India to western consumers' rescue

To holiday or not to holiday? That and many more Hamletian dilemmas have emerged as the downturn chills Europe and the US. A just-released Boston Consulting Group survey says that some 56% of the British, French, Germans and Spanish they contacted may spend around 12% less in the coming months, cutting back on discretionary spending like holidays, eating out and buying electronics. These findings echo surveys in the US too.

Hard on the heels of these dismal prognoses comes the British supermarket chains lament that sales of ready-to-eat meals, bottled water and use-once-and-throw items are plummeting, though they have gained customers overall as even the relatively rich are heading for unbranded bargains.

But clearly some people are not going to let belt-tightening and pink slips turn them into homebodies and couch potatoes. VisitBritain and Visit London have found that while 90% of Britons say they are spending less, only 45% will forego their holidays. They would rather eat less, drive less, change wardrobes less and go out and indulge less but vacations will be budgeted for: under the ���stress buster��� category!

All this ���Back to the Depression Era��� doomsaying, however, has a bright side if only marketers, consumers and indeed governments realise how to handle it. The clue for beleaguered western consumers, routinely pilloried for increasing carbon footprints is: be Indian!

For instance, travel local ��� the best compromise between holiday and no-holiday ��� and earn carbon brownie points and give a fillip to humbler close-to-home tourist spots.

Other quintessentially Indian tips would include drinking RO tapwater instead of bottled, carrying khana and hot beverage in dabbas and flasks respectively instead of buying a sandwich and latte on the trot, cooking instead of stocking the freezer with ready-made meals ��� all conveniences of an era where time was more precious than money.

All very Indian, no? But get this: the surveys mentioned above reveal that Europeans ��� Britons included ��� are doing precisely that!