Incredible offices

India's 13 India Tourism Offices across the planet ought to be busier than busy. Are they?

One would imagine that after spending a tidy sum of over Rs 300 crore on an ad campaign to lure visitors of the world to India, the country's 13 India Tourism Offices (ITOs) across the globe would be up to their neck in work, trying to capitalise on the newfound appreciation for all things incredible.

Well, you can add another point to strain your credulity "" three of these ITOs don't even have top bosses in place.

So admits a Ministry of Tourism (MoT) official. The posts of regional director at two of the most important tourist attracting points for India "" New York (which also covers the South America market) and Dubai (this office covers West Asia and Africa) "" have been vacant for two years and three months, and one year and four months, respectively. The director's post at the Amsterdam office too has been empty for the last year and three months.

To MoT insiders, it's a story all too familiar. The Sydney office went headless for a record four years at a stretch, and was taken charge of only in February this year.

This doesn't mean that the three ITOs are shut. They're open. But, run by junior officers, the New York, Dubai and Amsterdam offices have little authority over such decisions as spending money.

For nearly everything, clearance is sought from the ministry in Delhi, a mode of operation that cramps any moves to adapt the effort to local market circumstances.

In an era of focused marketing, this betrays apathy, according to Sunirmol Ghosh, managing director, Indo Asia Tours, who feels that the New York office could do plenty to attract people from South America.

"It gives an impression that the Indian government is not interested "" and because of the long gap, the importance of the market is lost," adds Gour Kanjilal, a former regional director, of the Dubai office.

But what's the hold up?

You guessed it "" paperwork. According to the MoT official, all foreign postings need special clearance from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).

And that's a long-winded process in itself, though the ACC's own guidelines specify 90 days as a limit within which all MoT posting proposals should be cleared.

It's a process that some say remains vulnerable to attempts at foisting patronage postings on the ITOs. "The right man should be sent," says Kanjilal, "and not just IAS deputationists who come from other ministries." Here too, slashing through the thicket of regulation is not easy.

The MoT official says that according to MoT guidelines for foreign postings, a tourism cadre person with many years of experience in tourism still needs to be in a particular grade for three whole years to be eligible for a foreign posting, while an IAS officer coming on deputation from another ministry (say, of steel or mines) is eligible in just six months.

There's hope, though. A decision on ensuring that such postings will only be for tourism cadre officers is awaiting validation by the cabinet.

Incredible, is it not?