A YEAR ago, Asheesh Vashishtha, a techie and self- confessed travel addict, gave his wanderlust a rest because he had to take care of a bigger need – that of holding on to his job at a time when the recession tsunami struck the IT industry. But now that recession is well and truly behind us, Vashishtha sees no reason for him to extend his 'staycation'. Now, he is all set to celebrate his fifth anniversary in Hong Kong with his wife, Shruti, who is also his co- worker.
"Last year, we settled for a trip to Mumbai, but I wanted to treat Shruti to something better this year," says the 32 year old techie who has been working with a telecoms MNC in Chandigarh for the past three years. "Also, this is the best time to travel to South East Asia because it's dirt cheap. The cost of our five- night vacation is working out to be Rs 50,000." With job losses becoming a thing of the past, and companies loosening their purse strings and rewarding their staff with incentives, foreign leisure travel is back in fashion. And the ones to benefit the most out of this turnaround are the short- haul getaways in the neighbourhood.
"We expect a 50-70 per cent growth in the outbound sector and most of it will be powered by short-haul destinations," Mayur Oberoi, vice- president, outbound division, MakeMyTrip.com, says.
"Travellers these days want cheaper and easy-to-connect destinations where they don't have to worry about the visa process." Domestic holidays continue to be an expensive option, with air fares and hotel rates heading north again, and this is also driving the resurgence in people's interest in outbound travel. "Our target audience comprises middle class working couples looking out for a weekend break," said Kashmira Commissariat, chief operating officer of the outbound division of Kuoni, a leading tour operator.
"Travelling to Kerala or Rajasthan with a stay in a star category hotel continues to be more expensive than a holiday in Thailand, Malaysia or Dubai." What has set the ball rolling is the fact that hotel prices in Southeast Asia have come down heavily over the past two years and the air connectivity has gone up.
"Hotel prices have dropped by 25-40 per cent in southeast Asian nations," said Oberoi. "A week's trip that was earlier priced at Rs 55,000 is now coming at Rs 40,000 and it includes airfare, food, hotel stay, local travel and taxes." The portal has seen a 30 per cent jump in the bookings for key short-haul destinations like Thailand, Dubai and Singapore.
A big change over the last year is the revival of the family vacation market. "Last year, only honeymooners and those who weren't affected directly by the recession opted for foreign vacations," said Sabina Chopra, cofounder of Yatra. com. "This year our most important segment, that is, families, is back in action. This is good news because they account for as much as 30 per cent of all bookings."
For agencies promoting international destinations, there couldn’t be better news. "It's a win-win situation both for Indian travellers and neighboring countries," said Sunil Puri, representative of the Hong Kong Tourism Board in India. "We gain from increased numbers and travelers get hassle free holidays powered by better connectivity, cheap hotels and visas on arrival." Predictably, neighbouring destinations have sensed an opportunity and are reinventing themselves to lure travellers.
Singapore, for instance, is promoting what it calls Asia’s biggest family destination, Resorts World Sentosa, which is opening early next year. With seven theme parks managed by Universal Studios and deluxe hotels, the resort is being built at an investment of US$ 4.32 billion. Dubai keeps reinventing with shopping festivals.
The brand lure of these shorthaul destinations hasn't dulled the traditional popularity of Europe among the well-travelled Indians. "Destinations like London, Paris and Switzerland have such high brand values that they will never go out of fashion. These are key destinations for honeymooners and backpackers," Commissariat said.
Most of these holiday destinations have shed their ludicrously expensive tag thanks to the recession and are luring the middle-class traveller with attractive deals. The authoritative travel guide, Lonely Planet, has just included London, Iceland and Las Vegas, hitherto seen as expensive, in its best value destinations list for 2010.
"Hotel prices are down by as much as 30 per cent in most of the Europe. This is the best time for Indian to look beyond Asia," said Rajji Rai, president, Travel Agents Association of India.
"We're seeing a high level of interest from our clients in European destinations and this is only bound to increase." Travelling abroad is back in fashion for the middle class, and how!"
Travel tales
The Indian outbound travel market has grown from 3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 million international departures in 2007. International tourism expenditure by Indians has grown from US$ 1.3 billion in 1997 to US$ 8.2 billion in 2007.
The UN World Tourism Organisation predicts that India will account for 50 million outbound tourists by 2020; the Kuoni Travel Report India 2007 predicts total outbound spending will cross US$ 28 billion in 2020.
According to the Nielsen India Outbound Travel Monitor 2008, most international travelers from India prefer travelling within Asia: Singapore (24 pc of all Indian respondents), Dubai, Australia and Malaysia (17 pc each) are the most popular destinations among Indians.
SOURCE: MAIL Today
Date - 16 November 2009
Edition - New Delhi
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