About India Outbound Magazine

India Outbound, a brand of Media India Group, is India’s only B2B travel media platform, that encompasses a print magazine, a website, an online TV channel and dynamic social media platforms, entirely dedicated to the promotion of foreign destinations and products in India. India Outbound is a niche platform not just for tourism destinations and products to promote themselves to the Indian travel industry, but also for decision makers to build/change their strategy in a context where the Indian outbound market is not only growing but changing with new dynamics. India Outbound brings to you the latest trends of the market with in depth analysis.

97 pc Indian golfers rate Thailand as top golfing destination

Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) New Delhi Office & Sports & Leisure Worldwide (SLW) recently conducted a survey on ‘Golfing in Thailand’ with golfers in India. The survey was done during July 10-27, 2020. The surveyed sample group was made up of golfers from all over India. The survey reached out to over 1000 respondents in New Delhi & NCR (65 pc), Chandigarh (5 pc) and rest of India (30 pc). An overwhelming 98 pc of respondents were male and 53 pc of total were in age group of 51-70 years, while 31-50 years made for 28 pc, above 70 were 15.8 pc. A good 93 pc of the respondents were members of a golf club and 60 pc had a handicap of 10-18, while 28 pc had handicap of 19-26 and 12 pc had 0-9 handicap. A majority of golfers, almost 88 pc are planning to travel abroad to play golf post Covid19 and 92 pc kept safety as their prime concern for the outbound travel. The survey resulted in some important facts coming to the fore. Most golfers, a whopping 97 pc of those surveyed, rated Thailand as one of the best golfing destinations. Thai hospitality followed by value for money and affordable luxury, were the top three key factors which prompted these golfers to travel to Thailand to play golf. Thailand’s close proximity to India was another key factor in influencing the Indian golfers mind in deciding Thailand as the premier destination for Golf holidays.

‘‘We conducted the survey to ascertain the impact of Covid-19 on golf tourism to Thailand and were happy to see the enthusiasm to travel for golf amongst the Indian golfers,’’ says Vachirachai Sirisumpan, director TAT, New Delhi. “I would like to thank SLW group for conducting the survey, and I am glad to note that most golfers rated Thailand as one of the best golfing destinations. As you all probably are aware that Thailand is a spectacular choice and dream come true destination for golfers with stunning and vast selection of golf courses. In fact, destination diversity and vast choices of golf courses throughout the country are key factors attracting the large numbers of visitors coming to play golf in Thailand. We look forward to your visit to amazing Thailand once the situation improves,” he added.

“The overwhelming bias response towards Thailand as the No.1 golfing destination was no surprise,” said Anil Dev, MD SLW Group, promoters of Thai Golf Pass, the only sovereign golf loyalty programme in the world. “Golfers are a little more demanding when it comes to hospitality and Thailand wins hands down in that department. We expect Thailand would be the first destination where the majority of the golfers would travel to for their first golf holiday post Covid19,” he added.

Bali to remain closed to foreign tourism till 2021

Reversing an earlier decision to reopen Bali to foreign tourists from September, the Indonesian government says the popular holiday destination will remain closed to foreign tourism till end of the year. The move came in the wake of mounting number of Covid-19 cases. Though it may be welcome on health and hygiene grounds, the prolonged closure is posing a serious challenge to the residents of Bali, many of whom are solely dependent upon tourism for earning their livelihood.

Bali is visited by tens of millions of tourists each year, and 6.3 million foreign tourists landed directly in Bali, without visiting any other part of the Indonesian archipelago. Since the end of July, Bali began receiving domestic visitors to help its ravaged tourism industry, the heart of the local economy in which 80 pc of revenues come from tourism, reopening beaches, temples and other landmarks to local travellers. But hotels and restaurants have been struggling to survive, with many resort workers returning home to villages and small towns to earn an income. Bali has so far had 4576 cases of coronavirus infections and 52 deaths.

Swiss Tourism offers gift card for visitors to Geneva

To tempt tourists to start visiting again, Switzerland is offering gift cards worth CHF 100 for visitors to Geneva. The card can be used at over 60 hotels, 80 restaurants and 15 excursions. It is available for only those visitors who have booked at least two nights of hotel accommodation in the city of Geneva. The cards can be redeemed even at Michelin-starred restaurants or used to tour the chocolate industry. The card is valid until December 31 and there is one card per room. The amount unspent on the card cannot be encashed. Geneva also offers all visitors local travel card that can be used for public transport in the city.

Portugal offers free travel insurance

In an attempt to boost safe travel and to increase consumer confidence, Portugal has launched a free travel insurance scheme for international tourists amidst Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).

The country’s latest initiative to revive tourism, a very key component of its economy, has been promoted by RNA Seguros de Assistência and detailed information is available on www.SchengenVisaInfo.com. The cover includes medical, surgical, hospital and pharmaceutical expenses and will extend to the entire nation.

“The objective is to guarantee, to all who visit Portugal, that they can travel around the country, safe and with confidence,” says RNA Seguros de Assistência. Incidentally, Spain’s Canary Islands have also announced an insurance policy covering tourists opting to visit the archipelago. The policy will cover all their expenses, in case that they get infected by the COVID-19, during their stay. It also covers quarantine and repatriation costs. Earlier this month, Portugal announced new air traffic rules, saying air traffic would stay open with countries in the European Union and the Schengen Zone as well as the United Kingdom.

India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group