Leaders | Visas, vistas and vegetarian food

How to attract Indian tourists

Destinations are competing for the travelling rupee

Passengers disembark from an IndiGo aircraft at Gwalior Airport, Madhya Pradesh, India, on November 27th 2023
Photograph: Getty Images

INDIANS ARE on the move. In 2019 international departures from India hit 27m, a number that will surely be exceeded this year and is predicted to rise to 90m by 2040. Annual spending on foreign travel by Indians will nearly triple to $89bn in three years, reckons Bernstein, a research firm. Airlines’ networks are being expanded and redesigned to handle larger numbers of Indian tourists. Many trips are for business or to visit friends and family. But about 40% are pure leisure, and holidaymakers pack fat wallets.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “How to attract Indian tourists ”

From the August 24th 2024 edition

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