Mumbai Expected to Recover from Attacks
Friday, December 12th, 2008
In the days since the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the city’s once flourishing travel industry has taken a severe hit. Cancellations have reached staggeringly high numbers. As many as 20% of all visitors headed to Mumbai have cancelled their trips. Two iconic hotels, Taj Mahal Hotel and Oberoi Trident, will have to be rebuilt. However, the management of both have said that any repair and rebuilding work will take place as early as January. This is an example of the general state of mind of those in Mumbai’s tourism industry: “We’ll bounce back.”
Perhaps hoping for things to quickly return to normal is not realistic. But, in a state of heightened security, this is, actually, the safest time to visit India’s largest city. Authorities are taking any rumored threat seriously and security at train stations and airports is extremely high.
Nonetheless, India’s hotels and airlines are expecting the attacks to have a serious negative impact on their business in the short-term.
India’s airlines have already been suffering. Jet Airways, the country’s leading carrier, is expected to cut its expat staff. Air India has approached the government for a bailout. The attacks are a further hit to the airline industry because travel numbers will be driven down further before they recover.
However, tensions between India and Pakistan will remain, as they have for the past 50 years. This means that violence could flare at any time. Because of the attacks and the media attention they brought to India, security is bound to be improved. Mumbai’s police force was roundly criticized for how it handled the situation. A major factor in the recovery will come from how the police force changes.
If such violent attacks occur in Mumbai or in other Indian cities, the recovery could be seriously impacted. Therefore, improving security as much as possible is the first order of business.