New Delhi: US aircraft maker Boeing on April 17 said that India would be a pacesetter for renewed growth in a global travel industry battered by the September 11 terror attacks and a general economic slowdown.

Suvendoo Roy, the president of Boeing India, said that India's air traffic was expected to grow by eight per cent over the next five years.

"We hope to see the travel industry on an upswing by next year. The recovery is already evident and countries like India and China will be leading this growth over the next 10 years," Roy said on the sidelines of the Pacific Asia Tourist Association conference in New Delhi.

"We are very upbeat about this region," he added.

While travel habits have yet to fully return to normal in the wake of September 11, Roy said passenger levels to and from India had risen sharply in the past two months.

Airlines operating Indian routes have had to reject bookings at the start of the busy summer season, partly because many carriers had either cut back their services or pulled out of the country altogether after September 11.

Those carriers are now seeking to increase flights to India, which is a strategic stopover between Western countries and other Asian destinations.

Roy said that the predicted upturn in passenger volume was likely to result in aircraft purchase orders from both private and state-owned airlines.

However, he added that there was bound to be a time lag between the improvement in business and new aircraft acquisitions.

"We expect the whole market to stabilise only from the end of 2002," he added.

Despite apparently losing a plum contract to Airbus Industrie for the purchase of 43 aircraft by state-owned Indian Airlines, Roy said that he was not treating the contract as finalised and was still willing to compete for the order.

"I have not received any official communication from the airline. I have only read newspaper reports. Therefore, all I am saying is that it only takes one telephone call to get the whole thing started," he said.

Roy said that Boeing was keeping close tabs on state-owned international carrier Air India's purchase plans as well as those of private airlines.

Privately-owned Jet Airways, which has almost the same market share as Indian Airlines, has equipped its fleet with new generation Boeing 737-700 and 800 aircraft.

Some of the private airlines are looking at regional operations between smaller towns and cities which have opened another opportunity for selling small aircraft, Roy said.