Download - India market profile
-
IndIa
Market Profile
1 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
In 2012, India was Australias 10th largest inbound market for visitor arrivals and total expenditure, and seventh largest for the number of visitor nights. It was also the 11th largest market for total dispersed nights1 during 2012.
Findings from Tourism Australias recent international tourism research project2, indicate that when selecting a holiday destination Indian visitors are wanting (in order of importance): a safe and secure destination, world class beauty and natural environments, value for money, and a romantic and family friendly destination. Compared to other out of region destinations, Australia ranks very highly for having beautiful natural environments, good food and wine, and clean cities with good infrastructure. The research shows that Australia delivers a positive holiday experience that exceeds the expectations of Indian visitors.
The latest forecast by the Tourism Forecasting Committee (TFC), released in October 2012, estimates that arrivals from India will grow 5 per cent in 2012/13 and 8 per cent in 2013/14, with a 7 per cent annual compound growth rate expected between 2011/12 and 2016/17.
50% repeat visitors4
56% of total arrivals are for leisure5
15-29 years largest demographic5
$5,263 average spend4
65 nights average stay4 Feb-Apr and Sept-Nov peak booking periodMay and Dec peak travel period
$1.9 - 2.3bn Potential for the Indian market to be worth by 2020 (Tourism 2020)
$0.8bn total spendTotal spend from India in 2012 (down 9 per cent on 2011)4
159,200 arrivalsIndian visitor arrivals in 2012 (up 7.4 per cent on 2011)5
9.6m total nightsIndian visitor nights spent in Australia in 2012 (up 3 per cent on 2011)2
1.9m dispersed nights1 Indian visitor nights spent outside gateway cities in 2012 (up 30 per cent on 2011)4
Australia ranks 11thamong all out of region outbound destinations for Indian travellers6
Singapore Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Thai Airways International
Qantas
Cathay Pacific Airways
Emirates
Other
In this Market Profile
Market Performance
Consumer Research
Aviation Landscape
Distribution
Find More Information
Sources: 1. Dispersed nights refer to nights spent outside gateway cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth
2. Tourism Australia, Australian Consumer Demand Research, conducted by BDA Marketing Planning, 2012
3. Department of Immigration and Citizenship (Aviation)4. International Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia)5. Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals & Departures6. Tourism Economics, Tourism Decision Metrics
Visitor profile in 2012
Key airlines and share of passengers in 20123
Table includes direct and indirect capacity
31%
24%17%
12%
4%3% 9%
-
2 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
> In 2012, India was Australias 10th largest inbound market for visitor arrivals.
> Arrivals from India to Australia have achieved a 14 per cent annual compound growth rate between 2002 and 2012.
> Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) is the largest purpose of visit segment for the India market. Indian-born Australian residents have doubled over the five years between 2006 to 2011 (according to Census data released by the Australia Bureau of Statistics), which is noted as a key contributing factor to this result.
> Whilst Holiday and VFR visitor segments from India have been growing steadily, Education arrivals have been declining since 2009.
> The market has grown consistently in recent years, with economic growth fuelling outbound travel demand.
1.1 Arrivals trends
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
140,000
160,000
180,000
Dec80 Dec84 Dec88 Dec92 Dec96 Dec00 Dec04 Dec08 Dec12
History of Visitors from India into Australia
Tota
l Arr
ival
s p
er Y
ear
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals & Departures
-
3 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
0
200
400
600
800
1,000
1,200
Bahrain Thailand Singapore Saudi Arabia UAE Australia
2001 2012
Trend of Top 5 Outbound Destinations from India Source: Tourism Economics (Tourism Decision Metrics)
Note: 2012 is a forecast value
Ou
tbo
un
d T
rave
llers
(0
00
s)
0.0%
0.6%
1.2%
0
10,000
20,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 (f)
Market Sh
are (%)
Total Outbound (000s) Australia's Share of Total Outbound (%)
India: Total Outbound & Australia's Market Share Source: Tourism Economics (Tourism Decision Metrics)
Ou
tbo
un
d T
rave
llers
(0
00
s)
Note: 2012 is a forecast value
4,564 0.97%
4,940 0.83%
5,351 0.78%
6,213 0.82%
7,185 0.86%
8,340 0.92%
9,783 0.89%
10,868 0.98%
11,067 1.03%
12,988 0.98%
15,514 0.91%
16,129 0.82%
1.2 Australias market share7
Australias market share of India outbound travel > Outbound travel from India increased from 15.5 million trips in 2011, to 16.1 million trips in 2012.
> Australias share of total outbound travel from India has remained flat at 0.8 per cent in 2002 and 2012.
Top five outbound destinations from India
> In 2012, the top five outbound destinations from India were Bahrain, Thailand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
> Australia ranked 21st among all outbound destinations, dropping three positions from 2011.
7. Figures for 2012 in this section are based on forecast data, last updated 14 February 2013
-
4 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
0.0%
3.0%
6.0%
0
5,000
10,000
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 (f)
Market Sh
are (%)
Total Outbound (000s) Australia's Share of Total Outbound (%)
India: Out of Region Outbound & Australia's Out of Region Market Share Source: Tourism Economics (Tourism Decision Metrics)
Ou
tbo
un
d O
ut
of
Reg
ion
Tra
velle
rs (
00
0s)
Note: 2012 is a forecast value
1,435 3.07%
1,520 2.70%
1,542 2.71%
1,892 2.69%
2,147 2.89%
2,534 3.03%
2,842 3.07%
3,172 3.35%
3,043 3.76%
3,615 3.51%
3,919 3.61%
4,096 3.22%
Australias market share of out of region travel
> Out of region travel from India excludes travel to South and South East Asia and the Middle East.
> Out of region travel from India more than doubled from 1.5 million trips in 2002 to 4.1 million trips in 2012.
> Australias share of Indias out of region outbound travel has increased from 2.7 per cent in 2002 to 3.2 per cent in 2012.
Australias competitor destinations from India
> In 2012, the top five destinations for Indian travellers, outside of South and South East Asia and the Middle East, were the USA, France, the UK, Hong Kong and Switzerland.
> Australias ranking among out of region destinations was 11th in 2012, slipping two positions from 2011
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
United States France United Kingdom Hong Kong Switzerland Australia
2001 2012
Trend of Top 5 Out of Region Outbound Destinations from India Source: Tourism Economics (Tourism Decision Metrics)
Note: 2012 is a forecast value
Ou
tbo
un
d O
ut
of
Reg
ion
Tra
velle
rs (
00
0s)
-
5 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
1.3 Visitor arrivals by age and purpose of visit
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
Tota
l Nu
mb
er o
f V
isit
ors
Visitors from India by Age and Purpose of Visit for 2012 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals & Departures
Under 15yrs 15 to 29yrs 30 to 44yrs 45 to 59yrs 60yrs & over 9,900 (6%) 40,980 (26%) 38,610 (24%) 40,280 (25%) 29,650 (19%)
Holiday 31,120 (20%)
Visit Friend/ Relatives 58,120 (36%)
Business 28,860 (18%)
Education 13,370 (8%)
Other 15,210 (10%)
Employment 12,740 (8%)
-
+
Total India 159,420 (100%)
Analysis of visitors from India in 2012
> In 2012, the majority of arrivals from India visited Australia for Leisure purposes, with Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) representing 36 per cent of total arrivals, and Holiday representing 20 per cent.
> The largest age demographic was 15 to 29 years, representing 26 per cent of total visitors. This was closely followed by 45 to 59 years and 30 to 44 years representing 25 and 24 per cent respectively.
> Of total Business arrivals from India in 2012, there were 8,760 convention/conference visitors.
-
6 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tota
l nu
mb
er o
f vi
sito
rs
India: Visitor Arrivals by Age for 2002-2012 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures
Under 15 yrs
15 to 29 yrs
30 to 44 yrs
45 to 59 yrs
60 yrs & over
Age demographic of visitors from India for 2002-2012
> Since 2002, the 45 to 59 year old demographic has been steadily growing, achieving a 16 per cent annual compound growth rate. In 2012, this age group represented the biggest segment of Holiday arrivals.
> The 15 to 29 year old segment declined 9 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011.
Visitor segments from India for 2002-2012
> The VFR segment has shown resilience, achieving a 23 per cent annual compound growth rate between 2002 and 2012.
> Following a dip in 2009, Holiday visitors have been increasing and overtook the number of Business arrivals in 2012.
> Education visitors have been declining since 2009.
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tota
l nu
mb
er o
f vi
sito
rs
India: Visitor Arrivals by Purpose of Visit for 2002-2012 Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals and Departures
Holiday
Visit Friends/Relatives
Business
Education
Employment
Others
-
7 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000
$350,000
$400,000
$450,000
$500,000
Spending by Visitors from India by Age and Purpose of Visit for 2008-2012 Source: International Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia)
Under 15yrs 15 to 29yrs 30 to 44yrs 45 to 59yrs 60yrs & over
Not covered by the IVS
$438,528 (55%) $207,958 (26%) $95,491 (12%) $48,912 (6%)
Holiday $100,256 (13%)
Visit Friend/ Relatives $96,424 (12%)
Business $137,458 (17%)
Education $293,323 (37%)
Other $27,558 (3%)
Employment $135,871 (17%)
-
+
Total India $790,890 (100%)
Tota
l Sp
end
by
Vis
ito
rs (
A$
00
0s)
1.4 Spend by age and purpose of visit
Breakdown of spend by visitors from India for 2008-2012
> On average from 2008 to 2012, the largest spending segment was Education visitors, representing 37 per cent of total spend. This was followed by Business and Employment, each representing 17 per cent.
> The largest spending age group was 15 to 29 year olds, representing 55 per cent of total spend by Indian visitors. 60 per cent of spend from this age group comes from the Education segment.
Note: Data in graph refers to an average of 2008-2012
-
8 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
$-
$100,000
$200,000
$300,000
$400,000
$500,000
$600,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tota
l Sp
end
(A
$ 0
00
s)
India: Visitor Spend by Age for 2002-2012 Source: International Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia)
15-29 yrs
30-44 yrs
45-59 yrs
60 yrs & over
Spend by age group from Indian visitors for 2002-2012
> Visitors aged 15 to 29 years have consistently spent more money in Australia over the past decade than any other age group, however this spend declined significantly in 2012 due to the declining Education visitor numbers.
> Spend by visitors aged 30 to 44 years grew by 26 per cent in 2012, compared to 2011.
Spend by purpose of visit segments for 2002-2012
> In line with the recent decline in Education visitors, spend by this segment has also declined, down 39 per cent in 2012 compared to 2011.
> In 2012, Holiday spend grew 50 per cent compared to 2011.
$-
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
$300,000
$350,000
$400,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Tota
l Sp
end
(A
$ 0
00
s)
India: Visitor Spend by Purpose of Visit for 2002-2012 Source: International Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia)
Holiday
Visiting Friends/Relatives
Business
Education
Employment
Others
-
9 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Market Performance
1.5 Visitor profiles for spend and nights
Spend per trip $6,122
Stay 63.4 nights
Spend per night $97
Age groups
Average visitor
30 to 44 yearsSpend per trip $6,302
Stay 53.2 nights
Spend per night $118
45 to 59 yearsSpend per trip $2,802
Stay 36.8 nights
Spend per night $76
60 years & overSpend per trip $2,476
Stay 56.6 nights
Spend per night $44
15 to 29 yearsSpend per trip $10,351
Stay 95.8 nights
Spend per night $108
Purpose of visit
HolidaySpend per trip $4,108
Stay 23.6 nights
Spend per night $174
Visiting Friends and RelativesSpend per trip $2,292
Stay 56.8 nights
Spend per night $40
BusinessSpend per trip $4,897
Stay 28.3 nights
Spend per night $173
Other (including education and employment)Spend per trip $13,178
Stay 127.7 nights
Spend per night $103
International Visitor Survey (Tourism Research Australia)
Note: Data refers to an average of 2008-2012
-
10 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Consumer Research
In 2012, Tourism Australia undertook a major international tourism research project8 into how global consumers view Australia and what most motivates them to visit, identifying the triggers and experiences important to the consumer when selecting a holiday destination. The research involved 13,389 consumers across 11 markets, who have travelled long haul in the past two years and/or plan to travel long haul in the next few years.
The results below refer to the responses of Indian consumers.
2.1 What travellers from India want in a holiday destination
Participants were asked what they look for when choosing any holiday destination. The graph below outlines the top five considerations of Indian respondents.
Their key considerations are: safety and security, world class beauty and natural environments, value for money, a romantic destination and a family friendly destination. India
50A safe and secure destination
IndiaIndia: Top 5 Importance Factors
31
34
38
42
A family friendly destination
Romantic destination
A destination that offers value for money
World class beauty and natural environments
24
26
26
29
Great shopping / world class brand names
Clean cities, good road infrastructure with clear signposts
Friendly and open citizens, local hospitality
Good food, wine, local cuisine and produce
22
24
24
24
d d f l
Good leisure activities such as nightclubs/bars and/or casinos
Rich history and heritage
Ease of obtaining visa
Great shopping / world class brand names
18
19
20
20
Different and interesting local wildlife
Spectacular coastal scenery
A range of quality accomodation options
Luxury accommodation and facilities
13
15
17
Flights with no stop-overs
Native or cultural heritage or activities
Great swimming beaches
Read as: 50 per cent of Indian respondents ranked a safe and secure destination in their top five considerations when choosing a destination
8. Tourism Australia, Australian Consumer Demand Research, conducted by BDA Marketing Planning, 2012
-
11 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
Consumer Research
2.2 Associations with Australia
For respondents from India, Australia is known for having beautiful natural environments and clean cities with good infrastructure.
Compared to other out of region destinations, Australia ranks highly (first, second or third) for natural environments, good food and wine, and clean cities.
2.3 Opportunities for Australia highlighted by the research
The research shows that Australia delivers a positive holiday experience that exceeds the expectations of Indian visitors. This was particularly clear for their perception of Australias food and wine, safety and security as well as the family friendliness of the destination.
Food and wine rankings were very high amongst those who have visited Australia and sampled the countrys offering, presenting future marketing opportunities.
Likewise for the perception of safety and security and family friendliness, Indian respondents who have visited Australia ranked the country much higher than those respondents who had not been. Given the importance placed on these considerations by Indian respondents, this presents future opportunities to improve upon their perception of Australia.
2.4 Preferred Australian experiences
Indian respondents prefer experiences in Australia which include wildlife (both aquatic and non-aquatic), cities and/or coastal or harbour settings.
-
12 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
aviation Landscape
> Non-stop and direct access between Australia and India remains a challenge, however there are many ways for Indians to fly to Australia via hubs.
> Indian visitors can fly from a number of cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad Calicut, Kochi and Thiruvanthapuram, to hubs including Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Dubai. From these hubs, connections to Australian cities are frequent.
> With no direct services, North Asian hubs are also expected to become more important for Indians travelling to Australia in the coming years.
> In 2012, Singapore Airlines carried one third of Indian visitors into Australia.
> In 2012, overall airline capacity from India to Australia increased, primarily driven by Southeast Asian carriers (Singapore Airlines group, Malaysia Airlines) adding capacity on existing routes.
> Alliances continue to develop and shape the market:
In April 2012, Sydney and Delhi Airports signed a strategic partnership in an effort to grow capacity between the two cities.
In August 2012, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia expanded their codeshare agreement to include 64 destinations in Asia including the following Indian cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram.
Tiger Airways and Scoot expanded their partnership to include 13 new destinations from 30 October 2012 including Bangalore, Kochi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram (Source: CAPA Centre for Aviation).
Etihad is seeking to acquire a minority share in Jet Airways.
3.1 Summary
Key airlines and share of passengers
Mumbai/Bombay
Singapore
Hong Kong
New Delhi
Bangkok
Kolkata
Dubai
Kuala Lumpur
Hyderabad
Bangalore Chennai
Ahmedabad
Airline 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Singapore Airlines 34% 25% 29% 31% 31%
Malaysia Airlines 11% 8% 16% 20% 24%
Thai Airways International 13% 25% 21% 14% 17%
Qantas 25% 16% 15% 17% 12%
Cathay Pacific Airways 8% 9% 6% 5% 4%
Emirates 3% 10% 6% 4% 3%
Other 6% 7% 7% 8% 9%
Table includes direct and indirect capacity
31%
24%17%
12%
4%
5%
3%9%
-
13 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
aviation Landscape
3.2 TrendsCapacity > Whilst overall capacity from India to Australia increased in 2012, Qantas withdrew the only direct9 service (Mumbai-Singapore-Brisbane) on the route, resulting in a 68 per cent direct capacity decline on the route.
> Going forward Indian visitors are expected to continue to travel via Southeast Asia to Australia.
> Aviation connectivity from India to many competitor destinations has grown rapidly in recent years, as carriers take advantage of outbound travel demand. There has been strong growth to North Asian destinations such as China and Hong Kong in recent years and capacity to the UK and USA is expected to rebound in 2013.
ll
ll
ll
ll
l
France - Down 1.4%
South Africa - Down 18.4%
Canada - Down 54.4%
Australia - Down 67.5%
United Kingdom - Down 9.4%
Hong Kong - Down 12.1%
China - Up 13.6%
United States - Down 23.7%
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
1.8
2.0
Dec-07 Dec-08 Dec-09 Dec-10 Dec-11 Dec-12 Dec-13
Capacity from India to Australia vs competitor destinations Source: Innovata; Department of Infrastructure and Transport
Seat
s p
er y
ear
(00
0s)
Forecasts
Average loads > Load factors or seat utilisation is the ratio of passengers carried to the number of seats available, expressed as a percentage.
> As direct capacity declined in 2012, average load factors increased from 86 per cent in 2011 to 89 per cent. The number of Australians travelling to India increased 12 per cent, compared to 8 per cent growth in Indian visitors to Australia.
> Average loads have increased overall and were particularly high during October to February and June to July.
Note: Chart includes direct capacity only and above percentages reflect change in direct capacity from 2011 to 2012
9. Direct services are a single flight or multiple flights within the same flight number (Source: Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics).
-
14 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
distribution
Wholesalers/ Large Agents Commission Level: up to 20%
> The traditional wholesaler model has not generally developed in the Indian travel industry. There are a few larger travel agents which have developed their own distribution network through smaller independent agents such as Thomas Cook, Kuoni, Cox & Kings, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, etc. These are often referred to as franchisees or preferred sales agents.
> The major operators having a pan-India presence are Thomas Cook, SOTC/ Kuoni Travel, Cox & Kings, Kesari/Strawberi, Club 7, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, JTB Travels, Vacations Exotica, TUI and Mercury Travel. Most Indian travel companies operate across all segments of travel, including group tours, Free Independent Travel (FIT), business events and luxury.
> There are a few traditional wholesalers that are gaining support from the smaller retail agents, these include: Saltours, Travel Optionz, Flight Shop, FCM and Nijhawan Group.
Retail Agents Commission Level: up to 20%
> The distribution of travel products in India is fragmented with only a few national operators. Most agencies are small, independent, family-owned businesses.
> Competition between the larger travel agencies is fierce, with aggressive marketing and tactical promotions in print media. Promotions include cash discounts, early bird discounts, hotel upgrades, free holidays to other countries/cities such as visits to Canada free on a USA holiday, holiday now, pay later schemes, cash back schemes and offers for a companion or child to travel for free.
> Most large retail agents brochure and market their own programs working closely with the Inbound Tour Operators (ITOs).
> Large travel agencies take reservations from consumers through their own retail networks as well as from smaller agencies.
> Travel agents use GDS systems such as Galileo and Amadeus to reduce response time and provide instant confirmations to clients.
> Despite the increase in the online travel segment, traditional retail agencies have not yet moved to this platform for bookings.
Online Commission Level: up to 15 to 20%
> As the Indian outbound market grows, more consumers are using the internet to research and purchase their holidays.
> Online travel agencies (OTAs) now receive almost 50 per cent of all visits to travel sites, with the top five being Makemytrip.com, Yatra, Expedia, Cleartrip and Travelocity.
> There has been an increase in online bookings for air tickets for international flights with the improved reach and use of the internet, convenience of booking from home and the removal of credit card fees when booking directly with an OTA or the airlines website.
> Whilst the online purchase of holiday products is on the rise, most of the OTAs have now established agencies or call centres as an alternate distribution channel.
> Traditional and online distribution systems will therefore continue to co-exist over the next few years as the Indian outbound market grows and matures.
Aussie Specialists > The Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) is the primary platform for Tourism Australia to train and develop retail agents to sell Australia.
> As at March 2013, there were 790 qualified Aussie Specialists in India and a further 1,864 agents in training. 75 percent of these ASPs are based in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Kolkata.
> New potential Aussie Specialist agents are identified in conjunction with airlines and ITOs.
> The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) introduced a Preferred Agency Scheme (PAS) program for selected
Aussie Specialist agencies, whereby approved ASP retail agencies are able to process visa applications according to DIAC requirements. As at December 2012, there were 108 agencies under this scheme.
> The electronic lodgement service for visas is also available to nominated agents in India. Currently there are around 25 agents in this scheme.
Inbound Tour Operators Commission Level: up to 10%
> Several ITOs are active in India.
> Key ITOs for India are Wel Travel, Travel Maestro, Holiday Pacific, Australian Outback Travel (AOT), Australian Tours Management (ATM), GTA, and Tour East (Qantas Holidays).
Business Events > Business events travel programs are generally restricted to the East coast of Australia and city-centric experiences. A typical Australian business events program currently includes three nights in Gold Coast and/or three nights in Sydney or Melbourne.
> Business events is a price sensitive segment, which can result in agents promoting simpler itineraries without any value-adds.
> Time, price, distance and air access are traditional barriers for Australia as a preferred business events destination.
> Incentives programs are often pan-India, therefore airline connectivity, capacity and network reach across different cities of India are key considerations when choosing any incentive destination.
> Travel agents are the preferred booking method for incentive and corporate groups and have significant influence in marketing and selling destinations.
> Key industries for the business events sector in India include pharmaceutical, healthcare, fast moving consumer goods, insurance, banking, telecommunications, automobiles and more.
4.1 Distribution system The Indian travel distribution system is highly fragmented and varied across the country. Whilst there are a few national retail agencies, most agents are small, independent businesses and contribute a varying percentage of business to Australia. Anecdotally, 10 per cent of agents contribute 20 per cent of the business to Australia, and 90 per cent of agents contribute 80 per cent of business. Indian consumers are researching and booking their trips using a combination of traditional travel agencies and online options, however retail agencies still handle the majority of outbound travel.
-
15 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
distribution
Seasonality > The peak booking periods for travel to Australia are September to November and February to April.
> The peak travel periods to Australia are May (Indian school vacation) and December (Indian winter holiday, Christmas and New Year season).
Brochures and rates
Brochure Validity > For Indian summer travel brochures: 1 April to 30 September (contracting starts November/ December)
> For Indian winter travel brochures: 1 October to 31 March (contracting starts in July)
Brochure Space Policy
> Medium to large scale Indian agents will request contributions (cash/in-kind) to feature individual products in their itineraries or brochures
Setting Rates > Rates are set between July to September for winter brochures and from November to January for summer brochures
Standard Rate Validity Periods
> For Indian summer brochures: 1 April to 30 September
> For Indian winter brochures: 1 October to 31 March
-70%
-35%
0%
35%
70%
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
All Purposes Leisure Business Other
Seasonality of Visitors from India Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Overseas Arrivals & Departures, 2008 to 2012
more than the
average
Var
iati
on
fro
m M
on
thly
Ave
rag
e A
rriv
als
less than the
average
Avg: 57,264 Avg: 29,862 Avg: 11,540 Avg: 15,862
-
16 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
distribution
4.2 Trends 4.3 Planning a visit to market Distribution > Online travel agencies such as MakeMyTrip.com, Yatra Online, Expedia and Ezeego1 have been increasing market share in the online space. They are expanding rapidly, and an emerging trend is their move into traditional retail stores, in addition to expanding products and services online.
> While there has been some growth in online sales of tour packages, sales volume is still low to date and it is primarily for short haul destinations.
> Self drive holidays and luxury holiday experiences are new products being developed in the market, with support from Aussie Specialist agents.
Top tips for sales calls > Sales calls should focus on agents in the key cities of Mumbai and New Delhi at least twice a year, and in the secondary cities of Kolkatta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore at least once a year.
> The best time for sales calls is January to February and July to September.
> For more general information on sales calls and planning a visit to market, please see Tourism Australias Planning for Inbound Success at www.tourism.australia.com/inboundsuccess
10. Tourism Australia, Australian Consumer Demand Research, conducted by BDA Marketing Planning, 2012
Planning and purchasing travel > According to findings from Tourism Australias Consumer Demand Research project10, when planning a trip to Australia, Indian respondents would predominantly use online sources such as a general internet search, travel booking and advice websites and the Government tourism website. After online sources, respondents would talk to family and friends who have been. The use of social media for research was slightly higher than the average across all markets suggesting it would leverage well amongst Indian consumers.
> Consumers are booking trips using a combination of traditional distribution operators and online options. Most consumers will book through a retail travel agent rather than directly with product.
> Indian consumers have a short lead time for booking holidays, ranging from three to six weeks on average.
> Indians are seasoned travellers and prefer to plan itineraries prior to travel.
-
17 IndIa Market Profile April 2013
IndIa
distribution
4.4 Key trade and consumer events
Key Trade and Consumer Events
Event Location Date
India Travel Mission (ITM) Grand Hyatt Goa 25-28 August 2013
Where to Find More Information
Tourism Australias activities in India are managed from Tourism Australias Mumbai office. For more information visit Tourism Australias Corporate website at www.tourism.australia.com
Australian State and Territory Tourism Organisations operating in India include the South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination New South Wales and Tourism Victoria.
Also see: India Country Brief published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at www.dfat.gov.au/geo