Future of Tourism ?

Due to Covid pandemic, world over tourism is in dumps .

Governments around the World, do not want people to travel and mingle ( not only for pleasurable sightseeing but even for essential business travels )

Now as far as business-related travels are concerned, companies are getting around the problem by employing Video Conferencing ( Zoom – Google Meet – MS Meet and now Jio Meet ).

Pretty soon,

Jio Glass will even enable Holographic 3D meetings , across the world 

In the meantime, there are huge collateral damages to other industries such as :

Ø  Air Travel ( and travel by trains – buses – cruise ships etc )

Ø  Hospitality ( Hotels – Restaurants – Resorts – Hill Stations etc )

Of course, when the World comes out of the current pandemic ( hopefully, within next few months ), TOURISM will revive .

Along with the revival of tourism, above-mentioned industries, too will revive – although it may take a year or more

In the past too, we had VIRUS outbreaks ( SARS – EBOLA etc ) . But these were limited to a few countries . This time, COVID has the entire world in its grips !

Experts / Scientists believe :

Ø  Every 5 years or so , we may expect another Virus attack

Ø  Like current pandemic, these too will cover entire world – and last longer

Ø  Each future virus attack would need development of NEW vaccines ( Covid vaccines under development right now, will not immunize us against future virus ).

 This will take months / years

If what the Scientists are saying is “ very likely ( high probability of occurrence ) “, then one thing is very clear

After each such future outbreak, TOURISM industry will suffer a deep recession !

It is about time the TOURISM industry asks of itself :

“ What business are we in ? “

If they do , the answer could well be :

“ We are NOT in the business of transporting the people to the scenic / beautiful places on the Earth .

We are in the business of enabling people to enjoy these scenic / beautiful places, from the comforts of their homes – without making them suffer the problems / stresses associated with travelling – checking in – packing / unpacking – walking – getting fatigued – eating unpalatable foods – carrying heavy luggage – worrying about loss of passports / credit cards – struggling to read road-signs in foreign languages – falling sick in foreign lands …etc

We are in the business of bringing inside the home of a TOURIST, all the beautiful places of the entire World. Anytime he desires to visit / view / experience , ANY place on the Earth

And show him in 3D , any such place in REAL TIME ( ie: show him how exactly is that place looking, right at THIS MOMENT / what is happening at that place, right NOW ) ”

Those TOURISM companies which come up with such an answer, would want to know if TECHNOLOGY can help bring about such a REVOLUTION / DISRUPTION

They may want to look up :

 Roomality uses AI to render window-sized 3D landscapes without glasses  

Extract :

Ø   Now a company called Roomality plans to use AI to deliver an immersively large 3D experience at home, without the need for glasses.

     

Ø  Demonstration videos show the Unreal Engine-powered system displaying photorealistic beach, jungle, forest, and field landscapes that — at scale — could make a viewer think they’re seeing any of the actual sites outside their home or office window.

{  From Roomality web site :

TRAVEL WITH ROOMALITY

 

Roomality lets its users escape from their ordinary surroundings and visit somewhere extraordinary.

The system can transport you to a Manhattan rooftop terrace, a luxury beach resort, or a cottage in the woods, and that’s just the start.

No airfare, no accommodation and no worry about restrictions – just the freedom to shift your surroundings and escape the everyday. }

Ø  Roomality suggests the system’s next steps will expand to full-wall scale, providing the illusion of a balcony that could be explored, then to full-room scale, creating “total immersiveness” the user could navigate just by looking anywhere in the room.

Ø  Roomality’s system appears to be fully usable in 3D for only a single person at a time — at least, on any given wall — and there’s no physical simulation of 3D objects. But it might conceivably allow a person to walk into a room and peer out multiple “windows” that are actually just AI-backed 3D displays, simulating views of distant places.

Ø  Roomality doesn’t yet have a release date or price for its displays, but the company is exploring prospective uses in architecture, including windowless accommodations, as well as virtual tourism, gaming, and set creation for the film industry. In addition to Unreal Engine, the company is using Quixel Megascans for 3D assets, ensuring a wide range of artificial and real-world environments will be compatible with its system whenever it’s ready to launch

=======================================================

How can / should the INDIAN TOURISM INDUSTRY , turn the present dismal business scenario, into an opportunity ?

Answer :

Ø  By tying up with Roomality

Ø  By having “ TOURISM GUIDES ( humans ) “ walk around places in India, wearing headsets ( like Jio Glass ? ) and streaming LIVE VIDEO BROADCASTS to Roomality installations, all over the World

To start with , Roomality might install its hardware / software infrastructure at CINEMA HALLS around the world . 

Once the prices drop ( with competing companies coming out with similar technologies ), such installations will reach individual homes

For Indian Tourism Industry , becoming VIRTUAL seems like an answer , in order to cater to billions of people around the World

And that would include :

Ø  Sick and / or, Old persons who cannot travel physically

Ø  People who cannot afford the costs associated with physical travel

Ø  People who are just too lazy to travel

Indian Tourism Industry Statistics :

Tourism in India is important for the country's economy and is growing rapidly. The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated ₹16.91 lakh crore (US$240 billion) or 9.2% of India's GDP in 2018 and supported 42.673 million jobs, 8.1% of its total employment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_India#:~:text=Tourism%20in%20India%20is%20important,8.1%25%20of%20its%20total%20employment.

======================================================

Dear Shri Prahlad Singh Patelji,

[ Minister for Tourism / prahladp@sansad.nic.in ]

I urge you to exploit this opportunity to make India , VIRTUAL  TOURISM  CAPITAL  of the world

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  23  July  2020

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Added on  30  April 2022 :

IMAX in your pocket! EE launches 'Nreal Air' augmented reality sunglasses in the UK that instantly project a cinema-sized screen in front of your eyes  

• The AR sunglasses have two OLED displays hidden behind the lenses
• These can project an 'Imax-sized' 201-inch virtual screen at a distance of 20 feet
• Users can stream movies and games over 5G on the go
•  They can also mirror a connected smartphone screen or explore AR apps

Street Vendors : How to Organize ?

Context :

Rajnath Singh-led GoM set to draw schemes for street vendors’ financial security

Extract :

The 12-member GoM is learnt to be considering an integrated value chain system to

Ø  ensure minimum income for street vendors

Ø  protect them from local agencies’ harassment

Ø  provide them hygienic food from a centralised kitchen

The move is aimed at

Ø  drawing in street vendors into an ‘organised’ sector mechanism and

Ø  preparing them for a food scenario hit by Covid-19.

It is estimated that there are over 10 million street vendors in India, with the maximum in Mumbai, followed by New Delhi, Kolkata and Ahmedabad

The aim is to look for economically sustainable models with public-private partnership and start with mega cities where street food consumption is high.

=========================================================

Heading of this news ( Financial Security ) is a kind of “ Sub Set “ of  the ( not adequately emphasized ) aim of :

“ …. drawing in street vendors into an ‘organised’ sector mechanism “

Focus on “provide them hygienic food from a centralised kitchen “, also seems to ignore the fact that :

Out of those 10 million Street Vendors, perhaps no more than 2 million may be vending “ food “ , with the rest vending all kinds of “ household necessities “, ( from footpaths or pulling around their hand-carts ) – items such as :

Fruits – Vegetables – Cutlery – Hosiery – Garments – Sanitary items – Toiletries – Pulses – Trinkets – Utensils – Stationary – Wallets – Photo frames – Purses – Sarees – Footwear – Umbrellas – Electrical Fittings – Lamps – Second hand books – Magazines – News Papers – Cheap Jewelry – Furniture – School-bags …………. The list goes on and on  !

There is every reason to include all of them into the proposed scheme for “ Getting Organized “

And, by that , I mean issuing to all 10 MILLION , “ Vending License “

Such an official AUTHORIZATION ( to ply their trade unhindered ) , alone can , “ protect them from local agencies’ harassment “

A comprehensive / step by step, FRAME-WORK for organizing these 10 MILLION street vendors, is described in my following blogs ( earlier sent as –mails to Cabinet Ministers )

=========================================================

 Thank You, Shri Thawar Chand Gehlotji ……………………………………………..[ 05 July 2020 ]

Congratulations , Shri Mahesh Kumarji  ……………………………………………….[ 20 June 2020 ]

Providing Jobs : a Fundamental Right ?   ……………………………………………..[ 07 June 2020 ]

Thank You, Shri Hardeep Singh Puriji   ………………………………………………….[ 01 June 2020 ]

Street Vendor Loan Scheme   …………………………………………………………………[ 14 May 2020 ]

Social Distancing : Safest – Surest Method  ………………………………………….[ 21 Apr 2020 ]

Unlocking Lockdown : Calibrated – Gradual   ………………………………………..[ 04 Apr 2020 ]

BMC proposes : Hawkers will dispose ?   ……………………………………………….[ 26 Feb 2020 ]

=========================================================

Members of the High Level GoM :

Ø  Rajnath Singhji  [  defence minister ]

    ( 38ashokroad@gmail.com  / rajnath.singh@nic.in  /  rmo@mod.nic.in  )

Ø  Nirmala Sitharamanji  [ finance minister ]

    ( appointment.fm@gov.in  / fmo@nic.in / nsitharaman@gmail.com  )

Ø  Anurag Thakurji  [minister of state for finance ]

    ( hpcapresident@yahoo.com  / mphamirpur@gmail.com  )

Ø  Nitin Gadkariji  [ minister for transport and MSME ]

    ( email@nitingadkari.org  / nitin.gadkari@nic.in  )

Ø  Ravi Shankar Prasadji  [ law minister ]

    (  mljoffice@gov.in  / ravis@sansad.nic.in )

Ø  Hardeep Puriji  [ urban development minister ]

    ( hplcmd@gmail.com  / hardeepsinghpuri@yahoo.com  )

Ø  Ram Vilas Paswanji [  minister for consumer affairs and food and public distribution ]

    ( ramvilas.paswan@sansad.nic.in  /  ca@nic.in  )

Ø  Thawar Chand Gehlotji [ minister for social justice and empowerment ]

     ( officesjem@gmail.com / tc.gehlot@sansad.nic.in )

Ø  Harsh Vardhanji  [  health minister  ]

    ( hfm@gov.in  /  dr.harshvardhan@sansad.nic.in  )

Ø  G Kishan Reddyji [ minister of state for home affairs ]

    ( gkishanreddy@yahoo.com  )

Ø  Pratap Chandra Sarangiji  [ Minister of State for MSME ]

    ( mos-msme@gov.in )

Dear Policy Makers,

Congratulations for this initiative . 

From the news report , I get a feeling that focus of the scheme is going to be :

“ …… provide them ( the Street Food Vendors ) hygienic food from a centralised kitchen “

The report goes on to add :

“ ET has learnt that the ‘Indore model’, a centralised kitchen model, which was executed through a private firm, is being studied. “

While feasible, this poses following problems :

Ø  Supplying hygienic mid-day meals to schools, calls for a fixed menu ( 5 items ? ), whereas Street Food Vendors would demand, a wide variety of food items ( say 50 items , such as Vada Pav - Pav Bhaji – Chat – Pani Puri – Sev Batata Puri – Dahi Bhalla – Idli – Dosa – Misal – Bhel – wide range of Sandwiches – Tea – Coffee – Cold drinks – Ice Creams – Kulfis – Fruit Plates of a dozen different fruits – Fruit Juices – all kinds of Pizzas – Cheeseburgers – Veg Burgers – Parathas – Lassi – Milk Shakes – etc etc )

Ø  Akshay Patra  have 51 “ Centralizd Kitchens “ , serving 18 lakh mid-day meals to some 19,000 schools ( approx.. average of 95 meals per school ). I suppose they have delivery vans to deliver meals to these schools.

Ø  The number of schools served by ONE central kitchen , varies from :

#  DMC ………………………… 27  Schools

#  Vadodara…………………..620   Schools

 

Ø  Let us assume that ,

     #  From Central Kitchens, we want to deliver food items to only 2 million ( 20 lakh )

         Street Food Vendors ( out of 10 million = 100 lakhs vendors )

     #  Each such “ Centralized Kitchen “ manages to cater to ( say ) 1,000 vendors ,

         which means, we need 2,000 “ Centralized Kitchens “ between 4 metro cites – 500

         kitchens in each metro !

        Imagine a long queue of 1,000 vendors lining up at 7 am, in front of a centralized

        kitchen to pick up their supplies – each wanting different combinations of food !

Ø  The entire supply chain would consist of dozens of private parties owning / operating these centralized kitchens. This would pose severe problems in terms of regulations / control / monitoring / standardization / pricing / payment terms etc

Ø  At present, a Street Food Vendor is backed-up by his entire family. They carry out following “ manufacturing processes “ ( at all times of day or night ) :

Cleaning-Washing-Sorting-Grinding-Mincing-Roasting-Frying-Baking – Packing etc

This could be considered “ Free In-house Labour “, enabling the Street Vendor to compete with other nearby vendors on SELLING PRICE – and, of course QUALITY

If he has to buy “ ready-to-serve “ items from a Central  Kitchen, what will his / her family members do ? They will be rendered idle !

As against this, a Central Kitchen would use “ paid / hired “ workers and build this “ manufacturing cost “ into its Selling Price ( - of course, same for all vendors )

Will such “ Bulk Food Bundles “ need to carry MRP tags when unbundled and sold loose ? 

Will this eliminate all price-based competition ?

Or, can vendors fix their own RETAIL PRICES ( fluctuating with demand ? ), for each food item ?

It must be remembered that, today, for same food item, different vendors give different QUANTITIES . 

A vendor offering better QUALITY can get away by offering less QUANTITY as compared to nearby vendor

How will his regular customers react when a vendor sys :

“ Parekh Saheb ,

- from today my selling price for Vada Pav is Rs 50 /- instead of Rs 40 / - ( a mere 25 % increase ), since from today I am sourcing this item from XYZ Central Kitchen, instead of getting my wife to prepare it at 4 am ( I think it was prepared by the Central Kitchen in day-shift 3 days back and stored in fridge ).

And sorry that the size is 10 % smaller as compared to my wife’s preparation . 

But what you get is prepared by machines and untouched by hands , to protect you from Covid Virus

God forbid, but if you get loose motions after consuming , Customer Care number / email ID is on the packet . What’s more you are covered by the Consumer Protection Act , whereby the XYZ kitchen is accountable for paying you the damages “

Ø  What would happen if , on any given day, 10 % of the 1,000 vendors assigned to a given Central Kitchen, fail to turn up to pick-up their supplies ? Will they get billed whether they pick up their QUOTA of food or not ?

Ø  Will vendors be required to deposit some money ( kind of an Advance Payment ) with Central Kitchens ? Will they pay the kitchen monthly ?

Dear Policy Makers ,

To dabble into distribution of STREET FOOD is something where “ Angels fear to tread “

In order to launch the “ integrated value chain system “ as fast as you would want, I urge you to make a beginning with those NON-FOOD household items that I have described earlier

Let us cover those 8 MILLION non-food vendors first , who will buy their supplies from wherever they want / whenever they want / sell at whatever price they want

With regards,

Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com  /  22  July  2020

Bypassing Electrodes ?

For many decades now, scientists have been studying how human brain responds to electric stimuli , by inserting electrodes through the human skull

Tiny current-pulses are sent through these electrodes to different regions of the brain

Brainwave generated are recorded digitally and how different parts of the body react , is noted

Necessity to implant electrodes ( no matter how thin / tiny  ) through skull to reach the brain , severely limits the use of this technique to a few human subjects – and that too , in a highly sanitized laboratory , better than an Operating Theater of a hospital

But imagine if we can explore the insides of a human brain WITHOUT needing to insert electrodes ?

And be able to “ read / hear “ what that human is “ thinking “ ?

And be able to “ neutralize “ the negative thoughts ( if any ) , of that individual ?

I had, not only “ imagined “ such a possibility , but also suggested how it can be used to rid the world of “ Terrorism / Militancy / Violence “

The set of links at the bottom , describe in detail, how such a FUTURE WORLD can be obtained

Following news-report strengthens my belief in reaching such a UTOPIAN future within next 5 years

 (provided corrupt politicians having criminal nexus do not sabotage my idea ) :

ELON MUSK SAYS NEURALINK WILL STREAM MUSIC STRAIGHT INTO YOUR BRAIN 

Extract :

On Sunday afternoon, when computer scientist Austin Howard asked Musk on Twitter if we could one day listen to music directly through such an interface — streaming it directly into the brain, in other words, with no headphones needed — Musk replied with a curt “ yes.”

It’s still entirely unclear if Neuralink’s brain-computer interfaces will ever be able to bypass the ear, the cochlear nerves, and beam music magically to the auditory brain.

But Musk has already set his sights on bigger things. When asked by another Twitter user if Neuralink’s devices could also help “stimulate the release of oxytocin, serotonin, and other chemicals when needed,” Musk replied with another “ yes.”

While some high-tech headphones have promised to beam music “straight to your brain,” they achieve this by sending vibrations to the skull — not stimulating neurons inside the brain.

To make that feature and more a reality, Neuralink is looking to add more, well, brains to its operations.

“If you’ve solved hard problems with phones / wearables (sealing, signal processing, inductive charging, power management, etc.), please consider working at [Neuralink],” Musk tweeted over the weekend.

==========================================================

My proposal to “ Read evil thoughts of the entire Human Race – and Neutralize these “ :

Fast Forward to Future ( 3 F ) ……………………………………………………………………….[ 20 Oct 2016 ]

Artificial Intelligence : Brahma , Vishnu or Mahesh ? …………………………………..[ 30 June 2017 ]

Racing towards ARIHANT ?   …………………………………………………………………………..[ 04 Aug 2017 ]

to : Alphabet / from : ARIHANT ………………………………………………………………………[ 12 Oct 2017 ]

ARIHANT  :  the  Destroyer  of  Enemy ………………………………………………………….[ 24 Nov 2017 ]

ARIHANT : Beyond “ Thought Experiment “  ………………………………………………….[ 21 May 2018 ]

Singularity : an Indian Concept ?  …………………………………………………………………..[ 29 Mar 2020 ]

==========================================================

Dear Elon,

ElonMuskOffice@TeslaMotors.com  /  Press@tesla.com  /

This is a far bigger challenge than any you may have faced so far – and worthy of you .

With regards,

Hemen Parekh  /  hcp@recruitGuru.com  /  21 July 2020