By BW Hotelier

INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER interest in India is on the rise, signalling good news for the country’s tourism industry. According to a recent TripAdvisor-traffic study, travellers from Singapore, the United States and China show the largest increase in interest year-over-year in Indian destinations on the site. The study also highlights review trends from visiting markets on Indian hospitality businesses.

Rising interest across Asia indicates positive growth in inbound tourism to India, with Asian countries accounting for six of the top ten markets showing an increase in the share of visitor sessions looking at Indian destinations. However, what’s significant to note is the increase in interest from long-haul markets including the United States (13 per cent) and the Caribbean (4 per cent), signalling healthy inbound travel trends for India.

Singapore tops the list again this year with 24 per cent year-on-year growth in interest for Indian destinations and hospitality businesses, highlighting a key market that Indian business owners should keep in mind in developing their marketing strategies for 2016.

Top 10 fastest growing markets researching Indian destinations on TripAdvisor¹:

Top 10 nationalities looking at Indian destinations on TripAdvisor²:

With the country’s strong domestic travel market, Indians make up the largest proportion of travellers looking at Indian destinations. In fact, 76 per cent of the total sessions from India on TripAdvisor in the past year are directed towards Indian destinations or hospitality businesses. After India, Middle Eastern markets dominate the global list for highest percentage of total search traffic directed towards India.

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.

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 year over year, followed by Spaniards (8 per cent) and Australians (2 per cent).

’We’re seeing growth in interest not just from Asian countries but also from long-haul inbound markets with domestic travel being as strong as ever,’ said Nikhil Ganju, Country Manager, TripAdvisor India. ’Not only are more travelers 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.’

Methodology:

¹This 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 vs October 2014 ’ September 2015.

²Measuring overall session counts to Indian destinations on TripAdvisor from October 2014 ’ September 2015.