ME key to flatten seasonality
Peak summer is the time when tourists from the Middle East flock to India to enjoy the rains and experience Ayurveda, leading to the steady increase of visitors year after year. Indian travel professionals explain why the region has emerged as a significa
India has welcomed growing number of tourists from the Middle East and we would like this to increase. Medical tourism along with wellness are some aspects where India is a forerunner and we would like more visitors to benefit from these facilities. We have high-quality medical services with world-class doctors and medical assistance at an economical rate–if you compare the services offered in the US and Europe, the cost of medical care in India is reasonable. Additionally, with yoga being accepted globally, what better place than India for a first-hand experience of yoga and Ayurveda. These are some aspects to attract more tourists from the Middle East.
For Kerala, the Middle East is an ever-growing market. The reasons are simple–the relationship between the two countries as well as the proximity. Employment is another reason why there is strong incoming and outgoing traffic. This time, Kerala is looking forward to promoting medical and wellness tourism as we have such good hospitals and services. Ayurveda is another product that is popular among the Middle East tourists and several flock to Kerala for this. June onwards is usually when most people travel to India to experience monsoon, a good time to enjoy the region. It’s a great opportunity for Kerala because it is usually off-season and this helps to even out the response. From other markets such as Oman and Saudi Arabia, we have seen a noticeable growth.
The Middle East and GCC market is very important for us. Compared to some years ago, there are more travellers from the region coming to India, and while there has been a slight slowdown from places like Saudi Arabia, mainly due to the oil price issue, the traffic is still quite steady. In addition, the e-visa is available for several GCC countries which is another encouraging reason for them to visit India. We have been participating at ATM since the very beginning and for us, this year was as successful. However, the promotions for Incredible India were not up to the mark which lead to less visitors around the pavilion. The trade show was good, but our participation could have been much better had there been more preparations in store.
The Middle East and Africa have come up in a huge way when it comes to travel and tourism. Even for us, the GCC is one of the emerging markets where we have seen good business opportunities and thanks to the excellent connectivity, UAE remains our biggest source market for outbound travel. We hope to see a growth of 45 per cent this year and the prospects look strong. Additionally, the opening of Dubai Parks and Resorts’ Bollywood Parks has been a huge drawing factor, and with hospitality players like EMAAR Group of Hotels, The Address Hotels, etc. that present state-of-the-art services, more Indians are increasingly opting to travel to the area.
The Middle East is a very important market for India because a major chunk of the business comes during the lean season which is during July, August, and September. It has good potential to grow because of its proximity to India and the well-established air accessibility that connects most of the major Indian cities. Earlier, not many were keen to travel to India but that is changing and acknowledging this change, we have been participating at ATM since the past four years. Even though the market has considerably slowed down due to various unforeseen reasons, it still holds huge potential for us and we are still aggressively in the market. We are here to launch a few new products like Kashmir, some luxury products etc. and to show that India is much more than the Golden Triangle and Kerala.
We have been attending Arabian Travel Market since the past eight years now and it has always worked out very well for us. We have a strong presence in the GCC region along with other markets like Asia, and we aim to strengthen this through our participation at ATM. We get to meet the key decision-makers here which is an advantage as a lot of potential business could take place. This year, we have a bigger booth and we’re looking forward to a double-digit growth from the Middle East region. Among some of our latest initiatives, we launched RezRewards for our partners which is like a loyalty program–they can collect points with every booking and several deals are offered on this basis. It’s a good strategy to retain a client and keep him coming back for more business.
When it comes to travel, there is a lot of it going on in the Middle East and people are keen on travelling to places like India. Although our main source of business comes from Asia, the GCC market is constantly proving to be a strong contender as the years go by and as the concept of travel gains a stronger foothold in the region. We have been active in the GCC market for over three years and have a sales team of about six people selling across the market. We transact a large amount of business from this market so ATM is home territory for us. It’s a great time for us to meet partners from the region, discuss new product requirements and general to understand what is going on in the market.
For TBI, the Middle East is a growing market and is among our top five source markets for tourists travelling to India. The tourists we get are a mixed crowd – a majority of them travel to either Mumbai or Kerala for leisure as well as business. The corporate travel side is huge with big numbers travelling every year and since the months from June onwards are extremely hot in ME, monsoon in India provides respite for them and is when they flock to India. Wellness tourism has great demand among them with several tourists flocking to Kerala year after year. Although we are not very active on the medical tourism front, tourists have shown encouraging response and more growth in this segment is anticipated. This year, ATM has been very beneficial as always and is a good platform to connect with buyers from the region.
The GCC market is an emerging one for us. Currently, we do not see much traffic for Ladakh but with our camps coming up in the region in a big way, we’ve seen a very enthusiastic response to the idea of luxury camping in Ladakh. We expect exponential growth from this region since it has great potential for luxury and through our promotions and participation at trade marts such as ATM, I see this trend picking up in a big way. We have seen buy-out situations happening from this market so coming closer to the time when Ramadan sets in-when they look to travel and should be the prime time for travelling to India. The two Ladakh camps will fit this market perfectly as the one in Nagaland is more for travellers who have been to India a couple of times and want to see the other side of it.
Since we are mainly a technology company, the GCC region is a valuable one for us. Travel technology has taken a prominent place in this market and has provided several opportunities for players as most clients have a tech-first mindset. They understand why we need to evolve. It is not that easy for business to take off, however, but those who can manage to overcome the hurdles will surely benefit. Zillious has been participating at ATM since the past four years and it is a very good platform to keep in touch with our partners. It helps us more in the networking front rather than for new business deals but it provides great visibility so it is a must-attend event for those who target the Middle East region.
Our second biggest source market after India is the Middle East and therefore, ATM is a crucial event for us. We have been participating since the past seven or eight years and this year, we were present in various national tourism office stands like Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Morocco and Dubai. Business went well as usual and the event provides a very good platform to catch up with industry professionals. These days, tourists from the Middle East have been travelling actively and to a lot of destinations all over the world. They have been going to Central Europe, South East Asia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and its mainly because of the connectivity factor. The Middle East is extremely accessible thanks to the vast number of international and low cost carriers that ply to and from the region.
To Mystifly, ATM has always been highly productive and beneficial. This year was exciting and the diversity of participants and visitors was incredible. The way the event was organised, the thoroughness and attention to detail in all aspects was impressive. ATM helps us comprehensively cover middle and central east regions which are strategic markets for Mystifly. It is a Greenfield market from a technology adoption perspective where every other day someone is entering the online world. UAE is open to adopt tech value propositions and as a tech-enabler, this opens an array of new opportunities to us. An interesting thing that we have noticed at the event is how the industry is embracing change. Be it companies moving away from traditional transaction methods or how today’s travellers prefer experiences/activities over destinations –giving birth to new experience-oriented DMCs, change seems to be in the air.
The Middle East region has always been a good source market for us, especially since it is our largest one. We get to meet every decision maker here and we’ve been participating in ATM since the last seven years and it has been a very helpful platform for us. For tech, the response has been very stable and we’ve been networking, building relations and creating new opportunities to enhance our presence here. The response has always been good here. We target the travel agents, tour operators and TMCs and almost always manage to find a good base of customers and several chances that turn into good business deals.
The GCC countries have huge potential and are an important source market for us. Travel is currently booming in the region and with so many players tapping the market, it is definitely a market to watch out for, especially those who are in the travel technology segment and its global prominence is growing through the years. ATM is quite a good platform for us to showcase our products and is the annual trade show for travel and tourism in the region, but this year has not been as great. In my opinion, there was a decent footfall but many did not show up for the prescheduled meetings so the whole idea of pre-scheduling has lost its value. However, we did get several walk-in clients so it was not a complete let-down.
We had a good experience at ATM where we participate more to meet our clients and network, rather than bag new business deals. The region is a very important one for us as not only does a lot of travelling take place from the Middle East, but it is also the midpoint for long-haul destinations like Europe and the U.S. In my experience, the Middle Eastern tourists are exploring more and going to different destinations globally. They are looking at a variety of destinations in India, apart from the Golden Triangle, like some of the hill stations. The most common time for their travels is June-July during the summer months, which is a relatively lean season here in India so it kind of helps balance out the business throughout the year.