A NEW trade association devoted to India outbound has been formed, while major Indian inbound players that have started to tap outbound expect the level to match their inbound volume in the next two to three years.
The new grouping, Society of Foreign Travel Operators (SFTO) India, received government clearance a month ago and has elected Ajay Jaipuria of Travel Oytser as president and Sandeep Jain of Ad-Voyage Travels as vice president.
India has many trade associations, but they cover mainly ticketing, inbound and domestic travel. SFTO hopes to bridge the outbound gap. Said Jain: “We are aiming for 5,000 members. They include agents, airlines, overseas NTOs – anyone who is serious about tapping India outbound.”
There is no shortage of interest, as the market’s mighty potential shows signs of erupting. Already, there are some 12 million travellers a year – double the number of inbound arrivals.
The Estonia tourism authority, for instance, wants to work with SFTO to bring 200 Indian agents to Estonia for an educational in April, said Jain.
– Read more in TTG-PTM Official Daily – Day 2 issue
