BOMBAY, 5 July 2004 — As summer sets in India, people all over the world seem all set to travel, especially to India. Thus the travel sector is heading for a big boom this year.
This is not mere talk. As per data released by the government, India earned foreign exchange worth over Rs. 17,049 crores from tourism during the year 2003, a 20 percent increase over the previous year.
The earnings registered in 2002 were Rs. 14,195 crores compared to Rs. 14,344 crore in 2001. And till February 2004, the amount earned was about Rs. 3,912 crores, which is an increase of 20 percent over corresponding period of previous year. In fact, higher growth is expected in South Asia and ASEAN region, with the West and other part of the world accounting for 40-45 percent of the total outbound from India.
Although there are no concrete figures, according to industry pundits, the Indian outbound industry in 2003 stood at 4.8 million. By 2007 outbound tourism is expected to climb to 7 million. There was a lull in the travel industry after the SARS scare and the Iraq war. Now people seem to have put all that behind and have taken to travel as the best stress buster.
Travel agents say that the number of Indian tourists traveling abroad this year will outstrip the numbers that traveled internationally in the last two years. It is like all that travel which did not happen last year is happening altogether this year. This spillover as well as the various attractive deals offered by the various travel agents has prompted this sudden burst in international travel figures in India. The Indian traveler is now more better informed, thanks to the advent of Internet, television and media. This has made him now want to reach out to various international destinations which till a few years ago seemed really far off.
Travel agents explain that outbound travel has increased also due to various other macro factors like availability of more seats in the international segment, introduction of “earning air miles”, initiatives of the government in terms of increased Basic Travel Quota (BTQ) and a booming economy. Moreover, the spending power of the ever increasing middle class has also gone up. Favorable government incentives to outbound travelers like LTA, flexible baggage norms, custom reductions, have all given the right impetus to the growth of tourism.
The travel agents too seems to have understood the psyche of the Indian traveler. For the Indian traveler, price is the single most decisive factor. Keeping that in mind, most of the travel agents across India are offering very attractive schemes, priced at extremely reasonable rates, so much so that now traveling in Southeast Asia (SEA) is now much cheaper than say, flying to Delhi or Calcutta.
“Packaged deals” seems to be the new buzzword in traveling for the Indians. Europe and the Far East are still the most popular destinations. More frequent travelers are also looking at destinations like South America, China, Turkey and Ireland. People are also looking for exotic cruises and spa holidays.
Egypt, a China-Japan combination and South Africa is also slowly catching up. Cruising is also becoming popular and Indian tourists are now trying cruise holidays off Spain in the Mediterranean. With domestic airlines now flying to Sri Lanka and very soon to Nepal, these two destinations should get encouraging arrivals.
First time travelers, middle aged and elderly travelers, all prefer the comfort of the packaged tours where everything is taken care of. But the clan of seasoned and well traveled Indians is also growing where they prefer to travel on their own on the “off the beaten tracks”. And catering to these needs, travel agencies have also come up with innovative deals. SOTC, a leading Bombay based travel agency has a brand called Christopher Columbus holidays, catering specially to this niche.
There is also another clan of Indian traveler who prefers to travel in packaged deals due to food. Yes, food actually decides their travel pattern. There is a vast population in India which is pure vegetarian and there is also the “Jain” community who apart from being veggies do not consumer anything which grows under the ground. For such discerning travelers, food, especially in Europe could become a major problem if they decide to do it alone.
Talking about pricing, a 20-day Europe tour cost about Rs. 1.6 lakh per head and is still the fastest selling in the entire range. South Asia and the ASEAN region, on an average a 3 Day/2 Night package would cost Rs. 20,000 and would include airfare, accommodation, meals, transfers and sightseeing.
SOTC has introduced a summer offer of a 10-day tour of Europe at Rs. 99,900 only, incorporating seven exciting cities — London, Brussels, Bruges, Cologne, Rhineland, Heidelberg, Paris as well as five whole days in scenic Switzerland.
The tour price includes return economy airfare, hotel accommodation, sight-seeing, daily breakfasts, buffet Indian meals, coach tours, transfers, entrance fees, surface transportation and the assistance of the tour manager. ITC owned Travel House is promoting luxury holidays — cruises, luxury train tours, cruise and spa holidays.
Even countries abroad have realized that India is a big market. Malaysia and Singapore already have their tourism offices in India. Tourism Ireland and Maison de la France, the French tourism authority, are setting up shop here. Canada has opened representative offices in India and made visas for the Indians easier to come by. Taiwan is planning to have a representation in India and so is Spain. Another major development is the advent of E-ticketing which is booking tickets to anywhere in the world via the Internet. Apart from air tickets, even hotel bookings is now done via the Internet.
So when you head for your annual vacation to India this summer, maybe you should check out the option of traveling abroad from India!
