Inbound travel picks up pace
Indian market in Australia is really picking up. We are booked out in September for our first tour and March next too is looking good. Australians are ready to travel and it's exciting to be here and be inspired and get back to it. There has been a strong cultural connection between Australia and India. What is more, there is always somewhere to come and people to bring over. I think a small group tour is appealing to travellers instead of big tours. The travellers want to stay somewhere remote; something that is more personalised. Australians are ready to travel after having been locked down for two years. By being in India and posting on the social media, I have been telling people excitedly that I am travelling in India as the country is ready for visitors.
When live events are organised in the United Kingdom, I plan to be there and promote India and the new things that are coming up in India. We have these beautiful experiential hotels, which have come up; these are the places that we want to promote where people can actually get a taste of real India. They get to stay in heritage properties, family-owned properties, where one can get a very personalised touch. So, that is what I would want to highlight and promote and get more and more travellers to visit India. We have so many states with their own language, rich cultures and traditions, colourful festivals, among other things that people can immerse themselves into. One can come repeatedly visit diffrent places and enjoy the variety it offers.
I love India and I have been travelling to this county for many years now. The nation has a rich heritage and culture and traditions. Frankly speaking, I started my travel business because of my passion for this country. I think the need and the want of the destinations will be driven by the tour operators, it depends on how they want to market it for a normal traveller, who is not aware of the destinations. In the United Kingdom, the Britions just want to go to India on a vacation and it is the responsibility of the tour operator to show them the options available. I have built by business slowly by opening up to the other side of India that is unexplored. I believe if we create the itinerary based on interest factors then this will help attract the audience .
The market is going to become very unpredictable as international travel is opening up rapidly. What we encountered in the last two years in terms of reservation and occupancies was phenomenal. So, I urge all hotels and resorts not to charge high rates, a main factor for travellers to travel within India instead of going to Malaysia or Southeast Asia, which are cheaper alternatives. That is exactly what I came to know while talking to the FTOs. While the UK, Germany, France visitors are looking at India for a holiday, pricing is going to be a main factor. India is no longer a cheap destination anymore and what we need to show the visitors that we are a safe, secure and adventurous destination.
The experience has been dynamic in nature. We had good business but the third COVID wave had slowed it down. We had the best March-April ever, compared to pre-pandemic days. Domestic travel has played a major role in jacking up the occupancy up as well as the prices. So, the occupancies have gone up and we have started making some money so that our assets are maintained properly. Ever since Indian international flights have resumed, there have been signs from the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy and the US. The bookings in the pipeline and inquiries too have been encouraging. We started talking about something that we have not talked about in the past two years with our DMCs and global tour operators, a sign of returning to pre-pandemic days.
Business for the inbound space came to a grinding standstill during the pandemic, but of late, the queries and inquiries have started pouring in, which is a propitious sign. Our business is doing pretty well, we ventured into the domestic space when the pandemic started and we were very clear that we are going to stay in the niche space in the domestic segment. I see there is a lot of potential for offbeat destinations, offbeat niche products and that is what we have been offering to our guests. Travellers of today are mature and they look for newer destinations and that is what we are focusing on to offer them. We will focus on offering safe and secure destinations, which we believe will gain popularity with the travellers.