India’s US$33 billion travel boom: from Bollywood to Europe, the world is watching

Travel is on the rise again. According to the United Nations’ tourism agency, international travel for all purposes reached 97 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024. In Africa and Europe, arrivals have already surpassed these levels.

Indian travellers, in particular, are contributing to this growing trend – no nation’s outbound tourism market is growing faster. In response to this rapidly expanding travel boom, Indian airlines have ordered record numbers of new planes in 2024.

The Indian travel market is gigantic, with its middle class now representing 31 per cent of the country’s population. This figure is expected to increase to 60 per cent by 2047, meaning there will be more than 1 billion middle-class Indians by the middle of the century.

For budding Indian tourists, the future of travel looks exciting. But for the many destinations already besieged by overtourism, this new market may be viewed through a more sceptical lens.

However, Indian tourists spent US$33.3 billion in 2023, and many destinations are recognising their potential. In April, for example, Japan introduced a new e-visa system for Indian tourists in the hopes of increasing arrivals.

Two months earlier, Dubai created a five-year, multi-entry tourist visa tailored to Indian visitors, while nations including Malaysia, Kenya, Thailand and Iran have completely scrapped visa requirements for Indian tourists.

Evidence suggests these programmes work. Tour operator Thomas Cook reported in May that Indian demand for holidays in Georgia surged by a staggering 600 per cent year-on-year since the country launched its e-visa system for Indian tourists in 2015.

Other European markets have been slower to adjust. Europe’s border-free Schengen zone has introduced a new “cascade” system, which will allow Indian visitors who have used a short-stay visa twice in the past three years to now apply for a two-year, multi-entry tourist visa.

But, while this is a positive step towards easier travel for some Indian tourists, it will have no effect on new travellers. The Schengen visa process can also still take months, requires significant paperwork, and appointments are notoriously difficult to get.

The situation is similar for British visas. Many people in India, as well as other applicants, feel the process is too harsh and can be humiliating. Endless amounts of paperwork are required, including bank statements and invitation letters, and rejections are often not explained.

In a study of travel trends in India, online travel platform Booking.com also found that Indian tourists typically book their trip at the last minute. They spend an average of 30 days planning a holiday, compared with 63 days for Americans and 90 days for Britons. Many simply cannot be bothered with time-consuming visa requirements, and are opting for easier and more welcoming destinations.

So where are they going?

Budget airlines flying to relatively nearby destinations have helped India’s tourism boom, with Southeast Asia becoming increasingly popular. According to Google Trends, Vietnam was the most searched destination by Indians in 2023.

That year, the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism reported a 231 per cent increase in visitors from India compared with 2019. Other Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia are seeing similarly huge jumps in arrivals.

Indian travellers are largely influenced by television and films, often choosing to visit places they have seen in Bollywood. Despite visa restrictions, the number of Indian tourists visiting Spain jumped by 40 per cent in 2011 after the La Tomatina festival – where participants throw tomatoes at each other – was featured in the popular Hindi movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara.

It has been a similar story for Switzerland. Several Bollywood films shot there over the past 50 years have sparked a love affair between Indian tourists and the country. The Swiss tourist board even offers Bollywood tours to the various sites featured in Indian cinema.

Other destinations have started using Bollywood actors in their promotional campaigns. Dubai, for example, is promoted by the Indian acting superstar and film producer Shah Rukh Khan. And the heartthrob actor Siddharth Malhotra has been New Zealand’s brand ambassador since 2015.

By 2040, the number of international tourist departures from India could hit 90 million, not far from the 104 million Chinese tourists who travelled in 2019. However, research suggests that Chinese holidaymakers are increasingly choosing to travel domestically, meaning Indian tourists may soon overtake them.

As more people in India flock to airport departure lounges, tourist destinations around the world are scrambling to find a place for them.