Indian tourism: forget visiting granny, we?re off to the beach

For most Indians a decade ago a vacation usually meant going to visit a native town or village or going on a pilgrimage. But now with the changing aspirations of India?s urban populations, it seems that going on a long, relaxing holiday stands alongside owning the newest mobile phone or latest model of Tata car.

And tourist packages are already on the market for as little as Rs300 ($6) a day.

According to a McKinsey report, a bigger chunk of Indian consumer spending is shifting from basic necessities to discretionary items and it is expected that by 2025, 70 per cent of a family?s income will be spent on non-essentials up from 52 per cent. As middle and upper class income households look set to grow by nearly 13 times over the next 15 years, the tourism industry looks set to get a real boost.

India?s wealthy have in recent years taken to travelling and companies such as Mahindra Holidays & Resorts, India?s leading leisure hospitality provider, have done very well from appealing to the country?s affluent who are looking for a luxurious trip to a local destination. But obviously very few among India?s 1.2bn population can afford to spend around Rs15,000 ($322) for a night in a plush resort in Goa.

Not to fear. The Rural Tourism Enterprise (RTNE) has now created a venture specifically targeting the aam aadmi, or common man, who can now be a tourist in India for less than Rs300 ($6) a day.

Deepthi Reddy, senior vice president of IFMR Ventures, an asset management company behind RTNE said: ?Rather than the impersonal feel of these luxury resorts, which are usually located far away from the local people, food and culture, we are offering an authentic, rural, travel experience at a fraction of the cost.?

The organisation has worked out a business model to provide professionally run package tours around rural India for the budget tourist, who can now dream big but spend less.

Over the last year and a half RTNE has worked with homestays, farmstays, small hotels and budget resorts and has signed up around 400 properties across the five states of Konkan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, hoping to increase to eight states by next year.

Through identifying local entrepreneurs across these locations in rural India and by using, inspecting and improving their existing infrastructure, the organisation is able to provide a cheaper holiday model.

RTNE also trains the enterprises and provides access to finance to ensure an efficient tourist operation is run, which ultimately benefits these local people from, fishermen to farmers, who can do with the additional income.

Opening up the opportunity to experience the real incredible India to the lower-middle classes for a fraction of the cost, sounds like a great plan. In fact it seems that the aam aadmi is getting a better deal than those that opt for luxury.

Sourced=FT