TravTalk India Online Magazine
Demand for travel in smaller, secondary markets in India has grown 10 times since COVID, says Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels. A B2B travel agent, who works with a lot of agents from these markets and has his ear to the ground, is optimistic that they will be a great source for a growing outbound traveller base, he says.
Hazel Jain
Underlining the potential of smaller cities in India, Harmandeep Singh Anand, MD, Jagsons Travels, says that tier II and III cities have been on a growth trajectory since COVID and the travel demand from them is now 10 times more than what it was pre-COVID. “For example, we started promoting UK Doorstep visas as early as 2016, and 8 years down the line, that has grown from about 100 visas per year to almost about 15,000 visas across smaller cities like Akola, Amravati, Jabalpur, Khammam, and Vizag – wherever VFS doesn’t have a centre,” he says.
The recovery he was expecting by 2025 was fast-tracked and happened by 2023, and most agencies in these smaller cities have seen this growth. Jagsons has also seen a four-fold jump in FY2023-2024 in its sales turnover as compared to 2019. One of the reasons is that the number of players in the market have gone down, more people are travelling, plus the overall travel expense has increased by about 40-50 per cent. That also added to its turnover. “Indians in tertiary cities are taking frequent holidays – often twice a year now – and they are travelling not just within India but also taking international trip. TCS has not impacted business, but it has complicated it,” Anand adds.
Agents, guide your clients
With the impending peak season, to avoid last-minute rush for visas and prevent visa shopping, travel agents must guide their clients on when to apply for visas, depending on the country their wish to travel to. Every year during peak season there is a lot of traffic for European destinations and Indian travellers tend to decide their
holidays last minute and expect their visas within a short span of time. However, visa as such has never been a problem if one applies in advance.
Most of the embassies have increased their time when you can apply for a visa. For instance, you can apply for a Schengen visa as early as six months in advance! We see a lot of rush starting from March onwards, which leads to a lot of visa shopping. None of the European destinations had a challenge; they only had a restricted number of visas that would be issued. If you look at Italy, it has made it simpler in terms of repeat visitors to Schengen territory in the last eight years where they have opened additional appointment slots. So, agents must guide their clients in terms of applying for visas. With the impending peak season, Anand says that to avoid last-minute rush for visas and prevent visa shopping, travel agents must guide their clients on when to apply for visas, depending on the country they wish to travel to. “Every year during peak season there is a lot of traffic for European destinations and Indian travellers tend to decide their holidays very last minute and expect their visas within a short span of time. However, visa as such has never been a problem if one applies in advance. Most of the embassies have increased their time when you can apply for a visa. For instance, you can apply for a Schengen visa as early as six months in advance! We see a lot of rush starting from March onwards. Next month will be super peak which leads to a lot of visa shopping. None of the European destinations had a challenge; they only had a restricted number of visa that would be issued. If you look at Italy, it has made it simpler in terms of repeat visitors to Schengen territory in the last eight years where they have opened up additional appointment slots. So agents must guide their clients in terms of applying for visas,”
he shares.
Some important travel trends
There has been a fast-track recovery, and most agencies in smaller Indian cities have seen growth in outbound travel.
Indians in tertiary cities are taking frequent holidays – often twice a year now – and they are travelling not just within India but also taking international trip.
Indian travellers tend to decide their holidays last minute and expect their visas within a short span of time.
