Festive demand robust, but overall travel growth likely to remain muted this year: Cleartrip

Mumbai, Sep 22 (PTI) Festive cheer is set to lift India's travel industry this year, with strong demand from Gen Z travellers and a surge in spiritual tourism expected to drive bookings, even as overall growth faces headwinds from recent incidents and geopolitical tensions, a top Cleartrip executive has said.

"The beginning of the year was very strong with January, February and March accounting for unprecedented growth, in terms of yields, and it was an excellent time for the industry as a whole.

"However, in June and July, we saw disruption following geopolitical tensions and the unfortunate Air India crash, which resulted in a moderation of growth. The industry has been flat over the last four months in terms of domestic flying numbers, and the yields have also tanked," Cleartrip Chief Growth and Business Officer Manjari Singhal told PTI.

However, there has been a reversal in demand since the second half of August, as a result, overall growth is likely to remain muted, she added.

These bookings are mainly driven by Gen Z travellers and a surge in spiritual tourism, she said.

"Spiritual destinations are seeing a large uptake driven by Millennials and Gen Z, who are driving the entire leisure uptake. The festive season is going to be really good, and also in hotel bookings, I think the change in GST is going to fuel the growth," she added.

When asked what other policy the industry hopes the government will implement to boost the sector after GST, she said, there are a lot of areas where optimisation can happen, which will ultimately impact consumer sentiments positively.

"We definitely expect the government to keep flushing more and more friendly policies. In terms of reducing the cost structure at the airport, which will in turn help airlines to improve their capacity," she elaborated.

Singhal further stated that the country is witnessing a robust demand in outbound destinations.

"The geopolitical impacts did affect the sentiments of outbound travellers, especially due to the Ukraine-Russia war, which started three years back and the Middle East tensions.

"But Indian travellers had enough new destinations which got added over the last two years, which gave them choices. Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Thailand, which have opened new destinations, are witnessing a lot of movement from India," she added. PTI SM DRR