TravTalk India Online Magazine
Despite the fact that the path to recovery is not always accurately predictable, we know that travel and tourism industry will revive and continue to grow in 2022. Industry experts have indicated the key trends we expect to see in 2022, especially the growth in the domestic travel.
Janice Alyosius
There was some sense of normalcy in mid-2021 when the virus showed signs of receding and travel began opening up, but with the emergence of the Omicron variant and cases once again on the rise, experts are optimistic that travel demand will return in the coming months and have identified some key trends that will shape the travel industry in 2022. It will take weeks before the true impacts of the new variant can be seen.
People have learnt to spend on holidays much more and make it a part of their annual budget, which is encouraging for the industry. Prateek Hira, IATO Chapter Chairman, Uttar Pradesh; President & CEO, Tornos and Director, River Rhapsody said, “Indian travellers who were till now spending large amounts only on their foreign travel (outbound) have learnt to spend similarly large amounts within India too, thus domestic travel is no more a budget travel business. I foresee this trend growing further in 2022. This will make our travel economy more stable, self-reliant and also attract a lot of high-end travel businesses in the domestic travel segment”.
He further added, “Small and personalised travel companies will gain ground as travellers will have many more questions than they ever had and this new class of travellers may not be so happy dealing with large tour companies that, in spite of their best efforts, may not be able to cater to this demand so well.” And the same will apply to B2B dealings in terms of dealings with large DMCs. This trend will bring regional players and small operators more prominently into the mainstream market.
The travel industry saw a change in 2021 when people went to places that were less crowded and less popular. This will continue in 2022 as people explore new destinations, which is one of the most expected trends. “Travel till now has been quite unevenly distributed in India. With the kind of knowledge that travellers of today have gained, the exploration of lesser-known places will be a dominant trend, and thereby, lesser-known destinations will see an upsurge of tourists, “said Hira.
He continued, “The distinction between travel businesses such as inbound, domestic, outbound, and so on will become diluted, and the new-age tour operator will mean the ‘one who offers tours to travellers’ rather than in the area of descriptive geographical boundaries. “Operators will reinvent themselves and get into new travel verticals that otherwise they were resisting to ramp up their revenue sources. ”
While, Raymond LIM, Area Director, Singapore Tourism Board, believes the industry should focus on innovation and creativity. Our industry has been going through a very difficult time over the last two years, where a lot of events haven’t been able to take place physically, a lot of events have been cancelled, and we have gone to a virtual, hybrid model. “2022 will be a successful year for us if we scale up and become more innovative and creative. Although the year might not start in a very positive manner, we should be optimistic and realistic about how we can move forward in the industry to ensure that we carry out our activities and events in a safe manner. Despite the current conditions, we need to continue to be inventive and creative with technology so that we can carry on our activities and work together with all the key players. Formerly, we were competitors, but now it’s important that we be friendly opponents and work together, “he said.
Naveen Kundu, Managing Director, EbixCash Travel Services, said that the domestic travel industry has got its due now, which was long overdue. People are waiting to travel overseas, so domestic travel will continue to dominate in 2022. Domestic travel will continue to flourish in the current year because of our country’s very diverse nature and culture. In my opinion, more and more domestic conferences are going to take place in India, increasing the number of international conferences as well. India as a destination has a lot to offer, not just to corporates but to the whole travel industry. In the next 6 months, I believe that business travel will increase. The corporate travel season as well as meetings have already begun. There will be an increase in meetings, events, and corporate travel after two years of lull because people will have to get their employees out and interact with them more frequently, “he said.
Pankaj Gupta, General Manager, Crowne Plaza, New Delhi, Vihar expects business to grow in the wedding industry with a focus on pricing the products correctly. “The wedding segment at the end of 2021 observed ascendancy, which is a very important segment for the hospitality industry. Business in the wedding segment is picking up very strongly. November and December have gone quite well, and we anticipate that January and February will also go well. Selling at the right price should now be the primary focus of doing business in 2022. ”
2021 saw a surge in domestic business, and 2022 is expected to see a revival of the international travel also.
Neha Morris, Director of Sales, The Park Hotels, Delhi, assumes international travel will revive. It has been my observation that people are eager to do a lot of events domestically. In the past, people were more focused on international destinations, but now they are more focused on domestic locations where they can connect with others.
Rajeev Kumar, Director of Sales, Zone by The Park, added, “We do not see as many physical events as in 2019. However, slowly and gradually, events will start to pick up. Corporate travel from the next financial year, beginning in February-March, is expected to pick up. In recent months, domestic business has grown, and we expect it to continue growing in the coming year. Things look really good at present; business has started to pick up. I think the industry will continue to thrive and survive in 2022. We have seen a lot of change in business. Corporate and domestic business is expected to boom in the near future.
Rahul Kanishta, Global Sales at Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts, further added, “International business is thriving now, especially in the neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Dubai. We expect international business to flourish again in 2022. Bookings have started coming in for corporate travel to Delhi and Bangalore, and similarly, international travel to Dubai and Sri Lanka has also picked up. With flight connectivity and ease in restrictions, other destinations will also pick up for the Indian market. “
