your vote here, Don’t forget to spread the word on your blog. You can just copy the whole text verbatim if you want from here…

There are only 31 days remaining as of writing this post. The results will be announced on 7-7-7. Go ahead and cast your votes.

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