India’s super-rich on the march
HYDERABAD – The Indian outbound market is maturing and looking beyond traditional Western destinations.
Asian destinations have become the most travelled for Indian travellers, according to PATA and Nielsen research.
According to PATA workshop lead presenter, Nielsen India’s Vatsala Pant, “Travellers from the small second-tier Indian cities are bigger spenders than those from first-tier cities.”
Latest figures put India outbound growth at 16 percent in 2006
The Nielsen presentation at PATA Mart 2008 was followed by a discussion with executives from major Indian travel companies Cox and Kings, Jet Airways, Kuoni Travel, and Mercury Travels.
“The Indian traveller is looking for new destinations and innovative experiences,” said workshop moderator Ashwini Kakkar, executive vice-chairman, Mercury Travels, who indicated there are “56 dollar-billionaires in India, and 126, 000 dollar-millionairesâ€.
The size of the Indian middle class currently stands at somewhere over 350 million — roughly the size of the population of the US – and is growing at an estimated 40-50 million a year, PATA delegates heard.
“It is estimated that more than half of these people are less than 35 years old, for whom travel is an exciting proposition,†said Nielsen.
With the GDP in the country growing by eight percent per annum, disposable incomes have increased rapidly. Indian outbound travellers, once considered low spenders, are now recognised as high-yield visitors.
Nielsen’s Pant said that the average Indian traveller spent US$1,700 per trip, which amounts to a US$15 billion Indian outbound market.
She said that most of the money came from their savings, not from bank loans.
Increased Internet access throughout India has facilitated strong growth in online bookings. While 60 million Indians had Internet access in 2007, that number is expected to more than double by 2010.
There are also more than 70 million cell phone users in the country, with an additional five million being added every month, Pant added.
Ian Jarrett
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