Now with tourism reaching for the stars and quite literally, astro tourism has been emerging as a popular travel trend, more so among city-weary travellers. Away from the din and grime of polluted cities, travellers can treat themselves to an unparalleled view of the night sky – a spectacle difficult to come by in urban areas.
Founded in 2015 by astronomy aficionado Ramashish Ray, Starscapes is India’s first and only chain of observatories that gives travel enthusiasts an integrated astronomy experience. With public observatories at Kausani and Bhimtal in Uttarakhand, Starscapes sports state-of-the-art equipment for observations, astrophotography and research projects. Excerpts from an interview with Paul Savio, CEO and Co-Founder, Starscapes.
ETTravelWorld (ETTW): How niche is the concept of astro-tourism in India?
Paul Savio (PS): Astro-tourism is not yet defined in India. Some of the components that make up what is defined as astro-tourism do exist in separate niches though. For instance, schools may have astronomy clubs where astrophysics activities can be held, photographers have special workshops focused on astrophotography, individual astronomers may set up a telescope and talk about the stars to those in their circles. Adventure tourists may travel to dark sky locations to enjoy a night under the stars. These are some of the offerings that get classified as astro-tourism. But the term in itself does not exist in today’s parlance.
Even as a policy, astro-tourism is nowhere in conversation. The Karnataka Tourism Policy 2020-25 mentions science tourism as an aspect along with other types such as cultural, shopping, sports, spiritual, wellness and MICE. But nothing much has been actioned on it yet. Astro tourism, which should be a subset of Science Tourism, will take longer to get into focus. This is the case across the country, except possibly in Uttarakhand which is taking its first steps in defining astrotourism by attempting to develop a district entirely for this purpose.
ETTW: Do you have any tie-ups with travel agents and hotels to cater to their guests? If yes, which agencies and hospitality units have you tied up with?
PS: None yet, but we are in the process of partnering with travel agencies and resort chains where we can offer curated services to their guests. Along with our travel agent and resort tie ups, we are also looking to cater to corporates for MICE activities.
ETTW: So far, how has the reception been to your observatories in Uttarakhand?
PS: The Kausani Observatory has worked out exceedingly well and has grown organically and purely on word of mouth to become a destination in the district. People from as far as Nainital have come over to visit the place impulsively.
Bhimtal Observatory has just opened, and footfall is increasing by the day. We faced some disruptions on tourist flow due to the flash floods last month, but otherwise it is going according to our estimates.
ETTW: Tell us about your upcoming observatories in Coorg and Ooty? Will these be public or private observatories?
PS: Coorg and Ooty are expected to be much bigger locations for potential astro-tourists. In both locations, the observatories are being built from scratch, and we aim to attract tourists specifically for this purpose, apart from the regular tourists who visit these sites.
With easy access to Coorg from Bengaluru, Mysore and Mangalore, and similar access to Ooty from Bengaluru, Mysore, Chennai, Kochi, Coimbatore, we expect a huge amount of interest in our offerings here. Both these observatories will be open to the public to purchase tickets, online as well as by walking in.
ETTW: You also have experienced guides at the observatories to help the guests? How do you go about selecting these guides?
PS: We invest in state-of-the-art telescopes, cameras and other equipment, and focus a lot on the look and feel of the place. But our primary and most important assets are our StarGuides, the expert educators who conduct the shows and workshops at the observatories. The StarGuides are communicators who excel in the art of storytelling.
They are especially adept at conversing with customers. We intend our offerings to be more interactive than instructive, and that’s the skill we look for in potential StarGuides. After recruitment, the StarGuide hires are trained for a month on the technical skills (astronomy information, ability to handle the equipment, etc.) needed to conduct the shows and workshops.
ETTW: Do you feel that with the reopening of India to international tourists the footfall in your observatories will also witness a significant increase?
PS: Definitely. The appeal for the skies has no boundaries, be it national or international. Even those from the West who have access to all these facilities will find the offerings here unique, since they’ll get a noticeably Indian perspective of the skies from us, including a touch of Indian mythology (along with the usual Greek and Roman), Indian scientists (along with the Arabic, European and American) and Indian technological advances (ISRO, IIA, IISc).
In fact, in general, India has a lot of potential to foster astro-tourism, simply because of its massive land area. There are so many places that can be developed as globally accredited dark sky sites that can eventually attract tourists from around the world. We know that we ourselves will have so much more to offer tourists than just what is available at the observatories.
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