India - EX-YU flight potential growing

Indian tour operators are seeing increasing potential for the launch of flights between the subcontinent and the former Yugoslavia, amid an increase in local interest for travel to the region. "The Balkan states of Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro constitute another belt that is emerging besides Hungary, Poland and Austria. A lot of Bollywood films have been shot in locations such as Serbia", Romil Pant, the Senior Vice President of Thomas Cook India said. He added, “Certain destinations there are getting very competitive. Serbia is visa free and one can do a five to seven day Serbia trip for under Rs 1 lakh (1.200 euros). These are travellers who have visited Western and Southern Europe and now want to experience the beauty of Eastern European destinations that are rich in culture, architecture and cuisine. With improved air connectivity, this region will see an increase in traffic in the coming years”. A spokeswoman from MakeMyTrip noted, "The Croatian coastline is also catching the imagination of a lot of travellers and we foresee a lot of growth in outbound travel for this region".

India's largest and busiest carrier, IndiGo, has become the first airline to express interest in the region. "We have been involved in fruitful discussions with the Serbian government and the local tourism board through an intermediary concerning potential operations to Serbia. We plan to continue these talks and explore opportunities to serve the market sometime in the future", the company said. IndiGo's parent company, InterGlobe Enterprises, has expressed interest in linking the two countries to cater for Indian tourists visiting the entire region. IndiGo, one of the few Indian carriers with enough cash to aggressively expand, has been mapping out a way to build a long haul, low cost business, taking passengers from places like New Delhi to London, with a stop in Southeastern Europe. "Serbia is aggressively looking at tapping the Indian outbound market. Abolishing visas for Indians travelling to Serbia has proved quite helpful and is becoming a unique selling point for Serbia as a destination. The next few years are very important in terms of marketing and promoting Serbia effectively in India. We are looking to end 2018 with nearly 10.000 Indian arrivals. From India, Serbia is targeting young professionals and backpackers who like to explore countries and are open to new experiences", the Serbian Ambassador to India, Vladimir Marić, said. The two countries recently signed an Open Sky Air Service Agreement, while the National Tourism Organisation of Serbia has announced it will have its own representative in India from 2019.

Other carriers have also taken note of the growing potential between India and the former Yugoslavia. Emirates' service between Dubai and Zagreb has generated strong interest on the Indian travel market, in line with targets set out by both the airline and the Croatian Ministry for Tourism to produce more passengers from the Indian subcontinent to Croatia. Emirates' Vice President for India and Nepal, Essa Ahmed, said, "Interest among Indians for our service to Zagreb has been very strong. Tourism motivated by TV or movies has really exploded in India in recent years. Filming locations in Dubrovnik featured in popular TV series like "Game of Thrones", has seen a huge jump in tourist interest over the last two years. These shows are inspiring the new breed of travellers to capture the striking landscapes that they view on shows on a daily basis and become a part of the fantasy tale that they love". Croatia has identified India as a high-potential long-distance market.

Air India recently expanded its codeshare partnerships with fellow Star Alliance members Croatia Airlines and Adria Airways. The Croatian carrier has its "OU" designator code and flight numbers on Air India's services from Mumbai to London and from Delhi to Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Rome and Paris. In return, the Indian national carrier has placed its code and flight numbers onto Croatia Airlines' services from Split, Dubrovnik and Zagreb to Frankfurt, London, Vienna, Rome and Paris. "As part of the agreement, Croatia Airlines, as a regional airline, has obtained an opportunity of strengthening its position on the large and fast-growing Indian market", the carrier said. On the other hand, Air India and Adria have a free flow codeshare agreement in place, meaning neither carrier is restricted to the number of seats it offers and sells on the others’ flights. Adria currently has its code and flight numbers on Air India’s services between New Delhi and Frankfurt, while the Indian carrier has its flight numbers and codes on Adria’s services between Frankfurt and Ljubljana.