Tourism industry urged to tap Indian 'sleeping giant'

Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Forward HQ director Louise Beard says independent Indian travellers are a sophisticated, affluent and adventurous lot, but early starts are rarely part of their holiday agenda.

Indian visitor numbers have grown 80 per cent over the last five years and the tourism industry is being urged to make the most of a highly lucrative market described as a 'sleeping giant'

India is currently our tenth largest visitor market. In the 12 months to February more than 53,400 Indian visitors came to New Zealand, a tiny proportion of India's 62 million passport holders.

Forward HQ director Louise Beard, who presented her research into Indian holiday makers at Tuesday's Auckland Airport travel summit, said the market was a 'sleeping giant' with enormous potential.

But she warned tourism operators they would need to adapt to the challenge of visitors who liked to sleep in and dined later in the evening.

* Tourists spend thousands on chauffeurs to avoid driving on New Zealand road

As independent travellers they were a sophisticated, affluent and adventurous lot, but early starts were rarely part of their holiday agenda.

'If people turn up at accommodation at 8pm they will expect the restaurant to still be open.

'Their time clock is quite different to ours.

'They don't expect to be up and getting going before 11 o'clock in the morning'.

That meant later breakfasts for Indian guests, and tourism operators had to be prepared to arrange later departure times for activities, Beard said.

She based her advice on interviews with travel operators and Indian visitors, both here and on their home turf.

By 2020 up to 50 million Indians a year would be travelling overseas, and she said New Zealand competed with the likes of Switzerland and South Africa.

Our reputation as a safe yet exotic destination was a big draw card, as was our moderate winter climate which offered a respite from India's heat, and congestion.

'The fact that we don't have mosquito-borne diseases, you can take your shoes off and walk in the grass without getting damage to your feet or some nasty insect bite or worse'.

Indian visitors stayed 13 days on average on what they regarded as a once in a lifetime trip.

'New Zealand is a one off, they don't expect to come back, so they like to make the most of it.

'They absolutely spend while they are here, they immerse themselves in life and adventure, and want to do many activities in a single day'.

However, although Indians were risk takers, they were very safety conscious.

'They wouldn't bungee jump in India, but they will do it here because they trust us'.

Romance was important to Indian visitors too, and not just young honeymooners, Beard said.

Older couples living with large extended families valued the opportunity to get away together for some private time together.

Indian tourists were discerning travellers who expected high standards of service, but they were not averse to seeking discounts, said Beard.

She advised tour operators to come up with a policy on how to handle requests for special deals, and stick with it, using humour to get the point across.

'[Tell them] if they want a discount, they can have half a parachute'.

Indians were also keen to drive themselves around the country, but they needed to be warned about our speed limits.

Beard said they tended to feel confident because we drive on the same side of the road.

'They think they are the best drivers in the world because they can avoid having a major crash in gridlock at 5 miles per hour. That doesn't mean they can cope with our open roads'.