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Business Standard
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Indians in Tier-II cites bring 'faster growth' for travel industry: Report
Indians living in Tier-II cities are bringing faster growth for the travel industry by exploring domestic and international destinations, said a report on Wednesday, crediting growing discretionary spending and better connectivity for the trend. Indians' budget for holidays has increased by 20-50 per cent more compared to previous years, said Thomas Cook India and its subsidiary SOTC Travel in a joint report. 'When we look at demand, whether through website visits or in-store footfalls, Tier-II cities are showing faster growth compared to tier I cities,' S D Nandakumar, president and country head, holidays and corporate tours, SOTC Travel, told 'Business Standard'. 'While volumes (of travellers) are still higher in Tier-I cities, the growth rate in Tier-II is significantly faster. This applies not just to domestic travel but also to international destinations.' Smaller markets have had 'remarkable growth' in the last five to ten years, said Abraham Alapatt, president and group head for marketing, service quality, value added services and innovation at Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel. 'People (travellers) now want a better holiday than last year or compared to their last holidays. Overall, the average spending by travellers has increased by four per cent in 2025 (summer season) on a year-on-year basis,' Alapatt said. Nandakumar and Alapatt noted that summer travel, particularly for leisure and B2C (business to consumers), continues to be a large part of travel business but not as dominant as it was 10 years ago. '...10 years back, the travel schedule used to have one big jump in summer and one slightly smaller jump in the Diwali-New Year period. Now, since most travellers (about 85 per cent) have increased their frequency of travel throughout the year, with a combination of long and short vacations, travel has become a year-round phenomenon. The dependence of the two-month period of summer has reduced slowly but steadily,' said Nandakumar. Movies once shaped people's decision to travel and discover new destinations. Now, 60 per cent of travellers gain inspiration from social media and OTT content, making the two platforms a key holiday driver for summer travel this year, said the report. '…the emerging travel segments for this summer were mother-daughter and cousin-sibling segments, senior female solo travellers, and GenS or empty nesters,' said Alapatt. While solo travelling has become popular among Indians, 90 per cent of them still prefer to travel with a company. Among travel trends, 45 per cent of respondents told the survey they prefer cruise holidays, 35 per cent driving vacations, and 20 per cent prefer scenic train journeys. This summer, Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, the Northeast, Rajasthan, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep were among the top domestic locations for travellers. Internationally, Europe, led by Switzerland and France, South East Asia, Dubai, Japan, Bhutan, and South Korea were among the major destinations among Indian travellers. The report called 'India Holiday Report 2025' is based on a digital survey comprising 2,500 respondents and conducted over a month.
The Star
16-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Genting Singapore likely to see better 2H
HLIB Research said it expects GenS to deliver a relatively weaker first half before regaining traction in the second half of the year. KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Singapore Ltd (GenS) may see a weaker first half in 2025 before potentially regaining traction in the second half of this year. This is because of the lower VIP rolling win rate, as well as the temporary closure of Hard Rock Hotel for renovation and rebranding work that had impacted its first-quarter bottomlines. Also, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Research (HLIB Research), GenS' management had indicated that operating expenses are expected to rise in the first half due to preparations for the hotel's reopening and rebranding as well as the S.E.A. Aquarium which will be closed for 2.5 months in the first half. 'All in, we expect GenS to deliver a relatively weaker first half before regaining traction in the second half of the year,' it said. GenS is majority 52.5% owned by Genting Bhd . HLIB Research said tourist arrivals into Singapore will be supported by the various entertainment events such as the upcoming Lady Gaga concert and attractions. These also include Universal Studios Singapore's new themed zone called Illumination's Minion Land, Mandai Rainforest Wild Asia, and Disney Adventure Cruise Ship; and the mutual 30-day visa exemption between Singapore and China. GenS plans to launch The Laurus, an all-suite luxury hotel that was rebranded from Hard Rock Hotel and the Singapore Oceanarium by the third quarter of this year, it said. It maintained a 'buy' call on GenS with a lower target price of S$1.10 from S$1.22, based on the financial year 2025's (FY25) enterprise value to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation multiples of nine times that is at parity to its three-year, pre-lockdown average. 'We continue to like GenS for its undemanding valuation and attractive FY25 projected dividend yields of 6.1%,' it said. While recent results were below HLIB Research's expectations, it was in-line with Maybank Investment Bank Research's (Maybank IB) projections. 'From the third quarter, we expect operations to be stronger, thanks largely to the opening of The Laurus hotel that will house more VIP and premium mass players,' Maybank IB said. 'Going into the second quarter, we expect operations to be seasonally slower after the Chinese New Year festival in the first quarter. 'We do not get the feeling from management that the short-lived trade war between the United States and China had a marked impact on VIP volumes in the second quarter,' it added. Meanwhile, it also highlighted Tan Hee Teck, the chief executive officer (CEO) of GenS and Resorts World Singapore, will fully retire by Nov 30, 2025. Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, who is presently the executive chairman of GenS will assume the role of acting CEO from June 1, 2025 while also retaining his role as executive chairman. Maybank IB maintained its earnings estimates, 'buy' call and S$1.01 discounted cashflow target price, noting that the market is presently discounting its huge net cash pile.
