What impact will India’s exploding travel boom have on the world? -GIGAZINE

United Nations Tourism OfficeAccording to , the number of overseas travelers, which had significantly decreased due to the impact of the new coronavirus, is on the rise again, and has recovered to 97% of its pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of 2024. India is spurring global growth trends, and the travel boom is exploding to the point where it is the fastest growing overseas travel market in the world.The Department of Architecture and Urban Studies at the University of Westminster Ross Bennett-Cook, a guest lecturer, explains.

More Indians than ever are going on holiday abroad – so where are they heading and why?
https://theconversation.com/more-indians-than-ever-are-going-on-holiday-abroad-so-where-are-they-heading-and-why-237837

Below is a graph showing the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide and by region compared to 2019 before the new coronavirus outbreak, shown by the United Nations Tourism Organization. Globally, it was “-69%” in 2021, but it has recovered to “-4%” in the first half of 2024. Africa and the Middle East have turned positive compared to 2019, with Africa rapidly recovering by 7% in the first half of 2024 and the Middle East by 31% in 2023.

India is a major contributor to the increase in tourists to the Middle East. According to a report from Reuters, Indian low-cost airline Indigo announced at an aviation event held in June 2024 that it had received an order for 500 aircraft, the largest ever. Aviation consultancy and government data show that India’s domestic air passenger numbers will surge from 144 million in 2019 to 350 million by 2030, while international air passenger numbers will rise to 64 million in 2019. It is expected to increase from 160 million people to 160 million people.

Cook attributes India’s travel boom to a “growing middle class.” In India, the middle class will account for 31% of the country’s population in 2024, but as India’s market expands, it is expected to increase to 38% in 2031 and 60% in 2047. I am.

Indian travelers often choose Southeast Asia, which is relatively close to the reach of popular low-cost airlines. In fact, Google Trends data showed that Vietnam was the most searched travel destination from India in 2023. Cook also said that Indian travelers are heavily influenced by television and movies.bollywoodIt seems that the stage performances that appear in the series tend to temporarily increase in popularity. “The story depicts events that occur in the past when Indian childhood friends go on a trip to Spain.life never againIn the year that the movie “Spain” became a hit, the number of Indian tourists visiting Spain increased by 40%.

As a result, tourist destinations are often using Bollywood actors in their promotional campaigns. dubai is an indian actorshah rukh khanNew Zealand has used him for promotions, and New Zealand hasSiddharth MalhotraThe company has been trying to advertise to Indian tourists by appointing him as its brand ambassador since 2015. The following is a promotional video released by the Dubai Economic and Tourism Authority’s YouTube channel, which was shot with Mr. Khan invited to Dubai.

Dubai Presents: Shah Rukh Khan – YouTube

The United Nations Tourism Organization has shown that the economic impact of Indian tourists will reach $33.3 billion (approximately 4 trillion yen) in 2023 due to the growing travel boom, and various tourist destinations are conducting promotions targeting Indian tourists. We are implementing it. For example, Japan has introduced an “easy and convenient electronic visa” system in hopes of increasing the number of Indian tourists. In many European countries, applying for a visa can be cumbersome and time-consuming, and data from travel platform Booking.com shows that Indian travelers tend to only spend an average of 30 days planning their visas. More and more cases are choosing Japan or the Middle East, where it is easy to do so.

In addition, Dubai has established that “Once a visa is issued, it is valid for five years and you can freely enter and exit the country”, and countries such as Malaysia, Kenya, and Thailand have completely abolished visa requirements for Indian tourists. Attracting Indian tourists through visas is being promoted in each country. “Chinese people make up the largest number of travelers, but they are increasingly choosing to travel domestically, and Indian tourists could soon overtake them,” Cook said. As more and more people gather in departure lounges, tourist destinations around the world are paying attention to travelers from India and are competing to capture market share.”