Indian tourists are going abroad in droves. The percentage of tourists travelling to Europe, the United States and the Mediterranean countries has grown by almost 25% this year, compared to 2009-10.
Statistics provided by the Ministry of Tourism show that Indian tourism in Egypt has grown at the rate of 30% year-on-year, with 1,14,000 tourists visiting the country from January this year in spite of the unrest.
Singapore receives nearly 5,00,000 Indian tourists a year. Spain saw around 75,000 visitors from India last year, and is expecting almost double the number this year after the success of the movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, shot in Spain. The most popular places so far have been Barcelona and Madrid where Indians prefer to stay for eight-nine days.
New Zealand statistics show that almost 30,000 Indian travellers visited the country until May 2011, almost 13% more than last year.
According to the UN's Madrid-based World Tourism Organisation by 2020, over 50 million Indians will be travelling abroad each year.
"Bollywood has always been an ideal tool to promote a new foreign destination among Indians. Hong Kong, Australia, the Netherlands and British tourism boards in association with Indian movie development councils are working on strategies to attract Indian film producers to promote tourism," said an official from the Ministry of Tourism. "India is considered to be a goldmine. 'Have money, will travel' is the new mantra among the new generation. Frequently visited areas are Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Macao, Hong Kong and even China. Thailand is a short holiday destination which costs up to Rs 20,000 per person," said Rajji Rai, president of the Travel Agents Association of India. He added that economically well off Indians have started looking at places such as France and Kenya as well.
"Some domestic destinations, such as Kerala and Goa, have been sidelined because they are equally expensive. Italy, Switzerland, South Africa and Belgium are some newfound holiday places. Bollywood plays an important role in making Indians choose their holiday spot," said Rai.
Travel portals too believe that international travel is on an upswing. "Our outbound bookings have seen a growth of almost 20% over last year. The reason for the demand is manifold, but mainly it is the influence of the media in terms of movies, TV serials, print medium and also easily available travel deals. Holidays are no longer a rich man's prerogative. With the increase of affordable travel packages, low cost airlines, middle class families are also beginning to travel abroad," said Neelu Singh, COO of Ezeego1.com, a travel portal.
"The growth has been very encouraging and it is estimated that 11 million Indians are going to travel abroad by 2011. We have seen a growth of about 50% over last year, triggered by the economic well being of Indians," said Manoj Gursahani, founder and MD of Vamoosevacations.com.
31 July in The Sunday Guardian.
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