The changing profile and preferences of the Indian global traveller has led to interesting new demands as the market has matured over the last decade. A significant segment of the India outbound comprises of the vegetarian traveller who no longer takes a bagful of theplas, kakhras and farsan to satiate themselves while touring the world, but have become more explorative and adventurous in their tastes and likes. Our cover story in this issue highlights what the tourism boards and tour operators are doing to cater to this segment which comprises more than half of India outbound. From attending cooking classes in France to scouring the local food markets in Australia, the Indian vegetarian traveller is an evolved segment today in terms of their F&B preferences. F&B has become an integral part of selecting a destination. When it comes to MICE and weddings, these destinations are equally equipped to handle the varied F&B demands of the India market.
A few days ago we received the news that June 2017 will be the last month for David Scowsill as the president and CEO of WTTC. We have done exclusive interviews with him many times during his visits to India, and also at international events. On his recent visit to India, at HICSA he affirmed that India’s travel and tourism market is in a good shape globally, and the government needs to prioritise the maximum growth of this industry.
Further reflecting India’s travel and tourism positioning, the 2017 World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index marked India’s ranking jump to 12 points, ranking 40th in the index. Whereas, Japan and China ranked fourth and 15th respectively, however India made the largest leap in the top 50, up 12 places, to land in 40th place.