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Evaluation Study in Selected Overseas Markets Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India

Report onEvaluation Study in Selected

Overseas Markets

For

Market Research Division

Ministry of Tourism

Government of India

March 2007THEG

ALLUPORGANI

ZATION


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Table of Contents

Chapter No. Contents

1. BACKGROUND 1

1.1 Tourism Outlook 2

1.1.1 Tourism Outlook Global 2

1.1.2 Tourism Outlook Asia 4

1.1.3 Tourism Outlook Forecast 6

1.1.4 Indian Economy 7

1.1.5 Tourism Outlook India 11

2. STUDY OBJECTIVES 14

2.1 Primary Objective 15

2.2 Secondary Objectives 16

3. RESEARCH DESIGN 17

3.1 Segments identified 18

3.2 Segment definition 20

3.2.1 Travelers Segment 20

3.2.2 Trade Partners 22

3.2.3 Directors of Tourism Office 22

3.3 Methodology 23

3.4 Sample 24

3.4.1 Travelers Segment Sample Split 25

3.4.2 Trade Partners Segment Sample Split 26

4. FINDINGS TOURISM OFFICE EFFECTIVENESS 284.1 Executive Summary 29

4.2 Detailed Findings Tourism Office Effectiveness Travelers 30

4.2.1 Awareness of India Tourism Offices 30

4.3 Detailed Findings Tourism Office Effectiveness Trade Partners 32

4.3.1 Key marketing Challenges 32

4.3.2 Trade Partners Not dealing with India 33

4.3.3 Disposition to deal with India in Future 34

4.3.4 Efforts required on part of the India tourism office 35

4.3.5 Tourism Office Interaction 36

5. FINDINGS TRAVEL BEHAVIOR 40

5.1 Key terms used 41

5.2 Executive Summary 42

5.3 Detailed findings Travel Behavior Travelers 45

5.3.1 Past Travel Behavior 45

5.3.2 Future Travel Behavior 47

5.3.3 Source of Destination awareness 50

5.3.4 India Travel Future 52

5.3.5 Recent Travel Experience 59

5.4 Detailed Findings Travel Behavior Trade Partners 66

5.4.1 Popularity of Destination 665.4.2 Interest levels about India Destination 74


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5.4.3 Profile of Travelers who travel to India 76

5.4.4 Aspects of India that attract travelers 77

5.4.5 Types of Holiday activities preferred in India 78

5.4.6 The most popular attractions in India 79

5.4.7 Knowledge levels about India 80

5.4.8 Sufficiency of Information 825.4.9 Experience vs. Expectations 83

6. FINDINGS COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS 84

6.1 Executive Summary 85

6.2 Detailed Findings Communication Effectiveness - Travelers 87

6.2.1 Advertising awareness levels Spontaneous + Aided 87

6.2.2 Awareness of India Advertising 88

6.2.3 India Advertising Awareness Levels 89

6.2.4 Source of awareness of India advertising 90

6.2.5 Spontaneous elements recalled of India Advertising 92

6.2.6 Aided Awareness Recent Travelers 95

6.2.7 Disposition Distribution 96

6.2.8 India Total Awareness vs. Disposition 97

6.2.9 Ad Impact By intention to travel 99

6.3 Detailed Findings Communication Effectiveness Trade Partners 104

6.3.1 Awareness of India advertising campaign 104

7. FINDINGS NTO INTERVIEWS 106

8. SUMMARY OF METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS 116

8.1 Summary Gallup Study Of Key Overseas Markets 1178.1.1 Gallup Study - Methodology 117

8.1.2 Gallup Study - Sample 117

8.2 Gallup Study Summary Of Findings 118

Trade Partners Segment 118

8.2.2 -Perceived Challenges 120

8.2.3 -India Tourism Offices 120

Regional Directors 121

8.3.1 -Structure Of India Tourism Offices 121

8.3.2 -Challenges in Marketing India 121

Potential Travelers 122

8.4.1 -Outbound Travel 122

8.4.2 -Image 123

8.4.3 -Communication 123

Recent Travelers 124

9. WAY FORWARD 125

ANNEXURES 132

NTO offices and representations abroad Annexure 1 133

NTO staff (expressed in Full-Time Employees FTEs) Annexure 2 134

Thailand Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Annexure 3 135


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CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND

1


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By sub-regions, South Asia registered the highest annual growth rate in

2006 (10.1%), followed by Sub-Saharan Africa (9.4%) and South East Asia

(9%). Europe and Middle East showed a growth rate of 4% in 2006. The

weakest region was America, whose estimated growth rate was 2% 3.

In terms of the future forecast for the year 2007, Africa is forecast to

record the highest growth in the year 2007 at 9%, followed by Asia and the

Pacific at 8%. Americas (+2%), is set to continue growing below the world

average, in spite of good performance of the southern destinations3.

THEGALLUP ORGANIZATION3

3 UNWTO World Tourism Barometer: January 2007

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1.1.2 Tourism Outlook ASIA

Asia continues to be the world economic powerhouse. According to the

United Nations, by 2020, four of the largest ten economies will be in Asia

(China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea). Asia will also account for 12

of the 22 mega cities (urban centres with more than 10 million people) by the

same year4.

An improved global economic performance, further uplifts of travel and

visa restrictions in the region, lower transportation costs, and favourable

exchange rates all contributed to the strong rebound in the region during the

year 2006.

Of the 842 million arrivals in the world for the year 2006, 167.1 million

were for Asia. Within Asia, North-East Asia contributed about 94 million

arrivals. 53.8 million arrivals were for South-East Asia. Oceania and South

Asia together accounted for about 19.3 million arrivals5.

Asia and the Pacific was able to maintain its extraordinary growth

level (+7.6%, compared to last year), both due to the recovery of Thailand and

the Maldives from the impact of the December 2004 tsunami, as well as

remarkable performances from emerging destinations in the region.

International tourist arrivals in South Asia grew by 10%, boosted by India,

the destination responsible for half the arrivals to the sub-region6.

There was increased competition among airlines in pricing as steps

were taken by various government authorities worldwide to ease protection on

their own national carriers. This resulted in lower airfares on some routes,

despite a possible pass-through due to the hikes in oil prices.


4 Mega Trends of Tourism in Asia Pacific: June 2006 (Report by UNWTO)5

UNWTO World Tourism Barometer: January 20076 WTO: Newsroom release, taken from -

http://www.unwto.org/newsroom/Releases/2007/january/recordyear.htm

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The rise of the low-cost airlines offering not only lower prices but also

lesser restrictions with respect to length of stay or weekend stopover, thus

putting air travel within reach of groups of travelers with more limited budgets

but a healthy desire for travel, also triggered tourism in the region.

Further relaxation of immigration regulations and cultural integration in

the region favored intra-regional tourism, with generally lower spending levels

due to shorter stays. Together with some price cutting strategies adopted by

countries and corporations in the region, intraregional traffic recovered quicker

than long-haul traffic, from the 2004 tsunami.

Though still the smallest of WTOs tourism regions, South Asia 7 has

been recording consistently strong growth over the past four decades due to

the growing number of new destinations on offer in the region, and the

expansion of the tourism product developed in the main countries of the

region. These developments have served to attract in particular the long-haul

interregional tourist.


7WTO Tourism 2020 Vision Countries part of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan & Sri-Lanka.

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1.1.3 Tourism Outlook FORECAST

The Tourism 20208 Vision forecasts show that international tourist

arrivals are expected to reach over 1.56 billion by the year 2020. This

demonstrates an annual growth rate of 4.1 per cent over the period 1995-

2020. Long-haul (interregional) travel worldwide will grow faster than

intraregional travel. In 1995, long-haul travel accounted for 18 per cent of all

international trips; by 2020 this is expected to increase to 24 per cent.

The 22 destinations9 of the Indian Ocean country grouping are forecast

to receive 179 million international tourist arrivals in the year 2020, thus

recording an annual growth rate of 6.3 per cent over the period 1995-2020.

Consequently, the Indian Ocean region is gaining market share of worldwide

tourist arrivals and by 2020 one-in-every-nine (or around 11 per cent) of

tourist arrivals will be to an Indian Ocean country. Thailand will become the

leading Indian Ocean destination with a forecast of 36.9 million arrivals in

2020, an average annual growth between 1995 and 2020 of 6.9 per cent .

South Africa will occupy the second place, third place will be occupied by

Indonesia, Malaysia at number four; fifth and sixth positions will be held by

Australia and Singapore respectively. India will be the seventh largest Indian

Ocean country in terms of arrivals.

The prospects for the Tourism sector at a global level are very

optimistic on account of the following factors:

The worldwide economic growth is fueling the old source markets of

North America and Europe and simultaneously creating new sourcemarkets of Asia.

Travel & tourism has rebounded post the terror incidences and threats

to airlines. Consumer confidence is up again and not dampened

anymore by these events.


8 WTO Tourism 2020 Vision, Volume 6: South Asia9 WTO Tourism 2020: Classifies the 22 destinations as Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India,

Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman,Pakistan, Reunion, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South-Africa, Sri-Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand and

Yemen

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1.1.4 INDIAN ECONOMY

Indias recent and current economic growth is all the more impressive

given that, for most of the last 50 years, it struggled to increase its GDP faster

than population. Goldman Sachs report, Dreaming with BRICs: The path to

2050, predicts that India will become 3rd largest economy of the world by

2035, behind US and China.

As per advanced estimates released by the Central Statistical

Organization, real GDP is expected to grow by 9.2 % during 2006-07. This

would be the second consecutive year of high growth as real GDP was

estimated to have grown by 9% during 2005-06.

The nominal GDP stands at Rs. 35,315 billion, or U.S $ 797 billion. The

industrial growth as reflected in the month of September 2006 up by 11.4%,

the infrastructure index up by 9.9%, business confidence picking up again,

and strong sectoral trends reflected in autos, cement and telecom all

prognosticate encouraging story10.

From 2007 to 2020, Indias GDP per capita in US$ terms will

quadruple. Indians will also consume 5 times more cars and 3 times more

crude oil. 11

Economic engines firing all cylinders have domino effect on ancillary

industries like - Infrastructure and Air Connectivity (Aviation), which in turn,

impact Tourism Industry.


10

India Macroscope Travel and Tourism in India: Unlocking its potential as an engine for growth,Citigroup, November 2006

11 Goldman Sachs: Global Economics Paper No: 152, India's rising Growth Potential, January 2007

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Water

The 10th Five Year Plan was declared as the Water Plan for focused

attention on the integrated development of water resources in the country.

Some state governments have made changes in existing irrigation acts to

motivate participation of beneficiaries in construction, operation and

maintenance.

The overall growth in the Infrastructure Industry is encouraging for

Tourism as this shall aid in providing improved connectivity and better

destination experience to the incoming travelers.

AVIATION

Civil Aviation forms a very important infrastructure in boosting trade

and commerce as well as in enhancing overall international competitiveness.

In value terms nearly 30% of India's foreign trade is handled by the airports 16.

Revolutionized by liberalization, the aviation sector in India has been marked

by fast-paced change in the past few years.

There are two broad components to the Civil Aviation Industry, the

Airports and the Airline Companies.

India has witnessed growth in both these components of Aviation

industry.

The Indian Government has indicated its plans to complete the

development of 35 non-metro airports by 2009 and to involve the private

sector for the development of city side facilities at these airports17.

One of the recent developments in the Aviation history, at a global level

has been successful operations of low-cost airlines. Be it in the U.S, Europe,

16

AeroIndia 2007: Business Opportunities, Civil Aviation Sector, from -http://www.aeroindia.in/htm/bu-opp.htm17 Business Line, October 21st, 2006

THEGALLUP ORGANIZATION- 9 -9


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Australia or South-East Asia, the low cost model has expanded in the market,

and gained significant share. India is no exception to the rule. With the entry

of LCCs (Low-Cost Carriers) like SpiceJet, GoAir, Air Deccan, the Industry

has undergone massive change. From being a service that few could afford,

the sector has now graduated to being a fiercely competitive industry with the

presence of a number of private and public airlines and several consumer-

oriented offerings.

Comparing Indias Aviation Industry to that of China, India has 15

million seats (as on September 2006) as compared to 140 million in China

being serviced by about 200+ aircrafts as against 800 in China. The middle

classa major market for LCCsin India is about 300 million strong and 400

million in China, yet India has recorded an annual growth of 25% against

Chinas 17% in terms of trips per capita, in the last year. At 0.01 trips per

capita, India is said to rank between Ethiopia and Nigeria, countries with a

much lower per capita GDP. Malaysia, with a population of 28 million, has the

same number of air passengers. Indias 200 aircrafts may be compared with

US-based LCC Southwest Airlines that alone has 417 aircrafts18.

There exist a strong potential for India to become worlds leading LCC

Market; it already counts half a dozen airlines based on the low-cost model,

and on an average 40% of the passengers are first-time airline travelers. The

Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) predicts that the LCCs

market share in India will reach 70% by 2010, making it the Worlds leading

LCC market in terms of total market penetration19.

The figures clearly forecast Indias civil aviation industry to grow

exponentially in the years to come. Newer routes shall be opened, and

destination shall become more reachable, these endeavors, at an overall

level will forebear a positive impact on Tourism.


18

The Financial Express (Edits and Columns), Indian Aviation: Gaining Tailwind, September 200619 Total Tourism India: An analysis of the Worlds fastest growing market, Pacific Asia Travel

Association 2006

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1.1.5 Tourism Outlook India

Given the Global Tourism perspective, buoyancy in the Indian

Economy and growth in the related ancillary industries like Infrastructure and

Aviation, the Tourism Industry is expected to be on an upswing in India.

Foreign Tourist arrivals to India have been showing an increasing trend, it

being estimated at 4.43 million in 2006, up 13% from 2005 (3.92 million).

Taking into account the fact that these figures exclude the NRIs visiting India,

the total number of international tourist arrivals in 2006 is estimated to be over

7 million20.

Indias outbound travel is twice the volume of inbound, and destinations

in the Asia-Pacific region are expected to receive continuous growth in tourist

arrivals from India. In terms of the growing travel and tourism economy and

the real growth rate of travel market, India is the number one country in Asia-

Pacific region 21

The Travel & Tourism Industry in India is expected to grow and

generate US $ 128 billion by 2016. The Total Demand is expected to grow by

8% per annum, in real terms, between 2007 and 2016. In the year 2006, India

represented 0.8 % of the world market share22.

Indias rich cultural and geographic diversity provides the basis of a

wide range of tourist products and experiences, which include among others -

leisure, culture, adventure, spirituality, eco-tourism and wellness & health.

Apart from acknowledging the traditionally recognized advantages of

developing tourism for promotion of people to people understanding, earning

of the foreign exchange, vast employment generation, it can play a major role

in furthering the socio-economic objectives of the nation.


20 This figure has been arrived at by taking into account the figures estimated for foreign tourist and

NRIs visiting India as obtained from the International Passenger survey 2003 of Ministry of tourism21

Mega Trends of Tourism in Asia Pacific: June 2006 (Report by UNWTO)22 World Travel and Tourism Council & Accenture: Travel And Tourism Economic Research in India

(2006)

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Tourism and Employment

The travel and tourism sector creates more jobs per million rupees of

investment than any other sector of the economy and is capable of providing

employment to a wide spectrum of job seekers from the unskilled to the

specialized, even in the remote parts of the country23.

Tourism employs around 8% of total workforce. The most significant

contribution of the tourism is the creation of employment in rural areas by

stimulating local art, handicrafts and folklore.

India Tourism Global Recognition

The last few years have been highly successful for India Tourism. The

Incredible India campaign has enabled the destination to penetrate global

market and reach the ultimate consumer through electronic, print and internet

media.

On account of the spurt that India has witnessed in tourist arrivals in

the recent times and given the unique and immense potential the country has

as a vacation destination, The World Travel and Tourism Council has

identified India as one of the foremost tourism growth centers in the world, in

the coming decade.

Integrated endeavors of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India

have led to India winning the following international acclaims:- Conde Nast Traveller, the worlds leading travel and tourism journal

has ranked India amongst the top 4 preferred holiday

destinations of the world

India amongst the top 5 favorite destinations Lonely Planet in a

survey of 167 countries

ABTA (Association of British Travel Agency) has ranked India as

No. 1 amongst top 50 places for 2006

23 10th Five year plan (2002-2007)



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The Incredible India campaign has been the winner of PATA Gold

Award for best Print Ad Campaign and PATA Gold Award for Best

Destination Marketing Campaign

The Incredible India Campaign has been ranked as the Highest

Recall Advertisement worldwide by Travel and Leisure

World Travel Awards received for a) Asias Leading Destination b)

Worlds leading Travel Destination Television Commercial c)

Worlds Leading Responsible Tourism Project, for Endogenous

Tourism Project and d) Asia's leading tourism and convention

bureau

Increasingly, Tourism as a sector seems to be emerging to be one of

the main driving engines of the Indian Economy.



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CHAPTER 2: STUDY OBJECTIVES



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2.1 Primary Objective

Given the background, the marketing objective was identified as under:

Objectively assess the impact of the overseas campaign and study

end-result in terms of knowledge levels, expectations, aspirations of India in

key source markets. This understanding was expected to be used to fine-

tune the current campaign and designing of future campaigns in the relevant

overseas source markets.24

This further translated into the following being the primary objectives of

research:

Objectively assess the salience and effectiveness of the integrated

communication effort undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India, by

source of awareness viz.

Levels of the various overseas marketing activities carried out by the

Ministry of Tourism, Govt. of India.

Through different medias TV, Radio, Posters, Print; Press and Media

relations; Customer Information services; Consumer fairs and

Exhibitions, Trade events, Festivals, Hallmark events and Website, and

various other channels of communication as applicable, amongst

various target segments.

24 TOR


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2.2 Secondary Objective

Secondary objectives which were also identified to corroborate the primary

objectives are as follows:

To obtain an assessment of the support provided by India NTO (to

business partners) in furthering their business.

To obtain a broad overview of the outbound travel patterns (past and

future) amongst the general population in the key target markets. To determine the preference for India, as a destination amongst

potential target.

To ascertain the current perception of India and evaluation of India as a

destination vis--vis select competing destinations on key Image

metrics.

To ascertain the expectations of India, as a travel destination and the

activities they would like to indulge, when traveling to India.

To obtain an evaluation of India as a travel destination, amongst those

who have visited India in the recent past

To ascertain the expected role to be played by India Tourism overseas

offices, by the intending Asia Vacation travelers.


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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH DESIGN


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3.1 Segments Identified

Given the research objectives and the information areas to be probed,

it was imperative that the target respondents needed to be defined with care.

A focus simply on general population will not provide detailed and robust

analysis; an intention to travel in the near future would be an important

criterion. Thus, the general population was split into those intending to travel

and those not intending to travel. Among those intending to travel the sample

was further segmented into those intending to travel to India and those not

intending to travel to India, but to other Asian destinations.

It was also appreciated, that to understand the efficacy of the

marketing campaign, it was important to capture and comprehend two

perspectives, one from the point of view of the travelers, and the other from

the point of view of channel partner or the Travel Agencies (also referred to as

the Trade Partners), who are a strong link between the destination and the

potential travelers.

The feedback from the Directors of the Tourism offices based out of

different countries was also included, as it was felt necessary to capture the

opinions of the India Tourism Offices. For this qualitative research

methodology was employed. The Directors were spoken to and their inputs

studied.


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Thus the segments studied were:-

GENERAL POPULATION

Intending travelers

Intending to travel to India

Intending to travel to other Asian

destinations, but not India

Non travelers

Returning travelers

TRADE PARTNERS SEGMENT

Small

Medium

Large

DIRECTORS OF THE INDIA TOURISM OFFICES

Further explanation of the segments has been provided below.


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3.2 Segment definition

3.2.1 Travelers Segment

Four layers were covered within the Travelers segment. These four layers

are as mentioned below

a) General Population - defined as population falling within the age

group of 20-75 years, irrespective of gender. The occupation as

defined was either working, or taking care of the home (home

manager), or retired from professional career or pursuing education.

b) Potential Asia vacation Traveler (Intending to Travel to Asia in the

next 2 years on vacation BUT NOT to India) - defined as the general

population who intend traveling to any of the Asian destinations in the

next two years for vacation purposes but with India not in the

consideration set.

c) Potential India vacation Traveler (Intending to Travel to India in the

next 2 years on Vacation) as the name suggests these are all the

general population travelers who intend traveling to India in the next

two years for vacation purposes.

d) Recent Travelers - Finally, keeping in mind the limited rate of

incidence of travel to India amongst the general public in each source

market, we covered the Traveled to India segment in India itself.

These respondents were intercepted at Airports when they were

returning from their India vacation. This segment is referred to as the

RECENT TRAVELERS Segment. Here we did not sample by

countries, but quotas were applied for visitors from Europe, Americasand Middle East.


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Fig 3.2.1a elaborates in detail on the sampling framework and the target

segments appearance in the universe.

GeneralPopulation

Potential Asia VacationTravelers, But not to India

(Travelers Segment)Intending to travel to Asia, but not

to India in the next 2 years onvacation

Potential IndiaVacation Travelers

(Travelers Segment)


in the next 2 years onvacation

Recent travelersto India

Departing vacationtravelers from India

Asia Travelers

Potential Asia VacationTravelers, But not to India

(Travelers Segment)Intending to travel to Asia, but not

to India in the next 2 years onvacation

Potential IndiaVacation Travelers

(Travelers Segment)


in the next 2 years onvacation

Recent travelersto India

Departing vacationtravelers from India

Asia Travelers

Fig 3.2.1a



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3.2.2 Trade Partners

In order to understand, in totality, the travel behavior, the disposition

towards the communication campaigns, and the effectiveness of the Tourism

Office, the Trade Partners (Travel Agencies from the source markets) were

also included in the Study. Further profiling of the Trade partners was done on

variables like size of operations, tenure in business, dealing with Asian

destinations but not India, dealing with India etc, and the data was analyzed

by these profiles.

3.2.3 Directors of Tourism Office

As mentioned earlier, these interviews were done through qualitative

technique, wherein in-depth telephonic interviews were conducted using a

structured discussion guide, which allowed flexibility basis the response of the

respondents.


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3.3 Methodology

Two techniques of data collection were used in this research.

1. Computer-Aided Telephonic Interviews (CATI)

2. Pen & Paper - the interviews were done by the professional

interviewers who went and visited the respondent inperson to

gather his / her feedback.

There were certain source markets which did not permit the use ofCATI and there were some markets which did not permit the use of In-

person, therefore, for those source markets only one methodology was

resorted to. Further explanation about the methodology and the way they

apply to various segments has been given below:

TRAVELERS RECENT

TRAVELERS

TRADE PARTNERS DIRECTORS OF

TOURISM OFFICES

A mix of in-person

interviews (wherever

the markets

permitted) and

telephonic

interviewing was

used as mechanism

to do the data-

collection

All the interviews

done for this

segment were done

in India, at the

airports; therefore the

interviews were only

done through the in-

person route. The

interviews were donewhen the passengers

were waiting at the

lounge before the

boarding of the

aircraft.

Similar to the

Travelers, a mix of

in-person as well as

telephonic

interviewing was

used in case of the

Trade partners.

However the in-

person route wasused only for the

source markets

where it was possible

to do in-person

interviews

In-depth Telephonic

interviews using

structured discussion

guide


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3.4 Sample

In all, the data collection was done across 13 countries, and 20

locations. This holds true for the Travelers segment as well as the Trade

partners segment. As has been mentioned earlier, for the Recent Travelers

segment the interviews were done at the Indian airports itself. The data

collection was done at the following international airports Mumbai Airport,

Delhi Airport, Bangalore Airport, Hyderabad Airport and Chennai Airport.

In all, a total of 8295 Travelers, 602 Trade Partners were met across

these 13 countries and 20 locations and 518 Recent Travelers were met at

the Indian airports. The data collection was done during the two month period

of October-November 2006.

COUNTRIES LOCATIONS METHODOLOGY

AUSTRALIA Sydney, Melbourne In-person and

CATI

JAPAN Tokyo CATI only

SOUTH KOREA Seoul In-person and

CATI

MIDDLE EAST Abu-Dhabi, Dubai In-Person only

GERMANY Frankfurt, Berlin CATI only

FRANCE Paris CATI only

ITALY Milan CATI only

SPAIN Madrid, Barcelona CATI only

NETHERLANDS Amsterdam CATI only

SWEDEN Stockholm CATI only

UNITED KINGDOM London CATI only

CANADA Toronto, Vancouver CATI only

UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA

New York, Chicago, Los

Angeles

CATI only


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The entire field work for all the segments were done during October

November 2006. Table 3.4.1a, gives the break up of the sample for the

Travelers segment (including the Recent Travelers), and tables 3.4.2a and

3.4d give the break up for the Trade segment.

3.4.1 TRAVELERS SEGMENT SAMPLE SPLIT

Data Collection

Locations*

Random

Contacts

Potential Asia

Vacation Travelers

BUT not India

Potential India

Vacation

Travelers

Recent

Travelers

Sydney 507 101 64Melbourne 520 101 63

AUSTRALIA 1027 202 127 24Tokyo 400 64 39

JAPAN 400 64 39 24Seoul 400 90 15

SOUTH KOREA 400 90 15 12Abu-Dhabi* 250 95 70 9

Dubai* 353 102 66 6MIDDLE EAST 603 197 136 15

Frankfurt 381 63 40Berlin 422 60 33

GERMANY 803 123 73 30

Paris 378 77 49FRANCE 378 77 49 35

Milan 386 72 46ITALY 386 72 46 17

Madrid 526 46 61Barcelona 521 46 60

SPAIN 1047 92 121 10Amsterdam 396 83 42

NETHERLANDS 396 83 42 16Stockholm 403 70 82

SWEDEN 403 70 82 --London 401 94 39

UNITED KINGDOM 401 94 39 145

Toronto 401 73 39Vancouver 401 77 40

CANADA 802 150 79 35New York 400 70 36Chicago 420 65 35

Los Angeles 429 70 41USA 1249 205 112 140Total 8295 1519 960 518

Fig 3.4.1a



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Further as has been mentioned earlier there were specific quotas with

respect to the Travelers who intend traveling outbound to ASIA but not INDIA

for vacation in the next two years, and also travelers who intend traveling to

INDIA for vacation in the next two years. These segments were referred to as

Potential Asia Travelers (PAT) and Potential India Travelers (PlT), and the

sample size achieved for each of these segments has been given in Table

3.4.1a.

3.4.2 TRADE PARTNERS SEGMENT SAMPLE SPLIT

DATA COLLECTION

LOCATIONS

TRADE PARTNERS

(Telephonic)

TRADE PARTNERS

(In-Person)

Sydney 20 19

Melbourne 25 9

AUSTRALIA 45 28

Tokyo 28 --

JAPAN 28 --

Seoul 25 9

S KOREA 25 9

Abu-Dhabi* -- 34

Dubai* -- 34

MIDDLE EAST -- 68

Frankfurt 28 --

Berlin 29 --

GERMANY 57 --

Paris 29 --

FRANCE 29 --Milan 28 --

ITALY 28 --

Fig 3.4.2a



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As Table 3.4.2a and Table 3.4.2b elaborate, both CATI and In-person

methodologies were used for the Trade Partners segment as well. Which ever

source markets permitted the use of the two methodologies, a combination

was used.

TRADE PARTNERS SEGMENT SAMPLE SPLIT (2)

DATA COLLECTION

LOCATIONS

TRADE PARTNERS

(Telephonic)

TRADE PARTNERS

(In-Person)

Madrid 28 --

Barcelona 29 --

SPAIN 57 --Amsterdam 28 --

NETHERLANDS 28 --

Stockholm 28 --

SWEDEN 28 --

London 29 --

UNITED KINGDOM 29 --

Toronto 28 --

Vancouver 28 --

CANADA 56 --

New York 29 --

Chicago 29 --

Los Angeles 29 --

USA 87 --

497 105Total

602

Fig 3.4.2b



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CHAPTER 4:

FINDINGS TOURISM OFFICE EFFECTIVENESS


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4.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Although the role of tourism offices is not designed for direct interaction

with potential travelers, the current awareness levels of India Tourism offices

in the travelers segment offers scope for improvement. The travelers, who are

aware of India tourism office, have learnt about them from Travel Agents

(Trade partners), Internet and friends, relatives or acquaintances.

The trade partners have highlighted some challenges that they face

while marketing India as a tourist destination and many of these issues are

destination related challenges (like hygiene, safety issues and destination

products), but they are also voicing lack of marketing and promotional support

from the Tourism offices, which if worked upon will help in driving India as a

tourist destination.

A deeper look at the data reveals that the relationship between Trade

partners and the Tourism office of India needs further reinforcement. The

trade partners seek support from the Tourism offices in terms of promotional

materials and communication for the potential travelers. This further is a

reaffirmation of the belief amongst Trade partners that the travelers from their

regions do not have adequate knowledge about India as a tourist destination.

An interesting trend noticed amongst the large Operators is that their

interaction with Tourism offices is limited. When compared against the

competing destinations the interaction with the India tourism office is better.

The trade partners, who do not deal with India currently, are not

considering dealing with India as a tourism destination in future. The main

challenge for these operators, moreso in Americas and Europe, is that India

(and Asia) is not in the immediate consideration set for travelers in their

markets.


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4.2 DETAILED FINDINGS TOURISM OFFICE EFFECTIVENESS

TRAVELERS SEGMENT

4.2.1 Awareness of India Tourism Offices

The travelers awareness levels of Tourism offices are fairly low, and

this is true of across most source markets and relatively higher for Recent

Travelers (Fig 4.2.1a). The source of awareness amongst those who are

aware is largely driven by their contact of Travel Agent, or by the use of

internet (Fig 4.2.1b).

Fig4.2.1a



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Source of awareness of India Tourism Offices

Prime source of awareness about the India tourism offices are - travel

agents, word of mouth and internet.

Fig 4.2.1b



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4.3 DETAILED FINDINGS TOURISM OFFICE EFFECTIVENESS TRADE

PARTNERS

4.3.1 Key marketing challenges Trade Partners Segment

The key challenges in marketing India as a destination, as voiced by

the Trade partners are given in Fig 4.3.1a. Although the top two challenges

seem to be pertaining to the Cleanliness / Hygiene and Safety / Security

(Destination issues), the trade partners also make a mention of Lack ofpromotional support from the tourism office to help them market India as a

tourist destination.

Fig4.3.1a



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4.3.2 Trade Partners not dealing with India

Trade Partners who are not dealing with India were specifically asked -

why they do not deal with India.

The prime reason mentioned by the trade partners is that they have

specialized in a certain set of destinations. So as the business is getting

niche, it seems the trade partners are focusing their efforts in developing key

destinations. Lack of promotional support comes across as another reason for

the trade partners to not deal with India (Fig 4.3.2a)

The Trade partners mention more promotional support and

communication for the potential travelers, which will help in building interest

as a destination and create the desired pull, as the help that they need from

the India tourism office, to further their dealings with India as a tourist

destination.

Fig4.3.2a



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THEGALLUP ORGANIZATION

4.3.3 Disposition to deal with India in future Trade Partners

Segment

The future disposition amongst the trade partners to deal with India is

also not so positive, expectedly in Long haul markets (Americas and Europe)

keeping in mind the consideration set of travelers in these markets.. More so

with respect to the medium and large sized trade partners (Fig 4.3.3a); where

the dependence or interaction with Tourism offices is low.

Fig4.3.3a

34


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4.3.4 Efforts required on part of India Tourism Office Trade

Partners Segment

Trade partners mention - promotional material and campaigns as the

top most effort required on part of the tourism office to help them market India

as a tourism destination. There are also mentions of increase in overall

marketing support, and product offerings (Fig 4.3.4a).

Fig4.3.4a



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4.3.5 Tourism office interaction

Only a third of Trade partners met said they were interacting with the

respective tourism offices. The level of interaction reduces as the scale of

operations of the trade partners increase (Fig 4.3.5a). This poses challenges

in long haul markets, wherein preferences for destinations like India (which

are not in the immediate consideration set) would require active involvement

of large operators.

Interacted or received support from Asian tourism offices or their local

counterparts Trade Partners Segment

Fig 4.3.5a



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Asian destinations tourism offices interacted with Trade Partners

Segment

Incidence of interaction with India NTO office is higher than that of

other Asian destinations (Fig 4.3.5b). Though at an absolute level this

incidence is weak across markets.

Fig4.3.5b



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Support received from Asian Destinations Overall Trade

Partners Segment

Promotional materials and campaigns, new product offerings and other

marketing support are key areas of interaction with the Asian NTOs, including

India (Fig 4.3.5c).

Fig4.3.5c



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Evaluation of role of Asian Tourism office Overall Trade Partners

Segment

Role of India tourism office is important in their dealing with India as a

destination, with a third mentioning the role to be significant in their dealing

with India as a destination. (Fig 4.3.5d).

Fig4.3.5d

The response from the trade partners was sought on a five point significance

scale, wherein %5 was, extremely significant, and %1 was not at all

significant.



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CHAPTER 5: FINDINGS

TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR


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5.1 Key Terms Used

The various terms and nomenclatures that have been used in the

tables, charts and graphs are explained as follows:

N Signifies the number of respondents who have responded

to the question.

% Indicates the percentage of responses on the responding

base.

( ) Figures in () represent all respondents who have

mentioned at least one European destination with respect

to past travel or future intent.

Spo The figures given under this heading indicate the

response was Spontaneous, which means for that

diagnostic, the respondent was not aided, and the

response is his top-of-mind response.

PAT (Potential Asia Vacation Travelers)

All respondents who have stated their intention to travel

outbound to Asia but not India are referred to as Potential

Asia Vacation Travelers.

PIT (Potential India Vacation Travelers)

All respondents who have stated their intention to travel

outbound to India are referred to as Potential India

Vacation Travelers.


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Looking at the data across the Traveler Segments (including the

Recent Travelers) and the Trade Partners, certain key points are observed

with respect to the travel behavior, namely -

With respect to Past travel behavior, source markets like Australia

(51%) and UK (46%) have highest incidence of travel. Travel to Asia is higher

in Japan, Korea, Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets. In terms of the preference for

India as a tourist destination, Middle East comes across as a market which

has strongly favored India (25%), as compared to the other destinations,

where outbound travel to India stands around 3-5%.

With respect to Future intention to travel outbound, on vacation, in

the next two years, at an overall level and across destinations is high (on an

average 50%). For Asian destinations (intention to travel outbound to Asian

destinations) spontaneous mentions are lower, however at aided levels

mentions of Asian destinations rise significantly. This could imply that the

travel intention to Asian destinations in the next two years is latent. In the

order of choice of destinations within Asian region, India is at the fourth

position. Within the set of source markets in which survey was done, Middle

East shows high future preference in terms of intention to travel to India (19%)

Potential Asia Travelers (Travelers intending traveling to Asia but NOT

India in the next two years), mention Thailand & Mainland China as keydestinations of consideration.

The (perceived) popularity of destination was another diagnostic

captured from the Trade Partners segment. Here, Thailand gets mentioned

as the number one destination - the most popular amongst the travelers as

seen by the trade. India is mentioned as the fifth destination in terms of

popularity.


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An area of concern is the mention of Thailand as the most popular

destination even amongst Trade Partners who deal with India. It is amongst

the trade partners who are relatively newer in the business (tenure: 1- 5

years), with mid-sized operations (handling about 100-500 travelers), that

India finds mention as the most popular destination.

On destinations that have shown increase in popularity in the last two

years, the trade mention - Thailand, India and Mainland China. Destinations

like Indonesia (terrorism); Middle East (political conflict) and Africa

(debilitating socio-economic structure) are seen as declining in popularity in

the last two years.

As per the Trade Partners, travelers Interest levels in India as a tourist

destination have gone up from the past; with an overwhelming 58% of the

trade partners mentioning so; with a third mentioning it has remained the

same as in the past. Trade in Middle East, UK and South Korea have been

emphatic in stating that interest levels in India have increased. The level has

increased mentions are much lower in North America and other European

markets such as Netherlands and Spain.

It is the newer operators (tenure less than 5 years in business) and

also the smaller operators who are positively disposed to India as a tourist

destination.

In the case of Recent travelers, the overall experience has been

extremely positive. A high percentage of these visitors are intending to come

back and recommend India to their friends and family. We need to see how

we can leverage this brand goodwill in the source markets. This point gains

further significance as word of mouth is mentioned as the prime source of

information on vacation destinations, by intending travelers.


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The key attractions for the Recent Travelers has been Warm and

friendly people (50%), Cultural Diversity (46%) and Plenty to see and do

(45%).

For 97% of the Recent Travelers, experience exceeded or met

expectations, which further translates into their intention of recommending

and returning to India in future

The profile of travelers traveling to India as per the trade partners,

belong to the top end of the socio-economic pyramid.

Travelers segment as well as the Trade partners segment

unequivocally mention Cultural Diversity and Plenty to see as the most

important aspects that attract India as a tourist destination.

One of the underlying themes which come across strongly even

amongst Trade partners is a strong association of India with Taj. In fact, it is

not only the strongest association with brand India but also gets mentioned

the highest mention as recalled elements of the advertising.

Coupled with the above only 25% of trade partners across source

markets feel that the travelers from their market know a lot about India. This

is a cause of concern. Further, one in every three trade partners feels that the

information available about India as a tourist destination in their market is

insufficient (more so true in case of the large Trade partners). Trade partners

voice that the information seems to be lacking in the area of places to see

and visit.

Connecting the threads, it seems that lack of information, support

(product and promotional) and education amongst the Trade partners about

India as a tourist destination coupled with strong associations with TAJ impute

that TAJ becomes the sole selling point to the prospective travelers.


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5.3 DETAILED FINDINGS TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR TRAVELERS

SEGMENT

The following chapter deals with the findings on travel behavior from

the Travelers segment, following this section is the Trade partners segment

and the trends observed regarding the travel behavior by studying the trade

partners segment

5.3.1 Past Travel Behavior

The incidence of past vacation travel in the last two years is averaging

at around 40%; the highest is in Australia and lowest in South Korea, as can

be seen from fig 5.3.1a.

40% 42% 39%

46%

36%41%

31%

39%

51%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Overall Canada USA UK C. Europe Middle

East

South

Korea

Japan Australia

Fig 5.3.1a



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As can be seen from the graph 5.3.1b, Incidence of past travel (in the

last two years) to Asia is high in Japan, South Korea, Middle East and

Australian market. North America and Europe favor Europe and the

Americas. India is a favored destination amongst the travelers traveling from

Middle East.


6

INDIA

13Thailand

16Sin a ore

24UK

26USA

37Oth. Eu. Cts

AUSTRALIA (%)

5INDIA

7Sin a ore/Mid.E

7Australia/Canada

9Car./Cen.Am

1Africa

USA

UNITED KINGDOM (%)

France

12Sin a ore

17German

25Mala sia

25INDIA

35Thailand

MIDDLE EAST (%)

5INDIA

8German

16France

27UK

27Car./Cen.Am

38Oth. Eu. Cts

CANADA (%)

2INDIA

11USA

11Phili ine

17Ja an

1Thailand

34Mn. China

SOUTH KOREA(%)

INDIA

7Thailand

10Car./Cen.

20S.

26Africa

30USA

C. EUROPE (%)

1INDIA

14Thailand

17Mn. China

18South Korea

28Oth. Eu. Cts

38USA

JAPAN (%)

2INDIA

11Car./Cen.Am

13France

18UK

25S. America

1Oth. Eu. Cts

USA (%)

6INDIA

10Thailand/UK

12Africa

13S. America

21USA

21Oth. Eu. Cts 32

Overall (%)

Fig 5.3.1b


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5.3.2 Future Travel Behavior

The graph given in fig 5.3.2a highlights the future travel intention at

three levels; the base of the pyramid refers to - intention of the General

population to travel outbound. At the next level are the incidence of travelers

to Asian destinations but not INDIA, and the crown of the pyramid represents

the travelers who intend traveling to India. The green bars which are given

parallel to the pyramids represent the figures at the three levels of the

pyramids but for the Past Travel. The idea behind the analysis is to give a

comparative picture of the travel intention, both future and past.

As we can see from fig. 5.3.2a, interest in visiting Asian destinations is

high across all markets; however, Middle East (36%), Australia (39%) and S.

Korea (22%) particularly favor Asian destinations.

Canada= 802

Pot Vacation Travel. = 54%

Potential Asia Tr. = 6%


Potential

India = 2%



Potential

India = 2%

USA = 1249



Potential

India = 1%



Potential

India = 1%

United Kingdom = 401



Potential

India = 5%



Potential

India = 5%

C. Europe = 3413



Potential

India = 3%



Potential

India = 3%

Middle East = 603



Potential

India = 14%



Potential

India = 14%

South Korea = 400



Potential

India = 1%



Potential

India = 1%



Potential

India = 1%



Potential

India = 1%

Australia = 1027

Pot vacation Travel. = 65%


Potential

India = 4%

Pot vacation Travel. = 65%


Potential

India = 4%

42%

6%

2%

42%

6%

2%

36%

7%

1%

36%

7%

1%

39%

6%

1%

39%

6%

1%

41%

22%

10%

41%

22%

10%

46%

8%

2%

46%

8%

2%

31%

24%

1%

31%

24%

1%

51%

24%

3%

51%

24%

3%

39%

22%

1%

39%

22%

1%

Japan = 400

Fig 5.3.2a

Green Bar = Past Travel

Potential Asia Traveler = Asia India (implying travelers who intend

traveling to Asia but not India)


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Fig. 5.3.2b, shows the destinations which the travelers have

spontaneously mentioned as the ones they intend visiting, when they travel

outbound on vacation in the next two years. In North America and Europe, the

stated destinations are predominantly U.S, Europe and the Caribbean.

Stated mentions for Asian destinations are low.

Asian destinations find mention in Middle East, however even in the

Middle East market, in terms of order Malaysia and Thailand find higher

mentions than India.

5INDIA

10Canada

10Thailand

22UK

23USA

38Oth. Eu. Cts (55)

AUSTRALIA (%)

9INDIA

11Canada

14Africa

14Car./Cen.Am

19Australia

42USA

UNITED KINGDOM

12UK

17France

18Germany

19INDIA

23Thailand

31Mala sia

MIDDLE EAST (%)

5INDIA

9Australia

13France

21Car./Cen.Am

24UK

48Oth. Eu. Cts (67)

CANADA (%)

4INDIA

10Philippines

11Australia

12USA

20Ja an

37Mn. China

SOUTH KOREA

6INDIA

9Dont Know

10Thailand

13Africa

20S.America

25USA

C. EUROPE (%)

1INDIA

8South Korea

8Thailand

10Mn. China

25Other Eu. Cts (38)

34USA

JAPAN (%)

2INDIA

11Car./Cen.Am

13France

15UK

24S.America

51Oth. Eu. Cts (68)

USA (%)

7INDIA

9Thailand

10UK

13S. America

18USA

22Oth. Eu. Cts (35)

Overall (%)

Fig 5.3.2b



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As a next step, only Asian destinations were prompted and Fig 5.3.2c

shows the choice of Asian destinations both at Spontaneous level and at Total

level (which is spontaneous + aided).

Though Asian destinations find low mentions spontaneously, when

aided the proportions rise substantially, indicating a latent inclination to Asian

destinations.

242Ja an

TotS o

CANADA (%)

3

5

1

3

20Mn.China

20India

23Hon

24Thailand

345Ja an

TotS o

USA %

2

2

7

1

20India

23Thailand

30Mn.

32Hon

322Maldives

317Thailand

269India

TotalSpo

UNITED KINGDOM %

2

2

28Sin a ore

30Hon

312Indonesi

TotaSpo

C.EUROPE %

6

6

10

39Mn.Chi

39Ja an

39India

5Thailan

92Indonesi

TotaSpo.

MIDDLE EAST(%)

11

19

23

31

23Sin a or

30India

1Thailand

7Mala sia

164India

327Thailand

5837Mn.China

TotalSpo

SOUTH KOREA (%)

2

10

20

27Hon

30Philippine

52Japan

311India

458Thailand

411Singapore

TotalSpo

JAPAN (%)

1

2

6

35Hong Kong

37Maldives

40Taiwan

15India

3910Thailand

38Sin a ore

TotS o

AUSTRALIA %

5 34Mn.China

36Ja an

37Hon

TotS o

292Hon

297India

379Thailand

Overall %

6

31Ja an

31Mn.

Fig 5.3.2c



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5.3.3 Source of Destination Awareness

Amongst Potential India Travelers, Word of Mouth is the prime source

of information when deciding on destination. Figure 5.3.3a highlights that the

Recent Travelers primarily rely on websites for information, although there is

no mention of the website of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. There

are other portals that the Recent Travelers have made use of to obtain

information about India as a destination. Along with the sources mentioned,

Travel Agents (Trade Partners) and press (editorial content) also aid in

spreading awareness about a destination.


54/139


Source of Awareness of India Destination

22%

7%18%

16%2%1%

59%

11%12%

32%

25%

5%

40%

45%

50%

TV

Outdoor

Indian Govt Website

Other websites

E-mails

Direct Mailers

Radio

Magazine / Newspapers

Cinema

Touris m Fairs / Exhibitions

Airports

Brochure / Leaflets

Local India Tourism Office

Repeat Traveler

WOM (Friends and Relatives)

Travel Agent

Unaided

N = 503

Recent Travelers Segment

Travelers Segment by regions

Fig 5.3.3a



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5.3.4 INDIA Travel - Future

With respect to the booking arrangements, the potential India travelers

show a strong preference for Travel Agents. In markets like Japan and US,

Internet appears as a strong medium. (Fig 5.3.4a)

Bookings, Travel Arrangements & Accompaniments - Travelers Segment

(by regions)

Fig 5.3.4a

Fig 5.3.4b

The US, Canada and UK markets clearly show a preference for Non

package tours, while, South Korea and Japan prefer ready-made package

tours with tour guides. Also one in every three travelers in Australia prefer

Tailor made packages (Fig 5.3.4b)

With respect to the bookings and travel arrangements, the USA,

Canada and UK markets prefer not to have any package; however the non-

English speaking markets of South Korea and Japan show an inclination

towards ready-made packages with tour guides (Fig 5.3.4b).



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In terms of who would accompany them, its spouse or friends /

colleagues, and this trend is observed across source markets (Fig 5.3.4c).

Bookings, Travel Arrangements & Accompaniments - Travelers Segment

(by regions)

Fig 5.3.4c



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Reasons for traveling to India

The prime attractions to travel to India are mentioned as Sightseeing,

Cultural events and shopping. The table below (Fig 5.3.4d) indicates the

same.

Fig 5.3.4d



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Places to visit / visited on India travel Travelers

While talking about the places they would like to visit, there is singularly

high mention of the Taj Mahal. However, the Recent Travelers reveal a

different picture. They have truly experienced the range / diversity that India

as a destination offers, and therefore their experience spans across

monuments, places of religious interests, hill stations etc, across several

visits. It may be concluded that before a traveler visits India, the predominant

destination imagery is that of the Taj Mahal but upon arrival and in the course

of the vacation he/she visits other areas of interests.

In addition to Taj Mahal, Beaches in Goa get second mention. The

Golden Triangle finds mention at the next level. (Fig 5.3.4e)

Fig 5.3.4e



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Possible countries to be visited in the same trip Travelers (by regions)

When the potential travelers to India are asked about other

destinations they plan to visit in same trip; Thailand, Singapore and Sri-Lanka

get mentioned (Fig 5.3.4f). This is common across source markets (Americas,

Europe and Asia).

Fig 5.3.4f



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Possible countries to be visited/visited in the same trip Recent

Travelers

The Recent Travelers when talking about other destinations planned in

this trip mention Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia (Fig 5.3.4g)

Fig 5.3.4g



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Reasons for not intending to travel to India

All the travelers who intend to travel outbound on vacation in the next

two years, but have not chosen India as a destination, mention reasons such

as - doesnt offer things of interest to me and safety and hygiene issues,

which are primarily destination reasons, as reasons for not intending to travel

to India (Fig. 5.3.4h)

Fig 5.3.4h



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5.3.5 Recent Travel Experience

This section will focus on the experiences of the Recent Travelers in

India during their vacation.

To begin with the experience of the Recent Travelers is much more

varied, so while the intending travelers mention seeing Taj as the reason for

coming to India, the recent travelers have enjoyed a lot else that the

destination has to offer. However, it seems that currently the Pull is created

only by Taj.

In terms of other countries/ destinations planned for visit in this trip, 1 in

every 3 Recent Travelers visited India alone in this trip. Amongst Asian

destinations - Singapore, China and Thailand are the competing destinations

(Fig 5.3.5a), the data also shows substantial amount of repeat traveler to

India, about 2 in every 3 Recent Travelers were repeat visitors, thereby

implying the Destination pull after having gone through the first experience is

good (Fig 5.3.5b).

The top three attractions in India are stated as Warm and friendly

people (50%), culture and diversity and plenty to see and do. Beaches,

traditional image and monuments also get mentioned as the prime attractions

for the Recent Travelers (Fig 5.3.5c)

More than half of the Recent Travelers spent more than $3000 during

their stay in India; this is all inclusive for their entire trip, including the cost of

transportation / travel etc (Fig 5.3.5d).


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Countries considered - Recent Travelers Segment

With respect to alternate Asian destinations considered by the Recent

Travelers before they finalized on India, Singapore, Mainland China and

Thailand are mentioned. However it is also interesting to note that one in

every three travelers were unequivocally decided about visiting India, and

therefore had no other competing destination in their mind.

Fig 5.3.5a



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First timers vs. Frequenters - Recent Travelers Segment

A large number of Recent Travelers had visited India before. And

amongst these repeat visitors a fairly high proportions (52%) had been to

India 2-5 times (Fig 5.3.5b)

Fig 5.3.5b



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Indias attractions- Recent Traveler's Segment

From the point of view of the Recent Travelers, their interface with the

local people comes out as the strongest impression/attraction from their

overall India experience. Its basically interplay of their experience with

people, cultural diversity and the sheer range of things to experience which

are attractions as per the Recent Travelers.

Fig 5.3.5c



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Accommodation, Expenses and Travel Recent Travelers

As the chart below indicates, fairly high proportion of travelers stayed in

four stars and above hotel properties and had spent more than USD 3000

during their stay. This includes cost of transportation (air ticketing).

Fig 5.3.5d



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Experience vs. Expectations - Recent Travelers Segment

The reasons why their experience exceeded expectations, is

around the destination reasons. Further the overall experience with

accommodation options gets mentioned as the second most important reason

why their experience exceeded expectations (Fig 5.3.5e).

Fig 5.3.5e



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Experience and Disposition RECENT TRAVELERS

97% of the Recent Travelers mention that they enjoyed their stay in

India. A key highlight is that majority of recent travelers would like to return to

India and advocate it as a destination to be visited for vacation.

Fig 5.3.5f



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5.4 DETAILED FINDINGS TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR TRADE PARTNERS

This chapter deals with the detailed findings with respect to the travel

behavior from the perspective of the channel partners or the Trade partners.

5.4.1 Popularity of Destinations

Thailand is the top mentioned destination in terms of popularity. India is

in the fifth position (Fig 5.4.1a).

Thailand and India are considered to be increasing in popularity in recent

times (Fig 5.4.1d). Amongst Asian destinations, Thailand and Mainland China

are ahead of India in terms of popularity (Fig 5.4.1g). Looking at the

destinations which have reduced in popularity, Indonesia, Middle East and

Africa are mentioned. These also happen to be the regions which are struck

with terrorism and war (Fig 5.4.1i).

Destinations popular amongst the travelers Overall Trade

Partners Segment

Fig5.4.1a



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Destinations popular amongst the travelers By Countries

Fig5.4.1b

As fig 5.4.1b shows, across the Western source markets there is

mention of the Western markets being popular (Europe for Americas and vice-

versa) and Asian source markets mention Asian Destinations as the ones that

are popular now.



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Destinations popular amongst the travelers By Countries dealt

with

Fig5.4.1c

The trade partners, who deal with India, have mentioned Thailand as

the number one destination in terms of Popularity; Americas are close behind

(Fig 5.4.1c).



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Destinations popular amongst the travelers By tenure into

business

Fig5.4.1d

Looking at the data by tenure in business, the operators who are new

in the business are favoring India as a popular destination, however amongst

the more seasoned operators Thailand is the favorite. (Fig 5.4.1d).



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Destinations popular amongst the travelers By size of

operation

Fig5.4.1e

The mid size operators mention India as a popular destination. As the

size of operations increases, the preference shifts to Thailand. The larger

operators are clearly favoring Thailand in terms of popularity.



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Destinations increased in popularity in Last two years Overall

Trade Partners Segment

Fig4.4.1f

Thailand, India and China are the top three destinations in terms of

increased popularity in the last two years (Fig 5.4.1f). In addition to Thailand

and China, India also figures in the top 3 in terms of popularity amongst the

travelers as mentioned by Trade partners (Fig 5.4.1g).



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Popular Asian Destinations amongst the travelers Overall Trade

Partners Segment

Fig5.4.1g

Popular Asian Destinations amongst the travelers By Countries

Fig5.4.1h



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Destinations popular in past but not now amongst the travelers

Overall Trade

Fig5.4.1i

Destinations that have been facing the turmoil of terrorism, poor

development indicators and political conflicts, are the ones which have been

mentioned by Trade partners as having reduced in popularity in the last two

years. The top three destinations as given in (Fig 5.4.1i) are Indonesia, Middle

East and Africa.



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5.4.2 Interest levels about India Destination Overall Trade

Partners Segment

There is positive sentiment at an overall level about tourist interest

levels in India. 58% of Trade Partners believe that the Interest levels have

increased in recent times (Fig 5.4.2a), the exceptions being Netherlands and

Spain (Fig 5.4.2b).

Fig5.4.2a

Interest levels about India Destination By countries

Fig5.4.2b



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Interest levels about India Destination By tenure into business

and size of operations

Fig 5.4.2c



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5.4.3 Profile of travelers who travel to India Trade Partners

Segment

The Trade Partners description of India travelers profile is very similar

to the profile captured in the Recent Travelers survey. As per the trade, the

tourists visiting India belong to upper income (45%), fall in the age group of

31-50 years (58%) and are married (Fig 5.4.3a).

Fig 5.4.3a



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5.4.4 Aspects of India that attract travelers Overall trade

partners segment

Fig5.4.4a

As figure 5.4.4a indicates, cultural diversity, plenty to see and do and

places of religions importance is the top three attractions in India for tourists

as per the Trade Partners.



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5.4.5 Types of holiday activities preferred in India Overall Trade

Partners segment

Types of holiday activities preferred in India By Countries

Fig5.4.5a



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5.4.6 The most popular attractions in India Overall Trade

Partners Segment

Again, Taj gets mentioned as the most popular attraction, even

amongst the Trade partners segment (Fig 5.4.6a). Thus, the limited

awareness of specific tourist attractions displayed by the travelers is

corroborated by the Trade partners. (Fig 5.4.7a and Fig 5.4.7b). Although the

destination has lots to offer (varied experience of the Recent Travelers), Taj

Mahal is an overpowering association with the destination across all

segments studied.

Fig5.4.6a



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5.4.7 Knowledge levels about India Overall Trade Partners

segment

Fig5.4.7a

Knowledge levels about India By countries

Fig5.4.7b



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Knowledge levels about India By tenure into business and size

of operations

Fig5.4.7c



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5.4.8 Sufficiency of information Trade Partners Segment

Close to one in every three trade partners states that the information

available about India as a tourist destination is not sufficient. The information

is seen lacking with respect to the specific product available, places to see, on

transportation and laws and regulations of the country. (Fig 5.4.8a and Fig

5.4.8b).

Fig5.4.8a

Lack of information on the following Trade partners segment

Fig

5.4.8b



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5.4.9 Experience vs. Expectations Overall Trade Partners

Segment

Fig5.4.9a

As per the Trade partners, the reasons for experience having

exceeded expectations are the Cultural diversity and the accommodation

facility (this concurs with what the travelers had mentioned as their reason for

experience exceeding expectations). (Fig 5.4.9a).



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CHAPTER 6:FINDINGS

COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS


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As far as the Travelers segment is concerned, although the spontaneous

awareness of advertising (Incredible India campaign) is low, the awareness

increases sharply when aided (40%). The total awareness is high in Middle

East (49%), Continental Europe (50%), UK and Australia (39% each). This

suggests that the advertising awareness is latent and not top-of-mind as we

would have desired.

Measuring the Advertising awareness among Trade partners, lower

proportion of Trade partners recall having seen the advertising (37%).

Amongst the trade partners who were able to recall the advertising campaign,

53% mention that the advertising has not had any effect in generating interest

in India as a vacation destination.

The Travelers get their destination awareness from Press and TV.

The Recent Travelers also mention websites (other than the official websites),

airports and brochures as key sources of awareness. The mention of official

website as a source of awareness is negligible.

The Taj Mahal is the pr

evaluation study in selected overseas market

Documents