Tourism and Travel Trends from India:
News and views on India's Travel and Hospitality Sector

Weekly News Related to Travel Industry in India

Top Travel Destinations
Places in the news
Travel and transportation infrastructure
Medical Tourism
Religious Tourism
Holistic Healing Service Providers
Travel characteristics of Indians
Investment related
Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Top Travel Destinations

Places in the news

1. Kashmir food fest tickles Dubai taste buds

Kashmir has taken its traditional cuisine to Dubai as part of a tourism promotion initiative.

The Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation's (JKTDC) ongoing food festival - from April 15 to 30 - in Dubai introduces the Wazwan feast to the mutton-loving Arabs.

"We are serving the Kashmiri Wazwan at Hotel Dhow Palace in Dubai where the guests are enjoying the food prepared by our chefs in copper plates called the 'tramis'," JKTDC managing director Abdul Aziz Wani said on telephone from Dubai.

"Kashmiri music playing in the background has also become a great attraction here. There is everything from the 'kangri' (Kashmiri willow-wicker fire-pot) to huge copper utensils displayed at the hotel," he added.

In contrast to some European countries that have issued travel advisories against visiting Kashmir, there is no adverse advisory in the Arab countries, Wani added.

Kashmir, which had been an important Arab tourist destination in the past, is hoping to attract more visitors from that region in view of the improved situation in the Kashmir Valley.

"The upgrading of the Srinagar airport to an international airport will also give a boost to the tourist industry in Kashmir, especially with regard to arrivals from the Middle East," Wani said.

Air India is starting direct flights to Srinagar from Jeddah and Dubai as soon as the local airport, which is being upgraded, is commissioned this year.

"We are offering special packages to tourists through a single window system for visiting Kashmir this year," Wani said.

“The yield from online hotel bookings is at least 15-20 per cent higher than yield from corporates or travel agents,” he reveals. Most hotel chains these days have sophisticated websites, which also offer real-time booking. The Park is working on upgrading the online booking experience on their website.

Rohit Arora, director (leisure sales), The Park, informs that 15 per cent of their total business across the chain is from online bookings (both their own website as well as third party websites).

The most interesting part though is the yield. He confirms that the yield is substantially higher through the online medium — it’s a good 20-25 per cent higher, he says.

A lot of travel agents and tour operators have also started using this medium through products like Galileo Leisure, which was launched last year and already has about 1,000 registered users in India.

For someone who goes to these websites, booking hotel rooms is a more involving process than, say, airline bookings. Some portals like travelguru.com now have maps to locate a hotel in a city and even user reviews to get some much needed feedback on a property. Others offer pictures of the rooms and hotels, so you aren’t left gaping when you arrive.

Saturday, April 28, 2007
Source :MSN India

Travel and Transportation Infrastructure

Sector: Aviation

1. MDLR Airlines launches operations out of Delhi

The Gurgaon-based MDLR Airlines, wholly-owned subsidiary of MDLR group has commenced commercial operations, the group announced on Friday. MDLR Airlines will start its full service two class (club and economy) regional sector operation out of Delhi and Chandigarh to Ranchi and Kolkata, in the first phase. Operations will later be expanded to Mumbai, Surat, Jaipur, and Bhavnagar and a few more Northern cities in the months to come, a press release stated.

Gopal Goyal, chairman, MDLR Airlines said: "We have introduced four engine AVRO RJ 70 jets and will serve all vegetarian cuisine."

The low-cost carrier is in the process of setting up check-in counters, offices at all its destinations, and plans to make Chandigarh one of the large regional jet hubs, after Delhi and Jaipur, in North India . Additional fleet of three-four Avro RJ 100 aircrafts will be inducted in the fleet by the end of this calendar year, the airline stated.

The MDLR group has business interests in infrastructure, shopping malls and multiplexes, and luxury hotels. The group had forayed into the aviation sector last year.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Source: Economic Times

2. Emirates eyes biz at Indian airports

Dnata, the ground handling, ticketing and reservation arm of Emirates Group, will submit proposals for strategic partnership with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to offer ground handling solutions for its airports.

As part of its privatisation drive, the Indian government is currently in the process of modernizing over 40 airports in the country. The deadline for submission of proposals is April 30.

"We are going to submit proposals to Indian authorities for ground handling projects in four days as the April 30 deadline is very close," Gary Chapman, President of Group Services and Dnata, said.

At present, Dnata looks after ground handling operations in nine international airports including Dubai, Singapore, Changi, Guangzhou, Iran and Karachi.

"By 2010, we will have presence in more than 30 international airports as we are aggressively pursuing opportunities in India, China and other Asian markets," Chapman was quoted as saying by the Gulf News. "After India, China is very strong in our plans and we are looking at opportunities in major Chinese airports," he added.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Source: Economic Times

3. SpiceJet buys 10 Boeing 737s

A budget airline SpiceJet has placed an order worth $700 million at list prices for 10 Boeing 737-800 passenger planes, the companies said Thursday. The order adds to 30 Boeing 737s already in the pipeline for the low-cost airline.

"These aircraft are enabling us to add capacity on new and existing routes, and will continue to support SpiceJet's mission of being India's preferred low-cost airline," SpiceJet board director Bhulo Kansagra said in a statement.

SpiceJet started operations in May 2005 and holds around six percent of India's commercial airline market, using a fleet now of 11 Boeing 737-800s. The New Delhi-based carrier plans to use the 10 new planes, which can each carry up to 189 passengers, on short- and medium-haul flights within India.

Friday, April 27, 2007
Source: Economic Times

Sector: Hotels & Restaurants

1. Wine tourism gets a leg up with bubbling bars

Nashik, the country’s unofficial wine district, is witnessing a new trend: set up a wine bar on the winery premises to promote tourism. This is done through tie ups with tour operators or hotels, which will put a clutch of wineries on the tourist map.

This trend is emerging from a new breed of vintners, who are typically young professionals, bringing skills learned in other professions to this business. The move is important since marketing is seen as the major shortcoming for an industry necessarily located in remote areas, where the vineyards are. The move is aimed at helping to push up wine consumption in a country where it is languishing at less than a tablespoonful.

“We are in talks with travel companies to bring people to this region. Our plan is to have a wine bar inside the winery, which should be done by Diwali. Here, we can serve snacks that go with the wine,” Vintage Wines director Yatin Patil said.

He was indicating that this would not be like Chateau Indage’s now well-known wine bar, which is located outside the winery and has a full menu as well. Although that was the wine bar that set the trend, targeted at the local consumer. However, for Mr Patil, who is keen on promoting his ‘estate bottled’ premium produce, the local consumer is not the target.

Mr Patil was clear that such a move requires planning and time; hence, he is setting himself a target for next year.

The collaborative move is between Vintage Wines’ 200 acre sprawl at Niphad — about 35 km from Nashik— ND Wines and Renaissance Wines, both from Nashik.

Mr Patil said there is a group from Mumbai which does educational tours abroad and the three wineries would like the trio on their map. The other route he is eyeing is to tie up with hotel chains, to get people to come out and visit them. He is also in talks with a Delhi-based operator.

This strikes a chord with the Pune-based Nitin Shinde, who is setting up a winery on the Pune-Ahmednagar Road area. Although his winery is still under construction, he is clear that wine tourism, on the Nashik pattern, is the way to go.

“There are lots of people who come to Pune from overseas, who want to see a winery. Once our winery is ready, we will tie up with hotels. I have a friend who is setting up a chain of hotels and we plan to have a tie-up. We will also network with other wineries,” Mr Shinde said, pointing to the Nashik experiment. Yet another new entrant in the field, Sachin Patil, a former software professional who has set up Swirl Winery on the Pune-Sinhagad road, said he is setting up a wine bar on his 10 acre plot.

“Currently, there is only one wine bar in Pune. We would like to have one on our winery, since we make grape and non-grape wines. As a niche player, we will not be doing too much by way of retail sales. So, this will be a good way for us to market our product,” Mr Sachin Patil said.

The Indian wine market is estimated to be 10 million bottles, amounting to 7.5 lakh litres of wine. Maharashtra alone has 50 wineries, producing six million bottles and Nashik district alone had 22 wineries last year, which is expected to be 25 in 2008. So, if you aren’t big and do not have marketing muscle, the best way is to cooperate and then get a collaborative muscle.

Friday, April 27, 2007
Source: Economic Times

Medical Tourism

Religious Tourism

Holistic Healing Service Providers

Travel characteristics of Indians

1. Kashmir fails to woo tourists from south
Jammu and Kashmir, which attracts thousands of tourists both from India and abroad each year, has failed to woo travellers from southern India, a Jammu and Kashmir tourism official said at the 'Business Travel and Mice Expo 2007.'

"Though we receive a large number of tourists from Maharashtra and Gujarat, followed by cities like Delhi and Kolkata, the number of tourists arriving from southern India is not very high," Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Assistant Resident Commissioner and Incharge Javid Amin said today.

While acknowledging that distance language, airfares and overall expense could be the cause, Amin said his team was here to study and analyse the behaviour pattern of the tourists from the south.

Based on it, the team would work out a strategy to woo travellers from here. "We will plan out some interesting packages with these (southern) tourists in mind," he said. The team would also keep in mind the huge tourist potential in the IT sector of Bangalore, Amin said.

"We have one of the best convention centres, which would be an ideal place for corporates to hold their conferences and business or trade conventions," said Amin. "There was also a need to clear away earlier perception that the Kashmir was not conducive to hold trade or business meetings or not safe to spend a vacation," Amin said adding that last year the tourist arrival had crossed the five-lakh mark. The number of tourist arrivals in the state had increased from 19,000 in 2003 to 1.81 lakh in 2004 and to over four lakh in 2005.

Friday, April 27, 2007
Source: PTI via Economic Times

Investment related

1. Goldman, Morgan Stanley eye 49% stake in Carlson

A clutch of private equity players including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are in fray to pick up to 49% stake in Carlson-Unitech combine’s premium luxury hotel project in Greater Noida. The deal size is expected to be between $20-22 million.

Sources told ET that the US-based hospitality major Carlson Group would hold 26% stake in the Rs 450 crore-Regent hotel while the Unitech group would hold 25% equity. The remaining 49% equity would be held by some private equity investors, prominent among them being Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, said an investment banker. The final decision on the matter is likely to be taken in the next couple of months.

Meanwhile, the Carlson-Unitech combine has applied to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to seek permission for the joint venture. This will be the $28-billion Carlson group’s first investment in the country with plans to position Regent as a premium hotel in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa. Unlike the previous case, when Carlson operated its hotel in India as a franchisee operation, this time it plans to hold 25-50% equity in each of the properties.

The proposed Regent hotels would be managed and operated by Carlson Hospitality Asia Pacific. Owners of brands Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inns & Suites and Park Inn, Carlson also owns casual fine-dining restaurant brand, TGI Friday’s.

The US group has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore investments in three years in various hospitality and restaurant projects in the country. In the last one year, the group has signed up over 20 three-star and five-star properties and expects this number to touch the 70-mark by 2010. There are plans to add half a dozen restaurants in Hyderabad, Pune, Noida, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Delhi-based real estate major Unitech group has 28 hotel projects under various stages of development. In addition to the Carlson group, Unitech has tie-ups with other hospitality chains such as the Mariott group for Ritz Carlton in Kolkata. It already has franchisee agreements for several Carlson brands such as Radisson and Country Inns & Suites.

Saturday, April 28, 2007
Source: Economic Times

Travel and Tourism Support Industries …and much more

Policy Related

1. Thailand remains Top Destination in Asia Travel Intentions Survey

Visa International Asia Pacific (Visa) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) have released the ‘Asia Travel Intentions Survey 2007’ which reports that of those intending international travel in the next two years, 52% were considering Asia as their next travel destination. This is a 9% increase on the previous year’s survey results and an 18% increase over the results in 2005.

The annual joint research issued by Visa and PATA surveys more than 5,000 international travelers from 10 key travel markets worldwide and looks at the travel intentions of the respondents as well as the drivers and barriers to their travel. For the first time, India was included in the study this year, reinforcing the country’s growing status as a potential inbound and outbound tourism source, as evidenced by 4.4 million visitors to India and 8.3 million outbound Indian travelers in 2006.

Around two-thirds of those surveyed had already visited Asia, 47% of whom had been to Thailand. In fact, Thailand was again rated as the number one destination on travelers’ holiday lists, followed by Japan and China. Despite international media attention on Thailand’s civil unrest in the weeks before the survey was conducted, 50% or more of those interviewed in each of the 10 markets surveyed chose Thailand as their most likely holiday spot. Thailand’s reputation as a relaxing place where people can enjoy the local culture, natural beauty and friendly people continued to increase in the minds of those looking to travel to Asia.

Perceptions of Indonesia were again influenced by safety concerns, namely the 2004 Tsunami and potential terrorism attacks. More than half of all respondents (56%) believed that Indonesia was still severely affected by the December 2004 Tsunami while 50% identified the country as subject to terrorist attacks. China was the main destination identified as being affected by bird flu (58%), followed by Vietnam (37%), Thailand (35%) and Indonesia (34%). One emerging trend observed from the 2007 survey was a desire for travelers to participate in environmentally and culturally-sensitive travel. Almost nine out of ten respondents said they would prefer to choose tourism products that showed concern about the impact tourism had on local cultures and customers and also protected the natural environment.

For those destinations looking to maximize tourism revenue, using a card to obtain cash while traveling was the preferred option for all markets except Korea. In fact, the preference was for credit or debit cards ahead of cash and travelers cheques combined.

“Understanding and accommodating travelers’ payment preferences are important when you consider that the World Travel and Tourism Council estimates that tourism and travel will account for more than 10% of Asia Pacific’s gross domestic product in 2007, which equates to around US$1.3 trillion in economic activity. It is important that we create the payment infrastructure for travelers to make payments the way in which they are most comfortable,” said Visa International Executive Vice President for South and Southeast Asia James Murray.

“What this survey has found is that one in two people who intend to travel overseas in the next two years are looking at Asia as their most likely destination. With events such as the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, unique cultural experiences and the importance of relaxing and environmentally-friendly travel options, it is not surprising that the region continues to attract travelers from around the world.”

Key highlights of the 2007 report were:
Asia as a holiday destination: Asian markets (China, Korea, Japan and India) had the highest percentage of respondents to have already visited Asia. At least three quarters of respondents from these markets had traveled within the region. The least experienced travelers to Asia were from the United States.

One in five people listed Thailand it as their most likely destination with 84% of Swedish respondents the most likely to consider the country for a holiday over the next two years. Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Sri Lanka were the least likely holiday destinations for those who participated in the survey.

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games: In addition to attracting visitors to Beijing, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games will also be beneficial to destinations in China and the region as a whole with an expected increase in travelers because of the Games. While 19% of respondents said they were likely to visit Beijing for the Olympics, 74% of these respondents would consider visiting other destinations in Asia after the Games, of which Hong Kong (58%), Japan (32%) and Singapore (31%) would be the most likely destinations.

Responsible tourism and cultural interests: In tandem with increased general awareness about environmental concerns, the notion of ‘responsible’ tourism was a consideration for those intending to travel to Asia. More than 80% of respondents indicated they would be inclined to choose environmentally-friendly products when planning a holiday. Additionally, more than 50% of respondents would pay extra to experience environmentally and culturally-sensitive travel, although the amounts that were considered acceptable varied between the markets.

One in two German, Indian, Chinese and Korean travelers considering Asia as their next travel destination would pay up to 10% more for culturally or environmentally-sensitive holidays. More than 20% of Chinese and Korean travelers would pay up to a 25% premium for responsible tourism options, while six percent of Indian travelers would pay up to 50% more for environmentally sensitive travel.

Preferred payment methods: Respondents in nine of the ten markets preferred to use their credit or debit card to obtain cash when traveling in Asia. Travelers from China led the way with 77% preferring to use a card over cash conversion or travellers cheques. This was followed closely by the Swedes (62%) and Australians (62%). These findings demonstrate the importance of having a payment infrastructure that makes travel as convenient as possible, as well as helps increase the average spend of visitors to a destination Only Koreans, at slightly under half, preferred to use cash when traveling.

Barriers to visiting Asia: Safety when traveling is the key area of concern for most respondents. Nearly half (47%) of respondents identified terrorism as the top barrier to travel. The destinations most commonly identified as being affected by terrorism were Indonesia (50%), Sri Lanka (37%) and the Philippines (36%). Political unrest (39%) and government / media travel advisories (38%) were  the other most significant concern. Notably, the 2004 Tsunami now appears to be only of minor significance with only 3% of respondents citing it as their greatest barrier to travel.

PATA President and CEO Peter de Jong said, “Recent events around the world have increased tension between different cultures and religions. In an atmosphere of conflict and misunderstanding, the travel and tourism industry can be an incredibly powerful force for conciliation. One of the trends identified in the ‘Asia Travel Intentions Survey 2007’ is how an overwhelming majority of respondents in every origin market believe that traveling increases their appreciation of other cultures. Visa and PATA have a longstanding commitment to work with tourism bodies and operators to create the opportunity to break down travel barriers in the region.”
Tuesday, April 24,2007
Source: Asiatraveltips.com

Service Providers

1. Rooms with a view
Thanks to the Internet, booking a hotel room is so much more trouble-free.

Gone are the days when booking a hotel room was too much of a hassle. One either had to call up the hotel directly or go through a travel agent, and then there was always this element of doubt as to what one was getting.

But not anymore. With most big hotels selling their inventory online, through their own websites as well as third party online travel portals, booking a room is just child’s play.

Online bookings started big time with low-cost carriers selling on the Internet to save cost. Hari Krishnan, assistant VP (strategic alliances), travelguru.com agrees that the initial focus about a year back was on air bookings.

“Even today, airline bookings remain our bread and butter,” he says. People come to the website drawn by airline booking options but have now also started booking hotels online. “Today, our business focus is on hotels and we offer real-time booking for about 3,000 hotels on our website,” he exclaims.

The growth in this segment can be gauged by the number of room nights booked per day. For travelguru.com, the figure stood at about 20-30 room nights a day last April (one booking equals to about 1.8 room nights for them). At the moment, that figure has gone up to 500-600 room nights a day.

Makemytrip.com too has seen tremendous growth in its hotel bookings over the last year. “We have seen a growth of around 250 per cent in the last one year,” says Amit Saberwal, VP (business development), makemytrip.com.

Saberwal feels that in today’s scenario, an e-commerce strategy is very important for all progressive hotels. Yield too, from online mediums, is better in today’s high demand situation.

Thanks to the Internet, booking a hotel room is so much more trouble-free. 

Gone are the days when booking a hotel room was too much of a hassle. One either had to call up the hotel directly or go through a travel agent, and then there was always this element of doubt as to what one was getting.

But not anymore. With most big hotels selling their inventory online, through their own websites as well as third party online travel portals, booking a room is just child’s play.

Online bookings started big time with low-cost carriers selling on the Internet to save cost. Hari Krishnan, assistant VP (strategic alliances), travelguru.com agrees that the initial focus about a year back was on air bookings.

“Even today, airline bookings remain our bread and butter,” he says. People come to the website drawn by airline booking options but have now also started booking hotels online. “Today, our business focus is on hotels and we offer real-time booking for about 3,000 hotels on our website,” he exclaims.

The growth in this segment can be gauged by the number of room nights booked per day. For travelguru.com, the figure stood at about 20-30 room nights a day last April (one booking equals to about 1.8 room nights for them). At the moment, that figure has gone up to 500-600 room nights a day.

Makemytrip.com too has seen tremendous growth in its hotel bookings over the last year. “We have seen a growth of around 250 per cent in the last one year,” says Amit Saberwal, VP (business development), makemytrip.com.

Saberwal feels that in today’s scenario, an e-commerce strategy is very important for all progressive hotels. Yield too, from online mediums, is better in today’s high demand situation.

“The yield from online hotel bookings is at least 15-20 per cent higher than yield from corporates or travel agents,” he reveals. Most hotel chains these days have sophisticated websites, which also offer real-time booking. The Park is working on upgrading the online booking experience on their website.

Rohit Arora, director (leisure sales), The Park, informs that 15 per cent of their total business across the chain is from online bookings (both their own website as well as third party websites).

The most interesting part though is the yield. He confirms that the yield is substantially higher through the online medium — it’s a good 20-25 per cent higher, he says.

A lot of travel agents and tour operators have also started using this medium through products like Galileo Leisure, which was launched last year and already has about 1,000 registered users in India.

For someone who goes to these websites, booking hotel rooms is a more involving process than, say, airline bookings. Some portals like travelguru.com now have maps to locate a hotel in a city and even user reviews to get some much needed feedback on a property. Others offer pictures of the rooms and hotels, so you aren’t left gaping when you arrive.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Source: MSN India