While the holiday season has propelled outbound tourism to new heights, inbound doesn’t seem to have enjoyed quite the same fate. According to Karan Anand—Head, relationships, Cox & Kings, the inbound tourism scene has been a bit slow. The data provided by the Ministry of Tourism for 2013 indicates that there has been a 4.10 per cent increase in tourist arrivals and this is reflective of the growth in the industry. Summer, he added, is traditionally a low season for inbound tourism and it continues that way.
Subhash Goyal, Chairman, STIC Travel Group stated that inbound tourism in 2013 showed only a marginal growth, with foreign tourist arrivals during the period Jan-March 2014 standing at 21.27 lakhs with a growth of 4.9 per cent over 20.27 lakhs arrivals during Jan-March 2013.
“Generally, the summer months (of April-July) are termed as off season and tourist movements are very limited. As per our experience, we have seen the growth in arrivals generally varying between 4 to 5 per cent, year on year. This year, specifically due to elections in the country, tourist movements have slowed down. Also the campaigns were restricted by the Government (Ministry of Tourism) due to election code and budget constraints,” he added.
Agreeing with Goyal, Prashant Narayan, Senior Vice President & Head Operations, Leisure Travel (Inbound), Thomas Cook (India) informed that, with the 16th Loksabha elections on, inbound tourists conventionally have avoided travel, as it restricts their movement in the country. “However, this year we saw an emergence of a relatively small amount of inbound tourists interested in experiencing the Indian election season,” he added.
Echoing Anand’s views, Goyal opined that the summer season is not very good for inbound tourism businesswise. “In fact, we are finding it difficult to keep up even the regular business in summer months this year, mainly due to the fact that countries from where we primarily get tourists are under economic recession. We could have done better if the overseas Indian authorities had maintained a tourist friendly approach for issuing visas. Visa formalities have become very cumbersome and tourists find it easier to avoid India for a more friendly and inviting destination,” he said.
These roadblocks, however, have not deterred these companies from milking the advantages of the year-round destination that is India. Cox & Kings, for one, is promoting MasterChef Holidays and G Adventure in the adventure space. STIC Travel Group has put special emphasis on MICE business, Ayurvedic- Spa Holidays in Kerala and Royal Heritage/ Royal Rail Journeys mainly focusing on up market traffic, with an aim to attract up-market clients keeping in mind the fact that this segment has not been affected as much by economic slowdown.
Thomas Cook believes that ‘Incredible India’ has always been a perennial favourite all year round for international tourists, and has seen interest over the years from the elite inbound traveller, mid-segment income groups, FITs, families and MICE.
“We are doing some aggressive marketing in this domain. We are participating in global travel & tourism exhibitions, road shows, and even hosting our travel partners from overseas so that they are acquainted with all new tourism products in India. But, it is very difficult to indicate the outcome. We are hoping to achieve 8 to 10 per cent growth once the new Government takes over, tax incentives are announced for tourism sector, Air India is revived with Government ‘Bail Out’ policy, new airlines start operations (Air Asia in particular), and e-tourist visa on arrival becomes a reality. As you can see, so many factors need to click together which will decide our future prosperity in business and global tourist arrivals,” opined Goyal.
Speaking about destinations that are popular among inbound tourists during the season, Narayan listed Himachal, Leh-Ladakh, Bhutan and the North East as preferred destinations, adding that Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Tibet, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Gangtok, Uttrakhand and Rajasthan are capturing the interest of inbound tourists. Anand named the North East, South and Kashmir as destinations that are gaining impetus among inbound travellers.
Goyal added that STIC Travel Group has seen increased demand for Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Sikkim along with Goa, Rajasthan and Maharashtra, with South India being more in demand due to the variety and cost effectiveness it offers.
