How is your lockdown going?
We are all confined at home. We have stopped newspapers even. But technology is of great help. We are able to do meetings online through Zoom and its almost as real as being in the same room. I wish we were going through this home isolation at our farm—it would have been more pleasant, but the internet is not as good. I am learning a lot of new technology!
You have seen many highs and lows over the years; is there any precedent for what we are facing with Covid-19?
What has happened is going to change everything. In Kerala, we have dealt with our share of troubles in recent years—Nipah and the floods of the last two years. earlier we faced the issues caused by the Mumbai attacks of 2008 and the 9/11 attacks and the Parliament attack in 2001. All these led to a severe crisis for tourism. If we go back further—1994 was the year of the Indian plague or Surat plague, when foreign travel came to a complete halt. That is the closest comparison I can make to what is happening now. We had commisioned Coconut lagoon in 1993 and a year after India had the plague. however, at that time something good did happen afterwards. until then, Indians mainly travelled to hill stations. After the plague the Gujaratis discovered the backwaters and other Indians followed. Domestic tourism really took off.
But, this time it goes beyond what we saw during the 1994 plague. I have to reach for stories that I heard of the 1918 Spanish Flu, plus all the plagues that took place in all the centuries before that. It took generations to recover. This pandemic and impact can only be compared to those events.
Kerala was ground zero in India with the first cases showing up there. What has the response and impact been like in Kerala?
Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de Outlook Traveller.
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Esta historia es de la edición April 2020 de Outlook Traveller.
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Where History Meets Luxury
Murmurs Of The Past Echo Through The Corridors Of These Legendary Stays
LIFE AT THE TOP
WHILE THE GOVERNMENT READIES AMBITIOUS PLANS TO BOOST TOURISM IN THE REGION, SPITI LOCALS ARE GRAPPLING WITH CHALLENGES POSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE AND SCARCE RESOURCES
NO SCREENS NO PROBLEM
DOES TAKING A BREAK FROM YOUR PHONE OR COMPUTER GIVE YOU ANXIETY OR A RUSH OF JOY? AS MORE AND MORE INDIANS CHOOSE RELAXATION AS THEIR PRIMARY MOTIVATOR TO TRAVEL, HERE'S WHAT A DIGITAL DETOX HOLIDAY IN INDIA LOOKS LIKE
GREEN LIVING
SRINAGAR ATTRACTS HORDES OF tourists for its iconic Dal Lake, tree-lined boulevards and Mughal-era gardens resplendent with chinar trees. Now, both the \"Lake of Flowers\" and chinars are in a fight for survival as pollution from untreated sewage and unsupervised logging threatens their future.
DISCOVERING THE CAUCASIAN PEARL
BATUMI IS A GETAWAY FOR ALL SEASONS, IMPRESSING VISITORS WITH ITS QUAINT VIBE, CLASSIC ARCHITECTURE AND TRADITIONAL CUISINES
WHERE SKY MEETS SEA
ESPERANCE, ALONG THE REMOTE SOUTHERN COAST OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA, IS A DESTINATION THAT REWARDS THOSE WILLING TO WANDER OFF THE BEATEN PATH
NEW FINDS IN AN ANCIENT CITY
WHILE THE GREEK ISLANDS STEAL THE LIMELIGHT, THERE'S MUCH TO.UNCOVER IN ATHENS, INCLUDING TOP-NOTCH STAYS AND LESSER-KNOWN STORIES FROM THE PAST
UNTAMED SATPURA
AN ENCHANTING BLEND OF LUXURY AND NATURE, JEHAN NUMA WILDERNESS IN CENTRAL INDIA IS WHERE ROYAL LEGACIES PROVIDE A GATEWAY TO CONSERVATION
THE JEWEL OF THE EAST
LONG BEFORE WES ANDERSON ROMANTICISED THE FICTIONAL GRAND BUDAPEST, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL IN KOLKATA INSPIRED NOVELS, FILMS AND OODLES OF NOSTALGIA
IN SEARCH OF THE BEST STAYS
MARK WONG OF SMALL LUXURY HOTELS OF THE WORLD TALKS QUIRKY STAYS, STRANGERS BECOMING FRIENDS, AND CHASING THE MOST UNIQUE EXPERIENCES ON HIS TRAVELS
