Indian Outbound Tourism: Visa Free Entry for Indian Passport Holders

Visa Free Destinations for Indian Passport Holders

Countries offering Visa on Arrival to Indians

Countries that offer Visa on Arrival to Indian Nationals

OUTBOUND TRAVEL FROM INDIA- TTFOTM 2010 MUMBAI

The TTFOTM, an acronym for the Travel and Tourism Fair –Outbound Travel Mart is in its 20th edition and growing. Conducted by Fairfest Media Ltd , it has shows in Chennai and Bangalore in January every year, in Mumbai and Delhi in early February, in Hyderabad and Calcutta in July , and finally in Ahmedabad and Surat every August.
Given the increasing trend in outbound traffic and the stability and resilience of the Indian economy, the participation in these fairs, is not surprisingly, enthusiastic. At the Mumbai event, the general visitors who paid up a modest Rs 20/- for entrance, were at least 3000 daily, according to estimates. The trade visitors arriving to strike deals with the various tourism boards were a separate lot.  What is also worth mentioning is that an increasing share the outbound trade market is now originating from the mini metros and the small towns, which were hitherto not considered viable by many tour operators according to some of the travel professionals present.
The other trend is the increasing popularity of home stays. This seems to have picked up dramatically in Kerala. With a yawing gap between the five star luxury hotels and the cheap and dubious economy hotels that cater to back packers, there is an opportunity for home stays that provide affordable lodging and provide an authentic feel of the place and its culture.
Web portals like make my trip and time share players like Mahindra Resorts seem to be increasingly entering the travel arena and for good reason, it would seem.
Ends…

 

Japanese National Tourism Organization

  

From Russia with love :)

Hongkong, here we come:)

Naturally Nepal!

Kenya they claim  is magical, but that is if you like wildlife and safari's! 

Maldives, the sunny side of life:)

The China National Tourism Administration, as a destination it is expected to land at the top of the table pretty soon. Inflow of tourists is way ahead of India's.

Jamaica , probably the cricket connection?

Macau was the venue of the film event IIFA( Indian International Film Academy) and the casino there helps :) It is also touted to be the Venice of the East !

The Egyptian Tourism stall, did not find any belly dancers in action though :), however lots of mummies and daddies showing interest here :)

Pattaya and Phuket, Thailand is a popular destination!

Canada, Turkey and Tanzania were also in attendance though the pictures are uploaded.

Himachal had a presence.

Gujarat seems to opening its doors.

Terrorism notwithstanding, J&K is inviting visitors.

Incredible India which was coined by Prathap Suthan still has currency,

the stall was to promote the North Eastern states.

Maharashtra Tourism had its stall, they are happy to welcome "tourists"!

 

Rajasthan Tourism, not just for high celebrity weddings and VIP's !!

Learning from the Kerala model?

Nainital, Mussorie, Jim Corbett park, lots of hill stations and colonial heritage on display!

Pink chaddis notwithstanding, its a green flag for visitors. Heritage at Hampi, Mysore, Brindavan gardens are big draws as is Bangalore which was once the air-conditioned city, though now its the software and BPO hub.

Kerala seems to be moving to homestays and they already have a Union of owners:)

  

The boat tragedy was a set back and the land title problems in Munnar are a controversial issue,

however, the promotional efforts are going on with vigour.  The recent decision of the Centre to cut back project allocation may have served as a wake up call.

The Aitken Spence group was present, as did the Mahindra Holidays people, make my trip and arzoo were the digital players with stalls, Raja Rani  had a huge area, so did Guideline and the Aqua Suna group. At Rs 13,500 per sqmt, it must have been a value for money proposition.

Ends...

OUTOUTBOUND TOURISM FROM INDIA.-CONSUMER ADVERTISEMENTS 2010

 

 200% cash back contest. Cox n Kings

 

 Cox n Kings, Mumbai Mirror cover page

                                        Cox n Kings Dubai Shopping Festival

 

Emirates Dubai Shopping Festival

Kuoni advertising Australia

SOTC promoting Europe. (Kuoni owned)

Make my trip .com for USA

RAJ Travels Challenge?

 

Raj Travels follow up

Kesari Travels for Thailand

Strawberi provides for individual travels.

SK Tours for Dubai and Far East

Kathmandu from Shreshta Holidays

Mahindra Club Holidays for Munnar

This is time share advertising

Club 7 with their Classic Tours 

to Europe and USA 

Small operators in classifieds

Cruises from Samlink 

  

Travelocity advertising online booking 

 

Star Tours for Europe USA and Dubai

OUTBOUND TOURISM FROM INDIA.-THE TIMES TRAVEL FAIR, 2010

TIMES TRAVEL FAIR 2010 AT MUMBAI

Jan 31st 2010

The healthy prospects of the outbound tourism market was very much in display at the Bandra Kurla grounds this week end. The Times Travel Fair which opened on the 29th of January and wound up on the 31st of January,garnered a healthy response from the public. Most of the big players from the travel industry were in attendance,with a slew of offers and incentives.

The WTO report on the Indian outbound market, the Nielsen Report and the Strategic Intelligence Centre at PATA,all agree that India is one of the fastest-growing outbound travel markets in the world. International tourism departures from India have grown from 3.7 million in 1997 to 9.8 million in 2007 and international tourism expenditures have increased from US$ 1.3 billion in 1997 to US$ 8.2 billion in 2008. On an average, Indians spend nearly US$ 1,789 per person per leisure trip. Not all of this is on travel.Shopping for branded goods accounts for a significant share of wallet and explains why Dubai, Thailand and Singapore are popular destinations.

Even as the world economy went through an upheaval, the Indian economy remained relatively stable and is now showing a healthy 7% growth in GDP.India’s increasingly affluent middle class already numbers 300 million and is growing rapidly. At the same time,its per capita income is increasing by around 5% a year, and its per capita expenditure is rising twice as fast.

There are nearly 23 million passport holders according to estimates and this number will grow significantly since demographics indicates that there is a strong skew towards the youth. Demand for outbound will also be driven by the need to travel abroad for education and for VFR. (visiting friends and relatives).

Travel agents like Thomas Cook , Kuoni , Raj Travels, Akbar Travels, Sachin Travels, Mercury Travels, web sites like makemytrip.com, aviation players like Kingfisher Airlines, tourism boards from Malaysia , Singapore, Dubai and Maldives, were all present with large pavilions at the Times Fair to participate and make the best of this opportunity. A week before the fair, there were full page advertisements in dailies, offering schemes and packages for the season, that hits the peak during the Indian summer holidays. The top management of the bigger players like Kuoni and sister concern, SOTC, as well as it main competitor Thomas Cook Holidays, were present to ensure that leads generated were converted. Many whom the writer spoke to, seemed to be happy with the business generated.

The FIFA World Cup to be held in South Africa this year seems to have generated lukewarm interest, though the travel industry avers that there is interest from the corporate segment and also from the retail trade in Kerala, Bengal and Goa where the ‘beautiful game’ is popular.

Ends
Vinod Natesan

 

Kuoni 

Thomas Cook Holidays

KUONI SOTC the official agency for the FIFA Cup.

  

SOTC's crowded pavillion

Raj Travels, relatively less popular?

Mahindra Club Holidays, going strong, likely to start a travel agency?

Sachin Travels, small but strong?

Aswini Kakker's Mercury Travels, small and active, like the planet :)

Strawberi Holidays from Kesari Tours, for the FIT!