epages News [Travel Agents, September 2003]

• Russians are now rouble-rousers
• New visa rules put a spoke in US holiday plans
• Winter holiday travel abroad to jump 30%
• India and Croatia join hands to promote tourism
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Russians are now rouble-rousers

Sep 01, 2003: Bangalore: The Russians are coming. This time they have deep pockets. Russian leisure travel to India seems to be going through a major image make-over. Cheap tourist groups from the erstwhile CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) who clubbed mid-level trading with a holiday, have now largely been replaced by Russian charters ready to pay top dollar. The company is betting on a jump in charter business in a traditional stronghold like Goa and a new gateway like Kerala. The company also plans a health tourism foray through a countrywide tie-up with Apollo and Wockhardt hospitals to give fresh impetus to leisure travel this year. The Russians are paying upfront and largely patronise good 4- and 5-star hotels. While holiday makers on these charter flights are beach oriented and do not want to move around much, a fourth of them are ready to step out to Kerala. Some participate in short three-day trips to Karnataka by bus, though most of them prefer Kerala because of its backwaters, ayurveda and beaches. This year, SITA is also bringing in some 20 charters with 4,400 travellers over a five-month period beginning this October, to Kovalam. Kuoni is also aggressively targeting the Scandinavian market and expects good results in the years to come.

New visa rules put a spoke in US holiday plans

Sep 13, 2003: Mumbai: The Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore will not be within easy reach of Indian tourists Travel industry sources say appointments for visa interviews at the US Consulate in Mumbai are taking about two weeks. Visas to the US were earlier issued on the same day or the next day. About 60% of the applicants, who were earlier entitled to drop-box facilities, are not eligible now, according to the new rules under the US Homeland Security Act. Indian travellers typically make their holiday decisions at the last possible minute. Earlier, a family wanting to visit the US had the option of making a late decision and yet being able to take the holiday.

The hassle factor of visiting the US, is likely to deter these tourists, travel industry sources say. Reports of racial stereotyping at airports have made potential tourists even more wary. On the business front, about a 100 Indian blue-chip companies, who were classified as business express companies and whose employees did not need personal interviews, have now lost that privilege. Employees from these companies, which have several software firms among them, have to now queue up with the hoi polloi for a visa.

Winter holiday travel abroad to jump 30%

Sep 17, 2003: Bangalore: This winter is set to see a 20-30% jump in leisure travel from India, both over last year and when compared to this summer. Not only are the numbers tipped to rise but the winter holiday season is expected to begin as early as this Diwali and stretch well past Christmas into January next year, according to industry experts. Even the shorter holiday and long weekend clusters are likely to be used by people for a quick domestic and international break. Interestingly, Europe, which is traditionally a summer destination from India, will be bigger draw this winter (despite the cold) than in the past. Meanwhile, Swiss travel giant, Kuoni, is not only the first off the mark this year to announce its winter package but has actually pushed rates southwards by 15-20%. The first hundred families booking packages to Europe are even being offered a $300 discount, while the ones who follow are being given other freebies.

Being a bulk buyer like some other leading brands, Kuoni is able to strike better deals with airlines as well as hotels and tour operators. Besides, it is pared down its margins in order to offer an attractive price. South-east Asia will also make a big comeback this winter on the India tourist itinerary, subject of-course to there being no recurrence of the SARS problem (Singapore has reported one case last week). Though the Kerala market is a big draw for tourists, it is still not a major source market for outbound holiday travel. Work related traffic is of-course a different thing. In the north, Delhi, Punjab and UP are the big markets, along Maharashtra and Gujarat in the west. Lalit Seth of Raj Travels says that Europe is set to show a 13-15% growth in Indian holiday traffic this winter. While the numbers to Far East will be higher than Europe, the latter’s contribution to the travel and hospitality business will be higher because of the larger cost of the package.

India and Croatia join hands to promote tourism

Sep 30, 2003: New Delhi: An agreement on tourism, film festivals and cultural exchanges are some of the initiatives taken by the tourism ministries of India and Croatia to increase tourist traffic in both the countries. Union tourism and culture minister Jagmohan said these steps would open a new chapter in Indo-Croatian tourism. He also said that the Indian tourist office in Frankfurt would be extended to cover Croatia. The tourist office would soon hold roadshows to enable Indian travel agents to know more about Croatia. Though many Indians travel to Europe, Croatia does not figure prominently in their itinerary. Croatia was cheaper than Italy and Spain and offered value for money destinations and services. Both India and Croatia were working to ease visa regulations for smooth flow of tourists. Tourism has emerged as a key industry in the country, which was crippled by a three-year-old war. Croatia earned $7.2 billion from tourism last year, which was 21% of the country’s GDP. It hopes to earn $8 billion this year. Seven to 8 million tourists visit Croatia every year, most of them from Europe, mainly Germany.