Pestel – India

Political

Switzerland has always been a very popular holiday destination for Indian travelers. This is mainly due to the use of Switzerland’s scenic beauty in the Bollywood movies. The Indians always believe in value for money and hence whenever they plan a holiday, they like to include as many countries as possible in their holiday packages. With the entry of Switzerland in the Schenegen Zone, the Indian travelers usually club their Swiss holidays with the rest of the European countries. As the Royalp is situated in the Alps, if the Indian market is a very good prospect for them, as the Indian guests want to see the scenic beauty of Switzerland and what better place to experience it than the Alps.

Economic

The BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India & China) are considered as the future economic powers. The trends of the inflow of Indian traveler in Switzerland had always been positive, until 2008 when the recession struck the globe. India was the country to recover from the recession the fastest compared to the other countries. This shows the potential that the Indian economy has, and hence if Royalp already starts to target the Indian Travelers from now, it may become one of their major markets in the future. In 2014, 154,600 Indian tourists are expected as compared to 140,000 in 2010, this also shows the Growing Indian Market in Switzerland.

Social

64% of Indian Population is between 15 to 50 years old. As the younger population travels more, the outflow of Indian tourists is expected to increase very year. Ski is becoming a very popular sport in India and with India having limited ski slopes and not limited infrastructure for skiing, If Royalp targets the ski enthusiast from India, they will surely get a very positive response. Switzerland has become a very popular educational destination for the Indian students, mainly for hospitality studies. Since the children are already studying here, the parents usually like to come down to Switzerland to meet their children and plan a short holiday in and around Switzerland, Royalp can look to target these families too, by providing them special rates.

Technology

Royalp should look to tie up with the Indian online travel agents like – www.makemytrip.com, www.travelguru.com, www.cleartrip.com and other leading travel agent companies like SOTC, RAJ TRAVELS, Cocks & Kings, etc. The online holiday bookings have become very popular in India, as it allows the guests to plan a customized holiday according to their convenience. With Swiss Air starting direct flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Zurich, the Indian traveler no more have to take connecting flights and this has increased the convenience of travelling; hence the Indian Market is expected to grow in Switzerland.

Environmental

The Global warming and the green house effect have made the temperatures rise considerably in the Indian sub-continent. This has made many of the Indian travelers to escape to colder destinations, hence Royalp being situated in the Alps and enjoying cool temperatures all round the year, should look to target the Indian Market.

Indian Customer – Cultural Profile

Lifestyle

The travelers from India are very particular in getting the proper ‘value for money’. In India the economic status and the economic class matter a lot, hence when it comes to paying the Indians pay for those services which are worth the money. The Indians usually travel on Holidays abroad during the summer vacations of children (March to May) and during the Christmas-New Year holidays (December-January). The main motivation to come to Switzerland for an Indian traveler is drawn from the Bollywood movies; hence they are very fond of sightseeing and viewing the beautiful sceneries around the country. Their stay in Switzerland in usually not more than 4-5 days as their holiday to Switzerland is clubbed with other European countries. There is a lot of labour available in India; hence all the middle class and upper class have servants at home. Due to this the Indian guests are not used to doing the simple labour jobs and hence expect complete luxury from the hotels they visit. Indian being an English colony in the past, the International language known by the Indians is English, hence they expect all of the hotel staff to converse with them in English.

Last 12 hours

There is only one direct flight option from India to Switzerland of Swiss Air, the rest of the flights are connecting through some other European country or through one of the Middle Eastern countries. The Average flying time from India to Switzerland is of 9 to 11 hours and with the stopover of approximately 3 hours at some destination. Therefore the last 15 hours of the Indian guest is spent travelling in the flight. The guest is bound to be tired, fatigued and as most of the flights from India leave after mid-night, the guest may also be jet-lagged due to lack to sleep. As soon as reaching the hotel in Switzerland the Indian guest would like to have a hassel free and easy check in and then a good rest for at least 3-4 hours, without being disturbed.

Food

The Indian are very particular about their food. As India has many religions, the food needs of the guest may vary from their religion. Most of the Indians (Hindus) are vegetarians and like to eat pure vegetarian food, which includes that the cooking oil is also vegetarian instead of animal fat oil. The Jain religion followers have different food needs, besides being vegetarians they do not eat onions and garlic in their food. The non-vegetarian Guests from India too have specific food needs as they do not eat all kinds of meat. The cow is worshiped in India hence the guests do not eat beef and veal. Similarly many religions in India consider Pigs to be unhygienic and hence do not like to eat pork. The Indian food is very spicy compared to the local food in Switzerland, and the Indian families usually traveling with children would like to get the Indian cuisine for one of the meals at least, during the day.

Hofstede Cultural Dimensions

Large Power Distance (PDI-77)

According to the power distance index India has a score of 77, which mean the power distance in India is high. This shows that there is a lot of inequality in India and there is only one way communication, in the status hierarchy, i.e. the people placed high on the hierarchy can communicate with the one s placed lower and vice versa does not exist. The Indian guests who travel to Switzerland are usually placed high on their social or work hierarchies in India, hence they are not in the habit of being told by others, below them, hence the Indian guests may get annoyed if they are told about some rules and regulations buy the staff of the hotel, or if the guest asks for some service and it is not available.

Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI-40)

The Uncertainty Avoidance Index score of India is 40, this means that the Indian people have a tolerance towards uncertainty, and hence they are willing to adjust to any situations. The cultures in the European countries are very different from the culture in India, and hence this cultural shock is handled well and easily by the Indian guests.

Masculinity Index (56)

India score 56 on the masculinity index, which means that India is placed at the middle of the index. India had always been a male dominant country, but the development of the society recently has brought about a balance, and the women position in the society is becoming equal to those of men. In India there are no job titles now which can be only taken up by men and not women. The women in India like to be treated as equals compared to men.

Individualism Index (48)

India has always been a collective country, and hence it scores 48 on the Individualism Index. Hence Indians like to travel as groups. They usually travel with their family or in a small group. The Indians feel comfortable with the presence of somebody from their own culture. Hence if a hotel has some Indian staff, the Indian guests prefer going there than compared to other hotels which do not have Indian staff.

Universal Vs Particular

The Indians are particular in nature and hence like preferences and special treatment wherever they go, they hate to stand in ques for check-in at the hotels or for any other services.

Implicit Vs Explicit

India is an explicit country and hence the Indian guests like all the information about their stay, package, hotel and the destination to be provided to them.