For decades, experts worldwide have been predicting the death of planned coach touring and now more travellers seem to be taking charge of their travel plans by researching on the Internet. Yet, coach touring only seems to be growing and attracting new players in India.
According to the World Travel Market 2011 release, China has the biggest outbound tourism opportunity amongst BRIC economies, with an estimated 20 million trips until 2015. India is not far behind. Projections for 2011 are that 15 million Indians will travel overseas as compared to 12 million travellers in 2010, and with additional flight capacity, the figure could grow at 25 percent in 2011. India was quick to bounce back from the impact of the economic slowdown.
While the short haul International destinations remain the favourite as they are often at the same price and at times even lower than domestic travel, long haul destinations are also recording strong growth. The difference, however, is the style of travel, wherein even first time travellers are comfortable exploring South East Asia on their own, while when it comes to Europe they prefer coach touring.
Independent travel is growing remarkably well, even to Europe, yet coach tours remain the most popular and best way to sample what the charming Old World of Europe has to offer. It is not just the all–inclusive one price that Indians like; it is also that the diversity of Europe can be experienced in a short duration of time. Tour managers take travellers to exactly the places that they want to see. And, though English is commonly spoken in many parts of Europe, not all countries are easy to explore on your own. Above all, Indians are inclined to travelling with their families and are often accompanied by young children, making coach touring the most hassle free style of travelling.
“Most of all, coach touring makes it more affordable to explore Europe” says Gauri Jayaram, Regional Director South Asia and Middle East for the Globus family of brands, the world’s largest coach touring company. “This is also why Europe is no longer the preserve of the wealthy and affluent Indians. With increasing awareness and accessibility, we are seeing an increased demand from across India.” Western India remains the leader generating maximum travellers, followed by North / Central, South and East, respectively. Moreover, business is no longer restricted to the metros, Tier II cities are also important targets for all tour operators.
It is the practicality of coach touring as well as the growing diversity amongst Indians that is attracting more players to this segment. In the past 3 to 4 years, almost ten travel companies have launched their own branded tours at the national level. On a regional level, many more are operating and managing their own tours for their clients.
Interestingly, while the multi-country Panoramic Europe tours remain hot favorites, many of these operators are also adding departures to regions such as Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Italy etc. In fact even companies that started as OTAs (on line travel agents) whose core business was to sell airline tickets have now entered this segment.
“Our vacations are remarkably different from what anyone else offers in India. Specifically we do not include any Indian meals, travel companions are from different countries and our Tour Directors belong to the region that we tour in. Despite these features, that make our tours very cosmopolitan, we have found a clientèle in India. Moreover the fact that all our partners selling coach tours are also successfully selling our tours goes to show how the market is evolving and there is room for everyone” added Gauri Jayaram.
The Globus family of brands offers budget and premium tours to over 65 countries in Europe. The company is likely to introduce at least ten new vacations in 2012 to meet this increasing demand. Regardless of how coach touring will evolve in other countries, when it comes to India, it’s here to stay.