TravTalk India Online Magazine
Year 2023 has seen impressive growth for travel industry, thanks to the demand from millennials, high spending power and technology providing the right impetus. TRAVTALK takes industry views.
Suhani Sood
GB Srithar, Regional Director, India, Middle East, South Asia & Africa, STB
As Indian travellers made 2023 a big year for exploring the world, Singapore emerged as a top choice. Throughout the year, Indian visitors flew to Singapore from 17 directly connected cities. Till October-end, we had warmly welcomed 887,314 visitors from India, and we will round off the year with more than one million Indians to the City in Nature. This high number can be attributed to factors like the strong socio-cultural ties between the two nations, Singapore’s proximity to India, and the appeal of the city’s diverse experiences tailored to the preferences of Indian travellers seeking an extraordinary holiday.
Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head – Holidays SOTC Travel
Year 2023 witnessed unprecedented travel appetite from customers across segments of multigenerational families, millennials/ young professionals, Gen Z, business and b-leisure travellers, spiritual travellers, honeymooners/ couples, DINKs to explore their favourite destinations – India and international. Indians are now looking at travel as an investment and are ready to spend higher on experiences than
pre-pandemic.
Rakesh Negi, Head of Business Transformation and Interim Lead, FCM India
This is the era of transformation and FCM is trekking on the same path. The need is not just to innovate but to transform the way we run our businesses across Asia. During the pandemic, we continued to enhance FCM’s digital capabilities to improve our client experiences. In 2023, we decided to focus on travel management for corporate travel, and globally invested in the FCM meetings & events team.
Arun Iyer, Secretary, TAFI Western India Chapter & MD, My Golf Tours
As we approach the end of 2023, the pace at which the year has unfolded seems almost surreal. December is upon us, and it prompts us to reflect on the remarkable journey we have experienced in the realm of travel and tourism. The restricted visa access to Schengen, the US, and Canada prompted us to explore newer destinations, offering flexible e-visa options or visa on arrival. India’s growing economy prompting higher spending.
Adl Karim, Director, Fly Creative & Executive Committee Member, OTOAI
This year has been a rollercoaster year for us. Business has not been upward compared to 2022 when there was a lot of revenge travel. People have also cut down on their spending this year due to various reasons. Also, the geopolitical issues in various parts of the world have affected the travel business in general. Visas continued to be a challenge for US, Schengen. Our prime focus is on our B2B online portal.
Jay Kantawala, Chairman, TAFI Western India Chapter & Founding Partner, WIYO Travel
It seems like 2022 brought a surge in travel due to various factors like revenge travel, but 2023 saw a return to more stabilized patterns. Some of the achievements include adaptation to changing circumstances and adapting to the changing dynamics of the travel industry, especially with challenges such as fluctuating travel patterns and visa appointment difficulties. Clients are now planning to secure lower fares.
Zia Siddiqui, Managing Director, Alliance Hotels & Resorts & ABH Tourism
Year 2023 was very good for our business, we have done extremely well in our hotel division. We have kept a balance of rates. With our business associates i.e. IBT & domestic tour operators, we are the first choice for travellers. We have surpassed all previous figures of business percentage. Once airfare normalizes, India IBT will do much better. 2024-25 is looking very good in terms
of business.
Anuj Bang, Chief Information Officer, Stuba
Year 2023 marked a historic milestone for us with our best year in over 30 years of trading in both sales and profitability and was a testament to our resilience and strategic investments. Our proactive investments during COVID ensured that we emerged stronger than ever. It positioned us favourably for the rebound that exceeded expectations. A bit achievement was 100 per cent adoption of our curated hotels platform, launched last year.
Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager- India & Gulf, Tourism Australia
2023 was a truly rewarding year for Tourism Australia. India became the first global market to hit pre-COVID levels; arrivals from India for the year-ended September 2023 were 386,000, which were at par with 2019 levels. Total trip spend by Indians for the year ended June 2023 was A$2.2 billion (around `12,000 crore). Australia has established itself as a preferred long-haul destination for Indian travellers with its ranking going up.
Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO
We are at around 40 per cent of our pre-COVID mark and counting. Ministry of Tourism and other policy makers are supporting the cause of tourism and with the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India leading from the front with the G20 Summit and other arsenal, a bright tomorrow awaits us. Some of the tourism niches that will be prevalent in the upcoming years are sustainable tourism, M!CE, weddings, and wellness tourism.
Srijit Nair, General Manager – EMEA & India, Rail Europe
Rail Europe in India has had a fantastic year, and the credit goes to our committed network of GSAs. With over two decades of collaboration, our Indian GSAs form a powerhouse, adeptly utilizing our APIs and showcasing exceptional tech-savviness. India stands out as a rare market where B2B transactions dominate our business landscape. India has climbed to second position in global turnover, just behind the US.
Srijana Nepali, Officer, South Asia Unit, Tourism, Marketing & Promotion Department, NTB
Year 2023 for Nepal has been a year of recovery and rebuilding tourism. Our expectation from 2024 is promising. India will always stay as our priority source market and the trend of Indian tourist arrival from 2023 will
surge in 2024 for sure. Not only pilgrimage but we will see adventure seekers and nature lovers,
including wellness segment. The lifetime experiences offered in Nepal is expected to benefit all kinds of travellers.
Sachin Sharma, Managing Director, ASCEL Group
It’s impressive to share about the company’s journey from its founding in 2022 to its expansion into outbound and events by March 2023. The fact that the business picked up and achieved success indicates growth and potential in the industry. Businesses have focused on enhancing safety norms, improving customer communication, and implementing refund policies to address changing customer needs.
Elisa Robles Fraga, Director, Tourism Office of Spain – Mumbai
In 2023, the Spanish tourism office in India witnessed a resurgence in Indian outbound travel to Spain, with arrivals reaching 193,595 by late November, surpassing 2022 figure of 144,659 after the pandemic-induced decline. This signals a renewed interest among Indians. An emblematic event was a roadshow organised for the travel trade.
Pankaj Nagpal, Managing Director, Travstarz Global Group
Year 2023 has been a very good year for us, with all our DMC offices back to full operations now. Some of our DMC locations have seen phenomenal demand, which includes Egypt, Turkey, Vietnam and Bali, besides Thailand, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Singapore. The year also saw Travstarz getting back as Joint Promotion Partner for Abu Dhabi & Qatar.
Sejoe Jose, Managing Director, Marvel Tours
2023 has been a great year for Marvel Tours. The support we got from all our partners was great. The maximum business we got was FIT and small families, which was unique about this year, as normally we get more of groups. The cruise business really grew a lot and one of the highlights was handling three cruise liners in one day by transporting over 4,500 tourists.
Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head – Holidays, M!CE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India)
Year 2023 witnessed a resurgence of travel, and this is reiterated in our strong business delivery across leisure and M!CE segments. This year also witnessed a dramatic change in consumer behaviours with Indian consumers moving rapidly from a traditional saver to spender, and this has created a significant momentum to travel demand.
Sheetal Munshaw, India Director, Atout France
This year has been a good year for France with many learnings. On a global level, we have learnt that we must work in close association with our stakeholders to move ahead together. As a company, for the very first time, we reversed our annual meetings with our members from a showcase of a pre-defined action plan to taking the time to engage with them.
Saurabh Tuteja, Chairman, ETAA North India Chapter
For ETAA, 2023 was amazing. Domestic tourism was selling like hotcake and will continue. Room rates of hotels have gone up by 50 per cent. The upcoming year looks even more promising and growth oriented. Indian market is a market that cannot be ignored by any country. COVID has taught us to go for staycations, work from hotels to break the monotony.
Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo
In 2023, we witnessed India’s aviation sector surging at an impressive 8 per cent, solidifying its global standing. The industry’s rapid expansion, coupled with the dynamic landscape of diverse destinations, showcases India’s dominance in the aviation sector. The world looks towards India as a transformative force. As we navigate through this exhilarating journey, the collective vision is clear — to position India as a significant market.
Deepak Kumar, General Manager, Hilton Mumbai International Airport
This year saw an increase in occupancy due to additional supply, and a surge in rates driven by high demand. Despite the entry of new hotels, occupancy levels have remained robust; we continued to successfully identify its niche within the business landscape. For us, the segment mix continues to be influenced by domestic corporate clients, with retail and online channels driving the ADR.
Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Global Panorama Showcase & Jagsons Travels
It was an excellent year for GPS. We have identified right quality of buyers and exhibitors for our events. At Jagsons Travels, in 2023 we have doubly surpassed the figures we achieved in 2019. Hence, I think it has been a completely upward trajectory and we foresee that moving forward, 2024 would be much better than 2023. There is shortage of trained qualified staff in the industry, but technology is playing a great role in getting business.
Debajit Borah, President, Tour Operators Association of Assam & Director, Brahmaputra Cruises
After COVID, we saw a very high increase in tourists in FY2022-23, but in FY2023-24 we see a little decline in tourist footfall in the region. Hopefully from next year, we will be able to catch up with the numbers. Currently, the domestic tourist footfall has more than doubled. It is, in fact, 500 per cent more, if you compare it to numbers just after the pandemic. We are looking forward with hope.
Irshad Dadan, Director & Group CEO, One Above Global
2019 was the peak year in tourism business, but in 2023 we have seen the size of business crossing all levels. Although COVID had broken our backbones completely, but 2023 has recovered the business. People who have sustained through the pandemic have recovered the losses, all thanks to the right attitude towards tourism and putting in huge effort to grow this market back. We have crossed 2019 figures.
Pratima Badhwar, Head of Commercial India & South Asia, Accor
We have had a great year in terms of the Indian market, and we have a strong standing. Every time we enter a new year, we try and deepen that standing and this year has been a testimony to the same. There has been a huge focus on driving performance for the hotels. We have had a record-breaking performance, and it is going to be our best year ever. We have deepened our inroads into the Indian market.
Dhananjay Saliankar, Head of Sales & Marketing, Fortune Hotels and WelcomHeritage
This was one of the best years for our business. We have signed new properties, and we are opening around 12 hotels next year as well. We will cross the 50-hotel mark this year with a new opening in December itself. The plan is to open at least 10 hotels every year and we will continue to do that because the market is quite buoyant currently. From the sales point of view, I think it has been an excellent year.
Arijit Purkayastha, Chapter Chairman for North East, ADTOI and Founder & Director, Koyeli Tours and Travels
2023 was a good year. We look forward to the New Year, but only concern is domestic airfares, as something needs to be done for the same. It is a very important thing, as people prefer packages that we provide as tour operators. However, when they try to book air tickets, they find it expensive than going abroad. As an association, we have some targets. We are going ahead with other states and have more members.
Alex McEwan, Senior Manager – APAC, Virgin Atlantic
Year 2023 was another record year for Virgin Atlantic in India, as we flew over 620,000 seats, our highest ever. India is our third largest market globally. We also expanded our partnership with IndiGo this year, which now covers 35 destinations beyond Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, providing comprehensive coverage of this key market. We are grateful to our partners selling Virgin Atlantic and provide support to our customers.
Ajit Singh Gandhi, General Manager, Hyatt Centric Dehradun
Destination weddings and corporate M!CE is growing at a rapid pace. Dehradun is an upcoming destination, and at the recent Investment Summit held in Dehradun, the PM also stressed upon ‘Wed In India’ and encouraged people to promote Uttarakhand. Our wedding specialist shall work closely with the family to deliver the ceremony the family wants, personalized to their need, culture and style.
Gregg Wafelbakker, General Manager – Asia, Tourism New Zealand
2023 marked 20 years of Tourism New Zealand’s presence in the India market. To celebrate this milestone, we held a special event to thank our trusted Indian partners and pay tribute to the role they played in New Zealand’s growth story. We also held frontline training workshops in Mumbai and Delhi where a 20-member delegation consisting of a diverse mix of businesses from New Zealand participated in our first in-market event since 2020.
Michael Dominic, MD and CEO, CGH Earth
The past year has been an exciting one for CGH Earth. It has been a year filled with profound experiences, transformative learning opportunities, and noteworthy takeaways. One key learning from 2023 has been the importance of adaptability and resilience. After years of COVID-induced sufferings, new expectations and new markets are emerging. This success can be attributed to the company’s ability.
Mayank Tewari, Co-founder, SanKash
Year 2023 has been phenomenal for us. At SanKash, we launched several products that helped us grow rapidly. As a team, we were able to integrate technologically across several of our large travel agents, leading to a steep rise in consumer demand. We also launched industry first business lines like zero per cent merchant financing.
Manoj Kumar Matta, Director, Oriental Vacations and Journeys
Nepal and Bhutan have witnessed tremendous growth post-pandemic, especially beginning this year. Several initiatives and conferences were done in Nepal for M!CE agents, and we handled more than pre-COVID inbound guests in Nepal on behalf of our sub agents. We saw Indians travelling to Bhutan via Phuentsholing.
Anshu Tejuja, Managing Director, Ashoka Dream Holidays
In 2023, we learned the paramount importance of agility and adaptability. The travel landscape evolved rapidly, emphasizing the need for flexible strategies and robust crisis management. Customer safety and seamless experiences emerged as non-negotiable priorities. Our primary focus is enhancing the digital customer experience.
Rajesh Chakraborty, General Manager – Taj Hotel & Convention Centre, Agra
In 2023, we have experienced a significant resurgence in the hospitality industry. The year witnessed the emergence of several trends, especially wellness, sustainability, technology and personalization. The learning has been to mould our offerings as per trends in order to stay relevant and retain our esteemed guests. Staycations have become increasingly popular, as more people look for ways to relax and recharge without the hassle and expense of travel.
Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder & MD, Cygnett Hotels & Resorts
In 2023, India’s hotel industry witnessed a notable rebound in business travel, especially in domestic commercial sectors, driven by the growth of manufacturing and allied industries. This trend was further augmented by the hosting of various sporting events. Significant revenue gains were also observed from the resurgence of corporate M!CE.
Neil Patil, Founder & Director, Veena World
Year 2023 has been an incredible year with many learnings for sure! Of all the learnings, I guess, I will sum it up to three things. We saw a large shift in consumer behaviour. A large proportion of the audience is valuing the experience more over the price of a holiday. Europe, despite visa challenges, continues to find favour with Indians.
Bhavik Sheth, COO, Evoke Experiences
In 2023, the Indian hotel industry witnessed a significant rebound, with hotel occupancy and average room rates nearing pre-pandemic levels. This rise was driven by a surge in demand from the wedding season, compounded by a recent slowdown in hotel development, which led to a supply-demand imbalance.
