The growing YOLO (You Only Live Once) mindset, coupled with a desire for immersive outdoor experiences, is driving demand, primarily across age groups from 20 to 45 years.
'We expect inbound numbers in 2025 to come close to pre-pandemic levels -- if not fully match them -- by early 2026.'
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
Taking a serious note of the situation, the civil aviation ministry said it has invoked regulatory powers to ensure fair and reasonable fares across all affected routes.
While wellness-related facilities and activities used to be considered luxury offerings, hospitality industry executives note that it has now become a mainstream expectation among guests.
'Tourists from long-haul markets such as the US, UK, and Western Europe are especially sensitive to such news, and short-term cancellations or postponements of planned trips can be expected.'
DGCA provided temporary relief to IndiGo, which is partially owned by Rahul Bhatia, by rolling back the night duty definition to 12 am-5 am from 12 am-6 am earlier, and allowing its pilots to do six night-landings from two earlier, besides other relaxations.
'Countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and the Philippines have a 50 per cent increase in bookings.'
The primary drivers: Geopolitical disruptions inflating fuel and operational costs, and a surge in travel demand.
Air India has cancelled eight flights, including four international services, on Friday due to enhanced maintenance and operational reasons, the airline said.
The diplomatic rift between India and Maldives, coupled with the suspension of flight bookings on one of India's major travel portals, has sent jitters down the spine of tour operators in the island nation. The Maldivian Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO), a forum for travel agents, has stressed that the Indian market is important to the success of tourism in Maldives.
Data reveals that India issued only 5,709 tourist visas during this year's January 1 to November 2 period, reflecting a staggering 91 per cent decrease compared to the entire year of 2022.
Industry says though most pending issues have been deliberated upon by Tourism ministry, they are yet to be implemented
While the Taj remains popular amongst celebrity guests, many ordinary foreign visitors are skipping it
The tourism ministry has decided to impart Mandarin training to members of Indian Association of Tour Operators.
Indian traveller is no longer satisfied with a single annual vacation, but is increasingly demanding multiple holidays and festive breaks offer an ideal opportunity.
International tourist arrivals in India is likely to grow by about 18 per cent this year to nearly three million, the national body of tour operators said on Tuesday.
Education technology, grocery, fashion, food delivery and UPI payments surpassed volumes or revenues of February, in the September-October period.
The violence in the state last year reduced tourist inflow by 55% and revenue by 80%. Kasmiris hope the summer of 2017 will take them back to the highs of 2015. Sohini Das reports.
Industry insiders expect Chinese tourists coming to India to double in around two years.
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