Desiya.com Redefining Hospitality Industry And Business Travel In India
India has evolved as an economic powerhouse and is now the fourth largest economy in the world. With globalization, there has been a mad rush among the corporate world to grab the Indian market and reap the benefits of cheap labor that India has to offer. The hospitality industry has received a shot in the arm by the economic reforms initiated by the government. With the opening up of Indian market to global business, the hotel industry has witnessed a new type of tourist inflow into India. Businessmen while on tour prefer to stay in business hotels in India. Under the circumstances, various luxury hotels in India have started to provide business facilities like secretarial service and conference rooms. If you are on a last minute business tour, book your hotel by clicking http://www.desiya.com/Converter.do?linkPage=hotels
India has evolved as an economic powerhouse and is now the fourth largest economy in the world. With globalization, there has been a mad rush among the corporate world to grab the Indian market and reap the benefits of cheap labor that India has to offer. The hospitality industry has received a shot in the arm by the economic reforms initiated by the government. With the opening up of Indian market to global business, the hotel industry has witnessed a new type of tourist inflow into India. Businessmen while on tour prefer to stay in business hotels in India. Under the circumstances, various luxury hotels in India have started to provide business facilities like secretarial service and conference rooms. If you are on a last minute business tour, book your hotel by clicking http://www.desiya.com/Converter.do?linkPage=hotels
Hotels in India have started to get a feel of the jet-set corporate world. The industry is fine-tuning itself to the needs of these travelers with a difference. On a business tour, people hardly likes to be bothered over trivial issues. The hotels have taken it upon them to cater to the every whims of the guests. Business travel often means a travel decision taken at the last moment. Other than the online hotel booking facility that you will find over here, you can also book you flight tickets to and from India by clicking on http://www.desiya.com/Converter.do?linkPage=air&origin=H
Business travelers prefer to put up at 5 star hotels in India. These hotels help the tourists on business by providing then with cars. There is also the option of booking a car online by clicking on http://www.desiya.com/cars.do. Second Generation of economic reforms has ushered in rapid industrialization and economic growth. It has also heralded a new type of tourist. The hotels have taken the change of guest profile in stride very quickly. Today there are hundreds of luxury hotels in India to take care of the people who came from all over the world for business. Holiday in South AfricaDirk Wessels
I met a European couple (the guy from the Netherlands and the girl from UK) in Australia a couple of years ago. They are now planning to come visit South Africa later this year and I thought it may be useful for European travellers to hear a South Africans opinion of a holiday in South Africa.
Firstly you need to understand that Im an outdoor man. Although I live in a city, everything I do for pleasure will be to get away from city life. While in Australia, I read somewhere that If you cant get lucky in Darwin, you should stop trying. So if youre looking for big, busy cities to party, dont follow my advice and if you want to get lucky, go to Darwin.
I believe anybody coming to visit South Africa should try to spend a couple of days in Knysna and the Drakensberg. Although there are many other places worth visiting, these two are my favourites.
Most international flights in South Africa arrive or depart in Johannesburg or Cape Town and I would recommend you arriving in Cape Town and departing from Joburg. For a bit of wine tasting, do a 1 or 2 day wine trip to Stellenbosch or something around Cape Town and then head off to Mossel Bay (personally I would spend 1-2 days in Hartenbos, just outside of Mossel Bay). Cape Town waters are pretty cold due to the Atlantic ocean, so if you want to spend some time on the beach, dont even bother before Mossel Bay. However, I would save my beach-time for Plettenberg bay and Jeffreys bay. Mossel Bay is around 400Kms from Cape Town. From Mossel Bay, Id go straight to Knysna (+/- 120Kms), although there are a couple of beautiful places along the way, so it depends on your time and budget.
I grew up in Knysna and though it is a much bigger and commercialised town now, it is still a stunning place to visit. If you like hiking, spend time in Knysna. When I was a little boy, our family got lost on a hiking trail and at some point we had to cut through an immensely dense fern growth. Being too young to know the dangers, I thought it was the most amazing thing because we were walking (or crawling) on top of these ferns probably 1 meter or so above the ground and ever so often I would see our little fox terrier down on the ground looking up at us. The Knysna forest has an amazing variety of plants and trees and on many of the hiking trails you will constantly be covered by a huge tree-top covering. In my opinion it is beautiful and I can spend many hours just enjoying the beauty in a small area. The town itself is now well developed and has many activities for tourist. Many stunning restaurants on the waterfront and make sure you have a couple of drinks on a sun-downer trip on the lagoon. Try to spend at least 2 days in Knysna.
Your next stop must be Plettenberg Bay. Its only about 60Kms from Knysna and with its stunning beaches, Plett is one of my favourite bird-watching destinations Those would be the bikini-clad type of birds, of course. I must admit that I only know Plett for its beaches, but just for my love of beaches and birds, I would gladly spend 2-3 days in Plett.
After Plett you may want to look into Storms River mouth, but Ive only been there twice many years ago. There is a friggin big tree there in case youre interested in seeing an 800 year-old Outeniqua Yellowwood. It is also a beautiful area for hiking similar to the Knysna forests.
Many year ago I used to go spear fishing in Oyster Bay, +/- 120Kms from Plett and only a couple of kilometers from Jeffreys Bay (world famous surfing destination) and recently I developed a website for Oyster Bay Lodge. On my second visit to Oyster Bay Lodge I arrived a couple of hours too early, so I went for a walk on the beach and I was reminded of what a beautiful area this is. While walking next to the water, I had a seal following me for a long time in the waves just meters from me. Okay, I know a wild seal couldnt care less about some human walking on dry land, but we must have accidentally been moving at the same speed. The beach just stretches on for miles and miles. On the one side there are some rocks for fishing and spear fishing, but to the other side you just see kilometres of sandy beach. After my walk on the beach I went up to the lodge, but the owner had gone out, so I went for another walk in the bush on the lodge itself. I had only spent a couple of hours there, but the impression I get is that you can spend many hours of hiking and not get bored. Oyster Bay is very secluded and is ideal for people who really want to get away into nature. It is, however, only a couple of minutes drive from Jeffreys bay, St Francis and Humansdorp if youre looking for shops or more people.
Your next move will depend on how much you like the outdoors compared to cities. Port Elizabeth is a fairly small city by most standards and its around 80 Kms from Oyster Bay, so most places youd want to visit in the area can be reached from both locations. Whichever way, make sure you visit the Addo Elephant park and Shamwari game reserve for a bit of a safari and the big five.
From Port Elizabeth, I would fly up to Joburg and head out of the country, or if your time/budget allows, jump on a plane to Durban and work your way up to Joburg.
As much as I loved Durban many years ago, I personally would not spend any more time there. Do your own research about Durban. Beautiful beaches, hot waters and hot weather almost all year long, but I would rather go up north for some scuba diving in Sodwana. Enough on that, from Durban I would rent a car and travel up to Joburg, with a 3-5 day stop in the Drakensberg.
I spent a couple of days in the Drakensberg with a friend once and on the first morning I went for a walk before sunrise. When I got back to the camp a couple of hours later, my friend had woken up and was standing at the side of the tent and waved for me to be quiet. He was busy taking photographs of a couple of guinifowl and was amazed that we were so close to nature. I was amazed that he would be impressed by something so small. During my first walk I had sat on the top of a little hill to watch the sunrise and had a deer walking around a couple of meters from me. I had also watched a falcon gracefully flying around between the hills, seen quite a few rabbits and dassies (dont know their English name) and monkeys and I had had a swim in a natural pool below a fair-sized waterfall. If you like waterfalls and little mountain streams, the Drakensberg is a must!! The worlds second highest waterfall can be found in the Drakensberg
The Drakensberg is about halfway between Johannesburg and Durban. Very roughly, its about 350KMs in either direction.
This is just one possible trip if youre coming to visit South Africa. As I mentioned, there are many other beautiful and interesting places to visit in our country. If your main objective is a safari and seeing the big five, then look into the Kruger National Park and surrounding game reserves. If you want to go scuba diving there is absolutely NO choice, go to Sodwana bay.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dirk Wessels is a keen traveller and outdoor enthusiast and is also the web designer for Oyster Bay Lodge. You may freely use this article on condition that you keep an active link to African holiday desitination
