New Year to bring in robust business for tour operators

With 2015 having multiple weekend breaks, travel agents and online portals expect brisk business

Anand Ganapathy, an engineer with a multinational firm in Pune, has already planned a weekend trip to Lonavala in the last week of January. “I got a good offer from a travel portal and booked it after my leave was sanctioned,” he said. With 2015 having multiple weekend breaks, travel agents and online travel portals expect a holiday rush this year.

The new year has a string of weekend holidays starting from the Republic Day on January 26, which falls on a Monday. With Holi, Gandhi Jayanti and Id-ul-zuha on a Friday, Diwali on a Thursday and Christmas again on a Friday, tour operators expect a spurt in the number of short trips on weekends.

Online travel portals, too, are gearing to make the most of the weekend breaks in 2015.

A top executive at Cleartrip.com said the portal saw advance bookings to the tune of 70 per cent in 2014. “With airline ticket prices expected to remain volatile, we are planning for budget packages for the customers. This might result the net income to grow by at least 20-25 per cent,” he said.

According to its filing to the corporate affairs ministry, Cleartrip’s loss before extraordinary items and tax stood at Rs 40 crore in 2013-14.

MakeMyTrip, which has a market share of 50 per cent in the online travel space, saw a 100 per cent rise in bookings in 2014 with customers opting for multiple short holidays instead of one long annual vacation.

“With so many long weekends in 2015, we are expecting a further increase in demand for extended weekend holidays among both planned and impulse leisure travelers,” said Mohit Gupta, chief business and marketing officer at MakeMyTrip. He added that the portal would be offering comprehensive long-weekend product bouquets with great value packages and assured inventory to cater to this demand for popular destinations.

MakeMyTrip reported a net loss of $20.9 million (Rs 125 crore) in FY14, compared to $27.6 million (Rs 165 crore) in FY13.

Analysts say a holiday-friendly year gives travel portals the opportunity to offer customised packages for weekend gateways. “Selling air tickets or only hotels are no more profitable. So, all the leading portals are focusing on bundled products, which results in a better profit margin,” said Deepak Jain, an analyst with Phocuswright. He added this would result in strong double-digit growth for the online travel sector. “While the overall travel industry will grow by 12 per cent in this financial year (FY15), much of the movement will be seen in the online sector, which will see a growth of 18 per cent,” he said.

Offline operators are also eager not to miss out on the opportunity. According to them, flexibility in tour packages give them an edge over the online operators. “Destinations like Kulu, Manali, and Ooty, which are at a short distance from the metros, will get popular. We are already getting enquiries from customers and designing packages according to their necessity,” said Gour Kanjilal, executive director, Indian Association of Tour Operator.