What impact does prohibition have on tourism?
Prohibition certainly has an adverse effect on the financial viability of hotels, convention centres, etc, particularly when the corporate and business traveller is today the mainstay of hotel business. Many feel we are not doing enough for promotion of tourism abroad. I believe that direct media campaigns on promoting the brand equity or image of the country have to be backed by good media news on a destination. India, unfortunately, does not make good news. When India appears in the world media, it is because of bomb blasts, calamities, riots, ethnic violence, etc. People are just not attracted by glossy advertisements. India’s image can only be built up by a sustained media projection of the country along with ad campaigns. Plans have been afoot about promoting tourism among the South Asian countries, but nothing concrete has emerged so far. The promotion of tourism among the South Asian countries depends upon the general co-operation among these countries at the political and econo
