Category Archives: Breaking News (All Categories)

After facing significant flight disruptions recently, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan, said, “Vistara has cut 10% of its flights until May 24 to stabilise operations with its on-time performance increasing to 89% on April 9, 2024.” He added that things could have been planned better but it has been a learning experience.

Indian aviation industry is set to scale new heights. According to a recent report by ICRA, the domestic air passenger traffic is estimated at 154 million for FY2024, which represents a YoY growth of 13%, in line with ICRA’s estimates. Further, the domestic air passenger traffic in FY2024 has surpassed the pre-Covid levels of 142 million in FY2020 as well.

With age no barrier, Chinese women are spreading their wings and spending big on travel. They are now taking the driver’s seat in making travel decisions and seeking personalised experiences. We look at some of their travel behaviours and the segments that are taking a lead on this.   Women overtake men According to a 2024 Women’s Travel Consumer Insight Report released by the online travel agency Trip.com Group, average annual per capita travel expenditure for women exceeded that of men by nearly 8% in the past year. The report was based on the analysis of data recorded between Feb 20, 2023 and Feb 20, 2024. The spending power of Chinese women for travel is evident, with significant growth momentum seen in lower-tier markets.   Travelling for festivals Many women are booking flights to celebrate festivals in various parts of the world for that immersive cultural experience and to soak in the local folk customs and festival atmosphere. For example, they are travelling to Nepal for Holi festival, also known as the festival of colors, and Chiangmai in Thailand to join a lantern celebration. This new wave of Chinese women travellers are now travelling to a dozen destinations at home and abroad every year on an average.   Non-business travel They also travel for non-business reasons. The report said that middle-aged women born in the 1970s and 1980s accounted for 62.2% of the female travelers and were by far the main force when it comes to consumption, the report showed. Young women born in the 1990s and 2000s accounted for 28.5% of tourism spending, indicating their emerging potential as consumers. While the older generation born in the 1950s and 1960s …

Seema Kadam, Regional Director, India, LA Tourism, says that despite the visa challenges, they have seen immense growth in the number of travellers. Besides leisure segment, they have seen substantial growth in the M!CE segment, LA has an impressive number of large venues and hotel inventory to support demand.

Recently, Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Tourism, Government of Goa, said that to boost the tourist numbers, “we are endeavouring to showcase Goa’s myriad offerings to foster a deeper understanding of the state’s cultural and natural wealth apart from coastline through green investments, and Goa beyond beaches.”

About 75 per cent of travellers make local and authentic experiences a priority for their trips, according to Hilton’s 2024 trends report, quoted by Revinate. Of these, 42 per cent of Gen Z and 44 per cent of millenials are interested in learning more about the local culture when they are travelling globally.

Ahead of festivals, Prakhar Mishra, Director Tourism, Uttar Pradesh, pointed out that the state is expecting a significant surge in pilgrim arrivals to Ram Lalla Temple, Kashi Vishwanath corridor, and Mathura-Vrindavan corridor. Varanasi alone saw a record-breaking influx of 95.63 lakh pilgrims in March.

India, the world’s fifth-largest economy, is at a major inflection point, says Melissa Ow, CEO, Singapore Tourism Board. “We announced two major initiatives – Partnering with MakeMyTrip and with PhonePe. As Singapore’s 5th largest market, with more than a million visitors in 2023, the Singapore Tourism Board is optimistic about India’s growth potential,” she said citing a McKinsey report that said Indians made 13 million outbound trips in 2022, which could rise to 40 million in 2030, and 80 million in 2040.

JLL India’s latest report ‘Hotel Investment Trends – India 2023 highlights the growth and positive start of the first quarter (Jan-March) of 2024 in the hospitality sector. It mentions that the upper upscale segment saw the highest number of keys changing hands, followed by the upscale, luxury, and midscale segments. The first quarter of 2024 witnessed a significant 80% Year-on-Year increase in hotel transaction volumes, reaching USD 78 million.

Sharing his perspective on the significant shift in airline strategy worldwide, Gavin Eccles, Managing Partner, GE Consulting & Advisory, said, “Pre-Covid, airlines’ strategic vision was managing costs. Now, it is all about personalisation. It is clear, the industry has become very much commoditized, or, as marketers might say, the industry suffers from parity – no real differences. Well of course, if you spent most of the time between 2015 and 2019, reducing costs, by default, you are taking out the difference.”