Indian hospitality count

The first in terms of intent were the six Indian airlines that are allowed to fly abroad. The schedule submitted to the Indian aviation regulator estimated them to operate 72% of the number of flights in 2020 seeing the Covid-19 first appearance.

That 72% figure, or around it, has come to define the Indian travel and tourism industry where it stands today. Key data metrics relating to the various segments that make up this industry show similar current operating levels in relation to pre-pandemic levels. For example, the number of domestic flights in February was 66% of the February 2020 level. Similarly, the number of nights booked in 16 major Airbnb destinations in India in 2021-22 was 77% of 2019-20 levels. The Naukri.com job index for the hospitality sector—which includes hotels, restaurants, airlines and travel—for February 2022 was around 69% of February 2020 levels. Leading travel portal MakeMyTrip had reported gross booking value in the December 2021 quarter to 68 per cent in the December 2019 quarter.

This in a sense is the next hurdle for the Indian travel and tourism industry. And the June quarter is one of the calculations, as ground has been laid for the industry to bridge the gap between operating levels and pre-pandemic levels. There are no Covid-19 cases and movement restrictions have been relaxed significantly.

Countries are opening up to tourists and international travel has resumed. Summer vacations are near, for the first time in two years without the long shadow of Covid-19 and lockdown. According to American Express’ 2022 Global Travel Trends report, nearly 94% of Indians surveyed were planning to travel more with family than in 2021, and this quarter is the first time to do so. Himank Tripathi, President – ​​External Affairs, travel portal EasyMyTrip says, “The travel sentiment is looking very positive.

open borders

For airlines operating in India, the distance to normal position in the international segment is considerable. For the 11-month period till February 2022, international passenger traffic was just 30% of the same period in February 2020. Six Indian airlines flying abroad want to take this to the level of 70%.

Twice a year, each airline submits a flight schedule to the regulator: the Summer Schedule (for flights between March and October) and the Winter Schedule (October to March). This document basically lists the destinations the airline plans to fly to, the weekly frequency and timing of its flights, and the build of the aircraft. The latest international summer schedule released by six Indian airlines flying abroad is a declaration of intent and a window into how the pandemic affected their financial health and operational mobility.

In the March 2020 quarter, these six airlines accounted for 41% of international passengers flying in and out of India. Apart from Air India, they were mostly serving short-haul routes to the Middle-East and South-East Asia. For the 2019-20 winter, these airlines listed 2,003 international flights per week. For the summer of 2022, they have planned 1,436 international flights per week – or 72%. Of the 44 international destinations they serve, they have increased flights to 12.

Three things are prominent in these plans. The first is how they have doubled in the Middle East. The 14 airports they fly to in the Middle East have increased their weekly flights to six. Notable increases include Dammam (14 to 46), Muscat (69 to 86), and Sharjah (91 to 100). For Dubai, there has been a slight drop in the number of flights (from 342 to 326). In contrast, these six airlines have halved weekly flights to popular Southeast Asia destinations such as Bangkok and Singapore.

The second dimension is how the pandemic has affected airlines and their ability to fly. Of the six airlines, only Vistara, a marginal player in the international arena, has increased weekly flights (from 35 to 45). Among those with significant international operations, Air India Express and IndiGo are strong, with weekly flight levels of 94% and 85%, respectively, from pre-pandemic levels.

However, Air India and SpiceJet have cut international plans significantly. In terms of weekly flights, Air India plans to operate at 49% of pre-pandemic levels and SpiceJet at 59%. Against the 45 international destinations it served before the pandemic, Air India—which was recently acquired by the Tata Group, which also runs Vistara—plans to serve 34, with Kabul, Milan and Copenhagen being notable exclusions. .

The third dimension in the international framework is foreign airlines. In the January to March 2020 quarter, they had a passenger share of 59%. His exact flight plans are not yet public. How they unlock their international operations will uncover another key to recovery. Expectation is a rising trajectory. For example, in a press release last month, Air France-KLM said it would operate 20 flights per week from India in April and increase it to 30 in May. “We are seeing an increase of around 30 per cent every month in international travel bookings,” says Tripathi.

Apart from the re-emergence of COVID, an emerging factor in travel plans is the rise in flight prices due to the Russo-Ukraine war. In India, the cost of aviation fuel for domestic airlines flying international flights has increased by 37% in the last four months. “There has been a 10-15% drop in international bookings in the last few weeks due to the hike in ticket prices,” says Tripathi.

pandemic change

For now, stalled demand is finding its way onto travel platforms and visa processing centres. According to the company’s general manager for India, Amanpreet Bajaj, homestay platform Airbnb is seeing an increase in searches from India for properties in the US, UK, Middle-East countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, Thailand and Switzerland. Is. Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

“We are seeing a lot of enthusiasm for cross-border travel,” he says. “After being unable to travel abroad for so long, many people are excited to take that long-awaited trip abroad – something we have seen reflected in searches on Airbnb’s multiple border reopening announcements. After.”

Bajaj expects certain behavior patterns to move forward in the upcoming travel options that were shaped by the pandemic. One notable of these is the establishment of a base away from home for a period of time, thus combining the wanderlust of travel and the demands of everyday life.

On Airbnb, this is reflected in different ways, says Bajaj. There is a pattern people are going to new places. Over the past year, Airbnb bookings have been seen in 100,000 towns and cities around the world. Around 6,000 registered their first bookings during the pandemic. Another pattern is to make people live longer. Bajaj says average travel length on Airbnb has grown by about 15% over the years and that stays of at least 28 nights were the fastest-growing category by trip length in the fourth quarter of 2021. On Airbnb, farm-stays were the most ‘wish-listed’ unique accommodation type, followed by cottages, earth houses and tree houses.

Similarly, in the hotel segment, relatively low prices and the promise of better services are attracting consumers to do business. Tripathi says, “Before the pandemic, Indian travelers were looking for affordable plans and discount coupons. Now, 4-star and 5-star hotels are the most searched and booked on our portal.”

In India, 2021-22 has been a comeback year for travel entities like Airbnb. For quantitative evaluation, we took a set of 16 popular destinations on Airbnb, each within touching distance of six main metros, and compiled the number of nights for which private rooms were booked.

In 2020-21, which included the first wave of Covid-19 and a tough lockdown, these 16 destinations saw combined bookings at 2019-20 levels. In 2021-22, it had gone up to 86% of the 2019-20 level.

Out of these 16, destinations in North India made the best return. Besides, Lonavala, Kullu, Shimla, Kangra and Chikkamagaluru crossed the pre-pandemic level, while places like Ooty, Kodaikanal and Kannur in the south were sluggish.

home options

According to government data, around 27 million Indians traveled abroad in 2019. This fell to 7.3 million in 2020. Similarly, around 11 million tourists visited India in 2019, but only 2.7 million in 2020. The 11 million that came in 2019 resulted in foreign exchange earnings of $30 billion for India. The hope is that more international flights will bring more foreign travelers to India – and turn many of the quagmire in the travel and tourism chain, which was torn apart during the pandemic.

Of the 14 sectors tracked by job portal Naukri.com, based on job listings on it, hotels, restaurants, airlines and travel were hit hardest when the pandemic broke out. Even in February 2021, the hiring index for the sector was only 49% of its February 2020 level. Reduction till February 2022. Even as nine out of 14 sectors have surpassed their pre-pandemic levels, the index for the hospitality sector still stands at only 69% of February 2020 levels. That said, it is at its highest level since the outbreak of the pandemic and is trending up.

For the 11-month period (April to February) of 2021-22, the number of domestic flights was 68% of the 2019-20 level. With international borders closed during the pandemic, airlines had to build a mainly domestic segment. According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) data, during this period, airlines have put 15 airports on the aviation map for the first time, including Bareilly, Kota, Solapur, Kurnool, Bidar and Junagadh.

AAI data shows that of the 121 cities that had flights, 27 have shown higher flight speeds in 2021-22 compared to pre-pandemic 2019-20. These include popular tourist destinations such as Agra, Leh, Srinagar and Chandigarh, as well as smaller towns such as Pasighat and Pantnagar. The eastern airports like Pakyong, Barapani and Tezpur have also seen a significant increase in flight movement.

Some of this is being driven by tourism, in which travel reasons and thus destination choices have changed. According to the AirBnB report of September 2021, the focus has shifted to taking less road trips, or finding interesting homestay experiences in or near major tourist destinations such as Goa, Lonavala and Delhi. If COVID-19 stays at bay, the ongoing quarter could define it in new ways.

(The author is with howindialives.com, a search engine for public data.)