Mr. JB Singh – President and CEO InterGlobe Technology Quotient

2010 expectations and impact of the budget on the Indian travel industry “2009 was a year of many changes in the travel economy for India. There was of course the need to deal with the cascade effect of the recession and then a series of highs and lows. Overall global markets went down by as much as 15%. We are hoping for 2010 to be a year of consolidation and recovery. We expect a steady growth of close to 5-6% for India. A bit above the expected global average of 4.5%. Domestic travel will grow more than outbound international travel.” said Mr. JB Singh -President and CEO InterGlobe Technology Quotient (official distributer of Galileo and Worldspan in India). Key growth drivers for 2010 – · Enhanced capacity with aircraft induction as well as re-configuring of aircraft to full economy will provide greater production in the domestic space· Overall economic growth with GDP forecasted to grow at 8% will mirror the growth in Corporate Travel· The non-air content and its growth will be another key stimulant as budget hotels grow rapidly in the organised sector· As incomes grow, they raise the spending priority in leisure travel, which not only is expanding but is now opening up new products for the leisure traveller, such as Spas, health farms, soft adventure activities· Finally the Common Wealth Games in the later part of the year will drive travel volumes both, Inbound and Intra India and will also further strengthen India’s image as a destination. Budget expectations – “Every budget is important for the segment of the business. However Travel is largely dependent on a variety of sectors such as Airports, airlines, roads, hotels, ports, electricity, security, urbanisation, rapid transport, entertainment etc. As this sector grows, they singularly and collectively impact Travel and Tourism. Therefore the overall strategy has more significance. However, there are several areas in the Tourism budget, its policies and regulations that will constantly need to be revisited to cope with the demand that is expected. For example, the move to grant Visa on arrival for 5 countries recently opens up opportunities to tap inbound tourism from new source markets. They also open up opportunities for trade. Making an environment conducive to the growth the travel industry is crucial and we therefore hope for further support from the budget to encourage inbound and outbound traffic as well as more liberal and transparent policies.” he added. Impact of technology on travel sector “Adoption of technology is an important factor which can also aid in growth of the Indian travel business. Effective technology usage leads to significant impact on efficiency and hence on revenues of all stakeholders – may it be the airlines and other transport providers or the travel agencies. In 2010 alternate booking solutions via new technologies like mCommerce and taking the travel agent online will have a great impact.”
JB Singh