It’s a well known fact that outbound tourism in India has gained speed faster than the industry had ever imagined, owing to a wanderlust that came with widening horizons, increased financial capability and improved air connectivity that has catapulted the tourism industry to newer heights in recent years. And while more and more first time travellers spread their wings and visit popular destinations that have been burning a hole on their bucket list, the well heeled travellers have moved on to the next level. What we like to call the “been there done that” category of Indian travellers are now the propagators of the rapidly upward trend of niche tourism, throwing light on the new destinations, products and experiences that are out there waiting to be explored.
According to Sunil Hasija, COO – Signature Tours by Creative Travels, today’s evolved Indian is travelling like never before, and are looking for more and more to satisfy their increasingly discerning and sophisticated palate. The potential is large for niche tourism in 2015, with the Indian economy expected to do better in the coming year, the business from the niche segment is bound to grow, he opined.
Neelu Singh, COO, Ezeego1.com stated that the emergence of niche tourism over the years certainly cannot be denied. There is a sharp shift in travel patterns of Indians which is fuelling this growth further, she opined. “We see the demand for niche tourism coming in mainly from DINKs, HNIs, small group and solo travellers. Niche tourism segment will essentially be made up of discerning travellers, who do not wish to mix too many experiences in one holiday, but rather experience their most favourite element to the fullest, be it shopping, wildlife, adventure or something else,” she added.
Guldeep Singh Sahni, President, Outbound Tour Operators Association of India (OTOAI) opined that, as travellers evolve and become more globalised in their outlook; the influence of Google searches, trip advisors and online bookings increases, virtual travel experiences titillate potential travellers, young/women only/senior citizen/student tours increase. “The world will literally become the oyster of people wishing to expand their travel horizons. So yes, niche tourism is definitely only going to increase exponentially,” he said.
Trends in niche tourism
The beauty of each individual having his own interests is that their demands vary. This means, within every segment of travel, there are new trends, even in the segments that are still in their nascent stages such as niche tourism. For instance, Vishal Sinha, COO, TUI India believes that tailor made vacations will be one of the biggest trends in 2015. According to him, personalisation and customisation are taking over long and boring itineraries and unique travel experiences and unexplored journeys are not just terms used by the rich and famous anymore.
Singh revealed that the concept of ‘travelling with an objective to shop’ is gradually emerging in India, with the evident surge in the number of shoppers from India during events such as the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF).
“Whisky and Wine Tourism is certainly gaining popularity. There is luxury shopping tourism, popular among typically luxury shoppers who are affluent and middle-aged (approximately 45–54 years of age). They are baby boomers with high disposable income and available leisure time,” Hasija stated.
Gauri Jayaram, Founder, Active Holiday Company stated that, even within niche, there are people doing the run-of-the-mill things such as the Everest Base Camp in Nepal. Indians are now going on photography expeditions and wildlife experiences as specific as Gorilla/Orangutan tracking or bird watching. Basically people are being able to combine their passionate interests with travel and many who are doing so have the funds to do so. Most of all, this is not business for anyone to take away – those benefitting from these segments are passionate specialists themselves, she added.
“On the flip side there is the exotic travel to destinations such as Ethiopia and Patagonia that are being explored. However, momentum will come from places such as Borneo and Tuscany, Andalucia and so on, which are part of main stream countries, yet off the beaten track destinations for Indians,” Jayaram added.
Emerging destinations
One of the main aims behind opting for a niche holiday experience is to visit new places, and this quest has led to several less-visited destinations to finally show up on the Indian travellers’ map. Relatively off beat locations such as Costa Rica, Tahiti, Rio de Janeiro, Scandinavia, Bora-Bora, Australia, New Zealand, Spain Fiji, are steadily gaining popularity, said Hasija.
Wildlife enthusiasts, Singh stated, are moving from the regular hotspots such as Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa to newer destinations in Australia for the unique species found in their world-class zoos and wildlife parks. Long haul travellers, she added, are moving beyond Central Europe to explore regions such as Scandinavia, Ireland and Macedonia, amongst others.
Sinha revealed that destinations such as Mexico, France, Turkey, Jordan and Vietnam are getting extremely popular for adventure tourism, while TUI India’s Lifetime Experiences packages, including the Quark Expeditions (visit to the Antarctica) and Intrepid (off the beaten track), are also chosen by travellers looking for an adventurous holiday experience.
While speaking with the industry, it emerged that, while the niche tourism segment does lead travellers to new destinations, there are also experiences that take them to established places, giving the visitor a new feel of a previously visited country. “Fiji, Oman, Vietnam, Maldives and Kenya (post Ebola) are also likely to shine. Certain destinations are gaining immense popularity for destination weddings which are now multimillion grosser events. Thailand, the Cruise ships, the Mediterranean, Malaysia, Indonesia and select European destinations like Greece, Cyprus and Italy are already doing well in this segment. Overseas student tours are also picking up,” Sahni added.
