Tourist footfall from abroad picks up 16.9% in August

NEW DELHI: There are signs of pick up in foreign tourist arrivals in the country post elections. In August alone, India received 16.9% more foreign tourists, say ministry of tourism sources and dollar earnings from foreign tourists have increased 24.9% over earnings in August 2013 which accounted for $1.294 billion.
An in-bound tour operator says he is expecting a group of 300 people from South America next month and hopes the trend is here to say. “The new government in place and that is possibly the reason why the numbers have improved slightly over last year. A larger number of groups that were holding back last year are beginning to plan MICE incentives now,“ says Rajeev Kohli , joint managing director of Creative Travel India.

Another destination management company is seeing signs of recovery and expects more foreign arrivals for the upcoming holiday season starting post Diwali. Arjun Sharma, managing director of Le Passage to India, a bespoke travel agency, says their numbers for August closed at a 9% higher. However it may still be too early to celebrate.

Industry experts say foreign tourist arrival figures could include those from neighbouring countries. “It may be possible that this traffic in August could be from travellers from around India. But we are expecting a 25% growth in our business next year,“ says Vikram Madhok, managing director of travel agency Abercrombie and Kent India.

The industry is pinning its hopes on electronic tourist authorisations or ETAs for international tourists which is slated to launch by October this year. “If implemented properly, this could bring between 5-10% additional foreign tourists into India.

But this facility requires over 500 trained professionals on board.And if the government isn't proactive enough while hiring and training staff, it could be counter-productive,“ said an industry expert close to the matter.

Travel agency Thomas Cook is expecting the months of September-December to really boost sales for inbound traffic.“South Korea, the middle East as well as Japan have been positive for us for the second quarter this year, but Italy and Spain haven't done well for the entire industry,“ says Prashant Narayan, chief operating officer and head, leisure travel in-bound business, Thomas Cook India.

However the industry is hopeful of a revamp and relaunch of the 'Incredible India' campaign which is currently not being broadcast anywhere in the world. “If India has to succeed as a destination, it must relaunch the campaign in an aggressive way,“ says Dipak Deva, chairman, World Travel & Tourism Council, India Initiative.

An industry source says the for the past two years, the Incredible India campaign is not on the air internationally because the minister of tourism and the secretary of tourism could not decide upon which media to use for the advertisements.