Thai’s The Limit

I was expecting a half empty aircraft but the Thai Airways flight to Bangkok came as a surprise. It was almost packed, mostly by Indians. Remember, this is a country which was devastated by the tsunami recently. It became immediately apparent that business travel is back on track. I was to witness similar signs of resurgence in Phuket during my short stint in southern Thailand. There is scant evidence of destruction there, the hoteliers I spoke to were upbeat about a complete revival, and most impressive of all was the manner in which all the major players of the country's tourism industry had got together to tide over this crisis. In fact, I was there at the behest of Thai Airways and Thailand Tourism Authority who had along with the Tourism Council of Thailand and the Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau organised what they termed a mega familiarisation trip. About 800 travel media and tour operators had been called from all over the world in what could have been a logistical nightmare. But because they had managed to rope in all stakeholders in the region's tourism including hotels, resorts, tour operators, travel agents, etc. the entire programme was almost faultless. It was an outstanding example of how a country which takes its tourism seriously is able to marshal its resources and get back on its feet. Contrast this with our recent Budget in which tourism found little mention. India still has some way to go before it gets its tourism priorities right. There is however one sector which is fast becoming an exception to the rule, the proverbial silver lining, and that is civil aviation. Liberalisation of Indian skies is afoot as never before and that means good news for business travellers. In our cover story this issue, we focus on how the changing face of aviation in India means better connectivity, cheaper fares, myriad options of air travel like low budget, no-frills, etc. We examine what's on the platter and what the future holds when it comes to flying in/from India. Besides the cover story, there are of course all our regular sections like GlobeTrot, WildSide, HotDeals and lots more to give you your monthly fill of the feBusiness Traveller. So, happy reading...

Madhavankutty Pillai
Chief Sub Editor,
feBusiness Traveller