TBM Staff - Mumbai According to a report by The Business Line, in the past five years, the share of women travellers visiting India from developed countries has shot up to 49 per cent. But within this, the share of solo women travellers has reduced, as more family groups are visiting, according to data shared by travel intelligence company Adara which has been recently acquired by RateGain.
According to the data, the ratio of female travellers flying from developed countries to India has been on a consistent rise. On a yea-on-year basis(y-o-y), the first quarter of 2023 saw the proportion of female international flyers rise to 49 per cent of all travellers. The data is based on the study of the behaviour of travellers from nine countries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Germany and France.
While the share of international female travellers was a little more than 33 per cent of all travellers for January-March 2018, it rose by 50 per cent to occupy 49 per cent of the total share of international travellers in January – March 23.
“This rise in the share of female travellers flying to India can be attributed to the fact that there has been a surge in leisure couple and family travel to India in recent years. As India opened up to tourism post-Covid, it has become a preferred destination for couples arriving from the US, UK, Italy, and Spain,” Ankit Chaturvedi, vice president and global head of marketing, RateGain.
The hotel industry has experienced a significant shift in customer behaviour post-pandemic. In the first quarter of 2023, the majority of hotel bookings were made by couples, accounting for 83.2 per cent of all bookings, compared to only 54.5 per cent in Q1 of FY19. This represents a significant increase in the popularity of India as a getaway for couples.
Family hotel bookings have also increased, rising from 4 per cent in Q1 2019 to 10.2 per cent in Q1 2023. Some of the top countries from where the family travelers are arriving in India include France, and Spain. Family bookings also came from the NRIs traveling from the US and the UK.
In contrast, “Solo bookings have seen a significant decline in recent years. In Q1 of 2019, solo bookings accounted for 41.6 per cent of all bookings, but this figure has dropped to only 6.6 per cent in Q1 2023. This highlights a trend away from solo travel, perhaps reflecting a greater desire for social interaction and companionship in the wake of the pandemic,” Chaturvedi said.
