Earlier this year, India surpassed China to become the world’s most populous nation. While that itself is no achievement to write home about, it has come with its fair share of positives. For one, India’s tourism sector is growing faster than any other country’s in the world, according to experts.
Indians will likely spend about $42 billion each year on outbound travel by 2024. The country, currently the biggest growing outbound destination, is experiencing a tourism boom, says Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern.
While that happens, India is continuing to spend billions to strengthen its aviation industry and ensure it becomes one of the world’s most sought-after travel hubs.
The Indian government has announced that it intends to spend Rs. 980 billion on constructing and modernizing airports within two years. The Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar city is one of these. Set to open next year in all likelihood, it will be Asia’s largest airport.
The Indian government has announced that it intends to spend Rs. 980 billion on constructing and modernizing airports within two years. The Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh’s Jewar city is one of these. Set to open next year in all likelihood, it will be Asia’s largest airport.
More than 70 airports have been made operational since 2017. That apart, Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, for the first time ever in 2022, entered the list of the world’s top 10 busiest international airports.
Obviously, it isn’t just India’s outbound travel trajectory that is pointing upwards.
“The number of foreign tourists who arrived in India this year during January-April is 166 percent higher than the figures for the corresponding period in 2022,” Union Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy said earlier this year, adding that India’s inbound travel was expected to reach the pre-pandemic level this year.
According to the Nangia Andersen report, the number of tourists coming to India and tourism businesses as a whole as expected to grow by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12 percent between 2022 and 2027. The report cites an increase in disposable income, growth of the middle class, and increased awareness of India as a tourist destination as the major causes for India’s growth in inbound tourism.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, inbound tourism was severely affected, with a decline of over 80 percent in foreign tourist arrivals in 2020.
The report also pointed out that safety measures, working of bureaucrats, and lack of ample infrastructure could pose prove to be serious challenges for the growth of inbound tourism.
“Our comprehensive report addresses five key priority areas within the tourism industry, namely Green Tourism, Digitization, Skill Development, Nurturing Tourism MSMEs, and Destination Management,” says Poonam Kaura of Nangia Anderson LLP, while adding that there is a need for public and private synergy to boost inbound tourism in India.
In this issue of Education Post, our team touches upon all topics that matter most to tourism in India and to students who are studying, or hope to study, Hospitality and Travel Management. The most important one among those is sustainable tourism – the future of travel.
Safe travels!
