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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.

Vaccine passport not on the card: Government of India

Minister of state for external affairs of the government of India, V Muraleedharan, said there are no plans in India to introduce vaccine passports for international travel. He, however, added that India was part of several multilateral forums and discussions, including one under the framework of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), regarding Covid-19 vaccination certificates, but now, no consensus has so far been reached.

He further added that India is pushing for India-manufactured vaccines, i.e., Covishield and Covaxin, to be recognised as part of any multilateral arrangement at international travel. In a written statement to the Parliament, he said, “India has been part of ongoing discussions to ensure that Indian manufactured vaccines are duly recognised in any multilateral arrangement. India is also engaging with countries for mutual recognition of vaccination certificates.”

Till now, as many as 17 European countries including France, Austria, Germany, Spain and Switzerland have recognised Covishield as a vaccine for ease of travel restrictions. Estonia has, however, recognised Covaxin for the same, he added.

On unusual travel restrictions and unfair treatment met by the Indian travellers in some countries after the pandemic, the minister stated that the government is trying to engage countries and groups of countries like the European Union and remind them about the policy of reciprocity on matters including recognition of vaccination certificates for ease of travel.

India should restart scheduled international flights: IATA DG

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) director-general Willie Walsh has stated in a virtual media briefing that India should restart scheduled international flights and end capacity and fare capping in the domestic market as these distort competition and hurt consumers.

"Politicians are quick to impose measures but slow to remove them," he remarked and added that it is time for India to reopen international travel. The Indian air travel bubbles were originally intended for the repatriation of people stranded overseas and that system is no longer relevant as the environment now is different from last year, Walsh said.

The civil aviation ministry put in place a cap on capacity and fares following resumption of domestic air travel last May. Similarly scheduled international flights are still suspended by India and these have been replaced with air travel bubbles with over 25 countries.

IATA which represents over 290 global airlines including four in India thinks that these restrictive measures are no longer warranted.

Walsh added that the Indian government should take data-driven decisions and remove regulations that restrict capacity and access to allow the aviation industry to recover quickly. “Is it fair that Indian people suffer to protect the weak airlines," he asked. Walsh believes that domestic and international air travel in India will be back to 2019 level only by 2024 due to reduction in fleet size and weak financial condition of carriers if operations resumed now.

Indian travellers searching for bleisure destinations: Amadeus

A new study by travel technology company Amadeus shows that Indian travellers are opting for bleisure as the workcation trend is in high demand. The new report has identified two key findings, namely Indian travellers are searching for their destination just one day before departure; and these travellers are searching for long-term stays with a duration of 14 to 30 days and sometimes more.

Other key trends from the research include bubble travel, conscious travel and indulgent travel. For bubble travel, Amadeus study shows that 93 pc of Indian travellers are willing to adopt digital health passports to help facilitate travel reopening, which is key in rebuilding traveller confidence. Amadeus data shows that one-third of millennials would like to travel and explore sustainable travel options and ways to reduce their carbon emissions when travelling.

Korea Tourism conducting K-UIZ contest for Indian consumers

Korea Tourism is organising a month-long all-India quiz contest where winners stand a chance to get a free trip to South Korea! According to Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) New Delhi office report, the last few years have seen a tremendous rise in the popularity of the ‘K-Wave’ in India which includes K-Drama, K-Movies and K-Pop. To capitalise on this growing trend, KTO New Delhi office and MakeMyTrip are collaborating to create a special ‘South Korea K-UIZ’ to engage the customers and revive their interest in international travel to South Korea.

“While watching K content online, people of India have been introduced to many aspects of Korean life, food, iconic landmarks and attractions. This quiz is a fun way to test their K-knowledge,” said Young-Geul Choi, director of KTO, India.

South Korea has already opened its borders for quarantine free inbound tourism for fully vaccinated tourists from some countries; however regular travel between South Korea and India remains restricted for now. The final winner of ‘Free Trip to South Korea’ voucher will have a validity of one year within which the winner will be able to avail the prize.

German Tourism to focus more on wellness and culture

Germany has added more UNESCO world heritage sites to its credit. The Mathildenhöhe artists' colony in Darmstadt is now a UNESCO world heritage site; the spa towns of Baden-Baden, Bad Ems and Bad Kissingen have also been awarded World Heritage titles along with eight other sites as “Great European Spas.” The decisions were announced by the UNESCO body at its 44th session in the Chinese city of Fuzhou.

The artists' colony Mathildenhöhe, founded in 1899 by the then Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig, was one of the most important centres of modern art and architecture in Europe and the world from the turn of the century until the beginning of WWI. Young architects and artists were able to realise their ideas on this experimental field and build the bridge from art nouveau to new objectivity, which eventually became a major impetus for the Bauhaus movement. The overall ensemble includes the Wedding Tower designed by the famous architect Peter Olbrich - today a landmark of the city of Darmstadt and an excellent vantage point over the entire Rhine-Main plain, the central studio house, where works by the former 23 members of the artists' colony are presented in a permanent exhibition.

“Germany’s historic castles, palaces and gardens are good for romantic trips, legendary tours and magical moments. Every visit to a UNESCO world heritage site is a journey back in time to a shared cultural history. Germany is an absolute wonderland for impressive architectural monuments, historical towns and significant industrial sites,” commented Romit Theophilus, director for India, German National Tourist Office.

The GNTB's current campaign, “German.Spa.Tradition.” puts the spotlight on Germany's more than 350 certified spas and health resorts, their cultural tradition and their medical and therapeutic treatments and wellness offerings. Even in the pre-corona period of 2019, Germany recorded 7.2 million international overnight stays in spas and health resorts - eight per cent of the total incoming volume. Interestingly, the pandemic has significantly increased the interest in wellness and health vacations among the prospective tourists.

Tourism Australia launches wellness workshops for Indian travel agents

To assist the Indian travel trade in looking after their mental wellbeing, Tourism Australia is organising a series of wellness workshops in India aimed at providing a toolkit of practical tips that will help build confidence in the ability to maintain and build mental wellbeing.

This first-of-a-kind month-long initiative in the travel industry includes a curated set of sessions featuring veteran motivational speakers and mental health experts and will be open to Aussie Specialist agents and all members of the Indian travel trade. Speakers include Shiv Khera, Birender Ahluwalia and Dr Harish Shetty.

“Pre-Covid, our travel industry was focused on promoting the many benefits of travel to consumers, including the positive effects of travel on overall wellness and mental wellbeing. Now with travel on hold, the workshops have been planned to impart effective strategies, techniques and mechanisms for our travel industry colleagues to manage stress and maintain their general mental wellbeing in the challenging times. It is also a positive step towards supporting the resilience of our industry and our tourism partners in these challenging times,” said Nishant Kashikar, country manager – India and Gulf, Tourism Australia.


India Outbound is a publication of Media India Group