Travel agency Trevolution Group has announced record sales across the Indian market at a solid 37 pc market growth
Travel agency Trevolution Group has announced record sales across the Indian market at a solid 37 pc market growth in Q3 2023 compared to the year-ago period.
According to a press statement by Trevolution, the data underlines India as a leading travel destination for international airline passengers across the traditional leisure tourism, as well as the emerging visiting-friends-and-relatives (VFR) segment.
The statement adds that over 59,220 flight tickets have been sold to and from India’s main airports, resulting in almost USD 103 million in gross bookings or more than 11 pc of the overall company’s gross profit during Q3.
Currently the growing demand for trans-Pacific flights is strongly exceeding pre-pandemic volumes, says the firm. In the first nine months of 2023, Trevolution Group has reported a 22 pc increase in inbound tourism compared to the year-ago period. This growth aligns with the country’s ongoing initiatives to strengthen its tourism sector. From January to September, there has been a 179 pc increase in outbound tourism from India.
It says that international businesses are expanding and India is becoming a major player in today’s global economy. Past summer has been the busiest travel period up to date and the upcoming holiday season is predicted to show the same pattern with an even higher demand marking 2023 as the year of record boom across the Indian market.
Class of travel
The statement says that travel from India has seen a substantial increase in sales across all major cabin classes during Q3 2023. A high 193 pc growth in flights booked from India in Economy and a 139 pc growth in Business class compared to last year’s data. Meanwhile, the demand for inbound Economy tickets has increased by 17 pc and by 11 pc in business class.
The statement adds that premium economy is also indicating a growing demand among Indian travellers. The numbers of ticket class types sold most frequently signal the gradual return of business travel, also highlighting the emerging VFR segment that is especially popular among 4.4 million Indian Americans.
It adds that 83.5 pc of all tickets purchased to India were round-trip tickets, while the share of one-way tickets stayed at nearly the same level and amounted to 16.5 pc, compared to 16 pc in 2022. The predominance of outbound return tickets, however, is slightly less distinct with a 41 pc share in 2023 and 29 pc last year indicating the gradual return of leisure tourism in this region.
Booking window and terms
Over one-third or 36 pc of all global travellers flying to India in the Q3 2023 purchased their tickets more than 90 days prior the departure date. Last year, only 31 pc of airline passengers booked their flights over three months in advance. Thus, only 15 pc of all inbound flight tickets are purchased up to 10 days before the trip. Meanwhile, according to ticket sales from India, passengers tend to do more last-minute decisions and, therefore, only less than one-sixth of all travellers buy their tickets over three months in advance while almost 16 pc choose to do it up to 10 days in advance.
The statement adds that the number of short-term bookings for up to 10 days from India has decreased in both 2023 and 2022, and the average length of stay abroad is now 97 days versus 89 days in the same period last year. This shows another trend, indicating that people still want to make up for the two pandemic years and thus tend to spend more time abroad, especially when visiting their friends and family. Meanwhile, for travellers coming to India, this period is three times lower with 32 days in Q3 2023 compared to 33 days in the same timeframe last year, which is an average length of stay abroad for international leisure travel.
Destinations
According to Trevolution Group recent sales data, the majority of travellers starting their journey in India flew to destinations including the United States, Canada, the UAE, the United Kingdom, and within the country. Thus, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas and Washington remained the top destination cities just like in the same corresponding period of 2022 with Emirates Airlines, Air India and Turkish Airlines as the top three air carriers.
That again is heavily influenced by VFR tourism, says the statement, adding that it is one of the main reasons for Indian passengers frequently flying to North America instead of other global destinations. Indian diaspora in the US is growing and these people have strong ties with India. Likewise, this trend is also directly linked to Trevolution Group launching ticketing operations in the UK at the beginning of 2023, where a large portion of the population is of Indian descent.
Alex Weinstein
“India’s growing economy and expanding international business relations are fuelling a rising demand for global travel. The three quarters of 2023 have proven a strong increase in international travel between Asia and other regions. Our strategic partnerships, such as the one with Air India, are a key driver of this success; with Air India now serving three major Indian airports from San Francisco, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore, we are witnessing a growing demand for our services among both our loyal customer base as well as new clients. The strong revenue growth is a testament to our continued focus on supplying the demand, growing capacity, introducing innovations and securing positions in this robust market,” says Alex Weinstein, the Founder of Dyninno Group.
