'Tiger' Ramesh moves to ecotourism sector

'Tiger' TG Ramesh, a serial IT entrepreneur in his own right, is now planning to set up a chain of ecotourism resorts in the country.

The resorts to be promoted under the brand "Cicada" (a tree dwelling tropical insect known for its high pitched wabble) through Wilderness Resorts Private Limited is already acquiring two resorts - one near Nagarhole wildlife park and the second close to Bandipur National Park.

"The company is also close to finalising two more acquisitions, in the Bhadra sanctuary and B R Hills," said Ramesh.

"The company plans to have 15 resorts within the next five years. Cicada has the ambition to be the premier ecotourism resort chain in India which will allow tourists to circuit and experience wilderness vacations under a single umbrella," he added.

The company will be investing $10 million (Rs 45 to Rs 50 crore) in phase one. For this, the company has received initial funding from the HRB Group led by H B Jairaj and PM Ventures (a fund instituted by Phaneesh Murthy) and Ramesh himself. Talks are on with other private equity players and venture capital companies for further investments, he added.

To run the resorts, the company is drawing on the experience of Phaneesh Murthy and the HRB Group. "Their support is through branding strategies and expertise in the hospitality industry through their 'Southern Star' properties and 'Orchard Sweets' service apartments," said Ramesh.

Quoting the World Travel and Tourism Council's (WTTC) latest TSA research, Ramesh said India is one of the fastest growing tourism economies in the world today and is estimated to grow at 8.8 per cent over the next 10 years.

However, with the exponential increase in inbound and domestic tourism in India in the last few years, the country is also waking up to the pressing need and responsibility to preserve its rich heritage and natural resources through responsible and environment friendly tourism that is sustainable.

Explaining the model to be followed at the resorts, Ramesh said as part of its mission to remain sensitive and minimise impact to the environment, the resorts will be small in size and have between 20 and 25 cottages/tented camps each.

"Activities on offer will include bird watching, nature walks, star gazing and village tours, wildlife film screenings and safaris wherever possible, focused on sensitising tourists about the role they can play in safeguarding the integrity of the forest ecosystem," he added.

In order to facilitate an increasing trend towards outdoor training programs by corporates, the company will also provide small conference facilities to encourage off-site meetings and study groups.

Also, the company will not have any tariff discrimination between foreign and Indian nationals at their resorts.

Ecotourism has been ranked by the World Tourism Organisation as the fastest growing segment in the global tourism industry. However, unlike countries like Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Sri Lanka, India does not offer too many professional ecotourism resort chains or tour practices that can cater to the potential opportunity in this sector.

Recently, there has been a renewed thrust by the Government of Karnataka to promote tourism in the State and further encouragement is provided by the Wilderness Tourism policy of the Karnataka forest department, said Ramesh.

Ramesh was the Country Manager - India for an MNC Telecommunications Company and later co-founded Bangalore Labs and then Quintant Services along with Phaneesh Murthy. Quintant was acquired by iGate Global Solutions to create India's first integrated technology and operations Company.