JAIPUR: Both literally and metaphorically, Bhim Singh is a towering personality in Rajasthan’s travel industry. Overwhelming and institution- like if one looks at how he ventured into an industry when conjuring up tourism could have been a long stretch of imagination.
"It may now look a bit audacious to have set up Rajasthan Tours in 1959. Actually, I was deeply inspired by my father late Maj. Rawat Singh, who served as the first general manager of Rambagh Palace. His influence on me was so deep that despite completing my post-graduation in economics I opted for this career," recalls Singh, who at 84 is still expanding the business into newer areas.
Over the past 60 years, Singh has not only scaled many peaks for his own company but has been instrumental in developing destinations that have become Rajasthan’s must-visit locations both for Indians and foreigners.
"After opening the first office at Rambagh Palace, another one came up in Udaipur. Since Jodhpur became the gateway to Jaisalmer, we expanded our network there as well. In the meantime, the flow of tourists also convinced heritage properties like Umaid Bhawan to open up for tourists. That lent a huge fillip to tourism. In fact, the emergence of western Rajasthan as a popular circuit owes much to our focus there," says Singh.
Today, Rajasthan Tours has offices across key destinations in the state, cornering 70% of the foreign tourist traffic.
In the early days, it was a tough business to do. Unlike today, there was no internet and email services nor the ease of telephony which today exists.
"I had to travel to Delhi and Mumbai and get business from companies like Cox & Kings, Mercury Travels, TCS, and SITA," recalls Singh.
Transporting tourists was a major challenge as vehicles then were mostly owned by the rich and the royals. Singh says, "We used to take cars from the royal families and the rich people for transporting tourists. Later on, bought a few cars left behind when foreigners went back to their countries. Today, we operate a fleet of 100 vehicles, including coaches and cars."
When industry associations formed in the country, Singh became a founding member in many of them. The activities of the associations added new dimension to the promotion of tourism.
"When I started, the growth was very pedestrian. As the heritage segment opened, and the industry bodies became active putting pressure on the government for promotion, we got the wind in our sails. Rajasthan Tours too capitalised on new opportunities that the fast emerging sector was
generating. We started offering new services, itineraries, hotel bookings, transportation, camping, safaris, and rides. Tourism was accepted as a new engine of economic growth. The experience
I gained helped me not
only getting into new services but also outlining a future for Rajasthan tourism,"
says Singh.
In the late 1980s, his daughter Madhu too joined him, building the core business. Recently, she has been driving the expansion into newer segments.
"Her contribution to the expansion of the group has been immense. Now, we have expanded into hospitality sector with a couple of projects, a boutique hotel in Jaisalmer and a small heritage property in Jaipur. Besides, it was not possible to miss the growth of destination weddings in Jaipur. While we are looking for new assets, as of today, our footprint is spread over most patches of the travel industry," says Singh.
Speaking on the impact of the Covid, Singh said that all hinges on the movement of foreign travellers.
"Domestic travel has supported the industry during the pandemic but we cannot play down the depth and diversity inbound tourism brings. That’s why the real revival of the sector can happen only after the foreign travel movement recovers to pre-Covid levels," says Singh who has served as advisor on many panels and committees set up by the state and central governments.
With over two dozen awards and honours, Singh is often the go-to-person in the industry for policy advocacy. Many say he reads tourism like the back of his hand.
Speaking on the opportunities and challenges before Rajasthan tourism, Singh says, "Never before tourism received the kind of support it has got from the current government. The pandemic shook the foundation of tourism but the industry status accorded to it with even better strength."
He says in Rajasthan there is no need to create anything new to advance tourism. "We have the best natural and historical assets. They just need care and conservation. We don’t need to build any new attractions. That’s why I always feel Rajasthan has its best chances in tourism," says Singh.
