We round up some of the top trends that are affecting Indian outbound travel.
- A growing economy
With a population of over 1.1 billion and a GDP increasing by 8% every year, many Indian travellers have more disposable income than ever before. Johan Groenewald, MD of Royal African Discoveries, says, following last year’s elections there is an increasing confidence in India. These improved economic conditions mean that more Indians want to see the world – and with some having already been to Europe and the US, they are now considering new destinations.
However, despite this continued growth, according to a MasterCard Intelligence Report, India still has a startlingly low ratio of outbound leisure trips to total households. At just 3%, it is the lowest ratio in the entire Asia-Pacific region. This suggests that there is still huge potential to tap into the Indian market over the next 10 to 20 years, as this ratio grows.
- Predictable travel seasons
Leisure travel out of India focuses on a peak season that runs from the beginning of April until mid- to end-June. “This is monsoon season in India – a very hot time of year, so travellers don’t mind visiting cooler destinations,” says Groenewald.
This is one of the aspects that makes this market potentially lucrative for South Africa – as their peak season runs during the winter months, when many South African destinations, such as the Western Cape, traditionally struggle to fill beds.
- Food and culinary experiences
Several years ago, the food served in South Africa was falling short of the requirements of Indian travellers. This was such a problem that many tourists travelled with their own chefs, so that they were able to eat food that suited their palates. With the aim of educating the trade on their culinary expectations, SA Tourism launched the Guide to Vegetarian, Vegan and Jain Dining and ran a campaign to train over 5 000 chefs back in 2013. The result is that over the last three years, the country has made huge progress in catering for the Indian market, says Groenewald.
- Family time
Research by the Market Intelligence Group of the European Travel Commission has shown that family life is very important to Indians, which is reflected not only in the high proportions of VFR travellers but also in the high proportions travelling with family. “They will often ask for family suites in hotels,” says the report. “Decisions may be taken by the male or female head of the family in different circumstances with emphasis on group, not individual identities.”
- Affordable and convenient air access
The news that SAA had decided to axe the Mumbai route was met with shock from the industry, particularly as the timing coincided with the peak travel season. Later, SAA announced its partnership with Etihad, which was positioned as opening up many additional routes into different parts of India. However, Groenewald says this did little to alleviate problems and effectively “destroyed” the peak season.
“All routes out of India to Abu Dhabi were already full, which meant the travellers we had booked were not going to be able to get the fares they were initially promised. This meant they had to switch to other carriers, many opting to route through the Middle East on Qatar, and then travelling through to Kenya. This resulted in SA losing out on business, particularly the safari market, to East Africa,” says Groenewald.
- Visas
According to the Market Intelligence Group report, Indians travellers have a reputation for not only being late decision-makers and bookers but also for changing plans, even at a late stage. The report adds that they will often change their mind about travelling to a destination if obtaining visas is a complex or time-consuming process.
South Africa’s constant debacle with the extremely delayed issuing of visas during India’s peak season, combined with its being a very peer-influenced market is a “big red light” for Indian travellers, says Groenewald.
While the full impact of this is still to be seen, when the tourist arrival statistics for April to June are released, arrivals into South Africa have been declining, while arrivals in competitor destinations with reliable visa processes, such as Australia, have skyrocketed.
Vikram Samat, MD of Quantum Travels, says he has introduced a policy of not booking any business to SA if they cannot submit the visa application a minimum of 20 days before the departure of their clients. “Keeping with this policy, we haven’t really had any bad experiences – it’s better to be safe than sorry and the stress levels involved are massive when clients keep calling us with regard to the passports,” he says.
“We book a lot of holidays for our corporate clients who travel overseas all the time. These clients always feel more secure if they are assured that they will get their passports back in the stipulated five working days, just in case they need to travel at very short notice,” says Samat. “This is the one assurance we cannot give and we walk away from the business or suggest an alternative country where we have complete faith in the Consular Office. Unfortunately, the Indian travel fraternity has lost complete faith in the South African Consulate.
