Add up the entire population of Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and the many small islands worldwide and the sum will be less than the population of our country. How come then we get six times less number of visitors than the number of people visiting a tiny country like Italy. Infact, The Colosseum in Rome, is visited by 6 million people a year against about 8.5 million people visiting India. And, we have the world famous Taj Mahal. Has lighting got to do something with tourism? Of course yes.

Continuous redevelopment in the urban areas throughout the world is the result of economic growth in the tourism industry. It has also necessitated the need to create multiple and dynamic experiences which are very welcoming and unique in its own way and finally memorable. Take for example Dubai, London, Shanghai, Aukland, Toronto, Taipei, Tokyo, New York etc. Practically, all of these cities have a well-defined and well-illuminated promenade. And practically, all of them have their own Towers standing tall and well-lit from where visitors get a bird’s eye view of the entire city during the day. And when night falls, it’s a whole new experience from atop of these towers. We still have a long way to go.

I still remember a time a decade back when the local municipal authorities in Mumbai wanted to switch off all the sign board lights along the Queens Necklace or Marine Drive. Town planning plays a very important role in getting tourist to your cities and places of interest. Lighting helps in geographic orientation because people can use well-lit focal points like fountains, bridges, sculpture etc as landmarks to help them reach their places. Also lighting highlights the identity and history of an area because a well-lit historic monument draws attention to the uniqueness of the area. People are attracted to a particular place through its monuments and landscapes which are well lit, lightscapes and these days with the advent of LED lights the light-based events across the harbour. Some of these lights are there only during festivals and some of them are fixed installations like at the Hong Kong harbour. In fact, in this issue, we have covered the illumination of two 60-metre cranes at the Norwegian port. And look at the output of the light fixtures that are positioned on each crane both at the base of the crane and at the top of the crane each throwing light in the opposite direction.

As I mention Hong Kong, the place I always love to be in, I am glad to inform you that LIGHTING INDIA has once again been selected to be the media partner for the forthcoming Lighting event in Hong Kong in April. I will be present there and I look forward to those visitors from India and my media friends from around the world who will be present there. I will be there at the Media centre on the ground floor just behind the small orders counter. See you in Hong Kong. Bye for now. If you have any comments on anything related to the lighting industry or this issue, do send in your comments at miyer@charypublications.in

Publisher & Editor-In-Chief

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