Outbound travel on revival path
International travel has made a comeback, and it’s time to emerge out of the darkness for the country’s outbound travel industry. TTJ takes a look into the latest trends that are catching up with the outbound travel trade in the East.
With India resuming its international flight services last month, the long wait is finally over. This has been one of the biggest news trending in the Indian travel industry in the postpandemic world. Today, when things have gradually started to fall in place, the outbound travellers with the help of the travel trade, have begun to give wings to their global dreams.
Manoj Saraf, Managing Director, Gainwell Travel and Leisure informed, “We need to take precautions in the wake of a massive spike in Omicron cases in some parts of the world. In the context of the opening of outbound travel, the Central government should stick to its decision. There has been a steep surge in airfares and with the onset of the summer season; we are expecting the airfares to drop. In the pre-pandemic days, our global fliers constituted around 80 per cent. During the pandemic, we received around 60 per cent domestic travellers. Global travel is likely to go up while domestic travel will drop slightly. The domestic segment will remain significant in the coming times. Pandemic and border restrictions will prevail. We are heavily promoting sports tourism, such as the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix in 2023 and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022. In addition, we are promoting the best chocolate store in Lucerne and the world’s largest chocolate fountain in Switzerland.”
Most travel companies are hoping for global airlines to open fully. Sanjeev Mehra, Director, Aryan Leisure and Holidays and President, SKAL International Kolkata 127 said, “The rising cost of airfares will play a significant role in outbound travel. If the cost does not come down, there will not be a large number of travellers. We require mass fliers for the global travel and we are looking for travellers to get back on track. We have to offer the best to our clients and move beyond boundaries and imaginations. Travellers will prefer low-cost destinations like Thailand. We are promoting 365° destinations such as Maldives, Singapore, Dubai, Oman, Mauritius, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. We are into MICE and offering fixed departures for leisure travellers.”
Global tourism has suffered a huge setback owing to the pandemic. Dinesh Kumar Bhatter, Director, Neptune Holidays Private Limited commented, “Once global travel begins, our business will take a forward leap. We are highlighting Turkey, Singapore and the water sports activities in Maldives. We will receive a number of corporate fliers when corporate travel takes off.”
The mood for revival is quite upbeat in the outbound trade segment. Aparna Basu Mallik, Country-Head, Europamundo Vacations stated, “We have announced the entire product range for the global market in the year gone by. Our products are valid till the next fiscal and our tours are all operational. We have upgraded our system in the last two years and are into imparting training to our agents. We are offering discounts for Senior citizens and honeymooners.”