Why GCC clicks for Indian travellers?

Indians are travelling like never before and spending on a plethora of experiences. It has been estimated that Indian travellers will be spending US$42 billion all over the world in 2024. How GCC can be a possible gainer in this India growth story was explored at a special session at Arabian Travel Market 2024, titled ‘Importance of the Indian market in the GCC’.

Nisha Verma

Indians are the most coveted travellers today, and underlining the same at Arabian Travel Market 2024, SanJeet, CEO, , said that Indian traveller will be spending US$42 billion all over the world in 2024. “With 96 million Indians having passports, they are ready to travel. The government is developing 80 airports across India, especially in tier I and II cities, which means connectivity will be huge. The only trouble is that Indians buy late, with reports claiming that 70 per cent Indians plan a holiday less than a month before,” he highlighted.

Are Indians coming to GCC?

When asked about preferred destinations in GCC for Indians, UAE takes the cake with Dubai leading the pack, revealed KD Singh, Founder & President, TravelBullz. “Around 4.5 million people visit from India to GCC, but a large pack is taken by UAE, where Dubai leads with almost 2.5 million people planning to visit the emirate in 2024. Around 800,000 plan to visit Abu Dhabi and around 600,000 to Oman. Saudi is putting a lot of effort in positioning itself as the leading GCC market for Indians to travel, but there is a long way to go,” Singh said.

Putting things in perspective, he shared, “There are over 233,000 seats per week out of India to GCC, which is around a million seats in a month. The occupancy is 70-80 per cent these days. Dubai is number one destination for Indian travellers. Now, we have more than 100 flights per week to Dubai out of 20 different cities from India. There is no other region that connects to India like this. Having said that, on an average, 25 million people travel every year from India, which will continue to grow at least double digit for over the next five years.” Singh added, “If you try to find a business or first-class seat out of India, it’s very difficult. The economy is also strong, and hence ever airline is flying an A-380 out of India. Apart from that, the HNIs are taking private charters, not only for themselves, but also for weddings.”

How do Indians travel?

Saying that India is not just a country, but a continent with different language and travel behaviours in different regions, Singh added, “Indian economy is growing at a very massive state and it’s the B and C category towns that are driving growth. When it comes to uber luxury, there are 20,000 families in India valued at upwards of $30 million net worth. That is growing at almost 18 per cent.”

Targeted destination marketing

He advised that when tourism boards, hotels, or attractions want to go and look at India market, they need to have a clear strategy as to what is their segment. “We can’t just promote everything and expect uber luxury people to come to you. Dubai and Abu Dhabi did exceedingly well in customising their promotions to Indian customers. They are not running a global campaign in India. They are getting Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh for targeting Indians,” he said, adding that, “You need to be focused as to which market you want and who is your partner. It must be planned in detail. One needs clear policy in India, as between North and South, there is a 2.5-hour flight and one can see difference in language, behaviours, travelling evolutions, travelling needs and what they want to do. One product will not sell in India. There needs to be a regional strategy.”

Travelling abroad cheaper?

Singh claimed that domestic travelling in India is much more expensive than travelling outside India. “India issues a million passports a month, and if you look at the passports to be issued in the next 5 years, imagine the size of the market. All these are first time travellers, and they go to countries where they are closely associated with. The Indian diaspora in GCC is huge, and hence the first trip is either Dubai or Thailand,” he mentioned.

M!CE will be big

Speaking on M!CE in India, Singh said, “If the last 4 months are any kind of evidence, we will grow in the M!CE segment in India. It is the segment to look at because here the average spend is far higher because it is corporate spend. They are budgeting for this spend based on GDP growth and their own company growth.”