Collinson International, a global leader in the provision of airport services, has released its Asia Pacific customer engagement and loyalty research report titled 2024 Travel Benefits and Customer Engagement Report.

According to the report, which surveyed 7,250 respondents across 14 markets in Asia Pacific for their behaviours, perceptions and preferences of travellers in the region, key findings show that travel is the second highest expense for respondents in India.

The analysis says that travel accounts for almost a third of annual expenditure for Indians. Only ‘everyday spend’ which includes groceries and retail shopping, have surpassed travel spend in India, reflecting the value of travel to payment cardholders in India.

The report says that in India, millennials are leading as the top spenders on travel when compared to other generations, averaging USD 6,031 annually. 

Comparatively, Gen Z, Gen X and Boomers spend USD 2,622, USD 3,059 and USD 2,600 per annum, respectively, on travel. 

Travel is the highest spend category for Indian millennials, accounting for more than a third or 34 pc of their annual expenditure. 

The research revealed that when choosing to sign up for a credit card, 48 pc of millennials in India indicated that travel benefits, such as earning and redeeming miles, having access to airport lounges and travel experiences, as well as travel insurance are perks that they value most.

Sumit Prakash

“Our research highlights that travel is a key driver for consumer expenditure, with a strong ‘travel resonance’ among Indian survey respondents. The rise of Indian outbound travellers, coupled with increasing travel spend by millennials, demonstrates the growing opportunities present in the market that brands, particularly in the financial services sector, can leverage to bring further value,” says  Sumit Prakash, Country Director, India and South Asia, Collinson International.

The analysis finds that consumers in India are not just looking to travel more but are also desiring enhanced experiences. When asked which travel perks they value most, 44 pc of respondents ranked airport lounge access as their top travel-related credit card benefit, surpassing security fast-track by 9 pc and airport transfers by 7 pc.

In fact, 90 pc of respondents in India agreed that access to airport lounges is a travel benefit that they would expect on any credit card with an annual fee. 

Nearly 89 pc would consider switching to a new card if their payment card stopped offering airport lounge membership as a benefit, highlighting the impact of travel benefits on retention, the statement says.

The report adds that 93 pc of Indian respondents informed that they are more likely to use their payment cards for everyday spend and travel expenses if the cards offer travel-related rewards or benefits; suggesting an influence on cardholder engagement. 

Notably, 45 pc of respondents ranked travel benefits as the most important when choosing to sign up for one credit card over another, highlighting an impact on acquisition, with respondents placing travel benefits above others, such as everyday rewards, the prestige associated with the card, and sign-up bonuses.

“As evidenced by the ever-increasing passenger numbers in India, consumers are increasingly more willing to spend on travel, and are demonstrating a strong preference for travel-related benefits that enhance their travel experiences,” Prakash says.

“By integrating travel and airport related benefits and experiences – such as airport lounge access, security fast track, airport transfers, dining and more – into customer engagement and loyalty programmes, brands are able to level-up their customer value proposition, enhance customer satisfaction, differentiate from competition, and deliver measurable business impact. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our partners in India to leverage the opportunities that travel brings, and to elevate the travel experiences of their consumers,” he adds.

Catering to the rapid recovery of travel and to the evolving needs of travellers, Collinson International has expanded its network of airport lounges and travel experiences in India by 15 pc over the last 12 months. 

The statement adds that trough Priority Pass Access India, travellers can now access over 70 airport lounges and travel experiences in-country. Collinson International’s Asia Pacific network has similarly grown by 15 pc over the last 12 months, in turn doubling the network’s inventory of dining, refreshment and relaxation options at airports across the region. 

According to the report, there are close to 650 airport lounges and travel experiences today within Collinson International’s Priority Pass network in Asia Pacific, of which more than 100 are travel experiences. Globally, Priority Pass’ network has over 1,600 airport lounges and travel experiences across 145 countries.