Hotel chains are witnessing an increase in the number of foreign tourists with the steady rise in inbound tourism. While foreign tourist arrivals in the country are still below the 2019 level, hotels are seeing a growth on a month-on-month basis and expect a full recovery in the segment by next March-end. Chalet hotels has reported a 4 percentage point increase in the number of foreign guests on a year-on-year basis in June-September quarter. While foreign guests made up 29 per cent of its overall customers in the second quarter last year, that increased to 33 per cent this year, Chalet hotels said.

Indian Hotels Company has seen 15 per cent growth in rooms booked by foreign touristsin the current fiscal year.  During the company’s post-second quarter conference call, its Managing Director & CEO, Puneet Chhatwal expressed optimism about foreign tourist arrivals reaching very close to the pre-Covid level by March-end.

Inbound tourism surges

“We are witnessing a strong rebound in leisure tourism with an increase in luxury market across the group , incentive and free independent traveller segments. The key countries contributing to this growth are the UAE, UK, US, Australia and countries from the Western Europe,” said Parveen Chander, Executive Vice President (sales and marketing), Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL).

Over 5.5 million foreign tourists visited India between January-July. While arrivals grew 4.7 per cent compared to the same period last year, it is still 9 per cent lower compared to 2019.

“We are observing a balanced return of both corporate and leisure travellers. With the resumption of global connectivity and business operations, corporate travel is rebounding at a slightly faster pace. Leisure tourism is also witnessing a steady growth fuelled by increasing demand for unique and culturally immersive experiences,” said Nikhil Sharma, Managing Director and Area Senior Vice President (South Asia), Radisson Group.

Increased marketing efforts by the Union tourism ministry, including participation at the mega events like the World Travel Mart in London this month are also generating interest. The Government has also announced free one lakh e-visas to friends of Overseas Ctizens of India card holders.

“Inbound tourism is growing steadily month-by-month and we anticipate even greater momentum over the next six months. The Buddhist circuit has been a standout performer for us with a strong demand at Ramada Varanasi and Lucknow. Similarly the Golden Triangle continues to shine and our hotels in destinations such as Amritsar and Jaipur are expected to achieve robust occupancies, ”said Sakshi Sehdev Dogra, Head of Sales and Marketing (Eurasia), Wyndham Hotels and Resorts.

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