Pic: Jebel Jais Mountain – Ras-Al-Khaimah
The growth of Indian outbound tourism market is exploding. Call it pent-up demand or opening of international borders, a number of foreign missions in India are finding it difficult to process the sudden high demand for visas.
Traditionally, India has been a key source market for a majority of international tourism boards. However, China – the biggest outbound source market in the world still having travel restrictions in place has meant that importance of India has grown manifolds.
Lockdowns and travel restrictions have devastated China’s economy, which is also reeling from the effects of a prolonged real estate slump. The tourism and culture ministry reported that trips during the three-day mid-autumn festival last month were down almost 30 per cent from pre-Covid levels.
Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Chief Executive Officer, Sam Chia hoped that China would lift restrictions in the first-quarter of 2023. He anticipated that China would follow other countries including Japan, South Korea and Taiwan in allowing its citizens to visit other countries, reported The Star.
Unlike China, India has opened its borders to the world and the demand for outbound tourism has exploded. However, delay by western and central European missions in Delhi in issuing visas has irked many tourists and curtailed the growth of outbound tourism demand in India.
“The demand for outbound tourism in India is unbelievably high. I believe that 2023 is going to witness a phenomenal demand as many Indian families will be back to holidaying. The demand is going to be for both short-haul and long-haul markets and every type of holiday. The important question is how well the international markets are geared to handle the outbound rush from India. This is something we all have to wait and watch,” said Naveen Kundu, Managing Director – EbixCash Travel and Holidays Division.
Earlier, this year a report titled ‘Outbound Travel and Tourism – An Opportunity Untapped’ by Nangia Andersen LLP, in association with FICCI, has predicted that outbound trips from India will surpass $42 billion by 2024. The report also stated that the government could bring about certain policy changes to boost this growing market.
Suraj Nangia, Head of Nangia Andersen LLP said, “We are soon going to be the most populous country in the world with the fastest growing economy. The Indian outbound travel market is among the fastest growing markets globally with approximately 80 million passport level of purchasing power, especially among the middle class.”
“The robust demand for closer to home and easy-visa destinations is here to stay. Additionally, we expect an improvement in the visa situation for Europe and UK, thus allowing more customers to travel to their favourite destinations. The demand for luxury travel and cruise itineraries will witness a continuum,” Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head – Holidays, SOTC Travel.
“We are witnessing a comeback of slow travel and immersive experiences. Community based activities like learning a native art, cooking with locals and giving back to the community are driving interest from India’s millennials,” he added.
In fact, a large number of NTOs in the country are back to their old ways of aggressively targeting the Indian outbound tourism market. Be it economically battered Sri Lanka or the long-haul destination of Iceland, all the tourism boards are looking to tap the demand for outbound travel in India.
With New Zealand borders reopened since August, Tourism New Zealand is eyeing to attract ‘value’ travellers in India who are seeking unique experiences with a strong connection to its people, culture and nature.
Tourism New Zealand introduced its new campaign “If You Seek” in the Indian market in September, associating with trade partners including Thomas Cook, MakeMyTrip and Kulin Kumar Holidays. As part of the campaign, Tourism New Zealand has curated special itineraries for travellers that include variety of experiences like relaxing in the hot pools of He Puna Taimoana to swimming with dolphins at Kaikoura Dolphins.
“India has been the fastest growing market us prior to the onset of the pandemic. Indian travellers traditionally have engaged in more activities than other markets. So, we want to tap Indian travellers who can connect with local communities and explore lesser-known places in the country. We are seeking curious travellers who are ready for the unexpected,” said Gregg Wafelbakker, General Manager, Asia, Tourism New Zealand.
The MICE segment has emerged as a strong driver of outbound tourism growth in India with incentive market making a strong comeback. India, the largest country in South Asia has been one of the top 5 source markets for Malaysia and is showing no sign of hitting the brakes. With the Indian market being a key focus area for Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB), the bureau is gearing up for its annual roadshow to the country in the early months of 2023.
“The establishment of a direct flight between India and Penang is one of the primary topics of conversation at the moment. We are already in discussion with airlines both in India and in Malaysia about the possibility of establishing additional direct flight routes between Penang and key cities in India,” said Ashwin Gunasekaran, the Chief Executive Officer of PCEB.
Earlier, this year, Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau (ADCEB) participated in a three-city roadshow covering New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai to educate Indian travel trade partners about the recently launched Advantage Abu Dhabi (AAD) Meetings & Incentives (M&I) 2.0 programme, alongside new global partnerships that seeks to stimulate MICE activities to the region post-pandemic.
“For the first time ADCEB is setting a destination wedding strategy to position Abu Dhabi as a hub for destination weddings. We have a plan to grow in various markets and we are beginning with India. So, we will be organising trade roadshow and consumer activities in India specific to destination weddings,” said Mubarak Al Shamsi, Director of ADCEB.
After experiencing a steady growth in tourist arrivals from India in pre-covid years, Visit Iceland is once again ready to enhance its visibility in the country.
Thorleifur Thor Jonsson, Senior Area Manager, Asia, CEE and Nordics, Visit Iceland said, “At present, we are working closely with major travel companies like Thomas Cook, Veena World and MakeMyTrip who have a presence pan India to promote Iceland as a tourist destination. We are looking to tap FITs and group travellers who are well travelled and are looking to explore a new niche destination. We also see a lot of opportunity in promoting Iceland as a MICE destination in India.”
Even the relatively new destinations in the Indian market like Vietnam are recording a strong demand at present. In the recent past the number of per day visas issued by the Vietnamese embassy in India grew 24 times compared to the pre pandemic period!
“Four years back there was no direct air connection between the two countries and Indian travellers had to take connecting flights from either Singapore or Thailand to reach Vietnam. However, the fact that there are direct flights available and Indians are looking to explore new destinations in proximity are few reasons for this spurt in demand,” said Pham Sanh Chau, Vietnam’s Envoy to India.
Apart from popular travel products, NTOs have shown a keen interest in promoting bespoke experiences in the Indian market. Our focus now is to promote new experiences and tap new segments. We are going to focus on the luxury travel segment in India, exposing them to bespoke experiences that we offer be it for gastronomy, wellness or nightlife. We have 12 golf courses in Dubai and we want to promote Dubai as a golfing destination in India as well,” said Bader Ali Habib, Head of Region – South Asia, International Operations for Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET).