Tiger tiger, burning bright

Neelu Singh, the chief operating officer of Ezeego1.com, an online travel booking website in India, talks about the wildlife tourism industry and some of the challenges.

Is wildlife tourism growing in India and why?

Wildlife tourism in India is certainly on the rise. This can be attributed to the presence of several wildlife resorts and national parks within the country as well as several public awareness projects initiated by the government and private companies. Some of the exotic species, such as the Royal Bengal Tiger are found primarily in India. This exclusivity factor has given rise to organised safaris for tiger sighting for domestic and inbound travellers. Efforts by Gujarat Tourism have resulted in increased awareness about the Gir National Park, especially its endangered Asiatic lions. Several exotic resorts and lodges situated in the best wildlife sanctuaries of India provide travellers with an opportunity to learn about the nuances of wildlife and wildlife photography.

What is the potential of the sector? Do you think that more should be done to develop wildlife tourism in India?

India has a huge potential to grow in terms of the wildlife tourism segment. Tourism resources in the country have the potential to generate significantly higher levels of demand from the domestic as well as international markets. The industry is expected to increase by 10 to 12 per cent year-on-year with a growing interest for wildlife and also the diversity of species found in our country. We need to focus on special interest groups such as wildlife photography enthusiasts, nature lovers and adventure groups. It is essential to propagate the importance and responsibility of being in the wilderness zones. In addition to this, better hotel infrastructure, improved connectivity to remote wildlife reserves and more organised safaris will help increase wildlife tourism.

What are the biggest challenges for the wildlife tourism sector?

Educating the travellers to maintain decorum, especially during safaris and within forest areas, becomes a challenge. Inaccessibility due to bad roads and hotel infrastructure is another issue. In some jungles such as Tadoba and Pench, the inventory is limited, which results in most hotels being sold out during peak season. We face a limitation in booking safaris in advance as we receive confirmations from the forest department only one day in advance.

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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

In Full Flight: A Story of Africa and Atonement
John Heminway, Knopff

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills