Sizzling hot startup, Uber, is now in Delhi to offer its point-to-point car service - with a tap on an app. Download the Uber app on Android, iOS or BlackBerry, and sign up, completing your brief profile. You can also use m.uber.com if you don't use these phones.Once in, you can just move a pin on a map to choose your pick up and drop point. The fare will show up and your car will turn up in 15 minutes. But this isn't your everyday rattletrap. You get to ride in luxury in an Audi, Accord, Camry or other cool cars at only a little more than the price of ordinary cabs. The car in no way looks like a cab or has any branding on it, so it's like your own. The Uber app also shows up the driver's photograph, name, and contact. You can track the car real time as it makes its way to you and when you're on your way, they can send your ETA to someone who's expecting you or keeping an eye on you. Particularly nice for women who need a safe ride someplace or for anyone who plans on going for a party and doesn't want to drive. The base fare in Delhi (Uber is also available in Bangalore and will make its way to other cities) The fare is based on both distance and time. Rs 70 is the base fare, and then it's Rs 20/km and Rs 2 per minute. Uber happens to be powered by Google - it funds the service which is now in 50 cities around the world.mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
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Many people look for a tablet that can be carried around easily and used for all the things others seem to enjoy so much on tablets –reading, gaming, browsing, communicating. At the same time, they want to be able to put that tablet to some productive work. It seems a bit much to find that one has to buy a laptop and a tablet, and lug them both around through the day or lace them in different spaces in everyday life. Is the Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx the perfect work plus fun device? As ever, it’s a mixed bag. A tablet is enjoyable to use because it’s a form that is comfortable to use. When you want to read, it should mimic a book. When you want to play games, it should give you the screen space go at it. The Lynx is in a landscapey format, just as most Windows 8 tablets are to fit in the tiles and the desktop screens without distorting them. It’s wide when you hold it straight side up, long and narrow when held in portrait mode. That makes it less than ideal as a book reader. You certainly won’t feel like curling up with it. Browsing through a magazine also doesn’t work out, as it’s too broad or too long. Browsing through a website however, fits more naturally on this form. You have less scrolling to do in its portrait mode. Gaming isn’t quite its forte as it isn’t meant for high-end games that need processing power, but it’s ok for watching videos or a movie, though the sound is a bit thin. As a tablet, it isn’t like the iPad, Galaxy Tabs, or any of the 7-inch and mini formats users love to carry around. SPECIFICATIONS11.6-inch IPS display with 1366x768 resolution, ten-point touchKeyboard dock (optional) Intel Atom Z7260 1.8GHz dual-core processor2GB RAM and 64GB internal storageWindows 8 ProBut the Lenovo IdeaPad Lynx does better as a notebook in two parts. The first is an 11.6 inch screen, mid-range in terms of resolution, not the best in terms of viewing angles, but adequate with brightness and colors. The screen was, in my experience, not as responsive as others I’ve come across and tended to stutter when I swiped. On the top, you have the power button and n the sides the screen rotate and slot for SD card. The back of this screen –or the tablet part – is textured, which is a good measure against it slipping out of your hands, but let me give you fair warning about its plastickiness. The tablet has a 2MP front facing camera, so you can video chat or conference. It doesn’t have a camera otherwise, as most tablets do, but then it’s width really doesn’t make it suited to taking photographs comfortably. The second part is the keyboard dock. The tablet fits into it and the screen can then lean back about 45 degrees from the center point. There’s no Yoga style gymnastics for which Lenovo is known. The keyboard section hosts more ports making it look and feel quite like a laptop. The keyboard is a full one and not cramped, but doesn’t have the legendary comfort of the ThinkPad series. Key travel is a little less to keep the whole device thin – and that’s exactly what it is: thin and light. The duo gives you 16 hours of battery life, 8 on the tablet and 8 with the dock. So now, you can put the two parts together when you want a laptop, and detach the tablet when you want to lean back and consume content rather than create it. It works with the full Windows 8, which means you can use Microsoft Office and other applications that you are accustomed to. The IdeaPad Lynx (and don’t confuse it with the other IdeaTabs and ThinkPad tablets etc that are also worth considering) costs Rs 39,990.mala@pobox.comTwitter: @malabhargava
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Emerging as a mascot of an alternative brand of politics, engineer-turned civil servant Arvind Kejriwal has changed the political discourse to steer his AAP to power - a sweet revenge for the activist's fledgling party that was once branded as "mango people in a banana republic".Leading from the front, the 45-year-old leader of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) anchored his campaign in an unconventional way to see it become the second largest party in Delhi Assembly elections with a stunning showing that halted the 15-year rule of Congress.With interests of the common man at the core of AAP's agenda, Kejriwal's triumph over three - time Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to become her successor today was the proverbial icing on the cake to earn him the tag of 'giant killer'.The country's newest star on the political horizon, who tasted success at his very first outing at the hustings, was handed his most memorable nickname in an outburst by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra earlier this year when AAP was dubbed as "mango people in a banana republic".Often called the anti-corruption man, the diminutive and bespectacled IITian and a former tax official has catapulted himself from one of the many proponents of an ombudsman to check graft to the force behind a widely popular people's movement.A renowned activist, who was dismissed as a political greenhorn, cemented his place in politics with an impressive political debut for his one-year-old AAP that challenged the political establishment.Kejriwal has thrown the rule book of Indian politics out of the window with his anti-corruption party that began as a social movement, tapping into the new energies fizzing all over India - students, farmers, civil rights groups, NGOs, social activists, women?s groups and the urban youth.Born on August 16, 1968 in Hisar in Haryana to Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi, Arvind sent the entire political spectrum into a tizzy, attacking both BJP and Congress on the issues of corruption, exorbitant rise in power and water tariff, safety of women and had managed to make a dent in the vote banks of both the parties.Belying all claims of being a "non-actor or no factor" in the Delhi Assembly elections by Congress and BJP, Kejriwal, a man of simple tastes, came into prominence from the agitation by 75-year-old activist Anna Hazare in support of Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011.Soft-spoken but a man with strong conviction, the Ramon Magsaysay award winner was part of the Team Anna, along with first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and others.He was the civil society representative member of the committee constituted by the Government to draft the Jan Lokpal bill, following the campaign for introduction of such legislation.After feeling "betrayed" by the government when it rejected their draft, Congress and other leaders challenged them to join politics, win elections and come to Parliament if they wanted to "fight system from within", root out corruption and get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed.Known for taking on challenges, the indefatigable activist decided to take a plunge into politics and formed "Aam Aadmi Party" on November 26 last year, after a formal split of Team Anna.The party name ? Aam Aadmi Party ? reflects the phrase Aam Aadmi or "common man", whose interests Kejriwal proposed to represent and got its poll symbol "broom" in July this year.A bright academic, Kejriwal passed out as a Mechanical Engineering graduate from IIT Kharagpur.He joined Tata Steel in 1989 and after working for three years, he resigned in 1992 to take up the Union Public Service Commission examination which he cleared to become an Indian Revenue Service(IRS) officer.Being in government service, Kejriwal was active in taking up social cause and worked for implementation of Right to Information Act (RTI) at grass root level.His efforts in the enactment of the RTI Act to empower the poorest citizens of India won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006.In February 2006, after resigning as Joint Commissioner in the Income Tax Department he became a full-time activist and started an NGO, Public Cause Research Foundation, with his award money as a corpus fund.A strict vegetarian who prefers home-made food, Kejriwal is married to Sunita, who is also an IRS officer and his batchmate from National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie.The couple have two children, a daughter Harshita and a son Pulkit. He has a younger sister and brother.(PTI)
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An Indian court upheld on Thursday the result of an investigation that cleared Gujarat state chief minister Narendra Modi of complicity in riots in 2002, giving the opposition politician a boost as he runs for prime minister.Modi, a leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has used the report to defend himself in the past, saying he was "given a thoroughly clean chit" and insisting he did all he could to stop the violence.The riots erupted in February 2002 after a train carrying Hindu pilgrims was torched, prompting a wave of reprisal attacks against the state's minority Muslims. At least 1,000 people were killed, most of them Muslims, in some of India's worst religious bloodshed since 1947.A special team appointed by the Supreme Court to investigate the role of Modi and 62 other people in the violence said in a 541-page report in 2012 it could find no evidence to prosecute the chief minister.Most importantly, it cleared Modi of the most damaging allegation: that he had told senior officials to allow Hindu mobs to vent their anger.Zakia Jafri, the widow of a politician belonging to the ruling Congress party who was killed by rioters along with dozens of neighbours, had filed a protest petition against the team's report in April.On Thursday, a court in Gujarat's main city of Ahmedabad rejected Jafri's petition, saying there was no evidence to prosecute Modi."Truth alone triumphs," Modi wrote on his Twitter page.Jafri's lawyers and supporters said they would take the case to a higher court within a month."Modi can feel easy for 20 days but not for more than that," said Mihir Desai, a lawyer for Jafri.Modi, who in the years following the riots turned Gujarat into one of India's fastest growing states, has built a reputation as a business-savvy and investor-friendly administrator. But he has been unable to fully shake off allegations over the riots."I strongly feel for those who haven't got justice in Gujarat," Law Minister Kapil Sibal said soon after the court decision on Thursday.Modi looks to be the front-runner in an election that must be held by May. (Reuters)
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The BW | Businessworld SME Whitebook was launched on 10 December at The Leela Ambience Gurgaon. The event witnessed a lively panel discussion on the subject, 'Growth Despite The Liquidity Squeeze'. This was followed by the unveiling of the book by Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Development, who was the chief guest for the event.Click here to view slide show(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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It is that time of the year when I look back at the months gone by and analyse events which may have leveraged the prospects of the Indian economy, and the progress seems manifold in almost all sectors. Real estate and infrastructure, too, is an area that has witnessed unprecedented growth in the past two decades. From roads to highways and bridges to state-of-the-art buildings, housing systems, office complexes, malls and more — the construction scenario has been spectacular. However, with growth comes the slack, and with the economy facing a slump in the past few years, no sector has been left unscathed. Real estate has also been facing the music, what with a slowdown that is refusing to go away. Investors and builders have been awaiting a turnaround — but to no avail.Monetary tightening resulting from RBI’s measures to control inflation was the major macro influence on the real estate business in India through most of the year. High interest rates, spiralling vacancy levels and lower margins arising from inflationary pressures, too, led to a slowdown of construction activity, leading to a drop in new launches, and also delayed project delivery by several months. Developers with exposure to residential projects are particularly worried, with slowing sales leading to a situation of oversupply in many parts of the country. Unsold inventory levels within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region stood at 45 per cent, followed by NCR (national capital region) which hovered around the 25-30 per cent mark. On the commercial front, the sluggishness coupled with dull sentiments was equally evident in the shopping centre business, with as many as 13 mall projects being deferred in the top eight cities of the country during the first six months of 2013, as developers were either cautious or facing a cash crunch. The top eight cities witnessed a total mall supply of nearly 3 million sq. ft during the first half of 2013 with over 60 per cent of the total expected supply deferred. The government’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail couldn’t have come at a better time and should benefit the retail sector by making way for more shopping malls in each city. The office market though, has managed to hold its ground, and is being driven by the burgeoning IT and BPO industries, which are bringing large amounts of cash. Also, with the Western economies now showing some green shoots of recovery, it would not be unfair to consider them catalysts for leveraging the momentum, even further. However, from an investment perspective, I expect the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) sector to drive the majority of office space absorption on the back of issuance of new banking licences in early 2014.At a time when the real estate sector was reeling under a liquidity crunch and poor sales, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) revived the process of introducing real estate investment trusts (Reits) in the country. In view of the crucial role that Reits could play as investment vehicles, the Sebi brought out draft Reits regulations in December 2007 to encourage and facilitate their healthy growth in India. However, these regulations couldn’t take shape due to a number of factors, including the global economic slowdown, which also impacted real estate markets. In a welcome move, Sebi once again brought out draft Reits regulations in 2013, which were made public on 10 October for inviting stakeholders’ views. While there may be some distance to cover before India develops retail Reits as they exist in the US, the measure is expected to boost transparency and corporate governance in the real estate industry as a whole.The underlying reason for all these moves is that the Indian real estate story continues to be tremendously attractive. While there is a sort of saturation in tier-I cities, the good news is that tier-II cities have started growing with the IT/ITeS and industrial sectors investing in such places. Thus, Indian real estate is poised for a boom, and will take the economy along with it. The notion that Indian real estate is expensive is based more on the cost of undeveloped land, which is becoming a scarce commodity, than finished residential or office space, which is still available at reasonable prices in most places. The momentum remains positive. If we can get the investment story right, lower the fiscal deficit, and have more progressive monetary policies drafted by the Reserve Bank, there’s nothing that can stop us from coming back onto the growth track by the second half of 2014. The author is chairman and managing director, Knight Frank India. The views expressed here are his own(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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In drawing rooms across Delhi, the lunching classes are packing away their pashminas and airing their handspuns. In Mumbai, the threat of RTI is looming over the heads of celebrities wondering whether it’s the end of champagne times. Change was never more evident in the air. Will the rising tide of nationalism spell the end of expensive taste? Is the world of graft and baksheesh over? Change makes an uneasy playmate. It is the passenger in a train everyone eyes with suspicion. The Johnny-come-lately, a jholawala evangelist whose motives are uncertain, might yet launch an Indian spring. But change is also a harbinger of promise and new excitement, of surprises — welcome or otherwise. Prices Will Rise, Prices Will FallA few pundits are still demanding a ‘price correction’ amidst signals that prices are rising. Francis Bacon’s painting — Three Studies of Lucian Freud— sold recently for a record Rs 900 crore. If you don’t expect prices for Manet and Monet, Picasso and Bacon, to go soft, why expect works by S.H. Raza, F.N. Souza, M.F. Husain and Tyeb Mehta to lessen in value? Even Ram Kumar, whose value had come down, is selling stronger now. As for Gaitonde, he’s your ticket to billionairedom (if you’re selling) along with an original Raja Ravi Varma, or Amrita Sher-Gil. But prices and interest among the contemporaries still remain ambivalent. It’s hard enough trying to understand political statements in art without being able to justify prices. So, yes, further price correction might be inevitable.Where Were They Hiding?By the time you read this, Christie’s would have concluded its first auction in India with a line-up that included the three Tagores (Rabindranath and his nephews Abanindranath and Gaganendranath) as well as Nandalal Bose who were sidelined by the brasher Progressive Artists’ Group. Fair To BiennaleChristie’s and the desi auction houses Saffronart, Astaguru and Pundole’s are responsible for meticulous sourcing and greater vigilance with regard to quality and provenance of works. In turn, galleries will be pressured into putting together better shows. But for the junta, the experience of finding both wheat and chaff together will begin in January with the India Art Summit in New Delhi and wind down in December with the Kochi Muziris Biennale. Legal PaletteArvind Kejriwal should be pleased that a growing propensity for auctions has brought in greater transparency into dealings. Fear of the Aam Aadmi will keep galleries on the straight and narrow with payments not in black currency but by cheque. Foreign Interest In Indian ArtIf the writing is on the wall, the BJP’s international supporters will draw from popular culture. And they’ll look at art as a distinctive marker of their eminence. In 2014, the buying tide will favour NRIs, leading to more museum shows and the presence of Indian artists at global art forums. Younger Artists Will Get Their Due The recession years were hard on the younger artists. Recognition is now coming their way. Already, a mid-career retrospective on Atul Dodiya is on view at the National Gallery of Modern Art. Expect a growing band of middle-aged artists to wrest their place in the market. Desi SpenderAs luxury spends rise, sale of art could double over last year. After the Birkin bag and the Zegna suit, it’s Souza and his ilk who’ll usher you into the club of art collectors. Building InstitutionsWho’ll announce the next private museum? We don’t know for sure — though some are in the making (or, at least, collecting) stage. Meanwhile, the foundation stone of the Kolkata Museum of Modern Art was laid. If work starts soon, by 2014 the process of selection of works for its inventory will begin. Aspiring Middle ClassA growing middle class with money to spend will spur a market that has remained unacknowledged. Expect terms such as ‘woodcuts’ and ‘linocuts’, ‘serigraphy’ and ‘3 of an edition of 5’ to become common currency. Homes will aspire art, breaking through the stranglehold of decorative art aesthetic. Photography will get a leg up too. Husain’s ArtHusain’s prices will rise further, but public viewings of his work will still invite opprobrium. Blame the times we live in, which 2014 will be hard put to shed. The End of MoneyNew funds will remain a taboo in 2014. The author is head, publications & exhibitions, Delhi Art Gallery (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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The luxury market will continue to grow in 2014 at an average of 15-20 per cent across categories. If 2013 is any indication, the global reduction in spends on luxury has not made any significant dent in the Indian market. If brands have grown globally in single digits, in India, the same have experienced double-digit growth. This is a very healthy indicator for brands in India and I am optimistic of these growth patterns continuing into the next year as well. The luxury consumer in India has indeed matured. There has been a gradual but visible shift towards spending on products that are high on quality and heritage as against badge value and logos. I see this trend maturing with more people appreciating luxury for its value and aesthetic. We will also witness a rise in aspirational consumers as more people come into the fold of luxury through greater access to brands as they move into cities outside the main metros of Delhi and Mumbai. Luxury is fast venturing into newer territories. For instance, Kolkata will soon witness the launch of the city’s first luxury mall, Quest. Many new malls are also scheduled to open by end-2014. In 2014, luxury will further expand to newer categories, such as personal care and luxury homes. Developers are focusing on luxury residences in a big way. In fact, many new projects in this space are on the anvil. Alongside luxury homes, the market for luxury home décor is also on the rise. And so is case with the personal care industry. People are now spending on luxury products in the cosmetics and personal hygiene space. Brands like Crabtree & Evelyn are rapidly expanding to cities such as Pune and Kolkata. Luxury wines and spirits are also an expanding category. It is interesting to note that women are indulging in this category as much as men. The accessories market will grow laterally as men’s accessories find more takers. Men are becoming increasingly fashion conscious. The mantra clearly is ‘if you have it, flaunt it’. The author is MD, Genesis Luxury (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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Back in 1907, there was a major crash in the US equity market. The Federal Reserve was not in existence then, and J. Pierpont Morgan, a banker, was spearheading the effort to support the market. One evening, newspaper reporters asked him what he expected would happen to stock prices the next day. The great man is supposed to have pondered over the question for a few minutes, before gravely replying: “They will fluctuate.” That statement applies to the rupee’s exchange rate over 2014.We formally adopted a floating exchange rate as part of economic reforms in the early 1990s. In practice, the central bank was trying to keep the real, that is, inflation-adjusted exchange rate reasonably stable though intervention, for the next decade and a half. The external deficit remained low, after a few years of surplus in early 2000. Empirical evidence suggests that a major change was made in 2009: the central bank practically stopped intervening in the market, though there has never been any public announcement of the change. Looking forward to 2014: will the new government review the floating rate policy in the light of our experience? Is it the optimum regime for an economy that needs a sharp hike in output and employment, if only to maintain social stability? For many years, we have had higher inflation in comparison with our major trading partners and competitors in third markets. And, an appreciation of the real exchange rate is as deflationary as high interest rates, a reality often overlooked by the business media (and business leaders). In an increasingly globalised economy, the real exchange rate matters both to growth and the external balance. In the last fiscal year, we incurred an unsustainably large current account deficit — almost 5 per cent of GDP. The focus of the policy makers since then has been far more on financing the deficit rather than curtailing it. On the latter, the only step taken is the import duty hike on gold. It may well lead to increased smuggling, financed by diversion of remittances through the illegal hawala market. While the Q1 numbers in the current year were equally bad, Q2 has evidenced a sharp drop in the deficit because of improvement in exports and lower imports, particularly gold. Remittances also do not seem to have been affected significantly; it perhaps takes time for the smuggling and financing channels to be established: they functioned beautifully for 40 years when import of gold was banned (remember that 20 million marriages a year in India, and the purchase of an average of 4 tolas of fresh gold each, translates into 900 tonnes of annual demand).Export growth does bear out the fact that the fall of the rupee from around Rs 45 to a dollar to around Rs 62 at the time of writing has helped push growth. Indeed, the fall of the rupee is a little more than the inflation differential over the past two and a half years. The big question for 2014 is whether the fall is enough for our tradables sector to be globally competitive. Back in 2002, the exchange rate was over Rs 49 to a dollar, and the external account was in reasonable balance. Taking that as the starting point suggests that the rupee is still significantly overvalued in real terms. And, the inflation differential remains as high as ever. Meanwhile, tax cases, environmental regulations and court judgments are all discouraging long-term investment capital — and we are taking increasing recourse to importing short-term finance capital to bridge the gap. Will a change in US monetary policy be a major influence? It could, as our exchange rate is hostage to the investment decisions of a few dozen fund managers outside India. There is also the risk of populist fiscal policies in the pre-election months leading to a downgrade of our rating.At one time, we were a proud member of the Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) Group of fast-growing emerging markets; have we now joined Bits (Brazil, India, Turkey and South Africa) — all of whom have significant imbalances on the external account? It is worth reminding ourselves that over the past 60 years, all the economic miracles — Germany and Japan in the post-war decades; Korea and Taiwan later; and China over the past three decades — have been underpinned by managed exchange rates and a rapid export-based growth of the manufacturing sector. There is no record of a country having grown fast on the basis of importing finance capital and a stagnant manufacturing sector. Coming back to the prospects for the exchange rate in 2014, I expect, indeed hope, that it will be nearer Rs 70 than Rs 60; that we go back to the policy we adopted successfully for a decade and a half — but, based on a better constructed index of the exchange rate. The author is a forex and treasury risk management consultant(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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Sharing it, rather than buying it, has become a serious trend. In transport, any big city worth mentioning seems to feel it needs a share-bicycle scheme — the Vélib’ scheme in Paris was a pioneer (although not the first). Barclays Cycle Hire in London is a major operation and, when I was in San Francisco recently, Bay Area Bike Share had just been launched there. Ditto for shared cars — I’ve got a Flexicar card (Australia) and a Zipcar card (UK and US) in my wallet. BMW is working on its own version, scattering BMWs around a city (Munich being the first) for shared use. At the other end of the transport spectrum, you can even share executive jets. NetJets is the best known. Ride-sharing (aka dynamic carpooling) is another rapidly growing field. And then there’s Airbnb, the do-it-yourself hotel operation where you rent out a room. Less SecurityAt the moment, it’s all more, more and more when it comes to travel security — the backlash has to come. Amid this increasing security madness, it’s great to occasionally see a tiny glimpse of sanity. Exiting San Francisco airport, I encountered a sign saying you couldn’t bring your bottle of mineral water across to the airside from the landside, but you could empty it out and refill it — for free — at a water fountain. Well, that makes sense! The world certainly doesn’t need any more plastic bottle waste. Burning EnergyWe don’t want to sit around when we’re travelling, we want to do things, get fit or simply pump up the adrenaline. An example: bicycle touring. This could be gently pedalling from one stylish guest house to another (with winery stops in between) in France, or cycling the length of Africa with the Tour d’Afrique organisers. They also put on adventurous long-distance bicycle tours in other regions, including India. Or trekking — head to Nepal for the Himalayan heights or almost any other country you care to mention. I’ve joined long distance walks in recent years in England, Italy, Colombia and Australia. Then there’s skiing of course, scuba diving (I’m off to Tonga in a month) or adventurous interludes like hot-air ballooning, bungee jumping, white water rafting. Name an activity, and it’s a growth field. Rising Airlines, Rising Hubs The growth of Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai as a three-point superhub, reinforced by three super airlines — Qatar, Etihad and Emirates — will continue. It’s a combination of a whole list of factors. They’re an efficient location; Dubai has become the one-stop jumping off point to almost anywherein the world. Increasing aircraft range is another big factor and the arrival of the 777X in a few years will reinforce that trend. Having three very competitive airlines — in everything from fares to new aircraft to excellent service — also helps. But those three Gulf state locations aren’t the only places that have become increasingly important hubs. China Southern Airlines is promoting Guangzhou as an alternative to Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok as an Asian hub. The currently high-flying Turkish Airlines is pushing Istanbul as a hub; there’s even talk about non-stop flights between Istanbul and Australia. Once upon a time, flying between one African country and another often meant going via Paris or London. Now Addis Ababa (thanks to Ethiopian Airlines), Nairobi (Kenyan Airways) and Johannesburg (South African Airways) have all become African centres with extensive connections. The only place that seems to be missing out in this growth of hubs is India! If you want more than just a landing and taking off experience, surely there’s far more to see in India than the United Arab Emirates? So why isn’t Delhi or Mumbai a competitor to West Asia? Location wise, the Indian centres are probably even better situated on the Europe-Asia-Australia route than the West Asian airports. Niche, Niche And Niche Everything will continue to get more specialised. There’s still lots of demand for big, featureless, you-could-be-anywhere-in-the-world hotels, but there’s also a lot of demand for small, specialised places ranging from super-deluxe boutique resorts to interesting budget places. Aman Resorts may have kicked off the super-deluxe category, but there are plenty of other contenders today. Cruise ships are a big growth category anywhere, but much more interesting than the big ships are the small ones, whether they’re heading south to Antarctica, north to the Arctic searching for polar bears, nosing into lagoons on remote Pacific islands or threading their way up the inlets in Australia’s wild Kimberley region. Then, there are long train trips — South Africa’s Blue Train, Australia’s Ghan, the Trans-Siberian across Russia. Or, specialised visits to archaeological sites. Name a speciality and it’s a growth field. The author is co-founder, Lonely Planet (This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 13-01-2014)
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