Going on holiday is back on the cards again despite the recession, with a global survey showing one in five people plan to travel overseas, even if it's largely within their region. The survey by credit card firm MasterCard asked over 10,600 people in West Asia, Africa and the Asia-Pacific about their travel priorities for the next six months, and the findings are likely to cheer the global travel industry which has had a rough year due to global financial crisis.
Some 20 per cent of respondents said they plan to spend on international travel packages, with Hong Kongers topping the list of people planning holidays abroad, followed by Singaporeans and Saudi Arabians. African respondents were the most keen to travel long haul and go to the US, Canada or European destinations, but for the majority, their top 10 holiday destinations were largely within their own region. Japan, Australia and China were the most popular countries for prospective travellers in the Asia-Pacific, while West Asians were more likely to visit Egypt and the UAE, the survey showed.
Resilience of Industry
Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Asia-Pacific economic adviser for MasterCard Worldwide, said the survey showed the resilience of the travel industry in parts of the world not as badly affected by the global financial crisis as the US and Europe.
The survey involved 24 countries and territories, from Australia to Nigeria. "Although travel patterns have changed moderately, we see that consumers' appetite for travel has held up through the recession," Hedrick-Wong said in a statement.
"The fact that Asia has been the region that has been least affected by the global recession also means that spending on travel by Asian consumers will likely re-bound more strongly in the coming months as well."
Across the 14 markets surveyed in Asia-Pacific, 22 per cent said they were planning a holiday abroad, compared to 20 per cent six months ago. Nearly 60 per cent stated international travel was a priority non-essential, or discretionary, spend.
In West Asia, almost a Quarter were planning trips abroad, down from a third six months ago, but nearly 90 per cent said the strongly believed in spending money on travel. In Africa, some 17 per cent of respondents plan to spend on international air travel, the survey showed, a figure Hedrick-Wong said was likely to rise in the coming years in line with economic growth and rising incomes.
SOURCE:
The Hindu Business Line
Date - 29 November 2009
Edition - New Delhi
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Singapore. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Big Jump in Indians Travelling Overseas
In a year when India's travel and hospitality business was hit badly by a sharp drop in the number of international tourist arrivals, and even after recession-hit corporate houses cut back on foreign travel by their executives, the number of outbound Indians jumped by a million in 2008-09 to cross the 10-million mark for the first time ever.
Figures released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the number of Indians travelling abroad in 2008-09 (April 1 to March 31) touched 10.8 million, which was up by a million over the 2007-08 figure of 9.8 million. And the global industry body is upbeat that the outbound India story is only going to get rosier.
"The Indian economy wasn't as badly hit by recession as many of the economies elsewhere in the world that are still feeling its effect," said Himmat Anand, cochairman, Ficci tourism committee.
"As a result, India's outbound travel pie is getting bigger and it is evident from the more than 25 countries and cities opening their tourism offices here in the past couple of years." The WTTC report says India now is the third largest outbound travel market in the Asia Pacific region. It also predicts that the world's travel and tourism economy's size will contract by 3.6 per cent this year, but economies such as India, China and Brazil will still be drivers of growth.
Singapore, incidentally, has emerged as the most visited country for Indians travelling abroad, followed by the UAE, UK and the US. Another reason for the dramatic rise in the number of outbound Indian travellers is the drop in airfares and hotel prices worldwide, which has made foreign vacation packages cheaper. "Hotel prices have come down by 25-40 per cent in south-east Asia and Europe, and air connectivity from various Indian cities is up considerably, making it cheaper to travel abroad," said Ashwini Kakkar, executive vice-chairman, Mercury Travels.
"Over the past year, the dollar, too, is almost 10 per cent cheaper, dipping from Rs 51 to Rs 46. For outbound Indians, it’s the best time to travel" he added.
The sense of optimism is also apparent from the pronouncements of tour operators. Cox & Kings (India), according to a spokesperson, is expecting a 10 per cent growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists in 2009-10.
"The cost of travel services around the world dropped as a result of recession, and overseas tour operators passed on the benefits to Indian tourists, resulting in more travellers visiting foreign destinations," the spokesperson said.
"What has kept the market going is the decision by hoteliers overseas to not hike prices even after the start of 'on-season'," added Kakkar. "So for all those who love the idea of travelling abroad on a vacation, the conditions are favourable because of the end of recession and it helps that prices haven't been any better." The message seems to have travelled across the outbound market.
The Figure
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) says the number of Indians travelling abroad in 2008-09 (April 1 to March 31) touched 10.8 mn, up by a million over the 2007-08 figure of 9.8 mn.
India is now the third-largest outbound travel market in the Asia Pacific region.
Reason
The drop in airfares and hotel prices worldwide, which has made foreign vacations cheaper for Indians.
Prediction
The size of the world's tourism economy will contract by 3.6% this year, but economies such as India, China and Brazil will still be drivers of growth. Global travel giant Cox & Kings (India) is expecting a 10% growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists in 2009-10.
Most-preferred places
Indians prefer Singapore, followed by the UAE, UK and the US High on travel map.
SOURCE:
Mail Today
Edition - New Delhi
Figures released by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the number of Indians travelling abroad in 2008-09 (April 1 to March 31) touched 10.8 million, which was up by a million over the 2007-08 figure of 9.8 million. And the global industry body is upbeat that the outbound India story is only going to get rosier.
"The Indian economy wasn't as badly hit by recession as many of the economies elsewhere in the world that are still feeling its effect," said Himmat Anand, cochairman, Ficci tourism committee.
"As a result, India's outbound travel pie is getting bigger and it is evident from the more than 25 countries and cities opening their tourism offices here in the past couple of years." The WTTC report says India now is the third largest outbound travel market in the Asia Pacific region. It also predicts that the world's travel and tourism economy's size will contract by 3.6 per cent this year, but economies such as India, China and Brazil will still be drivers of growth.
Singapore, incidentally, has emerged as the most visited country for Indians travelling abroad, followed by the UAE, UK and the US. Another reason for the dramatic rise in the number of outbound Indian travellers is the drop in airfares and hotel prices worldwide, which has made foreign vacation packages cheaper. "Hotel prices have come down by 25-40 per cent in south-east Asia and Europe, and air connectivity from various Indian cities is up considerably, making it cheaper to travel abroad," said Ashwini Kakkar, executive vice-chairman, Mercury Travels.
"Over the past year, the dollar, too, is almost 10 per cent cheaper, dipping from Rs 51 to Rs 46. For outbound Indians, it’s the best time to travel" he added.
The sense of optimism is also apparent from the pronouncements of tour operators. Cox & Kings (India), according to a spokesperson, is expecting a 10 per cent growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists in 2009-10.
"The cost of travel services around the world dropped as a result of recession, and overseas tour operators passed on the benefits to Indian tourists, resulting in more travellers visiting foreign destinations," the spokesperson said.
"What has kept the market going is the decision by hoteliers overseas to not hike prices even after the start of 'on-season'," added Kakkar. "So for all those who love the idea of travelling abroad on a vacation, the conditions are favourable because of the end of recession and it helps that prices haven't been any better." The message seems to have travelled across the outbound market.
The Figure
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) says the number of Indians travelling abroad in 2008-09 (April 1 to March 31) touched 10.8 mn, up by a million over the 2007-08 figure of 9.8 mn.
India is now the third-largest outbound travel market in the Asia Pacific region.
Reason
The drop in airfares and hotel prices worldwide, which has made foreign vacations cheaper for Indians.
Prediction
The size of the world's tourism economy will contract by 3.6% this year, but economies such as India, China and Brazil will still be drivers of growth. Global travel giant Cox & Kings (India) is expecting a 10% growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists in 2009-10.
Most-preferred places
Indians prefer Singapore, followed by the UAE, UK and the US High on travel map.
SOURCE:
Mail Today
Edition - New Delhi
Friday, November 20, 2009
Indian tourists ride the slowdown
One million more go globetrotting in 2008-09. A record 10.8 million Indian tourists went on a globetrotting spree in 2008-09, the worst year of the economic slowdown, as dipping airfares and lower hotel rates made holidays cheaper. This was one million more outbound tourists than the year before.
And the numbers are still rising. "This year (2009-10), we are expecting around 10 per cent growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists," said Ajay Kerkar, executive director, Cox & Kings (India) Ltd, a leading tour operator. He was here to talk about the company’s initial public offer (IPO) of shares.
"The cost of travel services in foreign countries came down due to recession, and overseas tour operators passed on the benefits of low cost to Indian tourists, resulting in more travelers visiting foreign tourist destinations," Kerkar added.
Agrees Manish Sharma, managing director, Akshar Travels, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based Shree Akshar International. "The prices of accommodation, local transportation and hospitality services, as well as airfare, have declined in major tourist destinations such as Singapore, Europe and Malaysia, which Indian tourists, especially Gujarati people, took advantage of."
Travel was also boosted by the fact that India was still a growing economy — though the growth rate had slowed — while many large developed countries were actually facing negative growth. "The impact of financial turmoil was relatively lower on India as compared to other destinations," said Sharma.
For Indian tourists, after Singapore, the UAE is the second most popular travel destination, followed by the UK and the US.
Research by the World Travel & Tourism Council says the travel and tourism economy's size will contract by 3.6 per cent in 2009, but emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil are expected to be the main engines of the travel and tourism sector’s growth.
"Generally, hoteliers in tourist destinations hike the prices during peak season. This time, they were forced to keep the rates unchanged due to recession, leading to higher inflow of tourists," added Mahesh Budakiya, managing partner, Shakti Travels, which has been in the travel industry since 1977.
SOURCE: Business Standard
Date - 20 November 2009
Edition - New Delhi
And the numbers are still rising. "This year (2009-10), we are expecting around 10 per cent growth in the number of outbound Indian tourists," said Ajay Kerkar, executive director, Cox & Kings (India) Ltd, a leading tour operator. He was here to talk about the company’s initial public offer (IPO) of shares.
"The cost of travel services in foreign countries came down due to recession, and overseas tour operators passed on the benefits of low cost to Indian tourists, resulting in more travelers visiting foreign tourist destinations," Kerkar added.
Agrees Manish Sharma, managing director, Akshar Travels, a subsidiary of Ahmedabad-based Shree Akshar International. "The prices of accommodation, local transportation and hospitality services, as well as airfare, have declined in major tourist destinations such as Singapore, Europe and Malaysia, which Indian tourists, especially Gujarati people, took advantage of."
Travel was also boosted by the fact that India was still a growing economy — though the growth rate had slowed — while many large developed countries were actually facing negative growth. "The impact of financial turmoil was relatively lower on India as compared to other destinations," said Sharma.
For Indian tourists, after Singapore, the UAE is the second most popular travel destination, followed by the UK and the US.
Research by the World Travel & Tourism Council says the travel and tourism economy's size will contract by 3.6 per cent in 2009, but emerging economies such as India, China and Brazil are expected to be the main engines of the travel and tourism sector’s growth.
"Generally, hoteliers in tourist destinations hike the prices during peak season. This time, they were forced to keep the rates unchanged due to recession, leading to higher inflow of tourists," added Mahesh Budakiya, managing partner, Shakti Travels, which has been in the travel industry since 1977.
SOURCE: Business Standard
Date - 20 November 2009
Edition - New Delhi
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The time's ripe to open your Vacation Wallets for the trip of a lifetime
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
"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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