We are proud to reproduce here an article posted
by our Executive Chairman, Madhavan Menon recently.
A Bright Future for the Travel & Tourism Industry!
As the Travel & Tourism Industry looks back on 2023, and prepares for 2024, and the future, it will need to remain focused and committed to delivering experiences that meet the expectations of customers using technology and innovation.
The Industry spent 2023 focusing on returning to normalcy, and sustaining employee productivity achieved between 2020-22, by reengineering costs and improving the use of technology to provide a seamless experience to our customers.
Tourism was one of the earliest Industries to recover from the pandemic. It witnessed several changes that are driving the recovery. We have witnessed broader segments of travel with Gen X & Z joining the millennials as frequent travellers. Another factor was an increased interest in both domestic and short haul International travel. A third reason was relaxed visa regulations in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, for Indian nationals, which led to a surge to all these countries. All this despite higher airfares, hotel and surface transport costs and geo-political challenges.
The future of the Industry continues to look bright with long haul travelling returning to normalcy in 2024. While the cost of travel remains elevated, it is likely to remain stable with the return of airline capacity and fresh openings/reopening of hotels. New destinations in the short haul/medium haul in Asia (such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines), Central Asia and the Balkans are another factor. Sri Lanka, the Maldives and cruises along the Indian Coast will continue to be popular. Cruise holidays are a new segment emerging in India, both as a destination and a source, and are here to stay #Cordelia and #Costa cruises
With the return of long haul travel destinations in Asia, namely Indo China/ India/Sri Lanka/Maldives; the Middle East including the UAE/Oman; and Africa such as Kenya/Tanzania/South Africa and Namibia, will all benefit the Industry as a whole.
The events of the past year had many lessons that gave us an added insight into ways of taking advantage of the opportunities that would benefit the Travel Industry in 2024, and in the forthcoming years. Decidedly, the Tourism Industry will be a bright spot in the Global Economy generating employment and GDP in the current decade.
I will sign off by saying “Have a Rocking 2024!”