As far as trends in travel go, it is clear that Indians are becoming a focus source market for both established as well as emerging destinations. With a growing section of Indians now perceived as discerning travellers, they have moved to exploring new territory. Several new countries have been aggressively marketing themselves to Indian travellers as well as the trade to enjoy some of India’s profitable footfall, with good results as well. A lot of the unexplored countries have witnessed an increase in Indian arrivals in the last couple of years.
But as they say, old habits die hard. All said and done, the Indian dream of a Europe tour remains strong, with travel agents still notching year on year growth in Europe bookings. Thomas Cook (India) (TCIL) recorded 43 per cent growth in leisure travel to Europe, while Abercrombie & Kent and TrailBlazer Tours India witnessed 15-20 and 25-30 per cent year on year growth respectively. Moreover, Indians have a new found love for mono destination travel vis-a-vis the group tours that cover popular destinations in a little over a week. According to Madhav Pai, Director – Leisure Travel (Outbound),TCIL, travel to Europe is no longer a once-a-year multi city whirlwind tour, with the evolving Indian traveller increasingly looking at mono destinations with fresh, new and unique experiences based on their specific interests.
“If we evaluate, discerning travellers visiting mono-destinations is the way they prefer to travel. They want to explore each destination to its entirety and not rush through. They are not attention seekers, hungry for destination stamps on their passport and they do not tick-off a destination unless they have explored its sights and sounds to its depth in terms of culture, history, heritage and the varied experiences it has to offer,” opined Amit Kalsi, Vice President – Private Travel, Abercrombie & Kent –India.
He further added that Indian travellers prefer customisation, destinations and experiences crafted to match their interests and expectations out of that destination and not just follow the tourist trail.
According to Vyoma Bhatt, Managing Partner, Aspen Vacations, in India there are two segments of travellers – first time travellers and destination seekers. The latter have travelled many continents but would like to see each destination in detail. So there are people who will look for bargain for visiting 10 countries in 12 days, while there are people who are looking to explore only one country for two weeks.
Furthermore, Pai revealed Thomas Cook’s internal analysis that shows a powerful new segment for Europe travel in the Indian woman traveller.
But why is it that after all these years, Europe is still high up on the Indians’ wishlist? Homa Mistry, CEO, Trail Blazer Tours- India, is of the opinion that Eastern Europe, Spain, Portugal and Scandinavia are getting proactive in spreading awareness and information about their destinations and hence gaining popularity. He further opined that Bollywood exposure has also been an added advantage for these countries. “Although UK and Switzerland remain all time favourites, we have seen new, vibrant European destinations rapidly gaining popularity. The Indian holiday maker is hungry for new destinations and increasingly looking for indepth, experiential vacations,” concluded Pai.
