‘I think even under best of circumstances, we should not expect outbound to regain 25-30 per cent of last year targets before Oct-Nov 2021’

The majority of Indian tourists are no longer afraid of COVID-19 and after being stuck in homes for more than six months they are desperate to go for an international trip which is subject to new air bubbles flights commencing along with tourist visas being worked out.

Indians are already spending `20000--25000 per day in domestic resorts such as Ananda Spa, Wild Flower Hall, etc, and if more travel bubbles are not created, such spenders will continue to travel within India as most nearby international destinations have already been visited by them. Please understand that there are more than 100 million domestic tourists who can afford to spend more than `2000 per night per room and if international travel eases out then the same middle-income domestic tourist has the potential to become an outbound traveller and enjoy budget holidays in Thailand.

However, time and again, with international flights being banned like recently in the United Kingdom or news of mutated virus during a vaccine rollout does not help the outbound travel scenario.

I think, even under the best of circumstances, we should not expect outbound to regain 25 per cent to 30 per cent of last year’s targets before Oct-Nov 2021. So till things get better it is imperative that outbound tour operators and agents have to do their homework and understand which international destinations are opening and to have the sound knowledge of the SOP’s and practises applicable at the destination for tourists to be confident for travel.