Cox & Kings sees India outbound mkt touching $40 bln

The Indian outbound travel market could expand to USD 35-40 bn over the next five years from the current USD 12 bn buoyed by a rapidly growing organised tourism market, a senior official at Cox & Kings said on Tuesday.

Outbound operations currently contribute 76% of Cox and Kings' consolidated sales, Chief Financial Officer Anil Khandelwal said. He expects this segment to maintain a 30% growth annually for the tour operator.

"Because of a stronger rupee we have not really seen a significant increase in per person spend, but we have witnessed a spending growth of 10% over the last two years," Khandelwal said in an interview to Reuters Insider.

He said the organised travel industry in India is set to grow between 25 to 30% over the next two to three years.

"In terms of base, the leisure travel on a premium category will see a significant percentage increase," Khandelwal said.

Luxury travel in India is expected to surpass the growth seen in the middle-class driven group tours by 20% over the next three years, he added.

The firm, the parent of UK-based unlisted Cox and Kings, gets around half its overall revenues from its international operations and is looking at more overseas acquisitions this fiscal to tap the booming outbound market.