TravTalk India Online Magazine
Vishal Suri, MD, SOTC Travel, speaking at the 2nd edition of ITB India, highlighted India’s rapidly evolving travel landscape, including its domestic travel. He paints a vivid picture of how the country’s travel sector is poised for expansion, underpinned by strong domestic demand, a youthful population, and a developing infrastructure.
Hazel Jain
Is the domestic travel market still growing post pandemic?
We estimate that almost two-thirds of the spends or the number of trips is on domestic travel. Large travel companies like ours were earlier looking at domestic as only a small segment of the business, but today almost about 25 per cent of the business is domestic travel.
Why is that and what domestic segments are showing an uptick?
It is because of the launch of new airports, more trains like Vande Bharat, the infrastructure development on the roadways and more quality products coming in terms of hotels. Domestic is going to be a strong business. A significant part of domestic travel is still driven by spiritual or religious tourism, and for that we have a programme called ‘Darshan Tours’ where we have products like the homam, the abhishekam and the entry into the temple. So, domestic is going to be significant as we go forward.
Tell us about the trend called ‘micro’ holidays.
Travellers in India are now travelling on impulses and occasions. It could be reunions, anniversaries or birthdays, or it could just be a long weekend where they just want to recharge themselves. So, people in India are taking a trip every two months, which translates to almost about six or seven trips a year. This also shows no seasonality for travel anymore even for domestic travel. This is a 12-month business now. We have invested a lot of time and energy to build our portfolio around domestic packages, and a big part of our growth will come from the domestic travel segment.
How much are Indians spending on holidays today?
According to published statistics, between 2019 and 2030, Indian travel expenditure is projected to grow by 173 per cent, reaching $410 billion. India is set to become the fourth-largest global spender on tourism, with domestic travel making up two-thirds of this growth. The number of trips Indians will take domestically is expected to soar, while international trips will also rise, with Indians travelling abroad more frequently for both leisure and business.
India has ambitions to become a major transit hub. Your thoughts?
With the given rate of expansion of airports and airlines, by 2025, India will have 220 airports, a sharp increase from 74 in 2014. Indian carriers like IndiGo and Air India are expanding their fleet. These developments, combined with regional airlines serving smaller cities, will significantly enhance connectivity and bolster both domestic and inbound tourism. India’s demographic, economic, and technological shifts are setting the stage for a travel revolution. The Indian travel market is poised for exponential growth. The next decade promises to be transformative for India’s travel industry, offering immense opportunities for growth and innovation.
