Singapore leads inbound traveller interest in 2015: Survey

There is a growing interest in India among international travellers and Singapore has topped the list of 10 countries that has seen the highest rise in people searching for destinations in the sub-continent, says a survey.
According to a recent TripAdvisor traffic study, travellers from Singapore have shown the largest increase in interest (23 per cent) year-over-year in Indian destinations on the site.
The study examined TripAdvisor site data to find which markets had the largest increases in share of traffic sessions on TripAdvisor, including one or more views of India in terms of total TripAdvisor sessions in October 2013 - September 2014 compared to October 2014 - September 2015.

Singapore is followed by the United States (13.15 per cent) and China (9.54 per cent) in the list.
Rising interest across Asia indicates positive growth in inbound tourism to India, with Asian countries accounting for six of the top 10 markets showing an increase in the share of visitor sessions looking at Indian destinations, it opined.
However, the report said what is significant to note is the increase in interest from long-haul markets including the United States and the Caribbean (4 per cent), signalling healthy inbound travel trends for India.

When it comes to top 10 nationalities looking at Indian

destinations on TripAdvisor, Indians make up the largest proportion of travellers.
In fact, 76 per cent of the total sessions from India on TripAdvisor in the past year are directed towards the country's destinations or hospitality businesses.
After India, the Middle Eastern markets dominate the global list for highest percentage of total search traffic directed towards India.
Further the survey revealed that travellers from Israel and Russia write the most positive reviews about their travel experiences in India, giving average review ratings of 4.39 and 4.34 (out of five), respectively, for Indian hospitality businesses.
Irish (4.31), Americans (4.30) and Brazilians (4.29) also rate Indian businesses highly on TripAdvisor, it added.

Over the past year, Brazilians have also topped the list for the largest increase in the amount of reviews they have contributed to TripAdvisor about India, growing by 13 per cent annually, followed by Spaniards (8 per cent) and Australians (2 per cent).
"Not only are more travellers interested in India, but they are also writing more reviews for the places they stay, eat and visit during their trips - and generally, the reviews are positive, which is an indication of the rising standards of the Indian hospitality industry.
"These findings paint a positive picture for the Indian tourism industry and provide the foundation for a strong marketing strategy for local hospitality businesses," Ganju added.