LuxeBook September 2022

their homes and are now eager to travel, regardless of whether it is for leisure or business; and they are looking at travelling in the most frictionless manner,” Mr Sakari Romu, General Manager Finnair told LuxeBook . While some jetted off to Europe and the US, others chose UAE as their preferred destination, as the popular destinations. According to a report by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in July 2022, internation tourism has more than tripled from January-May this year with arrivals at 46%; which is the same as it was in 2019. The report further mentioned that 250 million international trips were recorded worldwide through May 2022 as opposed to 77 million in May 2021. But the first world continents like Europe and America continue to lead the travel recovery with European nations welcoming more than four times as many international arrivals; in America arrivals more than doubled although still lower than travel in 2019. Further, Asia and the Pacific saw arrivals almost double in number, but still 90% below 2019. Shanti Kohli, Managing Director, Amber Tours said US and Latin America tourists contribute the maximum to tourism in India. “Amber Tours has had clients from the US and Latin American travel as soon as the borders opened. Mostly high-end luxury travellers, sophisticated, well-informed guests who have been travelling throughout the pandemic to countries that were open and importantly, not scared of long-haul flights.” The Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) in March 2022 were recorded at 342,308, with a growth rate of 177.9% as compared to 123,179 in March 2021. The percentage share of Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India during March 2022 from 15 major countries included US (24.58%) followed by UK (14.01%), Bangladesh (11.78%), Canada (6.86%), Australia (5.68%), Sri Lanka (4.30%), Nepal (3.10%), Germany (1.94%), Singapore (1.79%), France (1.69%), Maldives (1.51%), Portugal (1.27%), Russian Federation (1.00%), Oman (0.95%) and Italy (0.93%). Sandeep Arora, Head of Brightsun Travel Private Limited India who shared that the greatest number of Six Senses Fort Barwara international tourists arrive in India from Bangladesh, USA and the UK, followed by Russia, Canada and Australia. One of the most visible changes in the new market is the amount customers are willing to spend on travel. “In the new market, customers want to tailor their travel experience according to their individual needs —whether it is a more comfortable seat, choice of lounge access or inflight dining experience. The discerning customer is willing to spend to make their travel experience more enjoyable,” shared Mr. Sakari Romu. Further, the UNWTO report also highlighted the rise in tourism expenditure globally. India, Saudi Arabia and Qatar were some of the top nations that matched pre-pandemic levels of expenditure. While the number remains low, airlines are seeing a bounce back that is quicker than ever, shared a spokesperson at Vistara. “At Vistara, we have been witnessing healthy demand across our network and are already operating more domestic flights and carrying more passengers than we did pre-covid. The demand is mainly driven by leisure travellers and people visiting friends and relatives and corporate travel.” Although people are farmore comfortable travelling internationally this year, experts tell us that international travel across the globe is still not back to what it was pre-pandemic. Speaking candidly, Shanti shared…. “I don’t want to say that the numbers have gone back to pre-covid days, but they are definitely improving and the holiday season bookings for post-October are looking very good. There is a large interest in India.” International tourism on a rebound The common consensus is that although tourism in India is seeing a boom, most of the revenue is an outcome of domestic travel. India is still a tourism market that is being explored. “ With the easing of travel restrictions and international flights resuming to almost 2019 levels, international tourism saw a strong rebound in the first Finnair Airbus A330 Shanti Kohli Managing Director, Amber Tours Inside Finnair Business Class 16| L U X E B O O K | S E P T E MB E R 2 0 2 2 S E P T E MB E R 2 0 2 2 | L U X E B O O K | 17