Non-metro cities are the new growth centers
Non-metro cities and Indian interior areas, are registering a growth and prosperity, presently. These are witness double growth in visa applications, in comparison to metro cities in the first half of 2018. This is a recent data compilation. In this period the applications of Tier-2 Cities and other smaller metros, had a 40% increase. Some of these prominent cities are Pune, Jalandhar, Chandigarh and Ahmedabad.
Comparatively Delhi, Bengaluru Mumbai, and Kolkata had an increase of 21%. Moreover, the people of these four cities applied in large numbers similar to the metros.
Applications from small cities
Applications from Goa and Trivandrum which are smaller, also had a 100% growth. There were 2.5 million visa applicants totally in the first six months of 2018, and as much as 15% of them were from Tier-2 Cities. The growth comparison was for visas pertaining to short-stay. The fact today is that the foreign travel is growing, at a fast pace, in the tier-2 cities in India.
The reasons are attributed to a strong income, and a great desire to explore new destinations. The modern Indian traveler, hailing from many cities follows this trend.
Increasing wealth, a dynamic middle class and the overall growth in the country are the contributory factors for growth in local and international air traffic. India moreover, is a fast emerging economy of South Asia.
The international traffic
The volume of international traffic inwards, and out of India had a growth of 11.3% corresponding to 59 million last year. The top six destinations in visa applications processing were the USA, the UK, Malaysia, Canada, Schengen group of countries, and China. This represents a healthy mix of education, business, and leisure travel.
Traffic from tier-2 as well as from tier-3 cities, will increase the outbound international traffic, from India in the leisure segment. As per the recent international report, leisure overseas traffic conducted by Indians will touch 13.9 million in 2025. In 2017, it was 5 million. A huge contribution will be from small centers and because of the result of capacity increase, in foreign routes internationally.
New players emerge
Go Air has started international flights to Maldives, Phuket, Thailand and Male. Also, Applicants from small cities are keen to avail and benefit from various services. Moreover, there are no issues in collecting documentation, from applicants, because of the use of the latest technology, and adopting a modern approach.
