Singaporeans top list of those interested in visiting India: Survey

Singapore, Ukraine and China lead the list of countries that represent the fastest growing markets showing an interest in visiting India, according to a recent TripAdvisor survey. The list of countries makes up those markets which have shown the largest increase in year-on-year interest in Indian accommodations or hotels.

The survey examines the top inbound markets based on travellers researching for Indian accommodations during the period of July 2013-14 as against the same period in the previous year. According to the survey data, traveller interest in Indian accommodation from Singapore grew 48 per cent year-on-year, while interest from Ukraine and China followed close behind, seeing a growth spurt of 43 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively.

"It is encouraging to see significant increase in traveller interest from both emerging and established inbound markets, confirming India's appeal as a desirable holiday destination for travellers from both near and afar," said Deepesh Saxena, territory manager for India, TripAdvisor for Business.

When looked at the larger picture, the growth story, however, is somewhat different. In the list of the top 10 countries with the highest overall traffic for Indian accommodation, Singapore is 9th on the list and China is 4th, while Ukraine doesn't make the cut. The top three spots are occupied by Indian, American and British travellers and Russia occupies the fifth spot on the list.

According to the official tourism data from the ministry of tourism, though US and UK retain the top spots with the highest number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) during 2013, the rest of the FTA list differs from that in the survey list. Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Russia take up the three spots in the top-five list of countries, according to the government statistics. The implication of this difference could be many. For example, interest in travelling to India and researching Indian accommodations doesn't translate to an actual visit in a lot of cases. Also, TripAdvisor's online penetration could be significantly higher in the countries it lists out than in, for instance, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

The survey also points out that among Indian destinations, Goa, Kerala and Maharashtra are the most searched destinations. Additionally, Rajasthan commands the highest ratings for the accommodation services that it provides.