JOIN USIf you thought holidays were the exclusive preserve of the rich and amous, think again. Susheela Nair takes a closer look at the latest in holiday trends as she tries to decipher the philosophy of modern day Indian travellers
Come summer and Amita Mehta, an ex-banker and avid traveller, will head to the Himalayas for the Everest Base Camp Expedition. She has backpacked around Europe with a Eurail pass, and crisscrossed the length and breadth of US on a shoe-string budget with dhoklas and khakras in her rucksack.
A sizeable number of free independent travellers like Mehta reflect the changing face of the Indian traveller who has moved beyond heritage and culture. Travellers like her generally avoid the holiday package of traditional travel operators and favour a more individualistic approach to travel.
“I plan my trips myself so that I can spend time leisurely wherever I want, and skip whatever I want. My main concern is safety and clean rooms. I prefer to travel by public transport as it helps to interact with the locals,” says Mehta.
Joining the bandwagon of the emerging class of travellers are techies like Deeraj Rajendran and his wife Dhanya Sukumaran. They head to the great outdoors to recharge their batteries whenever they get tired of clicking on the mouse and creating world class software. “We are always scouting for new places to explore, multiple holidays and stay options in reasonably good budget hotels.
With a hectic work schedule, there is an urge to escape from the sedentary lifestyle. Taking frequent, short weekend breaks from our mundane and stressful work environment in the IT industry helps to reap better results for us. Spending some tranquil moments in the hills and jungles is a way of de-stressing ourselves. We are not fascinated by a spa or a pool or a jacuzzi but believe in seeing more of the great outdoors and spending less time or money on shopping,” asserts Rajendran, Lead Software Engineer.
More and more Indians are now holidaying within the country and abroad. This can be attributed to the rise in disposable incomes, change in lifestyle patterns, and rising aspirations. The Indian traveller’s demands, perspectives and consumer patterns have changed over the years. From a first time traveller looking for destinations packed with routine sightseeing, he has evolved and matured.
Bitten by the travel bug, he is always scouting for off the beaten track destinations, new experiences and experiential travel. According to Sethaphan Buddhani, director, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Mumbai, “Going to an off-beat destination becomes a brag value at evening ‘get togethers’ and they in turn become the trend setters. They are looking for a place which is far, yet not very far, exclusive, yet not expensive. What’s more important is that their experience should be exclusive, which is forcing tourism boards to come up with innovative ideas of attracting tourism.”
Travel buffs like Ajit Kumar look for a more relaxed and enjoyable trip. “I like to splurge and chill out in high-end resorts in exotic places with my family and friends twice or thrice a year. We prefer privacy and discreet style of luxury and like to holiday in exclusive places like the Serai, Chikmagalur.” Kumar belongs to the burgeoning number of upper middle class with high disposable incomes.
They don’t mind spending, but want value for money spent. “The dual salaries, high income levels in the IT sector, peer pressure to holiday abroad, and EMI options for travels have fuelled the interest to travel. Evolved technology has not only simplified, but made leisure travel a hassle-free and comfortable experience,” says Kumar, associate vice-president in an MNC.
Travelling abroad is no longer the preserve of the rich and well-heeled. “Increasingly a vacation is synonymous with international destinations and domestic destinations are more for ‘weekend getaways’. This trend is changing the face of outbound travel from India. We have successfully established Thailand as a choice destination for people travelling for the first time, and at the same time been able to carve a niche for high-end travellers. However, people’s expectations from a destination are more. The more a destination is able to offer, the better it is,” says Buddhani.
“With more than 40 international tourism boards operating in India, the Indian traveller is now more well-informed of the plethora of choices available. He wants to immerse himself rather than have a check-list holiday. He wants to do things at his own pace and is willing to pay for value,” adds G B Srithar, area director, South Asia, Singapore Tourism Board.
Currently, there is a growing interest in scouting unchartered and unexplored territories to savour new experiences. Travellers are increasingly exploring once-forbidden lands like Myanmar, North Korea, Cuba and Libya. Lured by the marketing of Burmese exotica, Myanmar is now on every top travel destination list for 2013.
Destinations which appeal to environmentally concerned and culturally interested travellers, destinations with fascinating cultures and traditions, including Israel and Peru, have become a big hit with affluent travellers. The Indian traveller is also heading to destinations actively working to protect nature and endangered animal species. International holiday spots like Finland, Iceland, Romania, Czech and Greece are emerging as the new favourites, indicating a trend to go off the beaten track.
Incidentally, adventure travellers are one of the fastest growing segments across the world. We have also seen a huge increase in the uptake of adventure and high adrenaline activities by Indian tourists. Adventure tourism is gathering steam as most of the younger generation travellers tend to look for fun, discovery and adventure in their travels.
Biking trips across Thailand, game drives and photo safaris to Tanzania, bungee jumping from Macau Tower, scuba diving in Andamans, rafting in the Himalayas, punting in Tubingen in Germany, staying afloat in the salty waters of the Dead Sea, sand tobogganing down a steep sand dune in Tangalooma, trekking in the company of rehabilitated poachers in Periyar National Park, Sydney Bridge Climb are high on the list of adventure junkies.
“Besides shopping and sightseeing, the Indian traveller wants to iFly, mega zip in Sentosa, indulge in river bungee jumping and splash out at the Wave House in Singapore. Our River Safari will be Asia’s first and the only river-themed wildlife park. It will feature seven iconic rivers of the world with exotic wildlife,” adds Srithar.
Wedding & honeymoon tourism
Getting married by a stunning waterfall or under a moonlit sky in the scenic backwaters of Kerala, or a waterfront wedding with a stunning sunset in a tropical beach in Goa, or honeymooning in a Tree House in Wayanad is the current rage.
The idea of destination weddings has caught on and more and more Indians are heading to exotic locations in Thailand and Macau to get married. These destinations are also on the honeymooners’ map. “Last year, Thailand was the choice of destination for more than 100 couples who tied the holy knot and exchanged vows in the ‘Land of Smiles’.
Apart from weddings, Thailand is a very popular destination for honeymooners. The exotic beaches, azure blue waters, richness in culture, food and wellness are some of the pull factors. To better the experience for honeymooners, we have also launched a website, ‘Honeymooning in Thailand’, which gives out all the necessary details that people are looking for when planning one,” explained Buddhani. Turkey and Macau are also marketing their countries as perfect wedding destinations. Singapore Tourism is encashing on the tagline, ‘Leave as a couple-return as one’, to spread awareness of romantic holidays.
Add-on offers
The add-on offers have also contributed to the increase in travel. With budget airlines offering cheap fares, and so-called ‘a la carte’ pricing over the past few decades, air travel is no longer synonymous with luxury. Travelling to more distant places has become easier, cheaper, affordable and accessible.
It’s not just the rich who can afford to travel around the world — now nearly everyone can. Not only are budget airlines offering cheap fares, but the higher valued airlines as well. The mood is buoyant in the Indian travel industry with the announcement of low priced tickets by Spice Jet and Jet Airways. Air India has slashed airfares by 35% for tickets purchased 60 days prior to travel. The discounted airfare will be less than that of first class train tickets.
As a part of its celebration of five years of India operations, Singapore-based Tiger Airways will offer flights to Singapore from select South Indian cities at $50 (plus taxes as applicable). Oman Air, Oman Ministry of Tourism and participation, resorts and hotels make a stopover so easy with ‘the Free Night in Oman when you book your two night or three night stopover.’
It’s not only the airlines, but hotels and travel companies are also offering add-on offers to woo travellers to a host of destinations. There are many enticing offers like ‘buy five days in Switzerland and get few days free in Paris package.’ Resorts like Laguna Phuket have come up with ‘taking your kids along for free’ offers.
Awareness
Travel guides like the Lonely Planet, travel magazines and travel shows on TV have also fuelled the interest to travel. Annual road shows by various tourism Boards and travel trade exhibitions like India International Travel Mart, Travel & Tourism Fair, Gujarat Travel Mart and Kerala Travel Mart have provided a huge fillip to the travel market. “Besides creating awareness of destinations, varied options and package deals, these travel marts have facilitated personal interaction between the travel fraternity and the consumer,” says Rohit Hangal, CEO, Sphere Media.
There’s outbound awareness with lots of road shows happening. International Tourism Boards have launched innovative campaigns to lure, create some buzz with the Indian traveller and to widen their reach across various travel segments in India. Under the ‘Explore New Zealand’ initiative, Tourism New Zealand will offer an ‘Explore Accreditation’ card to travellers, which allows them to avail deals including rental car offers, accommodation and a wide range of activities. South African Tourism has launched a 20-city ‘The More You Do, The Closer You Get’ outdoor advertising campaign to ‘woo Indian tourists to the enchanting and rich experiential offerings of South Africa’.
The department has also launched a ‘Take Me top South Africa’ contest, targeted at ‘travel buffs, adventure junkies and tech geeks in India above 18 years of age’, providing ‘the lucky four’ a chance to ‘trip-trot with Jhonty Rhodes’ on an all-expense paid 15-day holiday.
Credit cards
It’s not only the salary and stress factor which have fuelled the interest to travel. Credit cards with high limits help in going beyond one’s means. “It is a business model that has a win-win situation now. I use my credit card for all my expenses, no matter how less the amount may be. I get reward points. And when I look at redemption, the options that I look for are hotels, flights and holiday offers. All one has to do is to use up sign up bonuses to collect hundreds of miles,” says Sukumaran.
Sophisticated technology
With the advent of sophisticated technology, the consumer is more in tune with what’s happening than he did earlier. The travel experience has changed over the years, enabling tech savvy travel buffs to plan vacations and make bookings online, find best hotels, travel with e-tickets, and share their experiences through social media and other new communication channels. Says Rajendran, “I rely on travel portals and websites like Tripadvisor to plan a holiday. They provide a mix of honest insight, first rate strategic travel advice and reviews uploaded by real travellers, what to expect, and what not to expect. There are lots in this space, but I rate Trip Advisor as the best.”
A robust social marketing can ensure success of a destination. Tourists increasingly rely on independent reviews while researching trips. Now, ‘it’s what Twitter says, it’s what Facebook says.’ Travellers inform their friends when they strike a good deal and rely on recommendation from their friends. They participate actively in social media networks like Facebook and Twitter by sharing their personal experiences of the trip along with photos.
Travel aficionados also rely on the destination’s official website as a source of information. Another source of information is the search engine sites. Posting travel photos on Facebook, online reviews from experts, family members and friends are also highly rated. Currently, smart phones and tablets also guide travellers in decision making.
Another interesting aspect is the discovery of new places. Poland, Havelock Island, Vagamon and Wayanad, which were relatively unknown 10 years back, have now metamorphosed into popular destinations among Indian travellers. Marketing through road shows and word-of-mouth publicity put these destinations on the global map. Indian travellers are discovering that travelling abroad is not an intimidating proposition any more.
It is far cheaper for a Delhi-based family to holiday in Bangkok or Bali at a five-star deluxe hotel than at a hotel of similar kind in Goa or Kerala. Experiential travel, volunteering during vacation and sustainable tourism are also catching up. Business tourism, cruise holidays and luxury train travel are also on the rise.
The emerging trends in travel have had a cascading effect, leading to mushrooming of hotels, resorts, homestays and service apartments. This has also resulted in escalation in tariffs not commensurate to the facilities offered. Despite the constraints, the zest to travel and explore places continues.