|
Indians from Africa in the
Diaspora
Homecoming Tours. Write africa#dowco.com
India's Buoyant Economy
will Drive 10 Per Cent Growth in Outbound Travel to
2009, Says PATA and VISA International
Report
A strong,
consumption-driven economy, a large and
increasingly affluent middle class, and the
on-going liberalization of air transport will
contribute to a 10 per cent annual growth in Indian
outbound travellers to Asia Pacific over the next
three years, according to a new report released
last week.
Titled Total
Tourism India, the 280-page report is a
comprehensive, independent and authoritative
analysis on India's tourism sector released by the
Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Visa
International. The report reviews all aspects of
India's inbound, outbound and domestic tourism
flows, and outlines a seven-point action plan to
advance India's tourism development in achieving
the sector's full potential.
PATA President
& CEO Peter de Jong said, "With India being one
of the fastest growing markets in our region, the
eyes of the travel industry are turning to this
country of 1.1 billion residents, and its rapidly
expanding middle class."
The report shows
that international outbound trips by resident
nationals peaked at around 8.3 million in 2006.
Close to three million arrivals were to Asia
Pacific destinations, making India the region's
fourth largest source market behind China, Japan
and Korea.
This is expected to
rise to over 3.6 million in 2007 and then increase
by more than 10 percent each year to 2009. The top
five destinations by percentage growth to 2009 will
be Macau, Papua New Guinea, China, Cambodia and
Malaysia. For volume growth over the same period,
the top five will be Singapore, China, Malaysia,
Hong Kong and the USA.
Mr de Jong urges
PATA destination members and inbound tour operators
to take a closer look at the myriad opportunities
presented by India's burgeoning outbound tourism
market. "As international travellers, Indians tend
to take longer trips and often in large family
groups, have a high repeat visitation to preferred
destinations and an excellent yield," Mr de Jong
said.
"Indians are among
the highest spenders in key destinations around the
region such as Singapore and Hong Kong SAR. And
every year, millions more Indians move into an
income bracket where they can afford to travel
overseas. In very many ways, India is a market of
incredible opportunity," Mr de Jong
added.
Business travel
dominates outbound travel and is expected to
continue with strong growth, stimulated by India's
buoyant economy; leisure travellers are still
significant in volume though they are increasingly
more sophisticated and demanding. Findings from
leading surveys show that Mumbai is the leading
source of India's outbound travellers with a market
share of around 33 per cent, followed by Delhi at
26 per cent.
James Murray,
executive vice president, South and Southeast Asia,
Visa International Asia Pacific said, "India is a
significant pillar to global tourism, both as an
inbound destination and a rich source of visitors
to many global destinations. International visitors
to India spent Rs. 60 billion (US$1.4 billion) in
India between July 2005 and June 2006 on their Visa
cards, with cardholders from the European Union
emerging as the biggest spenders."
Mr. Murray added,
"This report paints one of the more complete
pictures of India as a tourism industry player, and
recognizes its current impact, potential and path
for expansion. Tourist spending globally averages
about US$2 billion a day. Nearly US$4 million of
that is by international Visa cardholders
contributing to India's tourism
economy."
According to Mr.
Murray, developing an electronic payment
infrastructure has become increasingly critical to
facilitate secure, convenient and easy payment
options, for Indian and global
travellers.
"Electronic payment
is becoming an increasingly important channel for
delivering tourism revenues and holds significant
potential value in stimulating tourist spending,"
Mr. Murray said.
"Visa has been
working with tourism authorities around the world -
and very closely with PATA - to better understand
the international visitor's mindset. Visa provides
empirical data on cardholder spends through Visa's
processing network that captures actual Visa
transactions by international cardholders, giving a
more accurate picture of spending habits. This
enables businesses to plan and offer the kind of
goods and services that appeal more to visitors and
boost revenues."
In 2006,
international inbound travel to India peaked at a
record 4.4 million arrivals, driven in large part
by the successful re-positioning of the destination
brand through the Incredible India marketing
campaign.
The report also
confirms that India's domestic travel market has
been booming steadily over the past 15 years, as
Indian states increasingly awaken to the potential
of home-grown tourism to stimulate economic growth
and boost employment.
Domestic trips
reached an all-time high of 430 million in 2006, up
13 percent on 2005. The average annual growth rate
has been more than 10 percent since 2000, with the
boom in low cost carriers bringing travel within
the price range of millions of more households
across the sub-continent.
PATA's Total
Tourism India report can now be purchased online at
www.PATA.org/catalogue. For more information, visit
www.PATA.org/catalogue or email sic@PATA.org.
FOR MORE
INFORMATION CONTACT:
PATA Corporate
Communications
Ms Min Min
Wong
Tel: +66 (0)2
6582000 extension 107
E-mail:
minmin@PATA.org
ABOUT PATA
Mission statement:
"The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a
membership association acting as a catalyst for the
responsible development of the Asia Pacific travel
and tourism industry. In partnership with PATA's
private and public sector members, we enhance the
sustainable growth, value and quality of travel and
tourism to, from and within the region."
Founded in 1951,
PATA is the recognised authority on Asia Pacific
travel and tourism. PATA provides leadership and
advocacy to the collective efforts of nearly 100
government, state and city tourism bodies, more
than 55 airlines and cruise lines, and hundreds of
travel industry companies. In addition, thousands
of travel professionals belong to dozens of PATA
chapters worldwide. PATA is a not-for-profit
organisation.
Find out more at
www.PATA.org
.
ABOUT VISA / VISA ASIA
PACIFIC
Visa connects
cardholders, merchants and financial institutions
through the world's largest electronic payments
network. Visa products allow buyers and sellers to
conduct commerce with ease and confidence in both
the physical and virtual worlds. Visa is committed
to the sustained growth of electronic payment
systems to support the needs of all stakeholders
and to drive economic growth.
Visa products
currently generate more than $4 trillion in sales
volume worldwide. Visa has unsurpassed acceptance
at more than 24 million locations worldwide,
including one million ATMs. For more information,
visit www.corporate.visa.com.
In Asia Pacific,
Visa has a greater market share than all other
payment card brands combined with 62 percent of all
card purchases at the point of sale being made
using Visa cards. There are currently 312 million
Visa-branded cards in the region. For the 12 months
ended September 2006, US$646 billion was spent at
point of sale or withdrawn from ATMs in Asia
Pacific using Visa cards. Visa Asia Pacific's
internet address is www.visa-asia.com.
Online
pressroom:
www.PATA.org/news
|
