Tourism Summit 2016: Asia no more a cheaper alternative to Euro trips
The emergence of Asian countries as a major attraction was discussed in an eye-opening afternoon session with Vishal Sinha, chief operating officer of TUI Holidays, Naresh Rawal, vice-president of Star Cruises and Arzan Khambatta, head of India, representative office, Macao.
In Short
- Asian countries emerge as a major tourist attraction
- South-East Asian countries now match European holidays
- Asian countries ready to offer something new and exciting
Far from the days of being a relatively cheap holiday destination, Asia is drawing in the big bucks with evolved travellers that are willing to spend for a taste of culture and new experiences.
The emergence of Asian countries as a major attraction was discussed in an eye-opening afternoon session with Vishal Sinha, chief operating officer of TUI Holidays, Naresh Rawal, vice-president of Star Cruises and Arzan Khambatta, head of India, representative office, Macao.
The industry stalwarts spoke of how the desi traveller is looking to neighbouring countries for everything from destination weddings to adventure activities. As Rawal shared, "Around 10 years ago, we aimed at selling rooms with the itinerary stretching to a maximum of 2-3 nights. Today, the new-age Indian is happy to book premium cabins for five nights, and Indians are the largest contributors to Star Cruises because they no longer consider it an expensive experience."
South-East Asian countries are no longer looked at as the cheaper cousin of European holidays. As Sinha shared, "We're speaking of evolved travellers, who want to explore Buddhist trails in Japan, the Jeju Islands in Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bhutan - people plan much in advance, and they really want to immerse themselves in the culture."
In fact, countries like Macau are drawing young Indians for pre-weddings celebrations with its vibrant night life and variety of activities. Khambatta revealed, "We see a number of bachelorettes being hosted in Macau because of the safety and exciting club culture. It's also very popular for destination weddings because there are no visa charges, and hotels having huge infrastructure to host the functions."
As Khambatta added, "The learned traveller is doing research before arriving and knows what to expect, with the number of apps and websites that have emerged."
With new options increasing, Asian countries are ready to offer something new and exciting for every kind of visitor, to meet every type of expectation.