While the record-making outbound travel numbers to the United States over the past decade by Chinese travelers have overshadowed those of neighboring India, the latter has grown steadily and strongly, establishing itself as the Number 9 overseas source market for inbound travel to the USA. Interestingly, the market has been able to achieve this status even though less than 10 percent of air service to the United States from India is non-stop.
This and more information is contained in the most recent report from Brand USA on India Market Trends is rich in detail with facts and figures for U.S. travel suppliers interested in selling product to India, as well as a handy tool for companies already in the market seeking to know more. The INBOUND Report has condensed
India’s Growth Potential—Some Key Numbers:
- 1.3 billion population
- There are more than 60 cities with a million+ population
- It has the fastest growing economy in the world
- It will have the third-largest economy by 2025
- It has the youngest population globally; there are more than 700 million people under the age of 32
- There is regional diversity (North/South/East/West India)
- It has 22 official languages, and English widely spoken
- It has growing middle and affluent classes
Source(s): Brand USA India research; CIA World Fact
Indian Traveler Profile:
- Millennials
- Families
- Luxury
- Honeymoon & Couples
- Outdoor / Adventure
- Special Interest – Solo Travel/Culinary/Events
- Cruise
- Students
- VFR
Main Holiday Seasons:
April – July:
- Summer Holidays
- School Vacations
October – November:
- Diwali/Dussehra
Fall Holidays
December:
- Christmas/New Year
- Winter Holidays
Consumer Trends:
-
India’s outbound market estimated to be 50 million by 2020 - Growth in all segments– FIT, special interest & MICE with FIT growing the fastest
- High spenders / growth in affluence
- Millennials– adventure, self drives, sports, events and entertainment
- Baby boomers / solo travelers
Source(s): B2C/B2B surveys in collaboration with travel trade media partners/tour operators/pan India travel trade database; UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
Consumer Trends 2:
- Websites & social media rank high as travel influencers
- Shorter duration trips, and willingness to extend duration of a holiday
- Growing demand for free & easy itineraries
- Leisure
- Local experiential
Source(s): B2C/B2B surveys in collaboration with travel trade media partners/ tour operators/pan India travel trade database
Digital Trends:
- Facebok has largest penetration, with 250 million active users
- Twitter has 40 million users, with 70 percent of them accessing it on mobile
- LinkedIn has passed 42 million-user level, a growth of 40 percent over last two years
- Instagram has 52 million active users
Source : Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)
Increasing Airline Lift—Only 8.6% from India is non-stop
Most of the traffic between India and the U.S. travels via an intermediate hub— only 8.6 percent of India-U.S. traffic is non-stop.
Via Atlantic:
British Airways (49 Weekly Flights, 26 U.S. cities)
- Lufthansa Airlines (48 Weekly Flights, 18 U.S. cities)
- Jet Airways (147 Weekly Flights, Amsterdam, Paris , London, Abu Dhabi→Delta/ Etihad)
- Virgin Atlantic (7 Weekly Flights, 13 U.S. cities)
- Alitalia (7 Weekly Flights, 5 U.S. Cities)
Directly to USA:
- Air India (33 Weekly Flights, 5 U.S. cities in the USA)
- United Airlines (14 Weekly Flights—Newark)
Source: Booking.com research
Increasing Airline Lift—No. 2
At the Indian end, 50 percent or origin and destination traffic is ticketed to/from Delhi or Mumbai.
Via Pacific:
Cathay Pacific (48 Weekly Flights, 6 U.S. cities)
Singapore Airlines (99 Weekly Flights, 4 U.S. cities)
Source: Booking.com research
Via Gulf
Emirates Airlines (176 Weekly Flights, 11 U.S. cities)
Etihad Airways (172 Weekly Flights, 11 U.S. cities)
Qatar Airways (102 Weekly Flights, 10 U.S. cities)
Turkish Airlines (98 Weekly Flights, 9 U.S. cities)
Source: Booking.com research
Major Gateways:
- Boston
- New York
- Newark
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago
- Atlanta
- Miami
- Dallas
- Houston
- Seattle
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
Source(s): Brand USA India Research
Industry Overview—Distribution System Players:
- Tour Operators who are Pan-India
- Regional Tour Operators
- Online Travel Agencies
- Retail Agents
- Others (TMCs, B2B Agencies)
Working with the Travel Trade:
- It’s an unorganized sector– no licenses required
- Regional companies– aggressive in marketing and advertising
- Major companies– pan India presence, trendsetters
- They prefer working through land operators / DMCs
- Decision makers– senior management / owners for most regional / mid-size companies
- They require multiple quotations
- Limited destination knowledge
- They expect extraordinary requests
- Be prepared to change set program
Cultural Nuances:
- There is a diversity of ethnic, linguistic, regional, economic, religious, class and caste groups
- Change in family structure
- They are relationship focused
- They engage in shopping for friends and family
- Ranking in society is important
- Dietary requirements–not all travelers are vegetarian; some enjoy pork or beef
The Market’s Potential:
- It is one of the fastest growing outbound markets
- It has huge depth and potential
- There is an ease in the visa process
- It is culturally similar to USA
- India is the world’s largest democracy– similar ideology, way of working and empathy with the USA
- It is experiencing rising affluence, urbanization and age demographics– there will be a constant mix of first-time and repeat travelers for long-haul traffic
