Vo lu m e 2 . I s s u e 1. M ay 2 016 . ` 5 0 No.U(NDGPO)-01/2016-2017 Date of Publication: 14/05/2016 RNI No. DELENG/2015/62794 Posting Dt. 12-17/05/2016 Postal Reg. No. DL(ND)-11/6180/2015-16-17
India could emerge as a key market in the near future; old-school ways isthe trend in luxury, says Julie Wagner, CEO, Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau… page 27
India-Mongolia bilateral connect: from spiritual neighbours to strategic partners
Mongolia and India are two of the earliest nations in Asia, if not in the world. Mongolians have got acquainted with India ever since the teachings of Lord Buddha prevailed throughout the steppe of Mongolia. I assume it had occurred even more than once.
Gobi deseart is located in Southern Mongolia. It is known for its unique topography and fauna
(A guest column by Mongolian Ambassador Gonchig GANBOLD. Read on page 26...)
Government sets task force on developing cruise tourism, augment coastal economy
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or a nation with a coastline stretching to well-over 7,500 kilometres, India’s share in the global cruise tourism industry is paltry. Compared to the FY 2010, the number of domestic and international travellers opting for a cruise tours in FY 2014 witnessed a decline of 14 percent. Seeking to arrest this fall, the government has recently constituted a task force to promote India as a favoured cruise destination. The newly formed body will examine issues like developing infra, simplifying procedures, communication and marketing activities, and incentives and commissions. A long-neglected segment, focus on developing port infrastructure will not only add to India’s pull as a tourist destination, but, more importantly, generate robust means of employment, bringing economic gains for millions dotted across nation’s vast coastal areas.
tourism currents
Inbound traffic not translating into revenue for agents; says IATO President (Page 4)
States
Goa way beyond just beach tourism; wedding, adventure new major tourist engagements: Nikhil Desai (Page 5)
airlines & airports
Zoom Air to kickstart its operations before August end; 16 destinations coverage plan (Page 7)
tourismfirst@phocuswright
We are very excited to be here. This is a market where we have had a presence for many years, we have staff here, we hope this is the first of what will be an annual appearance.
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Tony D’astolfo, Managing Director, Phocuswright
Phocuswright debuts in India
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eterans, new-age entrepreneurs, tech biggies and professionals came together under one roof to analyze emerging trends in technology, as Phocuswright –a premier global market research company – made its debut in India with a conference in Gurgaon. The two-day affair presented a unique opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to deliberate on ideas with established players in the online world. Focused presentation followed by an open house debate ensured well-rounded participation from the audience. Deliberation aside, the conference
made for an excellent networking and ideas exchange platform as delegates were often seen having an animated discussion or networking. Planned and executed with precision, back-to-back sessions kept delegates glued to their seats. On the technology front, the consensus believed that India was the hotbed of innovation, and likely to tread the start-up culture for the foreseeable future. Given its trickle-down effect, some of the most revolutionary transformations were begin witnessed in ground transport infrastructure, adding to last mile connectivity, and, consequently, travel and tourism.
3–6 October, 2016. Pragati Maidan, New Delhi
An in-depth coverage of the inaugural session of the Phocuswright Conference (Page 10-24)
Outbound
India could emerge as a key market in the near future; oldschool ways isthe trend in luxury, says Julie Wagner (Page 27)
this issue : may, 201 6
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Innovation in technology; Phocuswright conference debut puts spotlight on India
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echnology and its all-pervasiveness affects each one of us in many different ways. From days when anxious Indian travellers would have wait before a ticket window in long queues to get their hands on a travel document, and be frowned upon and lectured if you did not have the right change to give, to one click instant booking on hand-held devices, India has travelled a fair distance in the last decade and a half. It was fitting, and many believed much-delayed, for Phocuswright to have launched their inaugural conference in India. Phocuswright is a leading global market research company based in the United States. Its key areas of interest include comprehensive analysis of trends in travel, tourism and hospitality. Coming back to the conference, the two-day event featuring veterans and an array of new-breed entrepreneurs rubbing shoulders, analyzing trends, was a never before brainstorming on technology and its ramifications on travel and tourism in India. Some of the key segments which saw absorbing sessions were trends pertaining to mobile, digital space, metadata analysis, hotel distribution, and the power of social media in creating opinion by providing ‘word of web’ publicity! Discussions pointed to a competitive market environment forcing hotels to continuously streamline assets for staying competitive; while an in-depth analysis of revenue management and service delivery remained vital for success. Changing payment ecosystems and their massive impact on facilitating hassle-free travel is transforming the future of digital space in India. An interesting observation by delegates was that innovation in technology was not only limited to the online space, but was ushering a ground transport revolution in countries like India, and in the larger Asian continent. Mismatch in Infrastructural development and population has clogged our cities with over-flowing traffic. With online taxi operators rolling out concepts like ride-sharing and car-pooling, maximum utilization of available resources is helping fill the gaps, creating last mile connectivity. There was an underlying consensus on the need to better understand the enduser – which also demanded fierce degrees of personalization by service providers. Given the vast degree of choices available to the consumer, acquisition has become more difficult that than consumer retention. Internalization of the inevitability of start-ups and need for brick-and-mortar players to up their ante to stay relevant were also prominently deliberated. Any conference on technology cannot be summed up without an examination of the ‘start-up’ culture. Phocuswright conference, too, brought together millennial entrepreneurs on the same stage with veterans leading major corporations, commendably, giving them an equal opportunity to share their knowledge – which, for many, was one of the major achievements of this noteworthy undertaking. India is no stranger to conferences. We have had our share of discussions and round-tables, but what truly made this initiative a lesson for all of us was the precision and professionalism displayed by the Phocuswright team in conducting those sessions. Each speaker was allowed a set number of minutes and there were no exceptions – a far cry from routine seminars meant mostly for self-absorbed speeches and lofty words. Its top management team was so hands-on that it would make any Indian operation look pale, such was the intensity of its direction and delivery. The two day conference managed to put on display a number of homegrown ventures that are in their own ways changing the way we connect. Its natural beneficiary will be the traveller and, ultimately, tourism.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh
Addressing the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the South Asia Initiative to End Violence Against Children (SAIEVAC)
Trafficking is another major challenge for all of us. With increasing access to information technology and changing nature of our globalised economy; new threats for children are emerging – sex tourism, child pornography, online threats to children among others.
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Dr. Mahesh Sharma
Minister of Tourism and Culture on the importance of Simhastha Kumbh increasing footfalls
Not just the Culture Ministry, the other two ministries under me (Tourism and Civil Aviation) are also majorly involved in the Ujjain event. While Civil Aviation is extending full support, we will also use the opportunity to promote tourism.
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Ashok Gajapathi Raju
Civil Aviation Minister, replying to question in which opposition members voiced concern over emergency landings by the planes of the national carrier
It is unfair to say that Air India is the leader in emergency landings... I do not go into Air India bashing at all. It is unfair to say this.
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Suman Billa
Chairman, ICPB and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, GOI on the need for adequate skill development
Generating enough skilled manpower to harness the potential will be challenging. Also, the issue of not having the conference visa in the fold of e-visa is an issue. We are hopeful that it will be resolved shortly.
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Contents Tourism Industry News 4. Inbound traffic not translating into revenue for agents; tweak policy, boost infra to tap Chinese outbound, says IATO President
States 5. Goa way beyond just beach tourism; wedding, adventure new major tourist engagements: Nikhil Desai
Airlines & airports 6. Scoot to launch later this month, expects high load factor on Chennai-Singapore route 7. Zoom Air to kickstart its operations before August end; 16 destinations coverage plan
hotelscapes 8. Owners apprehensive of sell-off; clear signs of a cyclic upswing, says Mandeep Lamba
hotelscapes 9. Mandarin Oriental hotels show the way to celebratean international cause: Global Wellness Day
11. The Asian Mojo; the leading economies become the nerve centre of travel tech growth in the region 12. M-commerce to drive growth, selfcustomized booking will be a major trend: Deep Kalra 13. Tech and ease of travel making APAC a centre for ground transport innovation 14. Connection, convenience and context should be the pillars of digital strategy by travel cos., says Facebook travel head 14. APAC is the next big frontier for Airbnb, says Varsha Rao 15. Our Amadeus Next programme has taken off on a positive note: Simon Akeroyd 18. Product comparison the next innovation from meta platforms: Paul Whiteway, Skyscanner 19. Ixigo will get profitable this year, says Aloke Bajpai
Tourismfirst@phocuswright conference
20. Empowering hosts is key strategy to promote homestays, says Yogendra Vasupal, Stayzilla
10. India buzzing with innovation; exciting time to be here, says Tony D’Astolfo
21. In travel industry, disruption is the new normal: Ankur Bhatia, Amadeus
21. Adopting automation and refining products are vital to succeed: Neelu Singh, Ezeego1.com 22. Travel can’t be non-core business of new online players, last minute booking needs more focus; says Deep Kalra 23. Hostels as an alternative accommodation option has great potential: Hostelworld Group CEO 23. BlaBlaCars hits a million seat shares; travel experience makes it a unique offering 24. Domestic travel to muscle up OTAs; Yatra.com will boost alternate stay options
Navin Berry navin@tourismfirst.org features editor: Priyaanka Berry priyaanka@tourismfirst.org senior writer: Shashank Shekhar shashank@tourismfirst.org editor:
outbound 26. Guest Column: India-Mongolia bilateral connect – from spiritual neighbours to strategic partners 27. India an important future market; old-school ways isthe trend in luxury, says Julie Wagner 28. Growing Indian business, investments helping MICE travel: CEO, Zambia tourism agency 29. Honeymooners lead leisure travel into Mauritius; will focus on Golf tourism, says Vivek Anand
Tourismfirst is owned, published and printed by Navin Berry and printed at Anupam Art Printers. B-52, Naraina Phase II, New Delhi. It is published from 36-37, 3rd Floor, Indra Palace, H-Block, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001. Tel: 011-43784444. Total pages 32
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tourism industry ne ws
Inbound traffic not translating into revenue for agents; tweak policy, boost infra to tap Chinese outbound, says IATO President Some may argue that, on the statistical front, inbound tourism into India has grown in previous years. However, this growth has not generated corresponding levels of revenue, because much of this new growthis originating from neighbouring countries, feels newly elected IATO President Pronob Sarkar. An exclusive interview: By shashank shekhar
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ndia recently celebrated, with much gung-ho, clocking the coveted eight million mark in inbound numbers. But, given India’s diversity and scale of tourism offerings, many feel that the growth is slow and uninspiring. Pronob Srakar shared his concern about it, noting that IATO had taken up the issue with the ministry. “What concerns us is that the business for tour operators is down – irrespective of their size – which is because of lack of promotion. There are many regional tourism offices without any head inauthority, so activities are not taking place at the rate they ought to,” he said. Touted to be the biggest gamechanger for tourism – e-visa – has also not been able to push numbers.
structure to attract cruise tourists, he had a word of praise for the incumbent government for addressing the issue. “The government, in a welcome move, has announced a sum of thousand crores to improve cruising and port related infrastructure,” he said. In a bid to decode the inbound trend, he referred to statistical figures stating that while India had been registering growth in arrival numbers, but the influx, in terms of revenue generation in dollar terms, was coming from low-revenue yielding markets like Bangladesh. “There is a major percent growth from Bangladesh, and from destinations like
What concerns us is that the business for tour operators is down – irrespective of their size – which is because of lack of promotion. There are many regional tourism offices without any head inauthority, so activities are not taking place at the rate they ought to.
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pronob sarkar president, IATO
Money transfer from a Chinese to an Indian bank is not possible. There has to be some sort of a bilateral agreement to look into these issues. Chinese travelers prefer paying in cash, and it is difficult for Indian hotels to hold up reservations until guests arrive.
☛ Need for state governments’ to become more pro-active in envisaging tourism development. ☛ E-visa facility needs to be extended to longer duration. Cruise tourists must also be brought in the ambit, feels IATO president. According to Pronob Sarkar, despite of rolling out e-visa facility to over a hundred and fifty countries, the message had not gone to the actual user. “People of those countries need to know that India has done such a thing to be able to make use of it. We had a fruitful meeting with the ministry very recently where we were assured by the secretary that revamping of the ‘incredible India’ campaign with new advertisements will be undertaken. We have also taken the support of industry stalwarts to moot the way forward for better marketing and outreach,” he informed. Highlighting the need for making e-visa facility friendlier to the enduser, he stated that currently, e-visa was not serviceable for multiple entry, and was restricted to duration of thirty days. “Long-haul tourists coming to India need more time, besides they also visit neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal. These issues should be addressed, and these tourists must be given priority,” he passionately added. Suggesting a change in duration of stay by extending it to a minimum of sixty days and, at least, allowing double-entry visa for easy movement and itinerary planning, he argued that applying for a visa a month before the actual date of travel was not very encouraging for a long-haul traveller – who wanted to buy early to get cheap tickets and accommodation. “In fact, we would, ideally, want a 180 days window for foreign travellers. We would want e-visa facility to be extended to cruise tourists. There are a number of cruises coming to Kochi and Goa, but they do not stay over-night, resulting in loss of business for constituents of the tourism industry,” he said. Pointing towards the lacuna in the development of requisite infra-
Afghanistan and Nepal. These tourists are not high-spenders; tourists from Nepal mostly stay with their relatives and friends, adding little to the business of tour operators,” he explained. Adding that if one anylazed India’s key revenue sources markets, he said that inbound had not really grown from destinations like Germany and France. “There is a minor increase from the USA and Canada. Therefore, we have requested the ministry to re-look at marketing, especially in c ountries under the ambit of e-visa facilitation. It will create sensitization for India, fuelling demand for us.” Having just taken over the reins of IATO, he believed that as the IATO president, he had also taken up the same mantra as the present government: ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas’. “Every member must give their inputs and be involved in the body’s activities. We, being based in Delhi, will be dealing with the central government and local authorities, and our regional chapters will focus on the requirements of state governments’. We want state governments to become more proactive and come up with their ideas and agendas,” said Pronob Sarkar. Taking stock of market dynamics, another major challenge for brick-and-mortar players – in the last decade and a half – has been the advent of online players. Driven by technology, and appreciated for their ease of booking, most of these players have assiduously cultivated a market for themselves leaving many of the traditional players in a precarious situation. “We used to get a lot of bookings for hotels and transport. It is true that online companies, because of their bulk dealings, are able to provide lower rates,” he said. However, he contended that
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despite their growing presence, brick-and-mortar players were different in terms of quality of service offerings. “We offer a very personalized tour. It is the traveller’s confidence in us as providers. Tour operators generating business remain in touch with our members; they will not go to these dot com companies,” he asserted. He also said that manystrict cancellation policies adopted by online players were burning a hole in the consumer’s wallet, whereas brick-and-mortar players were more flexible and accommodative. “The consumer interface at online portals is bereft of human involvement. So, while we may lose out on tourists looking for cheaper version of tours and packages, but those seeking a personalized service with a human touch will continue to come to us,” he added. He did concur that agents also needed to upgrade their systems and processes to come at a level playing field. “In fact, IATO will be very happy to help agent members in their attempt to improve their
We had a fruitful meeting with the ministry very recently where we were assured by the secretary that revamping of the ‘incredible India’ campaign with new advertisements will be undertaken. We have also taken the support of industry stalwarts to moot the way forward for better marketing and outreach.
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Long-haul tourists coming to India need more time, besides they also visit neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and Nepal. These issues should be addressed, and these tourists must be given priority.
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There is a minor increase from the USA and Canada. Therefore, we have requested the ministry to re-look at marketing, especially in countries under the ambit of e-visa facilitation. It will create sensitization for India, fueling demand for us.
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India will need to augment its infrastructure and components like adequate availability of language guides and Chinese cuisine. They travel in groups, therefore need bigger hotels with more keys. The cumulative effect of all these factors have resulted in lopsided movement of tourists who do come in some numbers to the Northern and Western India, but rarely venture down south.
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tech quotient. We are going to setup a committee which will study on how to help agent members – who are willing to adapt to these changes. There must be a level playing; everyone must be on the same platform to compete in a fair manner,” said IATO president. When we assess India’s standing as tourist destination on the global platform, our inbound numbers do little justice to our capability as a nation. A closer look at some of the successful global destinations reflects their innate ability to diversify source markets, escaping dependency on a handful of countries. India, barring a few exceptions, has not been able to develop new markets in the recent years. Pronob Sarkar argued that, India as a nation, was already giving thrust to positioning itself in new markets. “Russia is a key emerging market and charter business is very important for India. We have agents specializing in the Russian market and they, too, are very keen on some sort of promotional activities. Iran is another nation which is emerging at a fast rate. Maybe, the ministry could think of rolling out some discount for Iranian charters,” he said. Sharing his understanding on why India had not been able to capitalize on Chinese outbound, whereas China had emerged as a key source market for many countries in Europe and in the Far East, he said “India will need to augment its infrastructure and components like adequate availability of language guides and Chinese cuisine. They travel in groups, therefore need bigger hotels with more keys. The cumulative effect of all these factors have resulted in lopsided movement of tourists who do come in some numbers to the Northern and Western India, but rarely venture down south,” he explained. Further substantiating, he highlighted the need for a tweak on the policy front, saying that “money transfer from a Chinese to an Indian bank is not possible. There has to be some sort of a bilateral agreement to look into these issues. Chinese travellers prefer paying in cash, and it is difficult for Indian hotels to hold up reservations until guests arrive. So, these are some issues to my understanding.”
‘The China Story’ that never happened for India
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rance recently received over 66 million tourists making it one of the most visited destinations in the world. India, on the other hand, despite being six times larger in size and several times when it comes to headcount, managed a measly tenth of it in 2015. India’s inbound numbers point towards its inability to engage with upcoming markets. Several of successful international destinations have consistently tapped newer markets. South Korea’s ascent as a top market in the last decade is majorly linked to its success in attracting a large number of Chinese outbound. South Korea aside, Chinese travellers have taken over many of our neighbouring Asian countries like Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. Footfalls into India, on the contrary, have been traditionally dominated by USA, Bangladesh, UK, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Canada. A critical omission in India’s pursuit for more footfalls has been its inability to create new markets. ‘The China story’ has never happened for India; it is yet to happen. While on the bilateral front, investments into India haveacceleratedfrom both theChinese govern-
ment and private companies, its rub-off onto tourist arrivals has not occurred. We probed deeper into the issue and spoke with a number of agents. Many believed that while the bonhomie and tourism would continue on the surface, many on the Indian side have been slow in creating the required infra for a comfortable Chinese stay. Some argued that language created a barrier, and there were certain historical misgivings, too. Language, certainly, is not an excuse, given that they traverse European countries without a glitch. It is also difficult to digest ‘historical misgivings’ playing a part in low footfalls; Japan and China shared much worse relationship for far longer than India ever did with China. Japan is one of the most visited countries by the Chinese outbound in the last few years. It is a difficult exercise to pin-point one single factor for India’s failure in tapping Chinese outbound. However, the cumulative understanding points possibly in the direction of a lack of joint effort on the part of governments at the centre and statesas a key reason for the dismal show.
State /de stination: Goa
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Newly introduced chopper service
Hot air blooning
Nikhil Desai
If you look closely,Goa has now moved beyond beach tourism. We have a plethora of offerings for tourists, both domestic and foreign. Goa Tourism is catering to the high-end and middle end categories. We have shifted to new facets and these too are becoming our strengths. To begin with, Goa is now a preferred destination for weddings and honeymoons. As many as 1,000 plus big time weddings are happening in Goa every year. Goa Tourism also set up a single window system to facilitate beach weddings, and foreign tourlinked to excise and commercial ists and North Indians are availing taxes, which are diverted back to of this facility in a big way. Goa is tourism for infrastructure and other well connected by air, train and assistance schemes. Increase in road, we have the best of wedding VAT was a right move because even and banqueting facilities, wedding when we had 12% VAT on ATF, the planners and everything to make airline companies never passed on those dream weddings for young these benefits to end user, due to couples. Today even our hot air the fact that all airline sectors into balloons, helicopter rides and soon Goa are having very high passenger to come seaplanes and duck boats load. You will always find it difficult will offer wedding specials. Goa’s to get an air ticket to Goa during the leisure tourism, heritage tourism, season time, even hotels are booked hinterland tourism, sports tourism, well ahead of the season etc. Goa’s wellness and yoga tourism, film positioning as a 365 day holiday tourism are some of the new facets destination will not be affected in any way. Tourists are not only visiting being promoted by Goa Tourism widely across the country and t he Goa, but re-visiting year after year globe. Today,we also have an all and this is our greatest reward. new interactive web portal and mobile app which makes it even more Tell us a little bit about market easy for anyone to get connected segmentation? Where are you for information, bookings and bengetting numbers from? How efits. All this has found favour with is the international inbound international and domestic tourists. shaping? Goa has learnt a lot of lessons during From a focus on attracting tourists the last couple of years. No doubt we from Europe, we are now catering to needs and requirements for evehad many good seasons due to the ryone across the rise in footfalls from globe and India. Russia and Ukraine, We have managed to Aware of the but due to several revive the UK market and fact that there is crises’ we saw a foreign tourists from the a big demand for sharp drop from UK are increasing, and tourism products, these two markets. availing of the ETV Realizing that we facility extended to them. Goa Tourism is in the process had placed all our Even though there has of augmenting apples in one basbeen global recession infrastructure ket, we had to find and crises in Russia and requirements. solutions and look Ukraine, we did not feel the pinch. Our top priorbeyond Russia and ity is to have Ukraine. toilets, showers, After studying lockers on all the the market forces beaches. Likewise, we are increasand scenarios along with experts, ing parking facilities along the we took the plunge four years ago coastal areas, developing coastal to develop markets in East Europe, circuits that will take care of Middle East, South East Asia which illuminations, roads, pathways, are yielding good results. To add to this, the ETV facility is also boosting beautification etc. We are working on new circuits for augmenting the numbers and our new tourism infrastructure under spiritual initiatives, festivals, events and tourism, river circuits and so on. above all our diverse culture is a We have already been allocated big draw for foreign tourists. We `99.99 crore in the first phase have several international events under Swadesh Darshan scheme like the International Film Festival of the Central government. India – Goa, international sports Our multi level car parking events, festival tourism, weddings, project, Baga tourism destination MICE,music festivals, bike festivals development project are ready for etc and we are also hosting the commissioning, our accommodaDelphic Games later this year and music events of international magni- tion facilities are being refurbished etc. We are also developing tude which bring foreign tourists to the State. While economic recession seven properties for niche tourism products. We also plan to and several other issues continue have a state-of-the-art Convention to irk some of our key markets, we Centre to facilitate MICE, an all are hoping that these markets will new Institute of Hotel Management, revive and bring about a change in Ropeways, Oceanarium. While travel plans for global visitors in the we already have a wedding and coming seasons. banqueting facility at our Calangute Residency called Destination One, Is there any new addition to the plans are on to develop some more product profile of Goa? Any new such facilities. introduction on the infra front?
Goa way beyond just beach tourism; wedding, adventure new major tourist engagements: Nikhil Desai Strong focus on diversification of source markets, and the success of e-visa is helping Goa reclaim its premium position as a destination in the tourism landscape of the country. An exclusive interview with Nikhil Desai, Managing Director, GTDC.
By shashank shekhar How is the inbound shaping up in the current season? What are your expectations from the monsoon season?
As you are aware, Goa is evolving and during the last three years it has shownphenomenal results in any and every segment of tourism. This also goes for the numbers that everyone is talking about. From a statistical point of view, Goa received 5.25 million tourists in 2015 compared to 4.01 million in 2014 and 3.23 million in 2013. Goa is really growing at a frantic pace and the reasons are not really hard to see. With regards to foreign tourist arrivals, there has been a steady growth. For example in 2013, as many as 4,92,322 foreign tourists visited Goa;in 2014, 5,13,592 and in 2015, as many as 5,41,480. In the case of domestic tourist arrivals, in 2013 we saw 26,29,151 arrivals, in 2014 as many as 35,44,634 and in 2015 as many as 47, 56,422 tourists. Since November 2014, Goa airport has been brought under the Electronic Tourist Visa (ETV) regime and we are seeing an encouraging response from this segment too. With the inclusion of 150 countries in the ETV list, foreign nationals from more than 70 countries have already availed of this benefit and in the coming season we will see a huge surge with foreign tourists opting for Goa as the Port of entry into India. The ETV facility is a big boon for Goa and reports indicate that Goa airport ranks third highest for issue of electronic tourist visas. Goa is also seeing an encouraging response from cruise liners bringing foreign tourists in large numbers from Europe. There is also a surge in foreign tourist arrivals as Free Itinerary Travellers (FITs).
Hence even though there is a hue and cry from critics that there is a huge drop in charters, it h as been compensated from the above mentioned segments. Again, our aggressive marketing and promotion strategies and participation in key international travel and tourism events are showing good results. We have managed to revive the UK market and foreign tourists from the UK are increasing and availing of the ETV facility extended to them. Even though there has been global recession and crises’ in Russia and Ukraine, we did not feel the pinch. Domestic tourist arrivals to Goa has been exceptionally strong. The numbers are growing every passing day. Today domestic tourists find Goa as a safe and happening, value for money holiday destination. They not only opt to holiday in Goa during long vacations but also for short weekends. Our tourism initiatives, facilities and events are drawing domestic tourists in a big way. Even the monsoon time is not as lean as it used to be. Mega promotion of Goa as a Monsoon Tourist spot is drawing visitors, both domestic and foreign, to the State between June to September. In 2015, we saw a 22 per cent rise in tourist footfalls during the monsoons. The seasonal adventure sport, White Water Rafting and monsoon festivals like Sao Joao, Bonderam, Sangodd, Chikolkala etc are some of the big attractions. Goa’s natural beauty during the monsoons is a must see and the mesmerizing landscapes are a big draw for tourists from the Middle East and Gulf who look for getaways from the simmering desert sun. We also promote eco-tourism, medical and wellness tourism at this time which has many takers.
How are you planning on promoting monsoon tourism in Goa? Are there special packages and promotional offers on the cards to augment footfalls? Please share with us.
Monsoon tourism in Goa is generally promoted for four months between June-September. At this time, most of the tourism business’ along the beach belt like shacks, water sports, shut shop. Charter flights also end for the season. However the tourism department and GTDC have started getting innovative. We promote attractive monsoon packages, promote monsoon festivals, Goa’s picturesque landscapes, monsoon weddings, white water rafting etc which has picked up and there is sizeable business and revenues generated through tourism in the monsoons. In fact, in another couple of years, the monsoons will have to be removed from the bracket as an off-season time. We conduct special eco trails into Goa’s hinterlands and give trekkers an awesome experience. Waterfalls and water bodies which come to life during the rains are promoted widely and special home cooked monsoon cuisine is served to make these treks attractive. Last year our eco treks receivedsuchan overwhelming response that they continued even beyond September until the rains subsided in the State. In addition, local festivals like Sao Joao and Bonderam are promoted by Goa Tourism and they attract tourists from all over the world.
Goa has increased luxury tax on hotels and added VAT on ATF making flying dearer. Liquor is going to get more expensive, as well. Do you think all of these measures will have a cumulative impact on footfalls? Is this an attempt to change the positioning of the destination? What is the rationale behind shift in the policy?
All these policy decisions will not impact tourism in any way. The governments,both at the Center and State , are very supportive of tourism as an industry and decisions of hike in taxes are basically
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Airline s & airports
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Scoot to launch later this month, expects high load factor on Chennai-Singapore route Scoot, a unique low-cost medium haul service airline, part ofSIA group, makesits Indian debut this month. It issaid to be showing encouraging booking trendswhich will be panned out to cover three destinations by October. The SIA unit is clearly aiming to emerge as a formidable choice for Indian travellers on the fast-growing India-Australia route. By ritwik sinha
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or global aviation major Singapore Airlines , May 24th is going to be a critical date as far as its linkage with India is concerned. Scoot, the medium haul low cost operator with widebodied aircraft in its fleet, will be touching down at two Indian destinations which will mark the beginning of its operations in India and also the presence of all members of Singapore Airlines in the country (refer to our story “SIA’s another affiliate scooting into India” published in February edition). Three entities of Singapore Airlines Group – Singapore Airlines (premium long-haul), Silk Air (full service) and Tiger Airways (low cost) – already have a firm foothold in India and Scoot’s debut s hould further consolidate SIA’s position in one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. The icing on the cake is: SIA also has a 49 percent stake in the domestic carrier Vistara (that e ntered the market early last year) and has shown willingness to fly abroad if the government does away with its 5/20 formula. “After Scoot’s entry, SIA will become the largest foreign airline in terms of p enetration into Indian c ities. We will be operating out of 15 Indian destinations and will be second only to Air India in terms of offering direct overseas flights from Indian cities,” Bharath Mahadevan, Country Head (India), Scoot told TourismFirst in a recent telephonic conversation. Scoot has only Boeing 787 Dreamliners fleet as its major calling card has been preparing for its India debut for quite sometime. The management b elieves that instead of providing point to point services from Indian cities, it will work on a network model wherein all flights from India will be linked with its Singapore hub. “A network strategy makes more sense because it will provide plenty of
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choices to Indian travellers from our hub in Singapore. On May 24th, we are introducing two flights – Chennai-Singapore and Amritsar-Singapore route and this will be followed with Jaipur onOctober 2nd,” informed Mahadevan. Interestingly, after Scoot’s entry in Chennai, Tiger Air will pull out its Chennai-Singapore operations. “It is part of a broader strategy which we follow – we develop a market with smaller aircraft and then put in widebodied offerings when we notice a growing demand,” Mahadevan underlined. Meanwhile, in terms of seat configuration offered on Scoot’s debut Indian destinations – its Bharat Mahadevan services to Chennai & Jaipur Country head (India), will have 335 seats (premier 21 Scoot and rest economy), its service to Amritsar will have 375 seats Jaipur is the new market where we are moving in. We picked it up on (including 35 premier). The airthe basis of the tourism draw of the line typically works on no-frills city. We are expecting good inbound model where the passenger tourist numbers on this route. gets the tickets at a lower price (15-40 percent cheaper than full service carriers) but has to pay for the amenities used on board. In terms of frequency, Amritsar operation, we expect the Scoot is introducing a daily flight passenger load factor to be over 60 on Singapore-Chennai sector while percent in the initial months which on Amritsar and Jaipur routes, the will pick up as the passengers exfrequency in the initial phase will be perience our services and this route four per week. could, therefore, become profitIn order to promote new services, able in six to eight months period,” Scoot had also introduced a promoMahadevan emphasised. Interesttional fare last month selling tickets ingly, SIA is making a comeback to for as low as $64 to Singapore and ac- Amritsar after a gap of eight years. cording to Mahadevan, the response “Singapore Airlines had a service has been quite encouraging. “In the to Amritsar which it had operated first few days of this scheme, in averbetween 2004-2008. The load factor age terms we nearly sold 4000 seats then was quite good, around 70 on all the three routes where we are percent, but the yield was low which going to operate in India,” he added. did not suit our service model. But in And based on the initial booking our reckoning, it has become a more trends, the airline is hopeful of a promising market now and that is spectacular debut why we c hose it this time,” he added. “We expect our Chennai operaFrom SIA’s standpoint, Jaipur is tions to become profitable from day a virgin market where no affiliate of one aswe expect our passenger the group has ever touched down load factorover 90 percent. In our previously. “Jaipur is the new mar-
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ket where we are moving in. We picked it up on the basis of the tourism draw of the city. We are expecting good inbound tourist numbers on this route,” Mahadevan said. The airline is expecting its Jaipur services to become profitable between 8-12 months. Meanwhile, with Scoot’s entry, the cumulative frequency of all SIA members operating in India w ould reach close to 125 on a weekly basis. While in terms of directly linking Indian cities with international cities, it w ill become number one foreign carrier (after Air India), the move is also slated to push its chips further up in the list of top players carrying outbound travellers from India – a segment which is presently dominated by Jet-Etihad combine, Air India and Emirates. “We would certainly like to have a more formidable presence in this list and we have already pitched in for more flying rights,” Mahadevan pointed out. And going by his version, it becomes amply clear that Scoot’s primary idea is to emerge as a formidable choice between India-Australia route, a segment where the traffic has grown significantly in the recent years and Scoot is strongly positioned. The airline presently has a fleet size of 10 Dreamliners covering 18 destinations across the globe (its primary destinations are: Australia, China, Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea). And the airline is stepping into the Indian market with a long-haul perspective of having a wider profile. “ N ext year, we will evaluate our performance on these three routes before taking a call for further expansion in India. But given the market dynamics and growth propositions, we will definitely have to aim for a larger presence in the medium run,” Mahadevan said.
Domestic air-traffic grows by 24 percent; high demand, new routes and higher load surge volume
addled by rising costs of operation, high taxes and ATF, the Indian aviation industry has finally something to cheer about. As per the latest data released by DGCA and CAPA on domestic air traffic movement, Indian travelers are talking to the skies in unprecedented numbers. Domestic air-traffic registered a hefty 24 percent increase in the period from January to March, 2016. An extraordinary cocktail of factors like high demand by existing flyers, addition of a large number of first-time flyers, and consistently lower than average oil prices have
contributed towards this surge in numbers. Addition of new routes like Dharamshala, Madurai and Puducherry, and higher frequency by domestic carriers have expanded business and brought new consumers in the fold. Going by the estimates churned out by CAPA, homegrown LCCs could rake up profits in tune of 350 million dollars; Jet Airways could alone touch a hundred million dollars mark. Cheaper oil has allowed airlines to bring down prices, attracting larger number of flyers. Industry experts also believe that first-time flyers are likely to continue the momentum for the
airline industry. These numbers come as a sigh of relief for beleaguered carriers that have not registered profits in a while – IndiGo being the only exception. However, despite the rise in business, looking at the first nine months of 2016 over the year, most airlines have shown an increase in the non-fuel cost per available seat kilometer. While the hike in non-fuel costs could be ignored at a time when oil prices are at low prices, but many argue that such a strategy may backfire when prices tick up. For now, Indian aviation industry has not much to complain about.
In a first in aviation industry, Etihad Airways to globally sponsor 17 fashion week events
In what could be termed as an ‘out-of-the box’ solution to enhance visibility, and probably the first ever instance in global aviation, Eithad Airways has announced a comprehensive new global agreement with WME | IMG to become a major long-term partner to the fashion industry by supporting 17 fashion week events around the world, annually. As per the terms of the agreement, Etihad Airways will become the official airline of fashion week events in Mumbai New York, London, Milan, Berlin and Sydney. These are New York Fashion Week: The Shows, Lakme Fashion Week (Mumbai), MADE Fashion Week, London Fashion Week, London Collections: Men, Milan Fashion Week, Milano Moda Uomo, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin and Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia. Alitalia, Jet Airways, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, NIKI and Etihad Regional will help fashion’s insiders arrive, connect and present at the industry’s key moments throughout the year. Reacting to the announcement, James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer called it a groundbreaking new partnership for Etihad Airways. “Together with WME | IMG, we have created a unique marketing relationship that now connects the international fashion community across our key markets,” he said. He added that fashion weeks and Etihad Airways represented an ideal brand fit. “We share attributes of being remarkable, ambitious and innovative. This is a landmark deal because it goes beyond traditional sponsorship and is a world-first agreement for an airline group. As a result of our business model, Etihad Airways Partners will collectively unveil a wide range of exciting new fashion initiatives for guests in our home market of Abu Dhabi and throughout the world,” he noted.
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Zoom Air to kickstart operations before August end; 16 destinations coverage plan
In an important development impacting air-connectivity, domestic air-carrier Zoom Air will take to the skies in the coming months. With their promise of connecting destination servicing low numbers, their foray could give much needed energy to the regional connectivity segment. By ritwik sinha
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ith the unprecedented buoyancy in Indian aviation business (growing at a 20 percent plus in the domestic segment since the beginning of 2015) and promising projections in the medium to long run (this includes the grand theory that India would become the third largest aviation market in the world over the next one decade), the prospects of new players joining the fray in the scheduled category has been a
likely to c ome true later in August when Gurgaon-headquartered Zoom Air takes to the domestic sky with scheduled operations. Originally known as Zexus Air (the NOC from DGCA was taken in 2014), itslicense changed hands and now wrests with a new business conglomerate which is pushing the venture in the name of Zoom Air now. Thoughsenior officials of the company are not divulging much at this stage (the formal promotional campaign is expected to begin early next month), in a brief exclusive chat with TourismFirst recently,
☛ The airline will operate Bombardier CRJ 200 LR aircrafts, typically capable of carrying fifty passengers. ☛ Delhi and Kolkata are likely to be major hubs of the airlines. It will also fly to the North-east covering Shillong, Jorhat and Aizwal. talking point for the stakeholders in the recent past. An important element of the projected churnings includes a major shift towards regional space in the coming years. With India’s ten major destinations accounting for over 60 percent of the total air traffic, penetrating regional space is believed to be the next critical frontier to take Indian aviation growth story to the next level. Promotion of regional connectivity, in fact, is a crucial cornerstone of the government’s soon to be unveiled new civil aviation policy. The theory that new players will jump on the bandwagon soon is
Koustav Dhar, CEO & Director did indicate the broader strategy which this airline will pursue. “We are ready to kickstart our operations and are just waiting for the final approval from DGCA. As things stand today, we expect to take off before August end. Post Vistara, we will be the first national carrier to get into the market though our emphasis would be to strongly position ourselves in those regional pockets where action is low today,” Dhar said. Zoom Air plans to kickstart its operations with five Bombardier CRJ 200 LR aircrafts, taken on dry lease for five years. These are
typically 50 seaters and are believed to be a major offering from Bombardier for players in regional connectivity space globally. And Zoom Air wants to make the most of this fleet size in connecting smaller cities and towns in the North-East region as well as in Northern India. “In the initial phase, Delhi and Kolkatta are going to be our major hubs,” Dhar pointed out. On a cumulative basis, Zoom Air intends to step into the market with 16 destinations coverage route map. For instance, it has spotted Durgapur, Dimapur, Koustav Dhar Aizwal, Jorhat, Shillong, CEO & Director, Zoom Air and Tezpur in the NorthPost Vistara, we will be the first eastern side which will be national carrier to get into the market linked to Kolkatta as hub. though our emphasis would be to For its connectivity plans strongly position o urselves in those in North India, itis likely regional pockets where to have Delhi T3 terminal action is low today. as its hub;the major focus would be destinations in Rajasthan and Gujarat. “In Rajasthan, apart from Kolkata with thrice weekly from its capital Jaipur, we will be frequency) and nobody has dared covering Jodhpur, Udaipur, and to commence regular operations Jaisalmer. And in Gujarat, our from Jaisalmer airport even as it plan is to cover Jamnagar, Rajkot, has been ready for the past two Bhavnagar, Surat and Baroda,” years. In that sense, the route conDhar specified. nectivity plan of Zoom Air appears Interestingly, Zoom Air is promout to have some strong contrarian ising to connect some destinations element. Dhar, however, presents where traffic is quite low at the mohis own logic for picking up these ment and there is not much to write low-base destinations. home about in terms of scheduled “If you try to serve these markets operations. For instance, the with an A-320 kind of aircraft, you airport at Durgapur has only one would obviously find it difficult to scheduled operator (Air India flies fill them. But if you push with50
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seater planes, you will find enough takers. The propensity to fly is certainly growing among travellers in smaller towns and cities and our Bombardier CRJ offerings could better respond to the present demand and supply equations at these centers,” Dhar explained. The CEO of soon to be launched airline, however, did not speak much on the pricing policy given his repeated assertion that Zoom Air’s 50 seater planes will offer full service facilities. “It would be reasonable, something in the vicinity of what is charged for ferrying passengers on turboprop planes,” he responded. However, given the broader nature of Zoom Air’s proposed operations, its connectivity to smaller cities from noted metro hubs may well mostly turn out to be less than an hour flight, falling into the regional category space where government is trying to bring in a price cap of `2,500. The government in its draft civil aviation policy has talked of this kind of incentive to attract travellers from high-end railway travel to the airlinesegment. Of course, this would also mean incentivising the airline operator by the center and the states. When pointed out that in the not so distant future, there could be this compelling rule which will not allow the airlines focusing on expanding the regional market to sell their tickets for more than `2,500, Dhar responded, “They are currently working on the new policy and let’s see what it s ays in terms of promoting regional connectivity. We will obviously follow those rules and we are prepared for them.”
Tourism will thrive on the back of steady growth of airlines and airports, connecting seamlessly with other transport modes. Regional connectivity, national and international – India is one big growth area in the world. Our B2B segment combines with an authoritative conference, bringing world leaders to meet with their Indian counterparts. Conference Highlights: A meeting of minds that can see the ‘Future is Here’ in India. They debate how best to bring about a transformation in infrastructure, ‘Make in India’ in the aviation industry, and bring about an ease in travel. To increase industry efficiency and productivity for the greater good of the Indian traveller, create a roadmap of growth and success. Who will Exhibit: Leading aircraft companies, airports and airlines that are keen to meet with their counterparts, exhibit their latest technology and product profiles.
Photo courtesy: air India
ITB Comes to India. The best of ‘Glocal’ is here!
Whom will you Meet: Meet with travel agents and online agents, and also those that seek synergy with other stakeholders in the tourism business.
Just exhibit, or also explore partnerships, exclusive to Aviation/ Airports + Airlines Showcase for that extra bit more!
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Mandeep S lamba, Managing Director, Hotels & Hospitality Group, Jones Lang LaSalle
Owners apprehensive of sell-off; clear signs of a cyclic upswing, says Mandeep Lamba investment interest in hospitality assets. However, this time around as against the investment patterns of 2006 & 2007, investors are looking at investing in operating or near ready assets with a view to avoid all development risks and to benefit from the speed to market with operating assets. Greenfield developments remain slow with real estate developers who were the largest investors into hospitality in the earlier investment cycle, hurting on account of the slow- down in their core business of real estate sales and having better understood the development risks of complex sanctions and permissions, cyclical hospitality markets and the capital intensive nature of the business, are no longer bullish on hospitality investments. Also, with the performance of hotels across the country having been severely stressed over the last seven years and the high cost of borrowing which has led to a very large number of hotel projects approaching NPA classification, Greenfield hospitality investments are currently not the preferred option. Having said that, we are certainly beginning to see the return of institutional and PE interest in hospitality markets which had completely been non- existent
While there are as some estimates – some put it to over 100 stressed hospitality assets – we do not see active trading in the market as should have been the case. This is because in the Indian context we do not really have ‘stressed’ assets since all the system colludes to help keep an artificial shield on the problem. Banks are reluctant to declare assets as NPA, owners will refinance assets by going to another bank, will continue to fund interest costs by more borrowing and put good money over bad with the belief that the markets will turn around. Given that the economy has shown signs of improvement, after years of lull, hospitality industry is slowly coming back to life. However, once bitten twice shy, many developers are opting to buy near ready assets, avoiding risks related to Greenfield projects, to make full use of the much expected cyclic upswing, says Mandeep Lamba, Managing Director, Hotels & Hospitality Group, Jones Lang LaSalle. Excerpts of an exclusive interview: By navin berry What is the current status of real-estate market and how it is impacting the hospitality industry?
Real Estate market is witnessing mixed responses. While commercial real estate is seeing rapidly growing demand for office space in key Indian cities, residential real estate continues to be sluggish and almost all markets are below the price at which Residential Real Estate sold in 2007 which was the peak year. Retail is seeing differential pricing with good
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quality shopping malls – which are in short supply – have been designed and managed well are seeing high demand while others are continuing to face a marked slow-down. Hotels as real estate asset class have been at the bottom of the asset pile since 2008 and we do not witness any major change in its asset class positioning as of now. However, given that the performance of hotels has started showing gradual improvement on account of widening of the gap between demand and supply; we are seeing early signs of renewed
over the last seven to eight years. Most seasoned investors believe that the performance of the Indian hospitality sector has bottomed out and there are now reasonably clear indications of a cyclical revival and upside over the next few years. This then is the opportune time to acquire good quality operating assets before the markets get hot once again and asset acquisition prices start to rise. We will, in our assumption, see increased transaction activity over the next 12 to 18 months and higher levels of FDI into this sector.
the asset will appreciate over time. However, Indian owners are failing to recognize that businesses are ultimately valued on the basis of the cash flows and profits they generate today and their future potential to grow, and not on the real estate values that may be ascribed to them. This is becoming the biggest disconnect for transactions to take place in the Indian hospitality sector currently.
You mentioned that prices are low. Then why is it not visible with larger numbers of buyoffs?
While there are as some estimates – some put it to over 100 stressed hospitality assets – we do not see active trading in the market as should have been the case. This is because in the Indian context we do not really have ‘stressed’ assets since all the system colludes to help keep an artificial shield on the problem. Banks are reluctant to declare assets as NPA, owners will refinance assets by going to another bank, will continue to fund interest costs by more borrowing and put good money over bad with the belief that the markets will turn around. As against the west where owners will exit a poor performing asset and take a one- time haircut to cut their losses and move on, Indian entrepreneurs are inhibited by our social beliefs that selling any business asset is akin to accepting failure and consequent loss of face. Add to this our inherent faith in the inevitable growth of real estate value leads owners to believe that
ITC and Starwood tie-up to add three more properties
TC Ltd and Starwood Hotels and Resorts have broadened their current partnership for 11 ITC Luxury Collection hotels and one hotel under the Sheraton brand. The two conglomerates will strengthen their association as they have announced three upcoming ITC hotels under Starwood's 'The Luxury Collection' brand in India, the company said in a statement. "The association with Starwood
Hotels and Resorts for close to four decades, bears testimony to this commitment and we are pleased to further strengthen our alliance with three upcoming ITC luxury hotels in Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad, which will be an archetype of the culture and region they are located in," ITC Ltd Executive Director Nakul Anand said. The inclusion of ITC Kohinoor in Hy-
Presenting Unique Segments at BITB 2016
hotels + resorts B2B and Conference
derabad, ITC Narmada in Ahmedabad and ITC Royal Bengal in Kolkata take the inventory up to 15 hotels, in the coming years, the statement added. The two partners commenced in 1979 with the Sheraton brand. In 2007, both companies signed an agreement through which Starwood introduced The Luxury Collection brand in India, which at present stands at 11 hotels.
ITB Comes to India. The best of ‘Glocal’ is here!
Andreas Streiber joins Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru as General Manager Shangri-La Hotel, Bengaluru recently announced the appointment of Andreas Streiber as new General Manager. A native of Germany, he brings with him over 32 years of hospitality, operational and management experience and has spent the last 10 years in senior management positions at several reputed international companies around the world such as Europe, North America, South East Asia and China. “Since its opening few months ago in Bengaluru, Shangri-La has become one of the city’s most luxurious hotels. I am excited to join the hotel and look forward to leading the exceptional team, and to welcoming guests to experience the incredible culture Bengaluru has to offer,” said GM Streiber. A seasoned hotelier, Streiber previously served as opening General Manager Shangri-La Hotel, Qinhuangdao from 2014 to 2016.
The first need for any traveller, where ever he goes, is to find the right accommodation. Hotels are an essential constituent in travel, at different price points. In city hotels, resorts, and tier 2 and tier 3 cities across India, hotel building is witnessing an unprecedented growth. Branded business is fast catching up – over 50 brands are competing already. Who will Exhibit: Branded chains, stand alone hotels in different categories and different areas of the business, MICE venues, wedding venues, city business hotels, resorts in far flung exotic locations. Chains that have arrived in India and those yet not, equally find relevance. Leading vendors for the industry find equal prominence, as they position themselves meaningfully as partners in the business.
Photo courtesy: Lotus Greens
Appointment
Whom will you Meet: A strong B2B means finding your partners in technology, online space and also traditional travel agents and tour operators. Meet with new age aggregators and drivers of the business. Meet also franchise developers, brand managers and find out what is trending in the business.
Just exhibit, or also explore partnerships, exclusive to Hospitality/ Hotels + Resorts Showcase for that extra bit more!
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Oaks Bodhgaya will debut in the Buddhist town by late 2016
Mandarin Oriental hotels show the way to c elebratean international cause: Global Wellness Day As a leader in spa and wellness in the hospitality industry, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will participate in Global Wellness Day 2016,designed to encourage people to live a healthier and better life. The event’s slogan, “one day can change your whole life”, promotes new wellness habits which include drinking more water, eating organic foods, getting more sleep and connecting with friends and family.Global Wellness Day falls this year on 11 June.
Bodhgaya remains one of the most revered Buddhist destinations in the world. This epicenter of Buddhist faith is set for the debut of Oaks as Bodhi Hotel & Resorts has recently announced the development of Oaks Bodhgaya, in partnership with Minor GP (a jointly owned company of Minor Hotel Group and GP Group from Thailand). Slated to be open for visitors in the last quarter of 2016, the hotel is in the final stages of development. The first phase of the property will have a total of 78 keys, in addition to a restaurant, a conference hall, a terrace with meditation area and landscaped gardens. The second phase is also under development which will add a further 60 keys and will bring the total to 138 keys. The hotel is located along the main road in Bodhgaya between the Mahabodhi Temple and the airport. The Mahabodhi Temple can be found here which is home to the famous Bodhi Tree where Buddha is said to have obtained enlightenment. The temple is the most important of the four main pilgrimage sites related to the life of Buddha and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2002. Rajendra Kumar Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director of Top Travel & Tours (P) Ltd said “Oaks Bodhgaya is a Joint Venture between Top Travel & Tours (P) Ltd. & Minor GP Pte Ltd. With a strong hold in Buddhist circuit in India, we decided to venture into the hospitality sector by starting our first hotel in Bodhgaya. We are happy to partner with Minor GP Pte Ltd, who already has tremendous experience in the hospitality sector. Oaks Bodhgaya will capitalize on the success of the country’s rapidly growing religious tourism market”.
ITC Hotels to unveil ‘My Fortune’ in Guntur come 2019; CM Chandrababu Naidu lays the foundation stone
Further strengthening Andhra Pradesh’s bid to bolster its tourism landscape, CM Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu recently laid the foundation stone of the 144-keys upscale hospitality destination in Guntur. A part of the ITC’s hotel group, it will be called ‘My Fortune, Guntur’. Chairman ITC Y C Deveshwar also attended the ceremony. Being located on the Ring Road, the hotel covers an expanse of over 1.44 acres, and is aimed to cater to the diverse needs of discerning travellers to the city with its services and facilities that include a 5000 sq. ft. pillar-less ballroom – which can accommodate up to 500 guests. Besides, the hotels will boast of an all-day dining restaurant, a speciality restaurant showcasing ITC’s culinary excellence, a bar and a deli. In addition, the wellness zone will be equipped with a state-ofthe-art gymnasium and a world-class spa. The hotel is expected to commence operations in 2019, and is aimed at attracting high end business travellers aiding Guntur’s quest for becoming a top-end hospitality destination. The launch bodes well for Guntur as it has gained strategic importance in the recent years. Located within the intended capital region of the new state of Andhra Pradesh, Guntur is likely to also benefit from the proposed new airport located 15 kms. from the city making the hotel easily accessible to travellers.
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Tony D’astolfo, Managing Director, Phocuswright
India buzzing with innovation; exciting time to be here, says Tony D’Astolfo PhocusWright, a world leader in travel technology, did their first ever India conference last month. TourismFirst did a set of daily newspapers covering the conference, in association with them. On this occasion, we met with Tony D’Astolfo, Managing Director, PhocusWright, who believes that the ongoing price war to capture the market share is a trend which won’t be sustainable in the long run. He says that having a good service offering and creating a value based proposition is the right way to move forward. By navin berry Where do you see India moving, if you look around the world, your macro perspective, which are the markets that India is best comparable with?
Comparable with, isa difficult question. W here we should be looking at, I think,are the markets where the trends thathappen first, the US, Europe, particularly with the move to online. If you look at China, China is particularly aggressiveon themobile side. So these are all things that traditional travelagents…. understand. How do they transition from their historical placeserving their clients to having some online presence? How do they manage the way content is changing, the way airlines are distributing their products today, the way they are differentiating between a traditional seat, standalone, and a combination of a seat and something onboard, w ith other things? This is all challenge and opportunity for traditional travel agents. When you look at how the US has evolved, their leisure has become a lot more heavily online, corporate has become less online,but traditional travel agents still have a strong role in the fulfilment of the reservation. It is a very interesting time.
But if you look around at whatever is happening in India, are we going more the US way?
You can see that we are moving online. There is definite impact of a lot of the dot com companies. But then you still have the traditional guys like Cox and Kings and others,who have been around for a 100 years,that are still absolutely viable. The question is,as we saw, w hen online began to grow,the number of traditional travel agents in the US went down by half, some were even more successful when they come out the backend, because they redefined themselves based on a different service or were a niche part of the market. There is always opportunity. But I think you will see that there will be some consolidation. A lot of the travel agents, in the US,where it is still happening, where smaller regional agencies are being bought by larger entities so that they can scale and compete on scale. The whole price game is very interesting. The way people compete on price today which, over time, I don’t think is a winning strategy. Having a good service offering and creating a value based proposition is more likely to more sustainable.
If you look at the scenario, if you see where we are in India at the moment, on a scale of 10, where do you think we are? You are probably half way there. You
got plenty of innovative and creative things going on.
Name me some?
YORooms is an interesting conO cept. If you think about it, what he is basically doing is taking a disparate, a highly fragmented market, with lack of consistency and heisusing some technology and process to create some consistent offering. When you look at a market as big and as fragmented as yours, that’s an interesting play.
You see more'ME TOOs' coming in?
Yes, once someone does it and it’s a decent idea then it’s another opportunity. The barrier, the entry,the cost of technology is not that high, e ntry is not that d ifficultto technology. When you look at building out a call center, it is a lot more expensive than building a website. And if you can get some marketing by some search engine, you can build the business very quickly.
Tell me when you use the word technology in travel, what all does that embrace?
That’s a good question. I think historically you would have said that you wouldhavestarted and ended with the GDS. Travel agencies were the integrators, they built mid office, back office and systems to accommodate the purchasing. Now when you look at the amount of fragmentation relative to the content so you know low cost carriers are increasing, some of
We are very excited to be here. This is a market where we have had a presence for many years, we have staff here, we hope this is the first of what will be an annual appearance.
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them don’t even participate in the traditional GDS. The branded fares and the ancillary products that are not necessarily available yet in the GDS. A ll of this presents a challenge and an opportunity. As a travel agent today, you have to be a lot more mindful that it is not just the GDS, I might need to go somewhere else to pull in some content. I also think the consumer because of the availability of information, they expect more. They are looking for the airfare, car and hotel and then yes something to do with the destination and helpin fi nding the restaurant as well.
Where will all this lead to, the next step, could it be a concierge service?
Yes, there are some digital personal
assistants. When you think of artificial intelligence, there is a lot of machine learning that goes on. There is a lot of opportunity to automate the processes. So yes, when you look at virtual reality – even the way people get motivated to travel today is so different.
And all the reach that online is providing…
When you think about it, it wasn’t that long ago, if you said that I am going to take a trip you go sit down with a travel counselor and see a brochure and see what you would like to do and you are getting that person’s expertise. Now you go online and see it, hear about other people’s experiences etc. All this is technology – social, mobile and more. Traditional technology has been impacted by social and mobile trends in ways that we never considered.
You said the traditional travel agents in America got shrunk to half and some rediscovered themselves as niche or with MICE etc.? But once they developed this niche, they also went online in that niche. So then online presence is simply a must.
Yes, there is no substitute. Only because the changing demographic expects it. As younger people are travelling their expectations is that everything is on their fingertips on a handheld versusgoing to have to sit somewhere or talk to someone. You and I will eventually become the next generation of traveller. So if you want go the long haul,you have to be able to address multiple constituencies and serve them in the manner in which they want to be served which is o nline, or on a mobile or a combination thereof.
You touched upon the price game, I am concerned at another level. Not sustainability of the online player but I am more concerned about the sustainability of the market. You canbesome player in aviation, for example, a new airline or a new LCC which is looking at capturing its marketshare and is selling at less than 50% and is therefore disrupting the market and then goes bust itself. Should there be some law on this? I believe in free market.
But free market to achieve what?
That’s a great question. I started with United Airlines in 1979 right when the US market was de-regularized. So at that point everyone would file a fare and everyone would match. Now there is no filing a fare. Now it is just constant change. But if looked at it, the amount of people that travel today has just compounded and the opportunity to travel and the world has opened up.
But how to garner market share, you are selling 50% below cost, getting funding, subsidising what you are sellingand then disrupting the real brink and mortar retail
and the customer is having a laugh. I don’t see the logic of it eventually. I think there will be some that will disappear and some will thrive.
But you cannot go on selling below cost for ever, some time and somewhere you will need to balance out cost?
The theory is that once you grab an audience, once you scale a business and have the economies of scale, your cost will go down and then over time, the price might go up.
Right, might go up. Andby then,there couldbe a new disruptor in the market?
Absolutely. That’s what makes it all good. Amazon was losing millions and millions of dollars over a period of time. Now they are successful and they hurt a lot of companies on the way. Again if the market responds to that, then they are going to thrive.
What would be the differentiator, in the coming years, everyone is going to do virtually the same stuff….
If you look at the US, some very interesting things are going on. What we called the LCC now we have the Ultra-Low Cost Carrier. So this has made the seat pitchthe central issue. The seats don’t even recline. You have to pay for everything. You pay separate for each facility. However, there is a market for this. They have been very successful. What you are finding is that the size of the audience expanding and then you find each segment of the audience will go after a certain segment. American Airlines spoke about how 75% of their travellers, travel with them once a year and they are price sensitive. There is another segment to their market, about 20% of it,which travels with them much more frequently, is higheryielding, overall, you have to be able to serve all markets.
To reach out to achieve this segmentation must you have new carriers? Can we not achieve many of these objectives through a single service?
I think new carriers will always appear andthe older carrierswill evolve.
Originally, where I am coming from, once you had the revenue management systems in place, the job of the revenue management programme on any online system was to manage revenue, sell at different price points to different markets and achieve a certain holistic balance. Similarly, in the hotel segment, at times I find the kind of segmentation that they are creating at times…..
There is also the impact of technology there. The average room night in downtown SF was 350-400 dollars, I deliberately didn’t book in advance. I used my mobile app to book and I ended up with something that was lesser than 250. This is counter intuitive to the way people think h istorically. I mean if you were booking a flight, God forbid you would land and not have booked and u n decided on where to stay. Today that is no longer a challenge. Today you will take that shot and quite honestly you will manage to get a better rate. Sometimes it may not work out, but it’s a risk you will take.
Tony D’Astolfo: Profile
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ony assumed leadership of Phocuswright in July 2013. A travel industry veteran, he is an accomplished executive with rich expertise in travel and technology and a passion for moving the industry forward. As managing director, he builds on the strength of Phocuswright's premier research and events to foster growth and expand the company's global reach. Prior to joining Phocuswright, D'Astolfo served as chief sales officer for next-generation car service GroundLink. Previously, he fueled substantial growth as senior vice president, travel services at Rearden Commerce, where he assembled and led a team that built a distribution network of over 50 travel management companies and added 7,000 customers. His record of success in the corporate travel technology space began with B2B e-commerce leader GetThere, where he led the pre-IPO startup as vice president, sales during an explosive growth period that saw a tenfold increase in revenues and an increase in customer base from five to over 2200. Prior to GetThere, he spent more than 19 years in leadership roles at United Airlines, including his last assignment as national sales manager for the U.K. and Ireland. Tony is a frequent speaker at travel industry conferences around the world and is also an author of the popular travel industry blog IN: business travel. As Phocuswright enters its third decade, Tony's leadership is instrumental in driving the company's continued evolution and growth.
About this conference, how has it panned out, to what extent does it meet your expectations?
We are very excited to be here. This is a market where we have had a presence for many years, we have staff here, we hope this is the first of what will be an annual appearance. There are three components to our conference – we do the Travel Innovation Summit which is literally a pitch event, we have 10 innovators that will be pitching on Thursday from start-up and traditional companies; we do our Sponsored Workshops – about taking it from theory to practice and how to implement and finally Centre Stage – which is our thought leadership platform and bringsthought leaders from the entire region and then we do a live research presentation right on stage. We have a lot of content over a day and a half.
Considering it is your launch event – how much of that would you have achieved here?
For regional events, here we had targeted 300 and we will exceed that. For this market, within 3 years, we want to do 500 and then beyond that we will see. I am not sure I want to grow bigger than that. I want to maintain getting influential and senior level people only. We want the decision makers.
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The Asian Mojo; the leading economies become the nerve centre of travel tech growth in the region According to Doughlas Quinby, Vice President (Research), PhocusWright, Asia has become the fastest growing online travel region in the world and there are evident catalysts to further consolidate this trend.
Future catalysts for online travel growth in Asia
By ritwik sinha
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ike the other spheres of global economy, when it comes to travel and tourism trade, the Asian countries have increasingly been cruising to the commanding position since the turn of the century. And much of this transformation is also reflecting in the kind of travel related technological innovations which have been noticed in the region. With growing internet penetration and the explosive growth in the mobile segment in countries like China and India, the online processes deployed in travel transaction have significantly changed over the years. “When it comes to travel business, the global centre of gravity is shifting towards Asia,” said Doughlas Quinby, Vice President (Research), PhocusWright while making his extensive presentation on the opening day of the inaugural conference of the agency in India. To underline the tremendous growth in scale vis-à-vis online functionalities in travel trade, Douglas quoted from a specific report which PhocusWright had released way back in 2002. According to the findings of that report, the total worth of online travel business in Asia-Pacific region stood at $4.8 billion. Around the turn of the century, the online travel bookings in the world’s largest market was pegged at $28 billion. But the scene has dramatically changed since then with the online travel booking in APAC now rising to $137
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billion (estimates for 2016), within the striking distance of the market leader ( the US) which is expected to register a total online business of $146 billion. There has been a serious change in the top ten markets list in the stated period too. For instance, India did not figure in that list 15 years back but now it has a seven percent market share in the total online travel trade pie of the world. The period has also seen phenomenal rise of tech centric companies like C-Trip, the noted Chinese OTA which had a mere revenue base of $5 million in 2001. But now its revenue base has shot up to a staggering $1.8 billion. “Questions are being asked as what is the future of online travel in Asia- Pacific? Our own assessment is: APAC as a regional market is the fastest growing segment of
the global online travel space. It is growing three times more than the US twice of the growth noticed in Europe in the recent years. Online penetration though is low, in APAC it is over 30 percent whereas in US and Europe, it is close to 50 percent when it comes to travel related transactions,” Doughlas explained. There is another critical statistic which amply highlights the fact that the balance of technological innovations in travel trade business is swinging towards Asia. “In the period between 2005-09, 25 percent of global travel start-up funding had gone to Asia. Today it is close to 51 percent. The tremendous increase in the fresh funds routed to the region for technological innovations in travel space itself tells the story how this region is now playing a pivotal role,” emphasised Doughlas.
ccording to PhocusWright assessment, the online travel growth story in Asian countries will consolidate further in the coming years and there are some critical factors which will act as those critical catalysts. “There are some key things which will further push this growth story,” Doughlas underlined. The first and the foremost is the rising middle class population in Asia and the surging demand for travel. “ There is an enormous traveller population in Asia countries. Something to the tune of 231 million. And there are many in this group who are travelling to foreign shores for the first time,” Doughlas pointed out. Some of the recent studies of PhocusWright clearly point in this direction. For instance, in 2014 a PhocusWright report had clearly earmarked that two out of three Indian leisure traveller had visited a foreign destination for the first time. A similar study on Chinese market conducted last year had spoken about the growing affordability of travellers from the country to go outside for leisure vacations. The growing democratisation of travel marked by creation of more products at different pricing points, particularly for the middle class and below is also slated to give a big push to online travel business in the continent. “Rise of LCCs is the case in the point. Their share in aviation business in APAC is consistently growing. The emergence of branded budget accommodation like WUD Stay, Vista, 7 days Inn, etc is further making the scene interesting,” said Doughlas. The growing mobilization of travel (booking through smart phones) is giving a major impetus to online travel growth. According to PhocusWright assessment of the share of mobile in online travel in the current year, in India about 19 percent of travel products are going to be booked on mobile, while in China the percentage would be as high as 53. “ The platforms like WeChat are very efficiently used for sharing vital information on travel and tourism as well,” Doughlas pointed out. There is another critical element to the projected online travel growth story in Asia. It will be played out between local and the global online players who would be fighting for the larger share of the consumers’ wallet. “This fight is already visible and will become increasingly interesting. The dynamics could result in consolidation or more competition,” Doughlas earmarked.
Simplifying car hiring addressing important PhocusWright: A brief background is challenges facing India
What is Phocuswright all about?
Phocuswright is the travel industry research authority on how travelers, suppliers and intermediaries connect. Independent, rigorous and unbiased, Phocuswright fosters smart strategic planning, tactical decision-making and organizational effectiveness. Phocuswright delivers qualitative and quantitative research on the evolving dynamics that influence travel, tourism and hospitality distribution. Our marketplace intelligence is the industry standard for segmentation, sizing, forecasting, trends, analysis and consumer travel planning behavior. Every day around the world, senior executives, marketers, strategists and research professionals from all segments of the industry value chain use Phocuswright research for competitive advantage. To complement its primary research in North and Latin America, Europe and Asia, Phocuswright produces several high-profile conferences in the United States and Europe, and partners with conferences in China and Singapore. Industry leaders and company analysts bring this intelligence to life by debating issues, sharing ideas and defining the ever-evolving reality of travel commerce.
What is one of your typical conferences all about?
Phocuswright has perfected the essential building blocks of a great travel conference. These elements maximize the experience of each attendee, speaker, sponsor, demonstrator and exhibitor. With 3 conferences per year (Phocuswright India, Phocuswright Europe and the flagship The Phocuswright Conference) we attract the travel industry's most influential leaders from around the world - the most visionary thinkers and innovators with the "Next Big Idea" among them. No other conference unites this diverse mix in such an engaging format. When we ask attendees what the #1 reason to attend a Phocuswright event, they always say the networking.
What is the expectation from this first India launch?
We have been active in the Asia Pacific region on the research side for many years. To enhance what we bring to the market, the live event comes next on the list. Phocuswright set out on a strategy to bring our live events to other regions around the world where we have been providing research and covering the market for many years. As we got more comfortable with the market in Asia, we decided it was time to bring an event with focus on that market. We selected India because it’s very dynamic. Through the event, we are offering an extension of our research to the region.
Name some prominent trends in IT in Travel around the world?
Many trends in the APAC market follow similar patterns to the markets in other regions. There’s a shift from traditional to online models, changing travel behavior with developing technologies, availability of information through mobile and social, the rise of alternative accommodations like Airbnb and other vacation rentals – Phocuswright helps companies in travel understand the market, behaviors, tech trends and how they need to react to a particular market. The industry is fast and dynamic with rapidly changing industry sectors. Airlines see competition from LCCs, hotels vs vacation rentals, disruption of ground transportation, and much more. Our goal is to provide the research, resources and tools to make great decisions and face to face events like Phocuswright India are an important part of that.
Sakshi Vij, Founder &CEO, MYLESCARS
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ew years ago, as I was zeroing in on buying a car, I realized that there were a number of hassles in the process. The initial cost and parking issues aside, there is a ton of paperwork that needs to be processed. Almost 2.6 million cars are bought annually in India. The congestion in Delhi is a reflection of the growing problem. We are offering Sakshi Vij you the fun of having a car minus the hassle of owning one. The three important issues that come with owing a car are maintenance, affordability and flexibility. These are exactly the issues we are solving from the consumer side. We offer consumers a proposition of hiring a car starting from as little as fifty rupees which can be hired for a couple of hours to a couple of months. It gives consumer the advantage of not having to invest exorbitant sums in buying a vehicle. We are making the proposition of driving more flexible by having over twenty-one cities in our network to hire a car from, making it easier for people to choose the vehicle of their need at their choice of liking. Affordable pricing and a wide range of vehicles in the inventory make our app an ideal choice for a plethora of users from different walks of life. The simple mobile application lets the consumer register once, and ensure that he is able to select a car of his liking. As a service provider, we are focusing on building intelligent technologies and creating seamless experience. Therefore, we are connecting car owners with car users. We are essentially doing this by meeting up with large fleet operators who have the inventory over their system – which they share onto our platform. We are an investor friendly platform, and are trying to solve two most important problems which are ensuring absolute security to the asset of owners and the security of having shared their car on a platform. We share with owners all the details about their vehicles, the speed at which it is being driven, and the details of the driver, thereby ensuring that owners are always in the loop.
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M-commerce to drive growth, self-customized booking will be a major trend Deep Kalra, Chairman & Group CEO, Makemytrip has been in the forefront of bringing online booking revolution in the travel space in India. In an exclusive conversation with TourismFirst, Kalra underlines the critical churnings in the travel tech space primarily dominated by shift from e-commerce to m-commerce and its near to medium run implications for stakeholders in the business.
The mobile internet/ app revolution has lowered the barriers that were prevalent earlier. M-commerce will continue to drive growth for the industry and the focus will now shift to consumers residing in tier 2 and beyond towns and cities.
By navin berry What does it feel looking back, being among the first players, or was it the first, that looked big time into developing technology for travel in India?
When I look back and think about the last 16 years gone by, I feel proud and humbled by the revolution in travel buying habits that we have been able to achieve and the empowerment and transparency we have provided to customers. This for me is far greater than any financial success or milestone, although our IPO on Nasdaq in 2010 was a fulfilling landmark. MakeMyTrip was created to empower the Indian traveller with instant booking and comprehensive choices and we began our journey in the US-India travel market. Our objective was to offer a range of best-value products and services delivered using cuttingedge technology and dedicated round-the-clock customer support. We faced quite a few challenges in the initial years of setting up MakeMyTrip. Global events like the 9/11 terror attacks in the US, the dotcom bubble burst and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) had a direct impact on the travel business. Funding was hard to come by. At one point we were advised to shut down the business but we were convinced in this idea and believed in it whole heartedly, so there really was no turning back for us. I think what this period showed us was how unpredictable things could get despite the most thorough planning and robust forecasts. Success was determined by the ability to think on our feet, and not give in to panic. Self-belief and an unrelenting focus on innovation have been the building-blocks of MakeMyTrip and continue to inspire us to this day. After consolidating our position in the US market, we launched our India operations in 2005. In August 2010, MakeMyTrip had a successful IPO on NASDAQ, becoming the first Indian travel company to list overseas. Today, MakeMyTrip is much more than a travel company. It is a one-stoptravel-shop that offers the widest selection of travel products and services in India. MakeMyTrip is the dominant market-leader with 47% market-share (as per an independent study conducted by PhocusWright in 2013). Remaining reliable, efficient and at the forefront of technology, our commitment and customer-centricity allows us to better understand and provide for the diverse needs and wants of travellers. We enjoy the
reputation of being technologyforward and innovative – and delighting customers through service and value-based offerings.
How has the scene developed and where is it positioned today?
Over the years, we have witnessed consolidation and emergence of global players in the Indian market, which has in turn fuelled the growth of Indian OTA segment. Further, the growth of the Indian travel market has led Indian OTAs to differentiate and focus on non-air business streams to drive revenue and profitability. The opening up of the hotel market, fuelled by mobile penetration and aggressive pricing has been a major recent development. Took a lot more to penetrate this market that the online Air ticketing sector. Big Data has emerged as an important enabler for travel companies to engage better with customers and deliver service efficiently and intelligently. It provides us a great opportunity to positively impact both the business-end and the experience at the customer-end through better decision-making, greater product and service innovation and stronger customer relationships that will be delivered by new approaches to customer management, revenue management and internal operations. Online travel is among the first ecommerce categories to scale up in any market. With newer technologies and platforms being introduced rapidly, more players are flooding the market. The market opportunity is huge as a large segment of people are still offline, or have recently started accessing the internet through their mobile devices. Now, people are becoming more internet friendly and the trend is moving towards mCommerce. In the very near future what I do see as progressing in the segment is self-customizable holidays, a seamless and delightful mobile-app experience, rich vernacular content, integration with wearable devices, increased usage of bitcoins amongst other things.
How does the Indian scene differ with that in the region, in mature markets across the globe?
Indian travellers are increasingly becoming more aware of international destinations now. India has emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing outbound market and the number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise. The recent iGATE research report said that it is
predicted that India will account for nearly 30 million outbound tourists by 2018. Growth is expected to be driven by an increase in disposable incomes of Indians and by the increasing number of trips that consumers are expected to make annually. The number of Indians travelling overseas is set to rise from around 15 million in 2014 to 50 million by 2020, according to Tourism Australia. Indians are also the second-biggest global spenders on overseas travel, after China. South Asian destinations like Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong as well as Dubai and the UAE remain a hit among Indian travellers. This year, we are seeing increasing interest in other middle-eastern and Mediterranean destinations such as Jordan, Turkey, Greece and Hungary, as well as Cambodia, Vietnam and China. There is also a large chunk of honeymooners who contribute to outbound travel from India. We have seen that couples are nowadays exploring non-mainstream destinations like Greece, Seychelles, Jordan, Spain and South Africa for an exotic experience. Also, travelling is no longer restricted to a once-a-year activity as more and more people are preferring long weekends to break the monotony of their usual schedules, according to a survey. According
I feel proud and humbled by the revolution in travel buying habits that we have been able to achieve and the empowerment and transparency we have provided to customers. This for me is far greater than any financial success or milestone.
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to a survey, we concluded recently that long weekend seems to be triggering travel plans, with more than half the respondents having travelled thrice or more on long weekends during the last one year. From the inbound business perspective, according to the recent FICCI report, India's total foreign tourist arrivals in 2013 stood at 6.84 million. Foreign exchange earnings from tourism in 2013 grew 2.2 per cent to $18.1 billion, compared to a growth of seven per cent in the previous years. It means India holds tremendous potential in terms of a tourist destination both from inside and outside. This potential is evidently palpable both in terms of overall development and growth of our economy. Tourism is a multi-billion industry in India and promises to mature into a more lucrative one. With its profitable linkages with other industries like transport, hotel etc., its impact is now directly reaching out to other vital areas like education, health, finance, etc. Today, the tourism industry is not only being measured in terms of number of tourist arrivals but its impact is assessed pertaining to the inclusive growth it has fostered. Further, the hotels segment in India is under-penetrated and highly fragmented as compared to the rest of the world. Online hotel booking market has just opened up in India due to smartphone penetration and better bandwidth. We at MakeMyTrip, have made aggressive efforts to tap into this segment. Currently, the company
has partnerships with around 30,000 domestic hotels and 255,000 international hotels. In Q3 2016, the company’s India standalone online hotels transactions grew by 326.3% while the domestic standalone hotel transactions booked via mobile grew at an astounding 756.4% yearon-year basis.
Which market is the ideal for you for India to be benchmarked - China or the US, and why?
China. There are many similarities between the Chinese and Indian OTA markets. China and India have consistently ranked among the world’s fastest growing economies and most populous nations. In both countries, explosive GDP growth is driving and expanding the middle class with the means and the desire to travel. The proliferation of mobile devices has enabled India and China to leapfrog the wireline and desktop technologies that drove western OTA growth over the past 15 to 20 years. With smartphone increasingly becoming the preferred device, delivering a convenient booking experience, the hotel segments of the Indian and Chinese OTA markets are delivering the transaction growth that has rarely been experienced by OTAs elsewhere. Also the fragmentation of the Indian hotel market (chain are less than 10% of properties) is quite similar to China, and very different from the US where chains abound.
How do you see the evaluation game going on in India's e-commerce business, and are Indian travel websites also going to play the same - sell below cost, work our evaluations and in the process disrupt the market?
Valuations in the private (non public) space are not reflective of a perfect market unlike the public/ stock markets. Hence they can move significantly depending on demand and supply forces in the private equity / VC market. For example, after the peak valuations of 2015, we are already witnessing a major come down across the board this year. And I believe it’s only going to get tougher. Clearly the online travel market has seen some aggressive discounting over the last year or so from players that are well-funded and looking to gain market share in the all-important hotel market, without worrying too much about the bottom line. I believe this is a temporary phenomenon and will see a sunset in a few quarters, maximum by the same time next year. I should call out the biggest benefit of discounting i.e. it accelerates online penetration in a major way and grows the overall pie. One should keep that in mind and take a longer term view of the market.
Who, if any, are the real disruptors in Indian travel? Is the game different between selling Indian offers from the overseas ones, how and why?
There are three possible disruptors in the space. a. The mobile internet/app revolution is one of the biggest growth drivers for the industry at large. It has connected many more people in India and expanded the addressable market for companies like ours. b. I believe the intelligent use of Big Data / Business Analytics in all
The game changer
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eep is the Founder and Group CEO of India’s leading online travel company, MakeMyTrip.com. Launched in India in 2005, MakeMyTrip is today the largest travel company in the country. In August 2010, MMYT became the first Indian travel company to list overseas through a highly successful IPO on NASDAQ. For four years in a row, MakeMyTrip has been ranked among the ten ‘Best Companies to Work For’ in India by the GPTW Institute. Having steered the MakeMyTrip business as CEO since its inception in 2000, Deep took on the role of Group CEO in August 2013, to focus on Strategy, M&A and international businesses. Deep was the President of The Indus Entrepreneurs, Delhi from 2013 - 15 and currently serves on their Board. He is also closely associated with NASSCOM having served on their Executive Council from 2011-13. Deep is on the Governing Council and Board of Ashoka University. He is a founding member of “I am Gurgaon”, an NGO focussed on improving the quality of life in Gurgaon. Ernst & Young recognized Deep as Entrepreneur of the Year - Business Transformation (2011). In December 2012, Deep was recognized as the most powerful Digital influencer in India in a survey conducted by Impact magazine in association with KPMG India. Deep has been recognized as the Best Travel Entrepreneur of 2012 by TTG Asia at the TTG Travel Awards. IAMAI named him ‘Internet Man of the Year’ (2010). Deep was felicitated as a ‘Distinguished Alumni’ of IIM-A during the Institute’s Golden Jubilee celebrations in December 2011. Deep holds an MBA (PGDM) degree from IIM Ahmedabad and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi.
decision making – keyword buying, listing, personalization etc will be the real differentiator and disruptor in the long term. c. The hotels segment in India opened up exponentially in the past year or so, courtesy the rise of budget hotel aggregators who took upon the task of awareness creation for this category.
Where do you see the game heading, and how will it impact the Indian consumers?
The rapid penetration of smartphones has truly opened up the market opportunity for the industry. While on one hand companies can now reach out to a wider audience; on the other hand, consumers residing in tier 2 and beyond towns and cities now have the access to products and services that were not available to them before. The mobile internet/ app revolution has lowered the barriers that were prevalent earlier. M-commerce will continue to drive growth for the industry and the focus will now shift to consumers residing in tier 2 and beyond towns and cities.
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Tech and ease of travel making APAC a centre for ground transport innovation
Need for cheaper, reliable and hassle-free means of ground transportation has given birth to some of the most dynamic online players who have centered their operations in India and the larger Asia Pacific. Industry service providers believe that this trend is likely to intensify as technology and service delivery get more intertwined. By Shashank Shekhar
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t the inaugural event of Phocuswright conference in India, a session titled ‘from self-drive and mobile hailing to ride-share and more, APAC is ground zero for ground transportation innovation’ which was moderated by Philip Wolf, founder, Phocuswright saw a lively discussion by heads of new-age companies that are changing the way we travel. The executive roundtable participated by Aloke Bajpai, co-founder and CEO, Ixigo, Raghav Gupta, India Country Manager, BlaBlaCar, and Sakshi Vij, founder and CEO, MylesCars saw some insightful discussion how constant infusion of technology had transformed the way people took to travelling. Before discussing the intricacies of the evolvement, Philip Wolf reminisced about how the India chapter of Phocuswright came into being; he thanked his core team for taking this initiative forward. Initiating the discussion, he asked panelists whether there had been a change in the economic environment for a model like Mylescars.com to come into existence. Sakshi Vij, Founder & CEO, Mylescars said that change was all around them. “The cost of cars and the cost of hiring a cab have changed. There has been a transformation in people’s ability to hire a cab; cost of hiring a taxi driver has changed,” she asserted. Adding that, although, there was scope for tremendous improvement
in inter-state transport in India, she conceded that infrastructural linkages were way better than they were a decade ago. “It is much easier to ply distances like Agra, Chandigarh and Jaipur than it was a few years ago. New expressways and state highways have all seen a marked improvement,” she added. Philip Wolf quizzed panelists on the insistent pressure of hitting a million mark – a new measure of actual success for startups operating in a competitive environment. “There must be a constant pressure to hit a certain landmark. There are investors and other constituents who demand to see growth in scale,” he asked. Raghav Gupta argued that instead of being bothered by an elusive milestone, they had channelized their attention on answering questions posed by their app users. “A user of car-sharing service – be it
a passenger or a car-owner – seeks a hassle-free and safe journey. We have been relentlessly focusing on addressing these questions. Having launched our service in India in January, we have already hit a million seat-sharing on our platform,” he shared with the gathering. Informing the audience that the company had put in place diverse mechanisms to ensure safety and security of passengers, Raghav Gupta detailed that “we ask them to connect their Facebook account to BlaBlaCars; we verify e-mail, mobile number, and a government issued identity card. We ask members to add a picture; so there is a bunch of KYC processes put in place.” While Blablacars focused on answering rudimentary questions posed by probable car-sharing passengers, contemplating that ixigo. com had twofold reasons for get-
ting into the market, Aloke Bajpai, co-founder & CEO said that said that “we observed two things. One was that there was a wide gamut of choices for consumers in the available in the online space, and also a large number of products.” Illustrating his argument by explaining the growth in the carsegment space, he said that they had seen a profound change in the past years. “Previously, there were just taxis; now, there was an array of choices from bike-taxis, shuttles, to pooling. There are a number of different things that you can do right now,” he argued. Adding that with the diversification of choices, consumers had the luxury to do different things from different service providers at a given point in time, he said “in a situation like that, better players who can better service that consumer will hold the advantage.”
Philip Wolf reflected that using services of commodities that belonged to a complete stranger was not a very welcoming idea some years ago. “Getting into stranger’s bed and stranger’s car was a complete no-no some years ago. But, companies like Uber and Airbnb have transformed that space by marrying technology to service,” he said. He also pointed the change in consumer behaviour whereby they were available online, most all the time. “Companies can follow consumers to better know where they are and what they are doing. Similarly, consumers also expected companies to understand their preferences better. So, the change has been profound on both sides of the spectrum,” he said. Sakshi Vij was of the opinion that changing trends were also a result of growing consumer awareness, increasing pollution and traffic jams which were making people opt for rented vehicles. “ A large number of people do not want the hassle to maintain a car. It comes with a number of strings attached,” she said. Adding that EMIs aside, parking vows in Indian cities was expediting the trend, she noted that people, now, preferred to rent vehicles which were easy to locate, hire and available round the clock on a easily accessible mobile app. Adding to that, Raghav Gupta believed that these technological infusions had, certainly, added more value proposition to inter-state travel. “It is easier to undertake an inter-state travel,” he said.
Startups a new reality; personalization future of travel, says Urrshila Kerkar
Urrshila Kerkar, Executive Director, Cox & Kings talked about the future of online travel noting that today’s consumer expected personalized service. She also argued that online startups were here to stay. By Shashank Shekhar
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ITs had been pivotal to Cox & Kings, felt Urrshila Kerkar, Executive Director, Cox & Kings. She said that they sold individually designed customer packages that could range from two to fifty days – catering to a wide range of FITs. When asked about the difference between operating in India as compared to developed markets like Canada, and European markets, she stressed that Indians took their holidays very seriously. “It is for those five-seven days they are off work, and life is hard as it is. People generally go online, but travellers in India like coming to us because they want their visa formalities to be taken care of. They don’t like lastminute hassle at all,” she said. Yet she agreed that there were certain challenges which included users understanding limitations of service providers. “For a consumer, it is still difficult to comprehend that they would be charged a cancellation fee, if their visa is denied – they argue that it was not their fault which is fair enough,” she explained. She termed India a challenging place to operate because of consumer’s orientation of seeking discounts. Reflecting on prevailing strategies adopted by new age players to corner footfalls in the hotel segment, she said that there was a race to acquire
new customers. “However, these hefty discounts are being offered by these players on someone else’s money. They are hoping to kill competition and become the sole player,” she explained. Adding that India was, also, different because there was no scope for getting complacent, she said “Whenever you (as a company) start believing that you have the market covered, a company pops out of nowhere which has a unique idea. It simply keeps you on your toes, all the time.” Pointing towards issues like limited credit limits on credit cards which hindered from making a family of four pay for the full trip at once, she argued that these were some unique challenges operating in India. However, she commended the innate Indian ability of creating hybrid solutions for almost everything. “We roll our sleeves and throw a hundred people at it, but we get the work done. At the end, it is all about delivery; the customer wants delivery. He wants the job done on a single screen at a few clicks of the mouse,” noted Urrshila Kerkar. Looking ahead, she was of the opinion that the larger challenge lying ahead for the industry operators was to design engaging consumer interaction. “How do I get my message across to the customer so that he can discover easily? He must
are going to be a part of reality. be able to share and research I have, myself, invested in a few easily. He must be able to figure of them,” she added. On a lighter out what to buy, and buy it easily. note, when asked whether she As service providers, consumers wanted to talk about it, she said expect you to know them, not she would rather zip her mouth on a day to day basis, but at least than divulging any details. where they have been, and are Talking about her comlikely to go,” she said. pany, she said that they were, There was a muted laughter probably, the only online at her sally that most travelbooking company in India lers were better travelled than that was profitable. “One of travel companies staff offering the important things we do is services. Stating that the need distribution and generate a lot was to go the extra mile, she of online content. We believe in reflected that she had been to content; our website has a lot of certain trips she felt were below deep-dive content material. We her expectation. “As a traveller, are working on very different I would want to feel special technology platforms which and taken care of. The trend of will make us not only a content personalization married with enabler, but technology and technology has manifestations Urrshila Kerkar content enabler,” she shared that we cannot fathom. Who Executive Director, Cox & Kings with the gathering. knows what changes will come Sharing her understanding about in the next twenty years? As a traveller, I would want to feel of the economic climate for These are great times; these special and taken care of. The trend of acquisitions and selloffs, she said are exciting times. I do not personalization married with technology has manifestations that we cannot “I am sure those who got some understand when people call it fathom. Who knows what changes will crazy evaluation got them at the terrifying,” said Urrshila Kerkar. come about in the next twenty years? right time, and they would have She made a passionate plea surely loved it. The economic for a collective need to learn climate, right now, is not exactly taking advantage of tools by favourable for this. It is a cycle; it opening up their minds, and will go up and down. So, it depends one,” she said, philosophically. sharing their understanding with on the intent of the operator. Are you Calling startups in the online other companies. “Sometimes you there to make a quick buck or are space a new reality, she was of are a buyer, sometimes a seller and you there for the long haul. What’s the opinion that, with time, every sometimes just an enabler; it does your purpose and end-game is what not matter, because in the end it’s all traditional player needed to better decides your action,” she said. engage with them. “These startups going to go. The market waits for no
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Connection, convenience and context should be the pillars of digital strategy by travel cos., says Facebook travel head
According to the head of the travel domain of world's most popular social site, the fast growing mobility segment is now overshadowing all other established media platforms in a cumulative sense. And hence, like in other business spheres, it becomes imperative for players in the travel space, too, to chalk out a well-defined digital strategy. By ritwik sinha
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rima facie, associating travel business and products with world’s most popular and powerful social site Facebook may not seem to be right synchronisation. The site which gets more than a billion visitors everyday is the larger expansive generic platform much known for its agnostic stance to all kinds of expression. But at the recently held PhocusWright inaugural conference in India, when Lee McCabe (Head- Travel, Facebook) took the stage, he presented a broader perspective on the changing tides in the global technology space (vis-à-vis growing internet penetration and the phenomenal rise of the smartphone devices) emphasising on the possible usage of the leading social sites by the travel companies. Travel, no doubt, is something very personal in nature for every one but its digital expression possibilities are infinite. And that brings a powerful social site like Facebook in the center of the critical churnings happening around. At one end of the spectrum is the huge travelling class who till recently were used to share their experience through texts and then graduated to pictures which is being further up-scaled to videos now. And a posting narrating a personal travel experience is acting as a powerful review for many even as a site like Facebook is not
exactly a TripAdvisor. A bad experience shared on Facebook could, therefore, be detrimental for the product operators. And in an age where mobile devices have become the most powerful tool, the sentiments of all kinds are flashing instantly. “This is the fourth spell of revolution which has happened in the recent history of humanity. It had begun with mechanised production around 1700 and about a century later it had turned into mass production. Since 1970’s, we have witnessed a revolution in the automated products category and now this digital revolution. Every business sector like banking, automobile, etc. is aligning with it and so are the other spheres,” explained McCabe, Facebook’s first travel head (he was appointed in 2012 and prior to that he was associated with Expedia) in his opening remark. As a connecting medium in this rapidly growing digital world, desktops have become a thing of the past and laptops too are increasingly losing their relevance. And ‘mobile first’ is the most prized mantra of all digital flagbearers in all businesses including travel. As per Facebook estimates, there are about 2.5 billion active smartphone users across the globe and 40 percent of them are using 3G plus devices. “From the standpoint of Facebook’s own growth, mobile has been a critical catalyst,” added McCabe. Facebook today has a
daily traffic of about 1.4 billion and its affiliate whatsapp has about 1 billion users. Every day about 30 billion messages are exchanged between whatsapp users which is 50 percent more than global sms volume. “Media consumption is stacking and not shifting,” said McCabe while highlighting how digital platforms have begun dominating the general life which in turn is also having a bearing on business modalities connecting consumers with the service providers. For instance, television viewing in the world’s largest market the US is consistently declining since 2011 while the smartphone is increasingly becoming the most preferred tool. The emergence of more impressive mobile apps is further contributing to their popularity which is also a function of their ability to connect with large volume of consumers instantly. Here is an interesting statistic which is reflective of this trend. It had taken radio 38 years to reach to 50 million consumers. In the case of television, the period was shortened to 13 years. Internet, during the early stage of its evolution, had taken four years to reach to this mark while Facebook itself had taken 3.5 years to build 50 million base. The period was further truncated for IPod to three years. But a gaming app like
understand their importance,” pointed out McCabe. The changing tides in the technology space and their increasing acceptance by the consumer class has also plenty of import for the travel business. “We have reached in a new era. In 2015, of the total marketing spend of travel companies which stood at $44 billion, $8.2 billion went to the digital medium. The increasing use of apps has created an eco-system which is making equations extremely challenging for the service providers like hotel units. Your guests may come to you for accommodation but they may not use your ancillary services since Lee McCabe they have options to get those Head- Travel, Facebook services from outside,” McCabe underlined. Connection, convenience and context Pressing on the imperative should be the basic pillars of your digital strategy. Your consumers now want to of embracing digital rules of connect quickly since it makes their life the new era, Facebook travel easier. You have to ensure that all his head advocated three mantras requirements are met conveniently and to survive in this challenging you should spare no effort in delivering environment. “Connection, him a personalised experience. convenience and context These are the key rules of the game now. should be the basic pillars of your digital strategy. Your consumers now want to connect quickly since it makes their life easier. You have to ensure Temple Run 2 was downloaded that all his requirements are met by 50 million consumers in just conveniently and you should 13 days. “The average number of spare no effort in delivering him apps used by smartphone users a personalised experience. These in the US market is 26.7 and they are the key rules of the game now,” are spending nearly 37 hours with emphasised McCabe. them every month. So you can
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APAC is the next big frontier for Airbnb, says Varsha Rao For global homestays giant Airbnb, Asia-Pacific region is emerging as its next major stronghold. The company claims to have put in place different community specific solutions to fast endear itself to host members and customers in the region. By ritwik sinha
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f Airbnb will have its way, it will turn every house on the planet into a hotel.” It’s a popular perception doing the rounds in the marketplace often used by market observers though it is difficult to say whether it’s a genuine compliment or back handed one. But it no secret to anyone that in the sphere of alternative accommodation no other company globally has made more impact in the recent times than Airbnb. It has unlocked a humongous amount of lodging facilities across the globe working on a new and unique marketplace model wherein private houses have come on the stream. According to a Wikipedia account, the San Francisco headquartered company has over 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities across 190 countries. Its unprecedented growth across the planet has caught the attention of everyone and while on the one hand, many copycats of Airbnb have emerged in different parts of the world, its uninterrupted march is also believed to be viewed as a major cause of concern for hotel operators in the branded segment. Nothing surprising, the session slotted for the presentation by Varsha Rao, Head of Global
Operations, Airbnb at the recently held PhocusWright Conference in Delhi was eagerly awaited by over 300 participants. And though in her presentation, she did not dwell much on what the company has specifically planned for India, Rao underlined in no uncertain terms that Asia is emerging as the next big frontier for the global alternative accommodation major. “We have been focusing on Asia-Pacific region for quite some time and we have encouraging trends emerging now. In terms of inventory, APAP has become our fastest growing region with 38 percent growth in the recent years. As per a recent study, 47 percent of hosts who are part of our network in the region have reported increased income. 76 percent of Airbnb listings are located outside traditional hotels districts. So we are adding new pockets for accommodation in the region,” Rao underlined. Airbnb is credited to have built a commendable base in the North and South American markets. According to Varsha Rao, its success is well reflected in the fact that during the last edition of FIFA World Cup hosted by Brazil, one out of every five international visitor had stayed in Airbnb units which is reflective of how deeply embedded it has become in the accommoda-
tion eco-system of markets outside its parental turf. And this is a feat which Airbnb wants to repeat in Asia-Pacific. “Our business model certainly will contribute to the growth in APAC tourism as well as in the local economies in the region,” she said. Airbnb is believed to have about 3,00,000 units enlisted in Asia-Pacific which were used by about 12 million visitors last year. The icing on the cake is: about 35 percent of the guests received by Airbnb units in Asia-Pacific last year had actually come from other parts of the world. Within the region, China is the fastest growing outbound market (300 percent) for the company while Japan tops the chart in the inbound category (350 percent). Within South-East Asia where Airbnb has about 10,000 enlisting, India outbound too is emerging as a pillar of strength for the units in the region. “Asia is embracing the shared economy principles more quickly than other markets which is helping in our growth. Equally important is the increasing penetration of internet and growing volume of smartphones with the growing prominence of handset manufacturers like Xiaomi and Micromax. 33 percent of our Asian bookings last year was made on mobile,” Rao informed.
Airbnb is not just a plain, vanilla alternative accommodation market place. To endear itself to new customers as well as host members, it has subtly introduced new tech empowered features. While it has its own robust app application, the user generated content and shared Varsha Rao social connections too are Head of Global Operations, Airbnb strong features of its offerAsia is embracing the shared economy ings and it has also been principles more quickly than other in the forefront of intromarkets which is helping in our growth. ducing private messaging Equally important is the increasing system for its customers. penetration of internet and growing To strengthen its position volume of smartphones with the growing in Asia, the company has prominence of handset manufacturers like Xiaomi and Micromax. 33 percent of already tied up with Weour Asian bookings last year was Chat, China’s most popular made on mobile. text and voice messaging platform. “It has given us the added advantage to connect and engage with our customers in the region,” Rao issues of the guests which Airbnb pointed out. units probably can’t ensure vis-à-vis According to Airbnb global branded chains, Rao was emphatic operational head, the company is that Airbnb has derived its own keen to build its base in the larger mechanism. “It is why we treat Asia Pacific region with a tailored reviews as the foundation of our approach. “We understand that technological framework. We also every community in the region is ensure that we get the full informadifferent. So our solutions offered tion of our hosts. And there is 24x7 to them too will be not similar,” customer support system for our emphasized she. On pointed out guests anywhere in the world,” she the criticality of safety and security explained.
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Simon Akeroyd, Amadeus
“Our Amadeus Next programme has taken off on a positive note” Considering the growing might of AsiaPacific in the travel tech innovation, global GDS major Amadeus late last year initiated a dedicated programme to support tech start-ups in the region. In an exclusive conversation with TourismFirst on the sidelines of PhocusWright Conference recently, Simon Akeroyd, VP (Asia-Pacific), Corporate Strategy shared the details of this ambitious programme which has a specific community approach also involving big corporations. Edited excerpts of this conversation:
By ritwik sinha To begin with, let me get a sense of this Amadeus Next programme? Have you initiated it in a full-fledged manner and how would you explain the primary objectives of this programme? First, let me explain the over-riding principles which is linked to my role. In my present association with Amadeus as VP, Corporate Strategy & Business Development for Asia Pacific, a large part of my role is to connect and work with external companies. Companies that are doing something innovative or have a new business model or adopted a new technological platform, etc. My job is to connect with these players and create something which is valuable for both of us. We have different levels of programme. Last year at the beginning of 2015, we began turning our focus on start-ups. These companies are innovative, creative and are going to be part of future of the travel business. And our ambition is to contribute in shaping the future of the travel. So we need to work closely with them and may be change some of our processes to make us more accessible to them. We started by identifying the kind of start-ups we need to be associated with. We have our own methodology to deal with start-ups which is called the lean methodology wherein we ask them what kind of support they need. One of the big surprises we had
was that contrary to our expectations, the start-ups were not asking for financial support. Instead, they were asking for technology, access to customers, while they were willing to raise money from other quarters. After understanding their basic requirements, we launched Amadeus Next in November, 2015. And it is eventually shaping as a community. So Amadeus Next is about start-ups in travel tech sphere and around that we bring in other entities to help them grow. So we have government organisations, big corporates like Microsoft, some noted funding companies, universities and educational institutions, etc which are part of this community with all of them sharing this common objective of contributing in driving the travel tech business in Asia-Pacific. And since November, it has been a fantastic journey for us. It has not only been well received by the start-ups but also large corporations who want to participate in the travel tech space but haven’t done something significant in the past on this front.
So you are also involving corporates which do not have travel as the important vertical of their business?
A good example here is Microsoft. They have a programme called Microsoft BizSpark which is meant for start-ups. But they told us since you are doing something to promote start-ups in travel tech space, we will participate in the programme. That kind of support from periph-
you have to look at their team and the space they are trying to get into, the issues they are facing, the methodologies they are using, etc. We examine all these aspects and then try to analyse whether there is a match between what we tend to achieve and their primary objectives. An important element of our strategy is: we don’t put up money in start-ups at the initial stage though we can introduce them to the funding agencies. They join our programme voluntarily and there is no obligation on them. We are eventually looking for more compatibility and usually we find it.
Potentially, how big this programme can become in the next two years given the fact that Asia-Pacific has become the new hub of global innovation in the travel space?
At the moment, we are struggling to ramp up speed. It has been much more successful than we had imagined. Two years is quite difficult to know. The programme would obviously change depending on how the start-ups who are our members evolve. So at some point, we will have to change our gears from nurturing ideas to scaling ideas.
eral travel tech corporation has been a surprise.
Any specific corporation from India which has joined your programme?
Not as yet but we will be looking forward to their participation. We have some Indian start-ups which have already become part of this programme. Triphobo is one of the earliest Indian entrant in our community. And then some other players have joined too – Tripoto, Travelibro, and Orahi, an upcoming car pooling company. So India is well represented.
How many start-ups are in your loop today, not just from India, but the entire Asia-Pacific region?
There are 15 start-ups who have become part of our programme. And there are many more who are waiting to join. We follow a process of identifying the possible new members. We have extensive dialogues with them trying to understand what do they want to achieve.
So what is the primary criterion to select a new member? Apart from representing a bright idea, what else the willing start-ups need to bring on the table to become the members of your Amadeus Next programme?
We have to look into a lot of things. One key trend with many start-ups is that they end up being different from what they had started to achieve. So it is not just the idea,
Since you also have funding agencies as the members of this programme, is there any possibility of creating a dedicated corpus sometime in the future to financially help the start-ups in your loop? In the next community, we can introduce this funding option. We have VCs, angle investors and PEs who could put money in start-ups as they grow. Amadeus itself has a venture fund that picks up stakes in the promising companies. We have already made six investments under this programme, though they are in varied areas. There we are looking at trends which will be huge. Internet of things (IoT), for instance, fall under this category. The last investment we had made was in a company called Bluesmart. So if the companies come and grow with Amadeus Next and there is interest for us, we will invest.
This Amadeus Next programme- is it specifically tailor made for Asia-Pacific or you have done something similar in other parts of the world as well?
No. This is the first time we are doing something of this nature. For us, it is about proving a concept. We think that Asia is more of an early adopter than any other
region in the world today. About 55 percent of the fresh funding which is happening in the global travel tech space is coming to start-ups in Asia -Pacific. With its innovative edge, creativity and the rising local demand, this is the perfect market for such a programme.
It is the innovation in the alternative accommodation sector which seems to be the flavour of the season in this part of world. Would you be showing more preference for players in this segment in terms of supporting them and help them grow to the next level?
There is no such bias from our side. We are open to all ideas. From Amdeus Next standpoint, it is one of the big trends we need to support but it does not mean we will keep ourselves restricted to this. The two big tips I have on trends which are going to significantly change the travel business include huge alternative accommodation space but at the same time, there are segments like cars sharing which will also grow big. On the other side, we have internet of things (IoT) though we are not precisely sure how it will impact the travel trends in the precise terms. But one thing is there: it may help in doing away with disruptions or will help in the recovery from disruptions.
There is an interesting thing happening in the market today here in India. Almost from nowhere, some start-ups have emerged with a bang on the horizon with unique product differentiation. They have attained scales and are also getting support from the usual funding quarters. But according to the established players, these new companies have attained scale by offering deep discounts. And, therefore, their business model can’t be sustained for too long. How would you respond to this trend? When you are deep discounting, you are not a start-up any more. To be a major disrupter is a positive thing, this is how the world evolves. Disruptions can happen in the marketplace and we actually encourage it. The way to succeed is to harness it yourself. Amadeus wants to harness that kind of disruption in an early stage. We invest a lot in innovations to do that, to keep up with the trends and when disrupters come in, we have the technology ready. To label as a disrupter is good for a start-up through not all of them are really disrupters.
Presenting Unique Segments at BITB 2016
cities & states
Never before has an Indian expo focussed on cities. We bring you a fresh focus, where we invite Indian states and foreign NTOs to showcase cities for their quintessential appeal for tourism.
B2B and Conference
Who will Exhibit: Cities from across India and around the world as destinations for their heritage and culture, yearround events and for all that which drives tourism to them.
Lotus temple, New delhi
ITB Comes to India. The best of ‘Glocal’ is here!
Whom will you Meet: A wide base of buyers, unprecedented for any Indian event. Largest assembly of India Buyers, with a right mix of business streams, those that are presently driving Indian business.
Just exhibit, or also explore partnerships, exclusive to Destinations/Cities + States Showcase for that extra bit more!
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Welcome to BITB. India's time has come. Presenting for the first time the big mega show on the region's travel and tourism vertical! Bringing together uniquely India, connectivity, big ticket infra developments, hospitality, global exchange and world connect on culture, holidays and business. At the heart of it, is the resilience, the robust growth, and power of the Indian Traveller! Bringing a sharp focus on traditional heritage and culture tourism, but equally on new emerging streams like MICE, weddings, Luxury, Golf and other sports and events, Technology in Travel, the show will be the first of its kind, powered by the world’s biggest player in the business, ITB Berlin! Strong B2B, alongside stronger partnerships that build conferences and side bar activities, supported by mainstream media in print and television. Each segment will be supported by leading players in their niche from around the world, bringing strong content, buying and selling, and B2B business of every kind.
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3–6 october, 2016
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www.bitb.org For more information connect@bitb.org
The Best of ‘Glocal’ is Here! Global player ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest tourism fair, comes together with the most experienced local in India!
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India is happening, as a generator and world centre of travel and tourism. The Power of the Indian Traveller is proving among the most resilient and robust. At this opportune time, in alliance with ITB Berlin, we bring you the first edition of BITB – Bharat International Tourism Bazaar, to be held in New Delhi from 3rd to 6th October, 2016. The event promises to be a comprehensive and inclusive tourism showcase under one roof. We are delighted to announce a B2B tourism exhibition with never before explored streams of both exhibitors and buyers to conduct meaningful business. The Best of ‘Glocal’ comes to Indian Tourism Two of the biggest names in the business join hands, with a promise to create only the best. ITB is the world leader with the biggest show on earth - ITB Berlin show, and their more recent addition ITB Asia. We bring you the world leader in tourism exhibitions. The outreach of ITB opens new avenues for promotion of the show, and equally of India as a destination. For both buyers and sellers from around the world, this reach is unparalleled. Cross Section is the oldest communications agency in tourism matters in India, with over 40 years of experience; it was the first mover in B2B marts in India and in South Asia, over 20 years ago. How is our show going to be different? We are creating an entirely new concept for a B2B show: • Focus on the Indian Traveller: We are basing our show on the Strength of the Indian Traveller. We all know how important he has become over recent years, a robust growth market, and will continue to do so. Our aim is to have 2000 hosted Indian Buyers on different programmes, and another 6000 registered Indian Buyers on other programmes, making our show the biggest focussed event on Indian buying. • New Streams of Business: While we focus on the traditional segments of business in tourism such as Hospitality, Destinations and Cities, Heritage and Leisure, MICE and Weddings and Aviation, we also diversify to bring to the fold emerging and game changing segments which include Online and Technology, Investments, Luxury, Infrastructure, Event based tourism, Golf and Sports like IPL and T20, Experiential travel, among others. • Tourism Under One Roof: Our vision is that everybody who has anything to do with Indian tourism should be here! From products to service providers, we hope to have everybody there for domestic and outbound tourism. One show fits all, regardless of size and nature of association. • Larger calendar of Activities: Apart from B2B buying, we are providing for and encouraging partners to do product launches, meeting with media or select trade, hosting a trade lunch, whatever! There are meeting rooms of different capacities which can be booked, events that can be listed as part of the larger show calendar and promoted. • Conduct Serious Business: Our emphasis is on quality, senior level management, CEOs, owners to come and meet each other. It is a marketplace of ideas, come and share them! Well Managed Show It is our understanding that there is real need for a quality show, driven by meaningful visitor flows, to enable genuine business. The ground management needs to be perfect, with marked visitor movements, with proper signage, and with international supporting facilities like restaurants, bars, networking sessions, meeting lounges – you will get all these, and more. Focus on Mainstream Media BITB will have strong partnerships with mainstream media, both in print and television. We shall be most active on social media. We expect 100 strong mainstream media to attend. All this will provide for maximum mileage to participants and partners. Open for Bookings Participation options range from simply exhibiting to establishing a strong brand presence with partnerships and onsite branding opportunities. Spaces are available, starting at 9sqm booth space. Cost is `17,500 per sqm for bare space or `18,000 per sqm on shell scheme plus premium location surcharge (if any), plus 15% government service tax. Send us your requirement of space and location. We shall soon come back with exact floor plan, and we are confident we will meet your expectations. We are confidently looking forward to the BITB launch edition and trust to have your support and maximum participation in giving our industry the show it so richly deserves.
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About the Organizers Cross Section Media is over 40 years in the business, having a number of firsts in India’s history. It was the first mover in B2B trade shows in tourism in India, way back in 1994. Our partnerships endured over the years we ran the event – all these enabled us to host over 4,500 international tour operators from over 50 countries during our 18-year tenure! In 2011, the last year when we exited this event, we were steadfastly tourism focused, growing 25% year on year, presenting 30 countries from around the world, 23 Indian states and some 650 sellers organizations. We have been the first movers in trade journalism, with magazine titles such as destination India, Travel Trends Today, Go Now and presently, Tourism First. We have run successful industry seminars and have been awarded by both industry associations as well as the Government of India.
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Paul Whiteway, Skyscanner
Product comparison the next innovation from meta platforms A major advantage of Skyscanner’s global footprint is its capability to instantly deliver value to their OTA and airline partners by exposing them to a global audience of over 50 million consumers, thereby blurring, for them, geographic borders and other barriers to entry. By Ritwik Sinha According to Paul Whiteway, Sales & Commercial Director (APAC), Skyscanner, India with its growing internet penetration and young work force is going to emerge as a major turf for the growth of meta-search platforms. In an exclusive conversation with TourismFirst, Paul also emphasised on the next big offering from the meta engines quarters – product comparison in addition to price comparison. Edited excerpts: Do you think meta-search engines will bring the next big wave in the sphere of online booking of travel and tourism products?
They have already begun doing it. PhocusWright research in 2014 showed that 54% of Chinese, 36% of Americans and 35% of British travelers use meta-search to compare rates and those numbers would be even higher today. Online travel booking remains a highly fragmented space, meta-search engines like Skyscanner addresses a pain point by allowing travellers to perform their search on one site in order to get results from all the different sites. Its catching up fast in Asia because of the macro-economic trends in the region. There is a burgeoning middle class, increasing internet and smartphone penetra-
tion rates, the rise of LCCs that make travel more affordable and finally the pervasiveness of social media to inform and inspire people to travel more – all point towards a bright future for meta, and we will see the same common use of metasearch in Asia as we see across the world.
For the success of meta-search engines, it is imperative that OTAs become your associates and partners. Is it happening readily across the world or there is some resistance from OTAs quarters?
Skyscanner operates in what is referred as a two-sided market. For any two-sided market to be successful you need to deliver value to both the supply side (OTAs and airlines) and demand side (travellers). A major advantage of Skyscanner’s global footprint is that we can instantly deliver value to our OTA and airline partners by exposing them to our global audience of over 50 million consumers, thereby blurring for them geographic borders and other barriers to entry. The 1200 OTA and airline partners who already work with us see this as tremendous value. Not only from the standpoint of high conversion rates we are delivering to them, but also the rich data and insights that we are able to provide around traveller preferences and booking behaviour because of our global footprint.
How have you fared in the
larger Asia-Pacific region visà-vis travel and tourism related bookings?
Skyscanner has witnessed healthy growth in the APAC region, with growth in UMVs averaging over 50% in the last two years. Growth in mobile visitors in the region is even higher; averaging over 70% in the last two years. Part of our success is from our belief that we need to think and act locally; as such we think about every country uniquely. To this end, our first step in APAC was to invest in learning and understanding each market rather than making any assumptions based on a European heritage. It is important for us to be global but also very local in our approach. Asia is made up of so many different cultures and languages that we have to ensure that we develop our product with the different needs of travellers in each of these countries, at the front of our minds
What about India? Is it a nascent stage for meta platforms like Skyscanner?
Broadly speaking, yes. Travel metasearch is relatively nascent in India for the mainstream user. We are however seeing strong growth in India; as of February 2016, we have seen revenue growth of 72.8%, average UMVs have increased 91.5% and average Mobile UMVs by over 200%, What we have found is that even at this nascent stage, there are several customer segments that use metasearch extensively. These include: those who have lived overseas and been exposed to services such as Skyscanner, or frequent business travellers who understand its tremendous value or families who have students studying overseas and want to find the best deal to see their loved ones. The number of segments who use metasearch continues to grow all the time. As Skyscanner began 13 years ago in Europe, we have witnessed this trend; markets evolve with meta-search moving from nascent to mainstream, and this change can happen dramatically as user behaviour enters an inflection point.
After price comparison and booking functionality, what could be the possible big innovations which metaengines can offer to the travel and tourism consumers?
The internet industry never slows down and is constantly innovating. Skyscanner is a product and engineering led organization and we constantly invest in product evolution and innovation – over 50% of our employees are engineers, signaling our commitment to these aspects of the business. We believe sky is the limit; but several things we are focused on right now include: the evolution from price comparison to product comparison where our functionality will surface additional information (baggage fees, seat configuration, meals. etc) that are important to a traveller when they search and book travel. Price will always be a major factor in users search criteria but they also want additional information, personalized or filtered to what’s important to them when travelling. We are also innovating the payment process with facilitated booking that reduces friction for our users while delivering higher conversion rates for our partners. There is a lot of talk about bots and semantic search currently, I have no doubt you will see innovations here. The other areas will be continued innovations around leveraging powerful technologies such as hyper personalization and hyper connectivity - ensuring our product is delivered across multiple devices and embedded in platforms and apps that someone interacts with daily, or habitually.
How would you explain your global scale and what projections you have for the next two years?
As I mentioned, we have a global outlook, but local approach. To allow us to react at speed and deliver a world class product to travellers, we have implemented a ‘squads’ model – where each country team is essentially its own start up. The model allows for our global product to be tailored to individual markets or product strands, approaching from a local stance, using local knowledge. We are already seeing positive results, and I foresee that we will continue to reap many benefits from this including greater speed, greater ability to react to change, and real efficiencies as we work in this manner. For the consumer, this translates to being able to deliver relevant and market-specific product enhancements and features, as well as
relevant and targeted marketing that he or she can identify with.
Has India become a strategically important market for you given the growing internet penetration and a GDP growth trajectory which is much better than most of the other promising pockets in the world?
Yes. India has the potential to be one of the world’s largest markets in terms of domestic and outbound tourism. Consider as well that India has over 300 million millennials who will be entering their prime earning years over the coming decade and in general they love to travel. This points to a sizeable opportunity. Smartphone penetration will also be a critical driver of growth in travel; low priced smartphones and 2G/3G/4G networks, enabling internet access anytime and anywhere, has contributed to the boom of travel industry. Becoming embedded in this ecosystem with the right partners – be they airlines, new travel providers, publishers, handset companies – is key for us.
How would you explain your India strategy and what are the near run milestones you have set for this market?
We will continue to leverage our strengths in the near term. These include our industry leading global flights coverage and our award winning mobile apps. India being the second largest smartphone market in the world, together with an increasing number of Indians choosing to travel overseas, these two strengths in particular are extremely relevant for the Indian traveller. As well as leveraging our global strengths, we will continue to focus on enhancing the local product, as well as drive marketing and partnership programmes that is tailored and customised to the local market. We already have a team dedicated to India who have developed and forged marketing partnerships around prominent events such as IPL and Sunburn Goa 2015, exposing Skyscanner to our target audiences. We also believe that our Skyscanner for business products will be a significant component of our India strategy given the number of startups and established companies who have a large footprint here. With our API and whitelabel, local companies can leverage our amazing technology and content to build their own solution from the ground up or supplement their existing product by adding flight, hotel and car hire functionality to it.
Presenting Unique Segments at BITB 2016
online travel B2B and Conference
Technology is fast catching up, online is going to occupy even more rights in the distribution business. These come together and share their products and services. We also provide a learning curve for destination marketing, and the value of research. Our conference platform is created by a leading global player – come and share their findings, learn the trends in the game. Who will Exhibit: Online players from India and abroad, GDS, market aggregators, specialised sites for niche tourism.
Photo courtesy: www.reconanceco.com
ITB Comes to India. The best of ‘Glocal’ is here!
Whom will you Meet: Fraternity members, your clients across sectors such as airlines, hotels, brick and mortar agents, governments in India and overseas.
Just exhibit, or also explore partnerships, exclusive to Online + Technology Showcase for that extra bit more!
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aloke bajpai, Ixigo
Ixigo will get profitable this year, says Aloke Bajpai India’s first home-grown travel meta-search Ixigo had started its journey way back in 2007 when the major OTAs in the country were getting into a dominant position in online booking. According to Aloke Bajpai, CEO & Co-Founder of Ixigo, the market was not too receptive to a meta-search platform then and convincing the prominent stakeholders was quite an exercise. But with MakeMyTrip and Micromax funding support in the later years, Ixigo is now on a sound wicket and is set to move into the profitability zone this year. Excerpts of an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the recently held Phocuswright conference.
By Ritwik Sinha Your major calling card is that you are India’s first meta-search engine in the travel space. Before I come to specific questions, please briefly take me through to your journey so far.
The background of me and the other co-founder is that we both worked for Amadeus for four-five years after graduating from IIT. We had also travelled extensively during our formative professional years in Europe and other parts of the world and we realised that some of the new sites like Skyscanner and Kayak are more useful because they helped to find best deals and you don’t need to do the search over and over again. As a consumer, we were completely sold on to the concept of meta as a better model for travel products booking. Even on the supply side after working for a GDS, we realised
that GDS technology will probably get disrupted someday because it relies on these high-capex items and charging a rent for every transaction. So our thesis was if you could build something which both supplier and user will find more useful, it will work. And that is why we started building India’s first travel metasearch engine called Ixigo in 2007. We had put in our own money and then in 2008 we had raised a small seed round from a Singapore based investor. And then a downturn came but we survived through that. The good thing about meta-search is that once the consumers come to know about it and realise the kind of money and time it saves, he is very likely to tell others about it. So most of our growth started coming organically. In our early days around 2007, when the internet subscribers base was not more than 30 million, within six months of our launch we had started receiving a traffic of 1,00,000
B IT Introducing B T the Online Travel A EL pavilion at BITB V A
The Indian travel business is a leading flag-bearer of India’s TR great e-tailing story thriving on the basis of new business E verticals – from airlines to railways to holiday packages and N now to hotels. The emergence of mobile as the most preferred LI tool to book online is slated to become the grand story in the travel and tourism segment with over 600 million smart ON
users. Post the seed round, we started getting more stakeholders on board – independent hotels, buses, hotel aggregators including the OTAs, etc. For buses, we had tied up with RedBus. For railways, we realised that the opportunity was not on the booking side but on the information side like PNR prediction. We started aggregating those sorts of data. We had launched our railways app in 2013 and we have seven million downloads now. Our thesis in every vertical is to look at the market equation from consumers’ standpoint and offer solutions to do away with his pain points in terms of information discovery as well as planning and booking without becoming merchant of records ourselves.
I have a specific question here. Firstly, when you had started in 2007, what was the buzz around meta-search engines globally which was in an evolving stage. And secondly, given the market conditions then, I am assuming that you must have toyed with the idea of becoming an OTA first.
TB I B T A L E AV
B2B and Conference: Technology is fast catching up, online is going to occupy even more rights in the distribution business. Meet with a host of vendors, who can improve your visibility across markets, provide that extra outreach. Online players from India and abroad, GDS, market aggregators, OTAs, meta search platforms and specialised sites for niche tourism. We also provide a learning curve for destination marketing, and the value of research. Technology is riding the next wave of business. On the B2B level, our conference platform is created by a leading global player – come and share their findings, learn the trends in the game.
TR E IN L ON
phone users in the country by 2020. Simply put, Indian travel and tourism business is changing big time with technology being that great catalyst. It is to capture the essence of this great transformation that BITB will feature a major focus on the IT vertical in travel and tourism. A ‘vibrant show within a grand show’, BITB’s IT focus will also include micro level conferencing conducted by a leading IT consulting organisation.
3–6 october, 2016 new delhi For more information connect@bitb.org
d an r e a sivaza u l c b t inrism s o m tou e About the y th rar Organizers g Cross Section o n is over 40 ti p yearsMedia in the business, en tem having a number of firsts s e n in India’s history. It was the Pr co first mover in B2B trade shows
in tourism in India, way back in 1994. Our partnerships endured over the years we ran the event – all these enabled us to host over 4,500 international tour operators from over 50 countries during our 18-year tenure! In 2011, the last year when we exited this event, we were steadfastly tourism focused, growing 25% year on year, presenting 30 countries from around the world, 23 Indian states and some 650 sellers organizations. We have been the first movers in trade journalism, with magazine titles such as destination India, Travel Trends Today, Go Now and presently, Tourism First. We have run successful industry seminars and have been awarded by both industry associations as well as the Government of India.
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We were very clear from day one on the meta model. May be we were ahead of our times. We were very certain that OTA model will get disrupted for certain kinds of consumers as well as suppliers who will not like to incentivise those channels more than their own direct channels. We were fairly convinced that there is room for meta though the market was not ready then. Consumers always confused it with OTA model because they were the ones spending a lot of money in buzz creation on television, print, etc. And on the suppliers side, it was a bigger challenge because they did not know how to work with meta. You need to have a system in place to understand how tracking of my customer will happen on your website and how will you attribute those bookings to me and then accordingly compensate. Just to cite an example, some of the airlines whom
we approached in our early days advised us to rather function as an OTA platform. In their reckoning, that model was simpler. But we persisted and engaged the CEOs and VPs of these airlines and explained the logic that if you are going to create an OTA dominated market, it is not in your interest if you want your own direct channel to also become big and prominent. Our argument was: you can rely on OTAs but to a certain extent. You have to push your own direct channel and meta is the route to accomplish that. Meta is a very efficient way to acquire customers. When travellers come to search, we already know their intent. So when we funnel a customer to you, the chances of conversion is very high. Creating this kind of awareness took quite sometime initially. The OTAs, however, looked at our proposition as a threat and nobody was willing to participate with us. This, however, has happened in all markets during the evolution phase of meta engines. There is always some resistance from the established OTAs resulting from a threat perception or even ignorance. Meta-search engines always take more time to find a firm toehold in the market Skyscanner took 15 years to reach where they are today. For Kayak, it took 7-8 years before they were acquired.
And what is the situation now in terms of your association with OTAs here? Now most of the stakeholders have accepted the fact that meta is the mainstream medium. In major markets in the world like the US and UK, meta has a major role to play. There was a statistic recently released by a global agency underlining that in China, 60 percent of the travellers visit a meta search before booking. In UK, it is fast approaching 50 percent and in the US, it is close to 35-40 percent.
Let me ask you this: how many prominent OTAs in India are now working with you? Today, almost everybody is working with us. There are cases though where some of them are aligned with us with specific products and not with their entire inventory across the board.
How would you explain the present scale of your business? And secondly what is the outlook you have for your business in the next two years?
In the last one year, we have got into new verticals like cabs and packages. The ground transportation market is very big and there are too many players and here meta makes a perfect sense. We have also added a new marketplace on packaging where tour operators can tap into the same intent leads that we are getting on meta platforms and try to offer better packages. In terms of downloads, we have exceeded 10 million downloads of our apps. In terms of monthly active users, we are doing more than five and a half million today which is a phenomenal scale considering the fact that we have not spent any money in traditional advertising. If you would look at our total advertising spent in a cumulative sense since our inception, most of the OTAs spend that in a quarter. It is an astounding difference of how much we have grown on the word of mouth basis. We mostly indulge in video and content marketing. As a company, we have reached the inflection point in the last 12 months largely because of mobile. Our focus on mobile started much before the OTAs got aggressive on it. We launched our mobile app in
2013. In terms of monthly actives, there was a monthly report by WhichApp, an agency that channelizes the apps which are retained by the users. In the travel category, we got number three rank after IRCTC and MakeMyTrip. So we are far ahead of many mid-sized OTAs in terms of retention of app on the users mobile phone.
Can I get a sense of actual transaction happening on your site or your app?
Every month, we are doing close to 2,00,000 transaction across various product categories put together. And best part is the growth rate, in the last one year we have grown by 3x ratio. If we sustain this growth rate, our metrics will start looking like number two or three OTA in the country within a year or two. Today, we power 2 percent of all transactions happening in domestic flights. If we take it up to five percent, we will become comparable to leading OTAs in the country.
You said you have avoided doing big-bang buzz creation in the past. But now that you have reached an inflection point, doesn’t it become an imperative? We will do it. We haven’t done in the past because we decided to indulge in it after we become profitable. As a company, we do not believe in burning a lot of money on publicity. Our thinking is to go down the profitability path before the end of this fiscal and then use the money for creating more awareness.
Are you looking for any fresh round of funding? We will have probably another round materialising this year.
How many rounds have happened so far?
There have been three rounds. The seed round which had happened in 2008 and then MakeMyTrip and SAIF partners invested in 2011. Last year, Micromax had invested money and now they are pushing us proactively in all their devices as a native service for travel. Not just as an installed app but they have created a service around it which you can swipe across their phones and look for hotels, cabs, flights, etc. in one click.
So on a cumulative basis, how much of money you have generated so far? Except for the MakeMyTrip round, where it was an obligation to announce the amount because they are enlisted on Nasdaq, in none of the other rounds we have shared the details of the fund size. As a philosophy, we don’t like to talk about those numbers.
But you are saying you will get profitable by the end of this year?
Absolutely. There is no doubt about it, may be by October.
Across different product categories, how does your inventory look like today?
If we include everything, then we have over 30,000 hotels (including 10 hotel OTAs and aggregators) and 50 airlines as well 20 OTAs partnering with us on the flight side. On the bus side, we have three booking sites as our partners. On the cab side, we have four-five major players in our loop. But we also have a marketplace where we have tonnes of taxi vendors who can do inter-city, full day hire, sight seeing hire, etc.
So you have space for an OTA and individual vendors too. Yes. And that is the beauty and strength of a meta-engine.
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Empowering hosts is key strategy to promote homestays, says Yogendra Vasupal In the nascent sphere of alternative accommodation in the country, Chennaiheadquartered Stayzilla has gradually evolved as a possible major flag bearer of the segment in the future. In a recent exclusive conversation with TourismFirst on the sidelines of PhocusWright conference, Yogendra Vasupal, CEO, Stayzilla strongly emphasised that promoting homestays in India entails bringing in the quintessential localised approach. The online platform is aiming at a phenomenal growth in its inventory base in the next two years. By Ritwik Sinha
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n the travel marketplace, Yogendra Vasupal, the CEO and Founder of Stayzilla is believed to be yet another representative of that young, tech driven breed which is keen to write its own rules. Even as Stayzilla has a larger portfolio comprising products across various categories, its focus on homestays has broadly caught the attention of the market observers calling it the real differentiator which the company is offering to travellers. Many market observers even call Stayzilla as the blind aping of global alternative accommodation major Airbnb model. You mention it to Yogendra Vasupal but it does not vex him a bit. Instead, the soft spoken head of Stayzilla presented his own logic. “It is not right to say that we are taking Airbnb approach though like them we are trying to get homestays in the country on the online stream. But every market has its own peculiarities and in India the supply side (possible hosts of the homestays) just don’t open up quite readily,” Vasupal emphasised. The company which presently has around 8000 homestay units in its
If you want more units to open up, you need to offer the hosts some control over the kind of guests they would prefer to have in their units. This is a critical point and our solution is built around this prime consideration
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portfolio unlocking nearly 25,000 rooms in the market across the country for alternative accommodation claims to be adding up scale on the basis of its localised strategy as different from a plain, vanilla approach. “If you want more units to open up, you need to offer the hosts some control over the kind of guests they would prefer to have in their units. This is a critical point and our solution is built around this prime consideration,” added Vasupal. The details provided by Stayzilla CEO further amplified their operational module which has a strong constituent of the localised approach. To begin with, Stayzila is ready to welcome anyone on its member list across the country if
this exercise is to judge whether the unit can host a family. Our team analyses that and if we don’t feel comfortable, we don’t accept the property. On the overall basis, we have 50 points check list on the basis of which we classify properties,” he added. The five -year-old ‘stays’ marketplace also caters other products like hotels, lodges and guest houses but according to Vasupal, developing homestays as the core of its business has been the basic premise since day one. And the results in the recent months have convinced the promotYogendra Vasupal er that its idea of converting CEO, Stayzilla homes into hotel units have begun finding buyers in It is not right to say that we are taking Airbnb approach though like them large numbers. “Today, we we are trying to get homestays in the are adding around 150 units country on the online stream. But every every week in our invenmarket has its own peculiarities and in tory. In the last six months, India the supply side (possible hosts of our growth has been rapid. the homestays) just don’t open up Prior to that, alternative quite readily. accommodation used to account for 6 percent of our business and now it is close to 30-40 percent. You he has some spare rooms which will be surprised to know can be used to host the visitors. that in a place like Kargil, we have But its critical offering is allowing ten units. We are inching close to the hosts to choose the kind of accomplish our basic objective – to guests they would be comfortable make homestays the core of our with. “The beauty of our model is business,” he elaborated. that you can choose your guests. A major theory doing the rounds On our platform, you can tell us in the marketplace, however, is what type of guests you are willing that despite its claim of being a to host – it could be families, busipan-Indian operator present in over ness travellers, etc. There are other 4000 towns, its stronghold is South criterion too – you can say I want Indian states. Vasupal, on his part, guests who are only vegetarians or strongly refuted this assumption. those who speak in some specific “We have spread across India as languages. You can even specify our ambition since day one has the profession of guests you would been to emerge as a pan-Indian like to host in your units. Once we operator. There is no stronghold know the preference of hosts, we regional pocket for us. Yes, we do send them the matching enquirhave a sizeable number of units in ies,” explained Vasupal. Kerala but this is primarily because That is the key strategy on the state is quite open to homestays the supply side. An equally concept, But we have opened up important issue is the selection across the country – whether its of units which can afford to north-east, west or north. We are deliver reasonable quality to their also focusing on the prominent guests. And according to Vasutourism destinations in places pal, Stayzilla has a definitive set like Rajasthan where you will find of parameters which are used to many Stayzilla homestays options judge a property before they are in cities like Jaipur, Udaipur, etc,” placed on its online stream. “For he responded. selecting a property, we have our Meanwhile, having seen a rapid own liveability index. The physical growth in the past six months, the verification by our team is a must online stays marketplace is now and the primary consideration of convinced that a decisive mo-
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Homestays is in the DNA of Indian Hospitality
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hese could well be the early hours for the homestays segment in the country. But there certainly are promising signs suggesting that the segment has the potential to snowball into a formidable entity ultimately adding a humongous volume of rooms which could be added to the peripheral hospitality vertical. The amazing success notched by Airbnb globally is a strong case in the point clearly establishing the fact that the market is ready for this mode of alternative accommodation. And according to Indian market observers, such a product has a better propensity to succeed given the price sensitive demand of Indian consumers. For the possible success of homestays in a large middle-class dominated market like India, Stayzilla CEO Yogendra Vasupal presented a different take. According to his version, he was often scoffed at for trying to promote homestays in the initial phase on the ground that India has too many diverse cultures and home owners will not like to allow guests even on a temporary basis. “But I never believed in that,” he said adding that homestays as a viable accommodation option for travellers is rooted in the very DNA of Indian hospitality. “Hotels came to India only about 200 years back. Before that people were travelling and they were staying in homes of the residents of the places they visited. India historically has been a homestay country since times immemorial. Today we have been able to crack the supply side and on the demand side, we are noticing a decent shift in favour of consuming homestays as against the hotels. In the next five years, it can grow very big,” he emphasised. Other stakeholders in the market too are enthused that this segment has a very promising future in India. According to a recently unveiled report, there are five states in the country where homestays vertical has registered rapid growth in the recent years. The five states are: Kerala, Karnataka, Maharastra, Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh. The growth in homestays units in these states has been to the tune of 20-25 percent on an annualised basis and in the next five years, the country is expected to boast of at least 100,000 homestay units.
mentum has begun in favour of its homestays offerings and is looking for a significant expansion in its portfolio. “We are looking at opening 200,000 hosts in the next two years. That would bring in 300,000400,000 rooms in the market. There are many units, where hosts offer two rooms on an average and that shoots up the actual room inventory. It is quite achievable,” said Vasupal. Early this year, the marketplace was abuzz with the rumours that Stayzilla is facing hurdles in raising a fresh round of funding to
Networking @Phocuswright
pursue its future growth plans. The company has received sizeable funding in the past from investing firms like Matrix Partners, Nexus Venture Partners and Indian Angel Network. Vasupal, however, whisked aside the proposition of any financial worries in the near run. “We have raised another round of funding and we have enough money which will take care of our next 18 months of operations. The latest round has come from a VC,” he informed though he did not disclose the precise ticket size of the latest round a funding.
21 industry respond to this new breed of traveler?
ankur bhatia, Amadeus India
In today’s day and age, technology has continued to evolve and transformed the way consumers talk about, search for, book and experience travel. It has also ensured that there is more choice than ever for customers when it comes to travel. Though many feel that in times to come data will be by far the most important resource available to a travel stakeholder: giving them the competitive advantage. However, we feel that the industry will move beyond collecting data to actually creating real value from the data. This will allow the travel industry to have a deeper understanding of their customers and enable automation of many manual-processes as well as pre-empting customer demands. Given this insight Amadeus is constantly developing newer technology for the travel industry so that they can offer the information and tailored services to travellers resulting in greater traveller satisfaction.
Todays’ traveller is tech savvy, hyper-connected whose demand for hyper-customisation has turned into a default expectation. The traveller today has more power than ever before. They are increasingly complex, empowered, and no longer want to be stereotyped into demographic groups of age, nationality and income. A recent research by Frost and Sullivan indicates that tomorrow’s travellers seek to create their own unique experiences by tapping into inspiration from other travellers and sharing their own personal plans. The increased role of social media in travel decisions, combined with the explosion of OTAs in recent years, means travel industry needs to utilise personalisation to keep in touch with their existing customers and engage new ones. Personalisation allows the travel industry to offer customers a unique and exclusive product. Technology is playing an important role to help the industry respond to the newly evolved traveler by allowing retailers in the industry to capture relevant information and create personalised, inspiring offers leading to conversions and drive loyalty. To keep up with these evolving demands, Amadeus India introduced the Indian travel industry to the latest and most technically advanced automated products available in international market. These products have been well received by global network airlines, low cost carriers, multinational travel agencies as well as independent hotels to streamline and enhance the value of business processes and deliver a decisive competitive advantage.
How has the traveller evolved with all the recent times and how do you suggest the
How can business use technology to ensure that experiences match expense?
In travel industry, disruption is the new normal According to Ankur Bhatia, Director, Amadeus India, striking the right balance between technological changes and personalised services to the travellers is the main challenge for the stakeholders in the business.
By Ritwik Sinha As an industry leader please share your thoughts on the industry’s ecosystem, its growth and key factors fueling its development?
Travel has been one of the key growth sectors for the Indian economy which has proven its resilience amidst economic challenges. The industry continues to be one of the most dynamic industries that offers a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products - cruises, adventure, medical, wellness, sports, MICE, eco-tourism, film, rural and religious tourism. It is also a potentially large employment generator besides being a significant source of foreign exchange for the country. According to the Ministry of Tourism, in 2015 the industry saw a phenomenal
growth of 1073.8% in tourist arrival facilitated by the introduction of the E-visa scheme to 113 countries. Disruption in the travel industry is the new normal with the evolution of personalization as virtual reality and artificial intelligence is gaining steam. Technology is leapfrogging itself daily with proliferation of digital tools such as smart phones is making information more accessible, transactions more seamless, and processes more interactive. It has become imperative for the travel industry today to tap into technological innovations to engage with the hyper-connected traveller to maximize operational and commercial performance. With our vision of personalisation in the global travel ecosystem, today, Amadeus is working together with every part of the travel industry – from airlines to travel agents (both
online and offline), hotels, rail companies and airports – with a clear aim to use smart travel intelligence to enable them better connect with the customer across the entire endto-end travel experience.
How has the travel industry evolved so far itself to offer more personalised and contextualised service and how personalization will benefit the business?
While technology has evolved and transformed the way consumers talk about, search for, book and experience travel however, the lack of geographical boundaries has also created a risk of losing sight of what retailing is all about. Moreover, traffic acquisition has become front and centre for many online and mobile retailers thus moving the focus away from creating loyalty and unique experiences for travellers. We believe that delivering a unique and professional service to the traveller has always been fundamental to the success of any travel business. And that is truer in today’s world than ever before where the traveller is better informed, better connected, has more experience and no shortage of choice. Finding the right balance of technology and customer intimacy through personalisation and tailored services to travellers will certainly result in greater traveller satisfaction. Given this Amadeus is constantly developing newer technology to help the travel industry carve out a niche and deliver real value through deep knowledge of that field and a unique proposition through tailored services thereby resulting in better conversions and sustained loyalty. This is one area where we feel that technology steps in, allowing retailers to inspire the right people, create personalised offers that are centred squarely on the traveller and convert traffic into a loyal customer base, regardless of channel. Today, Amadeus is working together with every part of the travel industry – from airlines to travel agents (both online and offline), hotels, rail companies and airports - to enable them to become ‘Power Retailers’, better connected with the customer across the entire end-to-end travel experience.
Adopting automation and refining products are vital to succeed: Neelu Singh, Ezeego1.com By Shashank Shekhar
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eelu Singh, Director & CEO, Ezeego1.com was of the opinion that India was consolidating its position as the global hub for IT and BPM services – enabling digital transformation. “E-commerce is driving rapid growth of domestic IT-BPM services attracting unprecedented levels of global interest and funding,” she said. Noting that the government’s focus on programs like ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ were going to enable a rapid growth of the sector, she added that the current trend in Indian IT outsourcing was to adapt new age computing technologies like cloud computing and SOA etc.“A growing number of Indian IT companies are adopting services in the Cloud as a part of their wider product range. NASSCOM, research ‘Deconstructing the “CLOUD” says that the cloud computing market in India could reach US $16 billion by 2020. Among the three major cloudcomputing models, major Indian IT players are adopting software as a service (SaaS), and platform as a service (PaaS), when compared to infrastructure as a service (IaaS),” she detailed. She further noted that cloud computing was also poised to bring new capabilities and business opportunities for Indian IT companies in the domestic as well as international markets. “Virtualization solutions are being adapted by Indian IT organizations, thereby
saving space and leading to server consolidation,” Neelu Singh added. Sharing her understanding of trends across Asia Pacific, she shared that there was a similarity in development. To her understanding, another important trend was the increasing focus by different countries on innovation – areas of mobile applications, online marketing, digital transformation, social media and digital convergence. “In some areas, Asia Pacific countries are trend setters. While the global trend is more or less the same, it is the scale that differentiates APAC countries from other western countries. In fact, most of the Western countries outsource their IT solutions to a few APAC countries for the sheer quality, knowledge and the scale of operations which these APAC countries specialize in and India is one such country,” she stressed. Crediting the Indian government and NASSCOM for playing a key role in retaining India’s brand on the global Information technology map, she said that the central and state governments were contributing in offering a sound infrastructure and nurturing technically apt resources. “Indian IT service providers continue to move up the value-chain to offer higher end research and analytics services
available for travel domain in the market only catered to the specific business functions and there wasn’t any readily available enterprise solution that catered to the all the business verticals of a travel company – which was a major challenge. She further said that standardization was one of the key challenges for the travel and tourism industry. According to her, apart from airlines, there was no standardization available as of now; while there were efforts made in that direction, India was far away from it. “Also, a lot of it is dependent on statutory requirement and compliance which makes complete automation without Neelu Singh human intervention difficult to Director & CEO, achieve,” she added. Ezeego1.com Neelu Singh noted that what compounded the comIt is imperative for companies plexity further, technology to quickly adopt automation companies found it difficult to and product refinement integrate their ecosystem with through personalization external suppliers due to lack and keep innovating in a of technical standards that continuous improvement mode, It must be ensured that were not regulated. There was also a profound the time needed to service a change in the consumer client is quick and flawless. behavior which was driven by constant infusion of technology, helping them take smarter decisions. “Therefore, it is imto their clients. As the quality and perative for companies to quickly quantity of work keep increasing, adopt automation and product India’s brand equity in the IT space refinement through personalization will keep enhancing,” she said. and keep innovating in a continuous Moving forward, she believed improvement mode,” she shared the that technology solutions that were
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way forward for companies. Highlighting the need for infusion of elements like data convergence, reputation management, mobile commerce, digital transformation and automation, she believed that challenges were aplenty. “It must be ensured that the time needed to service a client is quick, flawless and supported by multiple channels. Clients, today, have multiple options and a slight delay will make one lose the client forever. Other key challenges are keeping the cost of operations low, achieving high conversion ratio and still improve the quality of service,” she said. “How best companies adopt these and ensure that the clients are serviced with minimum turnaround time will determine the survival of the fittest,” Neelu Singh added. Giving a peek into her company’s strategy, she said “We see opportunities in global distribution of our platform and content and that is the focus and thrust of Ezeego1 for the next 2 years." Driven by this, Ezeego1.com also plans to foray into new markets to expand their reach. “Mobile applications for client engagement apart from bookings, digital marketing solutions and data convergence are the key areas where we are focusing on,” she further detailed. She concluded by stating that customer retention and faster response times were areas of thrust for them, and they aimed to achieve it through automation.
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Travel can’t be non-core business of new online players, last minute booking needs more focus; says Deep Kalra The concluding session of PhocusWright Conference featured MakeMyTrip founder Deep Kalra – arguably the most credible face of Indian travel tech business. And in his candid interaction, Kalra touched upon a myriad of pertinent issues including the growing competition and the new verticals which need further harnessing. By ritwik sinha
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he recently held PhocusWright inaugural conference in India (held at The Leela, Gurgaon) probably could not have hoped for a better climax. After a series of power-packed presentations by senior luminaries of travel tech vertical (including representatives of companies like Facebook and Airbnb) on the concluding day of the event, the last session was reserved for India’s biggest mascot of travel technology – Deep Kalra, founder of MakeMyTrip. Having taken a shot in the dark at the turn of the century, Kalra today unquestionably holds the position of a pioneer who saw it happening much before anybody else. In fact, there are many observers in the marketplace who credit him for not only kickstarting online travel booking trends in the market but also being in the forefront of ushering the e-commerce business in the country which has assumed a gigantic shape now, graduating from travel to general merchandise. What makes MakeMyTrip story extraordinary is its positioning both as cause and effect factors of the online booking boom in India – it has been a catalyst and a leading beneficiary too. So when Kalra alongwith the Co-Founder and CEO of MakeMyTrip Rajesh Magow took the centerstage in the concluding session, a strong audience of over 200 present listened to him in rapt attention. With MakeMyTrip’s journey synonymous with the growth of the online travel booking business in the country. Kalra firstly recounted the story of his company’s initial bout of struggle. The launch of MakeMyTrip had coincided with unfortunate incidents like the 9/11 terror attacks, the collapse of the dot-com business and the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) which had severely impacted the global travel business. Initially, the company was catering to the Indian-US travel market but given a negative business environment, the required funding was not readily available. And it had taken about five years for the company to kickstart its Indian operations. “Our initial business plan was to start it from India. But that is something we could do only in 2005. Apart from other issues, the non-alignment of Indian consumers with online buying mode was a key reason to delay our launch in India,” Kalra recalled. “After starting this business, we realized that we are ahead of our times. To tell you the truth, our business between 20002005 was tiny. But we somehow hung around because we had the conviction that it will ultimately work. We had realised in the early stages that to expand our wings, we need to do more elaborative market research. And this became a guiding principle for us,” Rajesh Magow added. But the phenomenal internet penetration which the Indian market has seen post-2005 added
wings to MakeMyTrip’s growth story. The resulting change in consumer behavioral pattern where online booking began picking up momentum in the country further convinced the promoters that their reading of “seeds of the future” was not off the mark. And since then, MakeMyTrip’s spectacular journey has seen several positive twists and turns which is also symptomatic of trends in the market place. “Air business had surprised us with its fast growth pattern. Customers wanted cheap tickets which we provided them online. Packaging market was the next to take off for us. But hotel market took some time to show robust growth pattern. From the perspective of India market, the hotel market took off about two years back and real velocity has become discernible only from the last year. Due to the addition of this new vertical, the business has dramatically changed. In 2010, 85 percent of our revenue was coming from the air business which has now come down to 50 percent,” said Kalra underlining the milestones of India’s biggest OTA achieved over last one decade. The theory that Indian online travel booking space is in the midst of a critical churning dominated major part of Kalra’s address to the PhocusWright conference delegates. “Mobile has become the most secular driver for our business. It has brought in the humongous amount of customers, most of the last minute bookings are happening on mobile. And this platform is only getting better and bigger. From e-commerce, we are heading to m-commerce era at a fast pace,” Kalra pointed out. “Mobile is your indispensable companion available with you on a 24x7 basis. Bandwidth has significantly improved. The entire eco-system which we are noticing today has fundamentally evolved because of mobile,” Rajesh Magow spoke no differently. The founders of MakeMyTrip also focused on some key broader issues. For instance (as per a strong market perception) despite the global boom in the online travel booking business, the pace of consolidation has been low. Responded Rajesh Magow, “I guess, the market players have been waiting for the hotel market to open up. From their standpoint, this logic has a strong validity given the fact that online hotel booking is a high-margin market. Even we are aspiring to convert it into our major vertical. And now that online hotel inventory is growing, the pace of consolidation could also grow.” In terms of micro verticals of the larger travel platform, Kalra also pointed at some nascent domains for the existing and upcoming online players. “I don’t think, anybody is doing much in the last minute booking segment. It’s a great niche area and need to be harnessed by our community,” he advised. Meanwhile, a moot point raised at the session was competition in the online booking space skipping to a new strato-
succeed in the market, new players will need to have travel as the core of their business offerings. “There are so many players trying to enter into the fray. There may be more competition in the market. But they might be getting into a non-core area and we are positioned to match them in every aspect,” Rajesh Magow emphasized. “For any online player, travel just can’t be yet anDeep kalra rajesh magow Chairman & group CEO, makemytrip co-founder & CEO, makemytrip other vertical. This business has its Mobile has become the most secular After starting this business, we realized own complexities,” driver for our business. It has brought in that we are ahead of our times. To tell Kalra added. And the humongous amount of customers, you the truth, our business between amidst the growing most of the last minute bookings are 2000-2005 was tiny. But we somehow competition, which happening on mobile. And this platform hung around because we had the many believe is also is only getting better and bigger. conviction that it will ultimately work. We From e-commerce, we are heading to had realised in the early stages that to a function of deep m-commerce era at a fast pace. expand our wings, we need to do more discounts which elaborative market research. some of the startups are offering, how will the scene pan out? “It is difmore for their online payment soficult to understand sphere with more players jumping lutions) integrating their processes the power of deep discounting the bandwagon. Its not merely to also cater to the travel business. though it opens up the market. But the issue of arrival of new age agThe founders of MakeMyTrip, nobody can keep on doing it pergregators in the business but also however, strongly opined that to manently,” Kalra reasoned. companies like Paytm (known
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2016 could be the year of reckoning on valuation front
he unprecedented growth in the online businesses in the recent times is clearly the major development of the early part of this century. Internet penetration has assumed the shape of a wave which is redrawing a new world bringing things closer to they have ever been in the entire history of mankind. Needless to say, the wave has been pushed by its own set of new warriors (read: internet based companies) who are hell bent to rewrite the rules of businesses. But a serious fault line, as pointed by many economists and market pundits, is the way these companies are expanding their footprint. In order to push their scale to the next stratosphere, they have been indulging in deep discounts in their offerings resulting in emergence of a strong perception that these companies only know to burn their money even as they have no idea when will they actually begin to earn? The trend is agnostic as far as online businesses are concerned covering all spheres of click business that connects millions of consumers. Nevertheless, private funding agencies have been showing no restraint in doling out huge sums to most of them from time to time resulting in the upgrdation of their valuation. But a reality check seems to have started trickling in lately with many lead-
ing online firms across the globe getting a backhanded compliment from the noted financial agencies with their valuations being downgraded. The most glaring example of this recent trend relates to India’s market leader in the online retail space, Flipkart, when three fund houses in the US slashed its valuation by 25 percent. As a ripple effect of this emerging trend, how is the scene expected to pan out in the Indian travel space? Afterall, today it has a host of players who have grown in stature because of the valuation game. This was a moot question posed to Deep Kalra at his session at PhocusWright conference and he answered it quite candidly. Firstly, he expressed his doubts if the private valuation should be taken as the real worth of a company. “If you are enlisted in stock markets, those valuations are considered to be more trust worthy. Same does not hold true in the private space where they can move significantly depending on demand and supply forces in the private equity/VC market,” he underlined. He further emphasised that the valuation correction could get more prominent in the near run and the industry has to keep itself prepared for it. “2016 could well be the year of reckoning on this front,” he said.
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Hostels as an alternative accommodation option has great potential, says Hostelworld Group CEO By Ritwik SInha
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t a time, when the Indian landscape is witnessing a swift unlocking of ignored alternative accommodation assets primarily centred around rooms and homestays, the pipeline may further broaden in a medium run framework with the addition of another class of asset. Hostels as an alternative accommodation asset class has proved its utility in Europe and is gradually spreading its wings to other parts of the world. And in the forefront of this exercise is a Dublin based global online marketplace operating since 1999 which has built quite a position for itself in this ultra-niche segment with an inventory of
We have a very comprehensive ranking and rating system. The unique feature about our review system is that we take it only from those who have actually booked through us and stayed in the unit.
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around 35,000 units spread across 170 countries. “Hostels as an alternative accommodation option has evolved quite significantly in European markets and is particularly accessed by the back packer trav-
ellers. It is spreading in other parts of the world as well. For instance, in Australia it is increasingly becoming prominent. In Asia too, we are noticing rising awareness about this product class,” Feargal Mooney, CEO, Hostelworld Group told TourismFirst in an exclusive conversation on the sidelines of the recently held PhocusWright Conference. In a market like India, the segment is yet to show its first promising signs (a dedicated marketplace called Zostel has come up which is developing a hostel inventory across several cities and is a partner of Hostelworld Group) but according to Mooney the scene will change in the coming years. “There is a misconception about hostels in India. People associate it with students’ residence provisioned by colleges and universities which is not the case. The product has evolved very significantly in the last twenty years in Europe. Earlier, they were operated by non-profit organisations but now most of them are high quality commercial properties. Some of them can compete with regular quality hotels – they offer nice rooms, cafes, restaurants, bars, private rooms and even swimming pools,” Mooney emphasised. According to Mooney, the product class mainly draws from its ability to offer a social setting to young, experience seeking travellers who would like to interact
with guests from other nationalities – something which is usually not possible within the confines of a regular branded hotel. “Our definition of hostel is simple. First and foremost, it must offer a social experience to its guests irrespective of their nationalities. While it may have dormitory section, private rooms and other added features, it must have a large common area where visitors can interact,” he pointed out. And while the social experience become the major calling card of a typical hostel unit, another critical differentiator is the pricing. “In a popular European destination, if a 3-star property costs you $150 and a room in a budget hotel is offered for $100, a dormitory will cost you just $25 in a hostel. Even its premium offering, a well-furnished private room will not cost more than $50$60,” Mooney presented the pricing comparison in these words. Hostelworld Group which is promoting this segment aggressively across the globe searching for new fertile turfs has also empowered its platform with the review and rating functionalities. However, there is a critical difference in its strategy vis-à-vis user generated content. “We have a very comprehensive ranking and rating system. The
other typical review site which does not filter to this extent,” Mooney pointed out. Meanwhile, for Hostelworld Group, Asia is the new turf where they are exploring opportunities for a larger presence. “Asia has become a very important market for us. It is contributing nearly 15 percent of our overall business. Most of our Asian business is outbound linked – young Asian travellers staying with our hostel units in Europe and other continents. South Korea is our largest Asian outbound market ranking seventh in our list of international visitors to our units. The number Feargal Mooney from India too is growing fast CEO, Hostelworld Group though it is currently not in We have a very comprehensive ranking our top ten list,” he said. From and rating system. The unique feature Hostelworld standpoint, the about our review system is that we take increasing exposure of young it only from those who have actually Asian travellers to its offerings booked through us and stayed in the globally is the first decisive unit. Anybody can’t post his remarks. So that way the feedback generated is more link in making this product authentic than any other typical review class popular in the domestic site which does not filter to this extent. markets too. “Once they get exposed to this kind of unit and begin to like its offerings, they would look for options in the nearby destinations too. unique feature about our review system is that we take it only from That makes us enthusiastic that this segment has a good future those who have actually booked in a market like India. We are through us and stayed in the unit. convinced our number will grow Anybody can’t post his remarks. here significantly in a medium So that way the feedback generrun,” he summed up. ated is more authentic than any
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BlaBlaCars hits a million seat shares; travel experience makes it a unique offering
Having registered over a million users on their platform, BlaBlacars has made quite a debut in India. Raghav Gupta, India Country Manager stresses that with a cheaper and safer mode to undertake inter-city and state travel, their service will transform into an alternate means of transportation. An excerpt of an exclusive interaction: By shashank shekhar
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ooking a confirm rail ticket during peak seasons and for last moment travel, despite ongoing improvements to facilitate easier transaction, is a hard task to accomplish. These passengers – who often have to travel motorable distances – seek an alternate medium of transportation which is reasonably priced and safe. Raghav Gupta, India Country Head, BlaBlaCars, to his own admission, intended to tap this massive segment. “There are many instances when you will not get a Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi train ticket while buses are uncomfortable. So, our service can help the consumer reach their destination at lower prices in the comfort of a car,” he said. A seat sharing model meant to tap passengers and car owners looking to chip together a ride, BlaBlaCars is growing in popularity since its debut in India. “We launched in January 2016 in India. Till now, we have had around one million seats offered on our platform,” he said. “This traffic has, primarily, come not only from big cities but also from some small cities. To use this service, one has to become a member of BlaBlaCars, either as a car-owner or a co-traveller, or both,” Raghav added. Explaining how the model of seat-sharing worked, he said “When
a person is moving from one city to another, or to a longer distance from say Gurgaon to Noida, and if I am going to the same place with my car where I have a few unoccupied seats, I can offer those seats to like-minded travellers by becoming a member of BlaBlaCars.” As per the model, the cost of the trip which includes fuel and toll tax etc. is shared with co-passengers. Raghav added that if a member posted a trip from Delhi to Chandigarh on the website, the person intending to travel could find the driver’s profile; where was he getting picked up from, and at what time. “Minute details like the car make and model, music and smoking preference, and maximum size of luggage allowed by the owner are explicitly mentioned. Therefore, the process is very detailed,” he explained. Noting that the co-passenger or the driver, essentially, would have two questions in their minds which were whether it was safe and would lead to a pleasant experience, he said “to address security concerns, we undertake KYC (know your customer) to verify the details submitted by him. We ask them to connect their Facebook account to BlaBlaCars; we verify e-mail, mobile number, and a government issued identity card. We ask members to add a picture; so there is a bunch of KYC processes put in place.”
in a couple of years, we may be He added that they also able to surpass those numbers. received a lot of details Therefore, we are already carryfrom members wherein they ing a large number of people,” he described themselves; their justified his assertion. jobs and other details. “There Sharing that the service is a rating system wherein the was available for free for now, driver and co-passengers rate he revealed that the company each other on the basis of difwas going to levy a small usage ferent parameters, and this is charge in the near future. “In useful for future seat seekers. the future when a lot more So, this is how trust and safety people know about it, we will works, and this is how one start charging a small usage million seats have been shared fee – which will be levied each in India since our inception,” he time a trip is undertaken. We elaborated. may roll this out later this year Having made a promising or early next year; we will see debut in India, the company how the market understands is headquartered out of Paris, and uses the service,” he said. and operates, presently, in Adding that the company twenty-two countries globally. charged a service usage fee “We have some investors; the raghav gupta in seven out of the twenty-two company has raised three India country head, BlaBlaCars countries they operated in, he hundred million dollars from said “In France, for instance, different investors from Europe There is a rating system wherein the we provide road side assistance and the USA which is funding driver and co-passengers rate each other on the basis of different parameters, and in case of a car breakdown. A our global expansion. We have this is useful for future seat seekers. So, mechanic or a tow truck would launched our service in India, this is how trust and safety works, and assist stranded passengers Russia, Turkey, Mexico and this is how one million seats have been at no additional cost. So, we Brazil in the last one and a half shared in India since our inception. do add more value when we years,” he informed. charge a usage fee.” Since its inception, the He called the BlaBlaCars company has a database of a unique way of meeting new twenty-five million members people. “I know a young colthe global aviation major – Delta internationally. “Globally, over lege student who uses travelling to Airlines – transported around 130 forty million people travelled by connect with senior executives to million passengers last year. “When BlaBlaCars last year. To keep things grab a good summer internship. So, we compare ourselves to the figure, in perspective, our focus is to go the it the overall experience of meeting we are growing at a rate of around long distance in India,” Raghav said. new people and striking a converone hundred percent each year. Comparing BlaBlaCars to a mode of sation,” he shared. Going by our current rate of growth, transportation, he pointed out that
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sharat dhall, President, Yatra.com
Domestic travel to muscle up OTAs; Yatra.com will boost alternate stay options In a no-holdsbarred exclusive interview, Sharat Dhall, President, Yatra.com opened up on several issues ranging from Yatra’s way forward to how new-breed aggregators were changing the rule of the game. Excerpts of the interview:
By shashank shekhar How are the first movers in the online space coping up with the barrage of online players? Some international aggregators have also stepped in. How do you go forward from here on?
The travel space has always been very competitive. Let me first discuss the foreign OTAs and companies coming into India part. There have been around for some time now. Expedia has had business here for the past 8-9 years. Fortunately, home grown OTAs have been able to keep these foreign players at bay; they have not been able to make a mark, at least domestically. But, it is a very competitive space and a lot of new players are coming in, therefore the market dynamics keeps changing. As a company, our culture and ethos is to think like a startup. We have to make sure that we are nimble and fast enough to act. There have been a number of instances where we have had to quickly adapt to the market, and we responded.
Can you take us through some instances?
Sure. Look at what happened in the budget hotel aggregator segment. We realized that it was a part of the market we should have entered earlier. We reworked our strategy and came up with TG rooms and stays, addressing budget as well as alternate accommodation segment of the market. It was a move that definitely enabled us to stave off some of the emerging competitors in the segment. So, if we see that a new technology or space helps to connect with audiences better, we are quick to adapt to that change. I guess the advantage of having a large brand with a substantial consumer franchise and loyalists is that we can quickly scale up when we come up with an offering, unlike some others who may struggle. It is an advantage of being in the market for a long time and having built out the brand over a period of time. But, new companies do keep us on our toes.
But some key elements like hygiene and security are yet to be fully addressed by some of the best performing hotel aggregators. How do you manage these issues?
There is a certain standard operational procedure. We make sure that each of these home-stays is visited by the team on the ground.
Only if the quality of the photograph, field report, data analysis and written content matches our standards, the concerned management gives it a go-ahead. There is a responsibility of honoring the traveller’s trust on us and our brand.
As a platform that sells a variety of products, and given that Yatra’s per consumer transaction is significantly more than a hotel aggregator, how do you operate in the scale business?
Every consumer is valuable to us. Irrespective of the segment of service our consumers use, we try and make sure that we have the processes in place to handle consumer needs, and the quality of offerings delivered is up to the standard of what people expect from Yatra.com. But, we will not get into the space with half-baked products. We remain vigilant about how we scale up. For instance, in case of TG rooms and stays, we are currently partnering with one thousand home-stays. Therefore, we believe that instead of scaling, the focus should be on creating the right quality of content and quality of experience. We are simply not in the game of going out and raising money every six months. We have been there for almost a decade and do not want to get a bad name by launching a half-baked product.
How do you see the online market? How is it shaping up?
Be it the airline ticket market or the hotel booking market, there is huge headroom for growth. As per DGCA figures, there has been a twenty five percent growth in passenger numbers in the first quarter which is a phenomenal indicator. Our own domestic flight numbers are growing at around thirty-five percent. So, there are large pockets of opportunity that exist. The holiday package business is a hugely fragmented business. The market share of organised players are very limited.
So, what is the percentage of organized players?
Even if you put together all the organized players, it would come in the ten to fifteen percent range. Therefore, the opportunity for growth is tremendous.
You operate three or four verticals. Which one of them is most profitable for you?
Flight business is definitely the largest segment for us. It generates the most revenue for us. But, there is
great opportunity in holiday package and hotels segment as well. We are pursuing them aggressively through investments. All the data suggests that these markets are going to grow in the coming decade. We are not worried about market segmentation, because India is a huge market. We are more worried about how we execute on these opportunities properly. Also, from technology perspective, building and automating processes and scaling up without having to add those many numbers of people will remain a critical challenge. Essentially, it all boils down to providing excellent consumer interface, no matter what the platform is. Fundamentally, when a customer comes back to us is when all those numbers and piechats start looking good. The cost of acquisition is high, so you need to provide a good experience so that he comes back to you.
How much can a company focus on consumer interface? Most of these OTA websites are well-designed and functional. How do you keep innovating?
Improvements are continuously happening in different segments of OTA space which keep us adapting and improving the interface. For example, we have a beta-feature on the flights product which is used, still, by a very few people – though it is a part of our website’s homepage. It is a feature using which – rather than typing all the mundane details like from and to – you can just key in keywords like: an early morning flight from Mumbai to Delhi for next Tuesday. It delivers you search results. It is a pretty new feature. But as operators, we have to be thinking about these things. Facebook recently announced that it will allow companies to use chatbots in their messenger service. Now that is something we will immediately have to start looking at, because the kind of scale it can provide, it is important that we get in there quickly.
Recent reports from reputed firms like HVS and STR peg the next cycle of growth coming from domestic travel segment. How are you working on tapping it? We are very clearly focused on the Indian traveller, irrespective of whether he is travelling domestically or internationally. It has been the ethos of our brand. We are extremely strong in terms of our presence, not only in top markets
but also, in secondary and tertiary markets. I completely agree that domestic segment will continue to be tourism’s backbone for the foreseeable future. There are two core components to how we look at it – holiday packages and hotel bookings signed up on our platform. By having over fifty-five thousand hotels on our platform, we are by far the largest number that OTA in India has which comes from over 1,300 countries. So, we have a hotel in, virtually, every corner of India. We are building up inventory in the alternate accommodation space by roping in bungalows, farm-houses and others. We really want to go after the accommodation space.
Is it not venturing into the space of online aggregators like AirBnB?
Understanding the Indian market better than foreign players, we are confident that we will be able to do a better job for Indians. We realize that by adding a few features we would provide Indian travellers and home-owners the opportunity
and confidence to go out, and not only open up their homes for visitors but, to travel to people’s home. There are a few features which we want to introduce to fully unlock this market.
There is a discount war happening in the online space. How do you see the trend? How far can companies stretch it? Are some companies really disrupters?
Yes, we do see aggressive discounting in the hotel space in the past months. I think some of it has become completely irrational. But, on the flipside, it has also expedited the penetration of hotels in the online space. The number of hotels operating in the online space has gone skyrocketing. Maybe, it has accelerated what was going to happen over a period of time. I do not expect this level of discounting to continue for long. Having said that, discounting is a part of market development, and some players are doing it which is very good for the ecosystem. We are hoping to ride that as well.
3–6 October, 2016 New Delhi
Global player ITB Berlin, the world’s biggest tourism fair, joins hands with the most experienced local in India!
B2B Buying & Selling + Focused Conclaves in Leading Segments of the Business
outbound: Mongolia
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ongolia and India are two of the earliest nations in Asia, if not in the world. Mongolians have got acquainted with India ever since the teachings of Lord Buddha prevailed throughout the steppe of Mongolia. I assume it had occurred even more than once. The XIII century manuscript titled as The Sacred History of Mongols (chapter 261 to 264) referred to India as Hindu or Hindustan and the Indus River as Sindhi or a New river. They have built up deep-rooted ties with shared cultural, religious and intellectual legacies that the amazing stories of great Mughal dynasty held a pivotally important role in India’s history, and there are still areas and places with thought provoking names such as Mangolpuri, Mongolbad, Mangolore in Delhi and in other parts of India. It is my view that large number of manuscripts and literatures on our historical ties are being preserved and restored in
India has been receiving Mongolian youths into its universities. Today many of them are successfully illustrating high standards of India’s tertiary education system. Mongolia and India have contributed a wide array of arts, literature, poetry as well as research works to the oriental culture which are worth not only to be studied but also inherited to our young generation. Shri Narendra Modi, Honorable Prime Minister of India, during his official visit to Mongolia in May this year, presented samples of Banyan tree to the main Buddhist (Gandantegcheling) monastery, which was deeply appreciated as a vivid illustration of our common spiritual legacy and close feelings toward one another. The truth the Siddhartha Gautama, found cannot be adequately described here in this short write up. Perhaps it requires a lifetime to comprehend it. The Buddha described it in a parable. Man should seek
We in Mongolia know of what Swami Vivekananda had taught such as “what are what our thoughts are, so take care about what you think. Words are secondary and thoughts live, travelling far.” The Great Genghis khan, founder of the unified Mongolian state said that winning of heart and mind is the way to govern bodies. Thus, even in the 13th century the Mongols were appreciating and respecting the diverse cultures and civilizations. So instead of discriminating or conflicting with them they used to co-exist and debate with all major faiths in their respective temples, monasteries, mosques and ashrams as Marco Polo had noted. This year we, in Mongolia, are marking the 25th anniversary of the first free and fair elections which ushered political democracy and market economy in my country. Following the great Indian tradition of ahimsa (Non-violence) to get rid of British Raj nearly
on friendship and cooperation in 1994, treaty on comprehensive partnership in 2008, and treaty on strategic partnership in 2015. At present over 50 Treaties and agreements are being implemented between our countries. Thus, ties with centuries old history have grown into strategic partnership at this time of turbulent but promising perspectives. Barring the mining sector, tourism and agriculture have substantive role in our economies. Therefore, both Mongolia and India pay much importance to climate change and environmental protection which are indeed promising areas for broader integration. The Government of India rendered assistance to Mongolia in training our national personnel, promoting SME under its ITEC program for our professionals on short and long term trainings since 1987 and our youth are studying in the India’s universities on government and private sector’s stipends. It recently offered one billion USD Line of Credit to Mongolia that would certainly help in broadening our bilateral relations in areas like trade and economy and tourism. Soon after my happy reunion with India, after one and half decade, having received my letter of credence as the Ambassador of Mongolia on 2 September last year, Pranab Mukherjee, President of India underlined the ancient cultural and spiritual ties between India and Mongolia. On the following day, I had a symbolic but very important moment in my carrier as I had an opportunity to attend the international symposium on global Hindu-Buddhist initiative on conflict avoidance and environmental consciousness co-hosted by the Vivekananda international foundation of India and the Tokyo foundation of Japan. In this three day international symposium held in New Delhi and Bodhgaya, Bihar, more than
archives, museums, libraries and research institutions in India. Mongolians and Indians are spiritual neighbours sitting on the northern and southern edge of the Buddhist Asia. Despite geographical distance and logistic hindrances, we have been intertwined in an age old spiritual bond that turned into solid basis of state to state relations. These traditional ties between our two peoples have grown into formal diplomatic relations when our two nations fought and regained their respective independence and sovereignty. Mongolia and India established diplomatic relations on December 24th, 1955. So as we are marking their 60th jubilee as year-long event on both sides. We Mongolians respect India as sacred land of Lord Buddha and a source of wisdom and knowledge. Travellers of ancient past used to note that Mongolian monks were studying in Nalanda University. This spiritual tie is another basis of our close cooperation. I am pleased to note that the Government of
the middle path between self-indulgence and self-mortification. This middle way, known as the Noble Eightfold path, consisted of right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right mode of living, right endeavour, right mindfulness and right consciousness. The teachings of Lord Buddha helped not only to form our people’s thoughts but also turned into philosophy with great impact on our state policy. Sons and daughters of India hailed from diverse ethnicities and religions like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Baba Sahib Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad, Sarojani Naidu had led the struggle of ahimsa (non-violence) against British Raj that existed over two centuries. Likewise, Mongolians got rid authoritarian regime of one political party, 25 years ago, and embarked on a path of twin transformations such as parliamentary democracy and market economy without a single broken window-pane.
seventy years ago we launched democratic changes in Mongolia in early 1990s. India supported these sweeping transformations from their very beginning and the Parliament of India along with fellow Asian legislative bodies made its valuable contributions in inserting democratic norms and principles into our Constitution in 1992. India supported the transformation for political democracy and market economy in 1990’s from their very beginning and made valuable contributions in drafting our first democratic constitution. Recently, India’s high level parliamentary delegation led by Honorable Sumitra Mahajan visited Mongolia and concluded MoU to consolidate working relations between our two legislative bodies. The Governments of Mongolia and India have defined the core principles of their relations and cooperation which was enshrined in their Joint Declaration of 1973 and reaffirmed time and again. Since then we have concluded the treaty
anything, helped me to recall what the President of India emphasized in his brief remark on the age old ties between our two nations. Today on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and India, I am pleased to underline our age old spiritual bonds have been grown as strategic partnership. We are peace loving nations, free from any military alliances that are constructively collaborating within multilateral forums like the Non Aligned Movement, United Nations, World Trade Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in order to avoid conflicts and facilitate understanding and cooperation for universal well-being. We are unanimously denounce all forms of violent extremism and expressed our firm determination to strive against religious fundamentalism and violent terrorism.
India-Mongolia bilateral connect: from spiritual neighbours to strategic partners By Gonchig GANBOLD Ambassador of Mongolia
Gonchig GANBOLD, Ambassador of Mongolia presented his credentials to the President of India on 2 September, 2015. A polyglot, he has studied in several universities and has been a career diplomat for over three decades.
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outbound: Be ve rly Hills
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India an important future market; old-school ways isthe trend in luxury, says Julie Wagner Trends in the luxury segment point towards a definitive shift towards old-school ways of hospitality and service. Julie Wagner, CEO, Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau believes that personalizedintimate service coupled with the advent of luxury players in the online space were two of the most important aspects of the unfolding story. By Shashank Shekhar
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rom a Spanish ranch meant for growing Lima Beans, to a futile exploration for oil by some adventurous investors at the advent of twentieth century, the city of Beverly Hills has had its share of successes and failures before it formidably positioned itself as one of the most sought - a fter addresses in the world. Located in the Los Angeles County of California, this five square miles of uber luxury houses some iconic hotel properties, diamond five star category hospitality accommodations, and every major international luxury brand on the planet. Aside the likes of the Beverly Hilton and Montage, The Waldorf Astoria is going to come up with a stunning property
and fresh perspectives, we have come up with o ur fi ndings. It will help us identify emerging trends and help us better understand the impact of technology on consumer behaviour,” said Julie Wanger, CEO, Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau. Informing that, in terms of market size, the global luxury market exceeded 1.1 trillion USD in spending in 2014 – which was lead by automobile and hospitality segment, she said that “another interesting development has been the growth of online players in the luxury space which was not a trend few years ago.” Speaking about the growth of travellers to Beverly Hills, and especially from the Asian region, she noted that the growth
variety and array of products that we offer. But, they are formidable enough. So, we do look at Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Downtown Los Angeles, Orange County, and a little bit of Hollywood,” she said. Noting that, internationally, there were big cities that had created a niche for themselves in the luxury segment. “Paris, for instance, is a huge destination for luxury shopping. Especially now, it is cheaper to buy when the dollar has increased in value; people have been scared, though, with all kinds of activities that has been going on off late in Europe. But, all said and done, Julie Wanger France is a serious luxury CEO, Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau destination,” she said. Inher own admission, China remained the most important In order to be open to innovation and market for Beverly Hills. Speakfresh perspectives, we have come up ing on the current influx from with o ur findings. It will help us identify Chinese markets, she said the emerging trends and help us better growth was going through the understand the impact of technology roof. “It has been a double digit on consumer behaviour. growth for quite a long period of time. The growth may have slowed or flattened a little in recent months, it still translates Taking stock of the global envirate from China had been huge for into a huge amount of money for us,” ronment, she outlined that Monaco them, helping her in figuring out Julie Wagner said. She added that and Nepa Valley were some importhe kind of markets they wanted to other markets like Brazil or Russia tant luxury destinations. “But, we target. “The other factor that helps where the economy had not been so look at markets only in Los Angeles us decide the strategy, in terms of buoyant, the growth had flattened or because a lot of them have five star the international markets we focus even decreased, but the amount of hotels or a destination that has good on, is how and where our competimoney spent was no longer impactofferings; certainly not with the same ful. “The amount of money spent by tors are showing up,” she said.
☛ Growing number of HNIs (High Networth Individuals and better airconnectivity through) the middle-east could propel India as an important source market for Beverly Hills in the near future. in 2017,an eleven story hotel with a roof-top swimming pool. It is fitting, therefore, that Beverly Hills Conference and Visitors Bureau has come up a comprehensive report on evolving and future trends in the luxury space. “In order to be open to innovation
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Chinese travellers in Beverly Hills is significantly higher,” she reasoned. Speaking on India’s prospect of emerging as a key source market for Beverly Hills, she candidly admitted that she was not sure if India could replace China as a leading source market. “I do not see that happening in the near future, but it surely can become an important market in the coming years. The opportunity is definitely here with such a huge number of people and higher disposable incomes,” she said. She hoped that robust air-linkages to the USA from Middle Eastern countries was going to help make travel a lot more accessible. Julia Wagner’s assertion on the fact that China remained a strong pillar of Beverly Hill’s source markets can be better ascertained from the data revealed in the luxury report compiled by the bureau. As per the report, China has the fifth largest number of ultra-rich consumers, behind USA, Japan, the UK and Germany, with a majority of its billionaires living in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Importantly, the combined Asian UHNWIs now hold more total wealth (estimated at 5.9 trillion dollars) than those in North America estimated at 5.5 trillion dollars, the report says. Set to be the largest economy in the world by 2024, according to the 2015 Hurun Report, Greater China (including Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) is currently home to 715 US dollar billionaires.
Presenting Unique Segments at BITB 2016
luxury B2B and Conference
An exclusive showcase, a show within a show, devoted to Luxury products and services. Meet with your buyers in a specially demarcated zone, in the trappings of Luxury, serving wine and cheese on the house through the day in a central lounge. Who will Exhibit: Some 50 products, representing experiences, airlines and airports, hotels, second homes, cruises. Whom will you Meet: Meet hosted Luxury Buyers. Exclusive evening, meet with select celebrities onsite for private walk through and product presentations. Photo courtesy: Atlantis the Palm, Dubai
ITB Comes to India. The best of ‘Glocal’ is here!
Just exhibit, or also explore partnerships, exclusive to Luxury Showcase for that extra bit more!
outbound: Z amb ia
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The Zambian delegation at the roadshow was represented by a large number of private tour operators, hotels and airlines delegates
The majestic Victoria Falls is one of the best known natural landmarks in the world
Felix Chaila
Growing Indian business, investments helping MICE travel: CEO, Zambia tourism agency Growing business interest of some major Indian conglomerates is pushing MICE numbers at an impressive rate, says Felix Chaila, CEO, Zambia Tourism Agency. Calling Zambia an unspoiled destination, speaking at the road-show held recently in the capital, he expressed hope of garnering a larger share of Indian outbound in coming months. An excerpt of the interview: By shashank shekhar
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hat do you make of the Indian market? What are your initial readings?
It is true that we are new in the Indian market and most of our foray, as of now, is explorative. This roadshow marks the beginning of our seriousness. In the past two years, we gathered feedback from the market understanding the constraints for Indians to come to Zambia. Scare of yellow fever, issues related to visa processing. As we come to this road-show, in the last two years we have dealt with the issue of yel-
Is Indian outbound higher than Chinese?
Chinese inbound has higher figure, although it has slowed down in the recent past. India is way ahead of China in terms of growth late. Zambia is fast emerging as a strong business destination with some key investments by Indian companies. Apart from facilities developed by Tata and Airtel, Indians have a considerable presence in the mining sector. So, there is quite a lot of traffic.
How is the leisure segment shaping up?
We are also witnessing a growing
☛ Zambia’s USP lies in its unspoilt natural beauty and an offering of wide variety of flora and fauna. ☛ A number of Indian companies have invested substantial sums making Zambia a growing attraction for corporate travellers. low fever certificate requirement by South Africa. It is no longer required as there is no yellow fever. We have made visa process simpler by introducing e-visa effective from 14th October last year. We want to emphasize that keeping in mind that there are a large number of family travellers to Zambia, children under the age of sixteen have been exempted from requiring a visa.
What have been the latest Indian outbound numbers?
In 2014, we had close to twenty-five thousand tourists. It may appear to be a small number, but Zambia is a fresh destination, and we have only recently come to the Indian market. We are still registering over thirty percent year-on-year growth from Indian market. India is the fastest growing source market for Zambia in Asia.
trend of leisure travellers visiting, especially, Livingstone. Therefore, Victoria Falls, safari and adventure are pulling Indian outbound.
What about the MICE segment? Are you going to roll out any special programs?
To better tap the MICE segment, we are going to hard-sell incentive programs. We understand that India has a large number of corporate travellers. Livingstone is a perfect destination for such a push. It has all the ready facilities. We also have a number of adventure sport options and white-water rafting to make it a perfect getaway. Basically, we are trying hard to better facilitate interaction between the private sectors of two countries; this is the largest contingent of representation we have ever had. We have had some very fruitful
interaction with the agent community in Mumbai, too. We have even had an enquiry on Bollywood movie shooting. So, there are tremendous possibilities here for us.
In all fairness, these attempts will only yield better results if there is better airconnectivity? What is your take?
It is true that we are flying one –stop, but we have connectivity through key airlines out of, both, Delhi and Mumbai; Emirates flies from Bengaluru. We have Kenya Airways, Rwandaair and Ethiopian Airlines as well. It is also at a very advanced stage of creation of our own national airlines.
Most of your neighbouring countries have similar offerings. How do you position yourself different? What is your unique selling proposition?
The Victoria Falls. There is only one of it in the world and it is in Zambia. Every citizen in the world must see it once. In terms of cultural richness, we are a nation of 73 tribes living in harmony. This diversity lends us ample cultural heritage. As a nation, we are very friendly and welcoming. We have a high variety of flora and fauna. Zambia happens to host the highest concentration of Hippopotamus in the world. It is a place to witness nature in its truest form. It is not commercialized and, therefore, unspoiled.
So, nature and wild-life are your principal pillars of tourism? We understand that today’s travellers are constantly seeking new experiences. They want destinations that are getaways. Zambia has a landmass of a quarter of India, but inhabits only fourteen million people. So, it is a perfect destination to relax, unwind and get away from the hustle-bustle of cities, noise and pollution. We account for over forty percent of total fresh-water resources in the entire southern African region. It has fresh air and lots of wilderness to attract discerning travellers.
Are we to believe that you will be more aggressively engaging with clientele in the online space? Definitely, without a doubt. It is a very useful means to reach out, especially, to young Indians who use Smartphones. We are working on creating a network of agents and travellers. We may not have been very fast, but we sure are moving in the right direction.
Zambia to revive its national carrier; Delhi-Lusaka may soon have direct connectivity again Speaking to TF at the sidelines of Zambia roadshow held recently at the Park Hotel in the capital, H. Sikapale Chinzewe, Charge’ d’affaires ad interim, Zambia High Commission said that Zambia was keen to re-launch its national carrier. He hoped that with its launch, Lusaka and New Delhi will be linked by direct flights again. An excerpt of the conversation:
I
n what could lend a major pull to tourism ties between India and the southern African nation, Zambian government is close to unveiling a national air-carrier again. Before it suspended operations in late 2009, Zambian Airline connected Lusaka and New Delhi with direct flights. “I think the Zambian government is very keen to establish a national airline. It is an issue which is already on the table. We should have already had a national airline in place by now, but things are moving forward in that direction. Instead of going through Dubai or Addis Ababa, we would want direct connectivity between Zambian cities of Lusaka and Livingstone to key Indian cities,” shared Sikapale Chinzewe, Charge’ d’affaires ad interim, Zambia High Commission. Refusing to share a deadline for unveiling the carrier, he stressed that the issue remained at the very top of Zambian government’s agenda. “Rest assured, it is at the very top of our government’s agenda as tourism has been prioritized as a key sector for national growth. We would like to all elements related to augmenting tourism, in Zambia, grow. Tourism is a very critical element for the Zambian economy. This road-show is a testimony to our I think Zambian government is very keen commitment for growth in tourism,” to establish a national he said. airline. It is an issue which Crediting his government for is already on the table. We formulating pro-tourism and proshould have already had a growth policies, he shared that national airline in place by Zambia had recently rolled out now, but things are e-visa for travellers. “It eliminates moving forward in that the need for physically coming to the embassy to get a visa. As per our direction. Instead of going through Dubai or Addis new visa policy, children under the Ababa, we would want age of sixteen accompanied by famdirect connectivity ily do not need a visa. Therefore, between Zambian cities of the entire process involving paper Lusaka and Livingstone to documentation and formalities key Indian cities have been made hassle-free,” noted Sikapale Chinzewe. He also urged Indian air-carriers to consider flying to Zambian cities; he argued that it would make the cost of flying cheaper for tourists fuelling footfalls. “If we can have some Indian carriers push for direct-connectivity, we must try and accomplish it. When Zambian Airways was operational, we used to have direct flights to New Delhi. I am sure that the new national airline will basically achieve it again,” he said. Coming to Zambia as a destination, Sikapale Chinzewe noted that it had lots to offer in terms of tourism. He said that it housed one of the seven natural wonders of the world – the Victoria Falls. “We have one of the largest wildlife parks in Africa. It is a country which has all the big five animals and many other activities of interest for tourists,” he said. Sharing his understanding on the larger people-to-people connect between two nations, he believed that the relations between Zambia and India went way back to the days before Zambia’s independence in 1964. “India played a very critical role in our struggle for liberation from the colonial rule,” he said. Arguing that world had turned into a global village, he said that tourism was a natural outcome of the process. “Zambians want to come to India to understand and appreciate its art, culture and heritage. You have got the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort and many others. So, I think in India’s case, I think tourism plays the role of a meeting-point,” he substantiated. He batted for better understanding and appreciation of eachother’s culture and heritage, stating that tourism could help achieve more synergy. When asked about the foray into Indian market with the road-show, he said that India was developing at a pulsating rate. “The GDP rate is high, but what makes India important is also the fact that there are over 250 million middle class Indians; the number of High Net worth Individuals is increasing. Those are disposable incomes. Which is a better place that Zambia to spend that money,” he explained. He further added that Zambia consciously wanted to keep the travel cost on the lower end of the spectrum to boost footfalls.
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outbound: Mauritius
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of travellers? It must be more leisure? Are there any niche segments?
Vivek Anand
Honeymooners lead leisure travel into Mauritius; will focus on Golf tourism, says Vivek Anand By shashank shekhar
Vivek Anand, Country Manger, India, Mauritius tourism development authority shared that Indian honeymooners were forming an over-whelming majority of the outbound. Mauritius is likely to better position itself as a major golfing destination. Excerpts of the interview:
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hat is the scale of Indian outbound to Mauritius?
We closed 2015 with the figure of 72,145 Indian travellers. This was a growth of over 18 percent compared to 2014. We are progressing very well. Essentially, our calendar is from January-December. For the first two months of this year, we have registered 15 percent growth.
But, that is lower than what you had achieved in 2015. Is not it? Our peak season begins post April. Therefore, we are not worried about that. So, we should close this year with, at least, 18 percent. We will reach the eighty-five odd thousand mark by 2016. But, our aim to hit the hundred thousand mark by the end of 2017.
How is the connectivity part shaping up? You have only one
airline operating direct flight between the two countries.
Yes. Only air Mauritius flies direct as of now, presently from four cities of Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai. And, we have always been asking for more capacity;
one can fly Emirates, but it is more expensive and a longer route. If one flies from Mumbai to Port Louis on Air Mauritius, it hardly takes around six hours to commute. They have given us some additional flights.
B IT Introducing B T the Online Travel A EL pavilion at BITB V A
TB I TB A EL V RA T NE I L N O
R The Indian travel business is a leading flag-bearer of India’s great e-tailing story thriving on the basis of new business ET verticals – from airlines to railways to holiday packages and N now to hotels. The emergence of mobile as the most preferred LI tool to book online is slated to become the grand story in the travel and tourism segment with over 600 million smart ON phone users in the country by 2020. Simply put, Indian
B2B and Conference: travel and tourism business is changing big time with technology being that great catalyst. Technology is fast It is to capture the essence of this great catching up, online transformation that BITB will feature a major is going to occupy focus on the IT vertical in travel and even more rights in the tourism. A ‘vibrant show within a grand distribution business. Meet show’, BITB’s IT focus will also include with a host of vendors, who micro level conferencing conducted by a can improve your visibility across leading IT consulting organisation. markets, provide that extra outreach. Online players from India and abroad, GDS, market aggregators, OTAs, meta search platforms and specialised sites for niche tourism. We also provide a learning curve for destination marketing, and the value of research. Technology is riding the next wave of business. On the B2B level, our conference platform is created by a leading global player – come and share their findings, learn the trends in the game.
3–6 october, 2016 new delhi For more information connect@bitb.org
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d an r e a iv a lus baz c t in sm os uri m o e t About the th rary Organizers g Cross Section o is over 40 tin p yearsMedia in the business, en tem having a number of firsts s e n in India’s history. It was the Pr co first mover in B2B trade shows
in tourism in India, way back in 1994. Our partnerships endured over the years we ran the event – all these enabled us to host over 4,500 international tour operators from over 50 countries during our 18-year tenure! In 2011, the last year when we exited this event, we were steadfastly tourism focused, growing 25% year on year, presenting 30 countries from around the world, 23 Indian states and some 650 sellers organizations. We have been the first movers in trade journalism, with magazine titles such as destination India, Travel Trends Today, Go Now and presently, Tourism First. We have run successful industry seminars and have been awarded by both industry associations as well as the Government of India.
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So how many flights do you operate in week from, say, Mumbai?
We operate four base flights from Mumbai. However, in the summers we are going to have five weekly flights. In Delhi, we operate two flights every week. We will add one more which will start from 20th May to the 1st of July. Similarly, we have some additional flights from Bengaluru and Chennai, too.
Your primary thrust of engagement will be on your source markets? These are your main markets?
They have become important markets primarily because of air-connectivity. Our major source of traffic comes from the western part of India. Gujarat is also becoming a very important market for us. In northern India, Delhi, Jaipur, Jalandhar are important. South India has always given us steady traffic. We could think of having more travellers from other secondary and tertiary cities, but connectivity remains an issue.
What is the profile
There are a lot of honeymooners who come to Mauritius. Whenever there is wedding season, we cater to plane-loads of people.
Is the inclusion of additional flights a temporary feature or a long-term inclusion?
It has been started form Delhi. Previously, we had extra flights, only, from Mumbai. We are hopeful of continuing it in the coming years, as well.
How are going to compete with traditionally strong and wellestablished markets for better MICE segment inflow? Most of the companies have restricted budgets these days, and they have limited time. Therefore, naturally the cheaper option is to go to Thailand, Singapore or Dubai etc. But, as MICE at happening at various levels in various categories of travel, we position ourselves somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. We are not the cheapest and, definitely, not the most expensive. So, we get enough people. It usually takes a three day itinerary for any MICE movement, so we are sorted as far as Mumbai is concerned. In 2014, MICE accounted for ten percent of total Indian outbound – which has now moved up to fifteen percent in 2015.
As far as cultural linkages are concerned, tourism is the other way around. Seventy percent of Mauritians have roots in India – parts of eastern UP and Bihar – so some of them come to India to discover their roots.
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Give us a better sense of the segregation
I think it will be almost 85 percent leisure and 15 percent MICE travel in 2016. Interestingly, out of the total leisure movement, almost fifty percent are honeymooners. So, it is becoming a major honeymoon destination for Indians. I think, it is also to do because Mauritius has only 1.2 million people, so travellers get a lot of privacy.
We are to believe, then, that the positioning will continue to be of a high-end destination?
Yes. It will be that of a high-end destination. We are also focusing on Golf travellers, because we have some fantastic golf-courses to offer. Although, the number from India is very small as we recently started promotion in India.
In terms of activities, Europeans take to trekking and hiking. What is are some most sought after activities by the Indian outbound? Walking with Lions and quadbiking are most sought after. There is good amount of interest for water-related activities like undersea walk, submarine scooter ride, sea-cart, and other activities
Orlando clocks 66 million footfalls in 2015; doubles tourist numbers in the past two decades Orlando has created history by clocking 66 million footfalls for 2015. A solid 5.5 rise in numbers from 2104 has helped it achieve an all-time record. Looking at the long-term growth chart, the number of travellers visiting Orlando has doubled in the last twenty years – growing from 32.4 million in 1995. Indicating a relatively longer stay by tourists, a record 33 million room-nights were sold in the past year resulting in record tourist development tax collections topping $230 million in Orange County, Fla. “Reaching more than 66 million visitors to Orlando is an amazing accomplishment for our tourism community,” said Visit Orlando President and CEO George Aguel. “This new milestone and rapid growth over the past two decades is a result of having a tourism industry and community partners that are focused on growth and investment, dedication to the needs of our visitors and the global marketing and sales efforts of our Visit Orlando team and member companies,” he added. Successful results also highlight towards a sustained focus on developing tourism related infrastructure and assimilation of new products to maintain city’s product vibrant. Since 1995, Orlando’s hotel inventory has grown by more than 37 percent, topping 117,000 rooms in 2015; passengers at Orlando International Airport increased by more than 72 percent, reaching 38,809,337.
like parasailing and, of course, shopping.
How much do cultural linkages help the bilateral tourism numbers?
Not much. As far as cultural linkages are concerned, tourism is the other way around. Seventy percent of Mauritians have roots in India – parts of eastern UP and Bihar – so some of them come to India to discover their roots. Also, there is fair amount of movement on account of religious tourism. On the flipside, we get a lot Indians coming to Mauritius because of cultural linkages. We have major Indian presence in the form of institutions like Amity University, Apollo and Fortis Hospitals, Indian Oil and State Bank of India. In fact, all the petrol used in Mauritius is refined in India and then sent back.
How big is the medical tourism segment? A lot of Mauritians come to India to avail advanced medical facilities. It is visible more in southern states like Tamil Nadu and in Mumbai.
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Photo courtesy: Simhasthujjain.in
Destination Ujjain in its full glory at Simhastha Kumbh 2016
A phenomenon involving celestial line-up of planets and zodiac signs occurring every twelve years is celebrated, since countless years, by taking a holy dip in the Kshipra River. The banks of the ancient river have become the epicenter of Simhastha Kumbh Mahaparva as Ujjain has, once again, decked up to welcome visitors – both, domestic and international. It is a feast for the eyes; a unique mix of colours, sights and sounds, the event is attended by millions of devotees. We bring you a few pictures of the Simhastha 2016 being held in Madhya Pradesh.
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