Indians spent $12.51 billion on foreign travel in Apr-Feb of FY23
Indians spent $12.51 billion on overseas travel between April-February of fiscal 2022-23, a rise of 104 per cent compared to the same period of the last year, the latest data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed.
In April-February of FY2022, total amount spent by domestic travellers on international destinations was $6.13 billion under the RBI’s Liberalised Remittances Scheme (LRS) for resident individuals.
Under the LRS, Indian residents can remit up to $250,000 every financial year.
International travel was restricted during 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic. As the travel restrictions were removed and flights resumed operations in 2022, Indians started travelling to foreign destinations.
In February 2023, Indians spent $1.07 billion on overseas travel, which was 9.2 per cent higher compared to the same month of 2022. However, on a sequential basis, spending on international destinations declined by 28 per cent in February 2023. In January 2023, the amount spent by Indians on traveling to foreign destinations stood at $1.49 billion.
International travel constituted close to 52 per cent of the total outward remittances under the LRS for resident individuals during April-February period of fiscal 2023.
In fiscal 2021-22, the total spending by Indians on overseas travel stood at $6.9 billion.
The data showed that the total outward remittances under the LRS for resident individuals stood at $24.18 billion in the first 11 months of FY2023. In February alone, the outward remittance was $2.1 billion, the data showed.
Total outward remittances under the LRS in FY2022 stood at $19.61 billion.