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in conversation

Enriched by his
experience of representing
the state in World Travel
Market in London,
Robin Basnet dwells on
what more Sikkim could
do to attract highspending tourists from
across the world
By Tilotama Pradhan

Reaching out to the world

articipating in international events
ensures best return on investment,
believes an effervescent tourism professional Robin Basnet. So, when
he got an opportunity to represent the state
in the World Travel Market in London from
November 3-6, Robin went the extra mile
not only in making the potential foreign
tourists learn about the place that the Lonely
Planet has termed as the best region to visit
in 2014, but also in making them unlearn
a few things about the region.
A native of Yangang in South Sikkim
and a graduate in International Tourism
and Hospitality from the prestigious South
Bank University, London, Robin brings
with him a decade-long experience in the
hospitality sector. However, with his participation at WTM, which is regarded as one
of the largest and effective platforms to promote tourism in the international market,
Robin comes enriched with the feedback of
over 1,000 visitors who visited the Sikkim
stall. The Journal caught up with this young
Operations Executive at American Express
Vacations to know more about his experience and his perspectives on where does
Sikkim stand in world tourism market.
Excerpts from an interview:

56

the political and economic journal of sikkim

You have represented the state in the

World Travel Market in London. Why do
you think participating in such events is
necessary to attract more tourists?
It was indeed a great honour for me to represent and promote my state at the WTM 2013.
I think it is vital for Sikkim to participate in
such events to prove and showcase to the
world that Sikkim is serious about tourism.
Events such as World Travel Market gives an
emerging destination such as ours a platform
to reach out to the stakeholders of the world
travel market, and start building awareness
and relationships with them, who in turn
could give us quality contracts and highspending customers from around the world.
Also it gives us an opportunity to interact face
to face with our potential customers from
across the globe, and also receive quality feedback to improve our products and services. I
think exhibiting in events such as this ensures
the best return on investment.
What aspects of the state did you highlight to strike a chord with the potential
foreign tourists?
After briefly touching on the existing popular
aspects of tourism attractions, activities
and amenities offered by the state such as

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DECEMBER 2013

pristine and unspoilt natural beauty, Mt

Kanchenjunga, Buddhist sites, its soothing
climatic conditions, good accommodation facilities, the fact that Sikkim is in one of the
18 biodiversity hot-spots in the world, its
warm and friendly people and other services,
I extensively talked on four aspects in which
the Government of Sikkim has been taking
keen interest, which really stand out among
various other state offerings:
1. Potential of having a Grand Canyon style
but smaller sky walk in the near future.
2. Construction of its own airport.
3. State Organic Mission.
4. Saramsa gardens.
The existing aspects and the states effort to
build and develop a sustainable and responsible tourism did get the audience excited.
However, from the response I received, I can
confidently say that having a sky-walk and an
airport will definitely propel Sikkim tourism
to a completely different level. Sikkim can potentially be one among the leading tourism
destinations in South East Asia.
On what areas do you think the state
should work further to attract more foreign tourists, especially in view of the
emerging trends in tourism?

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I would recommend concentration on 5

areas, as mentioned below, to keep up with
the latest trends in tourism:
CONTINUOUS MARKETING
Physical representation in international
tourism events.
Continuous networking with the key players in the global tourism industry.
Organising familiarisation trips for the
agents to educate and update them about
the latest developments in the destination.
Leveraging e-marketing and social media to
generate global awareness.
FOCUS ON CUSTOMER
SATISFACTION
Professionally managed multi-channel customer care center.
Specially trained local personnel delivering
quality services. They can be trained as drivers, guides and for such other services.
Delivering a Sikkimese Touch to all interactions.
Engagement at all phases pre-visit, on
visit and post-visit.
BEST IN CLASS ONLINE PLATFORMS
Comprehensive literature on Sikkims offering and tourism initiatives.
Online presence for all Sikkims hotels, tour
operators and travel agents.
Central real time reservation and payment
system.
Systems development on cutting edge technology.
PROFESSIONALLY DESIGNED
BUSINESS PROCESS
Business process designed by experienced
professionals.
Incorporating global best practices tuned to
Sikkims business environment.
Effective engagement of all tourism stakeholders to deliver one Sikkim experience.
Business model designed to deliver economic benefits to all stakeholders.
VERTICAL AND HORIzONTAL ExPANSION
Leveraging an established platform and
business model to deliver more value.
Niche tourism promotional strategies.
Customer Centric product development.
Rapid response to ever changing global
trends.
E-commerce on Sikkim products.

How do you think the state can further

ease the travel experience of the foreign
tourists?
Quality customer care is the key to improve
and ease travel experience of any tourists.
From what I learned over the years and also
experienced, taking tourists feedback, researching on them and implementing new
changes continuously will improve travel experience of the tourists.
Did you find the prevalence of any false
perception about India in general and
Sikkim in particular among the people
participating in the event? How do you
think the state should respond to counter
such wrong notions, if any?
India in general would be a very broad subject for me to comment. With regards to
Sikkim, from what I gathered from the peo-

I BELIEVE THE STATE WILL

BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE
INFLOW OF TOURISTS IN
2014. TOURIST INFLOW TO
THE STATE WILL CONTINUE
TO GROW WITH TIME, AND
WITH DEVELOPMENT OF
CERTAIN AMENITIES LIKE
SKY WALK AND AIRPORT,
TOURIST INFLOW TO THE
STATE WILL WITNESS AN
UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN
THE FUTURE
ple who want to visit the destination, I can
say that most of them regard Sikkim as a
once in a lifetime destination, wherein they
might or would want to visit the destination
only once in the future. I have put the factors
behind such a perception in Six As framework as being currently perceived by the potential tourist. They are:
Attractions (natural, man-made, artificial,
purpose built, heritage, special events), are
limited in the destination.
Accessibility (entire transportation system)
is tough.
Amenities (accommodation and catering
facilities, retailing, other tourist services) are

VOL 1 ISSUE 10

limited to certain popular areas only.

Available packages (pre-arranged packages)
are not varied.
Activities (all activities available in the destination) is limited.
Ancillary services (services used by tourists
such as banks, telecommunications, post,
newsagents, hospitals, etc.) are limited to
certain popular areas only.
Although the state is still developing certain areas mentioned above, it appears that
many of our potential clients nurture such
wrong notions. Therefore, perhaps educating
the top selling agents and destination awareness campaign for the target market and audience are some areas that the state should
focus on to improve and attract high-spending clients.

With the Lonely Planet terming Sikkim as

the best region to visit in 2014, more
tourists are expected to visit the state. Do
you think the state is prepared to meet
with the needs associated with large
tourist inflow from India and abroad?
What are your suggestions in this regard?
I believe the state will be able to handle the
inflow of tourists in 2014.Tourist inflow to
the state will continue to grow with time, and
with development of certain amenities like
sky walk and airport, tourist inflow to the
state will witness unprecedented rise in the
future. So, perhaps 2014 is the year when the
state can implement more strategic plans and
learn from it for an even busier future in
Sikkim tourism. SJ

DECEMBER 2013 the political and economic journal of sikkim

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