Recently at the International Tourism Mart (ITM) 2015 held in Gangtok Sikkim, Travel and Tour spoke to some tour operators on the travel habits of people. The event had a number of tour operators visiting from different parts of the world on a three day visit followed by a FAM trip.
Most operators that had attended the event were forming collaborations with India, particularly the north eastern tour operators. They operate within Asia, where India happens to be favored destination. However, the thrust is more on North America. Most tourists prefer travelling to New York or California.
Asia too happens to be a great draw. Italian tourists specially like travelling to the beach destinations felt Ernesto Adiletta of Etnia travel concept and prefer the beaches of the Caribbean, Asia and Africa.
The trips are planned for not less than a period of two weeks and are mostly taken by the elderly who are well off and can afford these long extensive trips.
Beaty Grove of CSAR tours Ltd. felt most travellers like to live in heritage hotels and when coming to India they are willing to spend more for a better experience. The trend is more on discovery holidays with more time spent in the comfort of the resort over discovering new destinations. Some however have inhibitions on India as a safe destination and the tour operators all agreed that there is much of counseling needed to convince travellers to come to India.
Tour Operators from the Indian state of Sikkim; felt that more work is needed to improve better collaboration with foreign buyers. They felt that the government should invite more serious buyers for a better response in the ITM. India has a plethora of destinations that are waiting to be discovered but better planning and infrastructural facilities are major hurdles in the progress of tourism.
