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India tourism: How 'revenge travel' saved the industry

• Published 7 October 2022

More than two years after the Covid pandemic halted travel, India's tourism and hospitality industry is now cautiously hopeful. Freelance journalist Rubina A Khan on what's driving the optimism.

Tourism constituted almost 3% of India's GDP and generated around 100 million jobs in 2019.

But the sector was severely hit in India - like in other countries - when the pandemic struck. Only 2.74 million foreign tourists visited India in 2020 compared with 10.93 million the year before, official data shows.

While the number of foreign visitors is still nowhere close to pre-pandemic levels, travel company operators and hotel industry executives say an upsurge in domestic tourists is making them more upbeat.

After two years of being cooped up inside, Indians are now travelling with a vengeance - 'revenge travel', as the phenomenon is called. And many, experts say, now prefer to travel within the country instead of flying to more expensive destinations abroad.

The industry is also benefiting from new trends borne of the pandemic such as micro-holidays and workcations.

Deep Kalra, founder and chairman of travel website Make My Trip, says the sector started seeing an upturn in the last quarter of 2020, and has been consistently recovering ever since.

"In fact, the last three fiscal quarters have operationally been the most profitable ones for our company," he says.

Exploring India

Experts say the pandemic offered Indians an opportunity to explore their own country.

India has always been a popular tourist destination. From historic forts and stunning palaces to dense jungles, there's no shortage of options for visitors.

But with international travel disrupted for months, more and more Indians became open to the idea of vacationing within the country, says Vishal Suri, the managing director of travel company SOTC.

"The pandemic has given Indians a new-found appreciation for the outdoors," Mr Suri says.

He adds that there has been an uptick in demand for unexplored destinations - people are seeking ways to combine pilgrimages and spiritual trips with experiencing local food, cultural trails and adventure.

The pandemic also generated new trends such as staycations and workcations - combining remote working with vacations.

"Travellers are now extremely comfortable with booking homestays that offer exclusivity, privacy, and the comfort of a home away from home," says Pradeep Shetty, a senior official at the Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations Of India (FHRAI).

Mr Kalra from Make My Trip agrees - he says that people have warmed up to the idea of travelling within India whenever possible.

"Even the travel frequency has changed and become more regular. The annual break has now turned into micro-holidays with people increasingly taking more breaks in the form of multiple weekend getaways and seasonal holiday breaks," he says.

Impact on hospitality sector

This shift has turned out to be a revenue-spinner for hotels in India, as people are now willing to use the money they would normally reserve for their international vacations on better facilities domestically.

Some luxury hotels dropped their prices at intervals in the pandemic, leading to a spike in bookings and short-term revenues.

Puneet Chhatwal, the managing director and CEO of The Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) - India's largest hospitality company which operates the Taj chain of luxury hotels - says that after each successive Covid wave, the recovery was "stronger and quicker".

"The IHCL's occupancy figures today exceed the pre-pandemic levels - a resurgence that is primarily fuelled by domestic tourism," he adds.

Raffles Udaipur - run by international hotel chain Raffles - is situated on a private island and opened in August 2021, just months after the devastating second wave of the pandemic in India.

But the hotel has seen a "healthy rate of occupancy" every month throughout its first year of operations in India, says Puneet Dhawan, the hotel's senior vice-president for India and South Asia.

"While we have no pre-pandemic metric to compare to, we have observed a steady rise in the response to our property," he adds.

Mr Dhawan says the hotel is gearing up for an even busier year ahead - starting with the tourist rush in winter and the upcoming wedding season.

Mr Kalra says there are other positive signs too, such as the resumption of corporate travel - a trend that is likely to increase in the coming quarters, aiding overall recovery for the travel industry.

But despite the optimism, people in the industry say that domestic tourism alone cannot take the sector back to the pre-pandemic-level of growth.

In September, India's tourism minister said that the government was working towards the all-round revival of the tourism sector.

But foreign arrivals continue to be dismal - data shows they dipped by 44.5% in 2021 compared with the year before.

"India has not released a single campaign inviting the world to us. What we need is a stellar marketing strategy that excites travellers enough to choose us, especially the 60 million people that used to travel to China and aren't today," says Dipak Deva, managing director of the Travel Corporation of India, one of India's best-known travel agencies.

He adds that the government also needs to restore its e-visa facility - especially for countries such as the UK from where a large number of tourists visit India - as the current procedure is too cumbersome.

However, Mr Kalra feels that both domestic and international travel are "here to grow together, and not against each other".

"With international travel now returning to the fore, we are confident that in a few quarters, international travel will also be able to recover completely."

Read more India stories from the BBC:

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A Surge in Tourists in Restive Kashmir, but ‘No Mental Peace’ for Residents

Visitors have flocked back to the region — proof, India says, that its imposition of control worked. But people who live there say fear and uncertainty persist.

By Hari Kumar and Mujib Mashal

Hari Kumar reported from Srinagar, Kashmir, and Mujib Mashal from New Delhi.

SRINAGAR, Kashmir — They come for the biggest tulip garden on the continent. They come for the snow-capped Himalayas. They come for the lakes. They come for the natural beauty that over time has enchanted Hindu kings, Mughal emperors, British colonialists and millions of regular people.

Tourists have returned in droves to Jammu and Kashmir, in what India calls a sign of how it has turned things around in the disputed region, where violent separatists have been active for decades. Three years ago, in a stunning move , India’s Hindu nationalist government cemented control of the Muslim-majority area, saying that would finally bring peace.

“The region was a terrorist hot spot,” Amit Shah, India’s powerful home minister and a key lieutenant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said recently. “Now it has become a tourist hot spot.”

But what lures visitors to the area offers only a brief escape for many residents, who remain stuck in an old cycle of fear, desperation and uncertainty.

At the tulip garden in Srinagar early this summer, Suhail Ahmad Bhat, a fruit seller from the nearby town of Baramulla, was taking in the beauty of a million flowers. “I feel good in the garden. But outside the garden, there is a sense of fear — lots of checkpoints, lots of guns,” Mr. Bhat said. “There is no mental peace.”

Like much of the rest of the world, Kashmir is emerging from the pandemic. But starting in late 2019, it also had to endure a different kind of lockdown, enforced aggressively by the Indian military. A punishing embargo cut off communications to the outside world as New Delhi revoked the state’s semiautonomous status and put local political leaders — even those long friendly to India — under house arrest .

For now, there is a new normal in the Kashmir Valley, the most restive part of the region, according to opposition leaders, analysts, residents and officials, more than a dozen of whom gave interviews. They say it is predicated on a heavy military presence that is quick to jail dissenting voices. With no avenues for democratic expression, many Kashmiris find themselves in the uneasy limbo that exists between a militarized state and militant separatism.

The heavy and constant surveillance has reduced the number of terror attacks, but a wave of assassinations of minority Hindus and the continued recruitment of militants suggest that the root cause of the problem — a separatist militancy that feeds on local grievances about the heavy-handedness of the Indian state — bubbles underneath.

The attacks on the Kashmiri Pandits, the local Hindu community, have forced many families to leave the region in large numbers, a painful reminder of an earlier migration.

The Hindu exodus from Kashmir in the 1990s came during the peak of the separatist militancy. Thousands of people were killed and tourism largely dried up. But as the situation in the valley improved, tourism picked up a decade later.

To bring in more visitors, officials in Srinagar set up the tulip garden in 2007. It is laid out across 30 hectares of land between Dal Lake, which is famous for its houseboats, and the Zabarwan hills. It has flowers in more than a dozen colors, and 68 varieties of tulips — from parade to Texas Gold — that bloom for a month early in the summer.

The garden is again drawing visitors after a recent cease-fire on the nearby Pakistan border, and amid a hunger for post-pandemic travel. The number of tourists in the Kashmir Valley, the government says, has increased to more than two million this year, a threefold jump from the previous year.

“The colors are so beautiful,” said P. Venkateswaran, who was visiting the garden with his wife, Chitra, from the southern city of Bangalore. “It’s magical.”

Shopkeepers and business owners say the reduction in political strikes — a regular feature of Kashmir’s messy politics — and the decline in large-scale violence have meant less disruption to business. But they pointed to a high rate of unemployment and low demand for goods to counter the government’s claims that it had ushered billions of dollars in new investment into the valley.

For Tanveer Khan, a master’s degree in commerce hasn’t helped with job prospects. He now runs a small garment shop, and he sees a bleak future.

“Firing, crackdown, grenades, arrests, bloodshed — I spent my childhood in that,” Mr. Khan said. “I wish my children do not see that life. But I do not see any hope.”

That view was rejected by Altaf Thakur, a spokesman for Mr. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in Jammu and Kashmir. “Fear is almost negligible. Very few militants are left who, like cowards, carry out some targeted acts,” he said, adding that it will take time for the government’s investments to show returns.

“Development is taking place in every village and every town,” he said. “Roads are being constructed, electric lines are being changed, big projects are being constructed.”

In the meantime, free speech in Kashmir has also suffered. Many journalists and activists have been jailed over the past three years, often under laws that make bail difficult to obtain. Others report frequent harassment by the authorities, to the point where some of them have left the valley or abandoned their work.

“It is difficult to work now,” said Parveena Ahanger, who leads an association of parents protesting on behalf of thousands of youths who have disappeared in recent decades. “I am fighting for the past 30 years, I will not leave this fight.”

Kashmir has been disputed between India and Pakistan since the departing British colonial rulers partitioned India into the two countries in 1947. While a part of Kashmir is controlled by Pakistan, Jammu and Kashmir joined the Indian union as a state through an agreement that gave it a level of autonomy.

It was this semiautonomous status that Mr. Modi revoked in 2019, fulfilling a longtime wish of his Hindu right-wing support base. The government has divided the former state into two separate “union territories,” Jammu and Kashmir as one, and Ladakh, along the border with China, the other — each directly ruled by separate administrators appointed by New Delhi.

Democracy in the region remains suspended. A challenge to the constitutionality of Mr. Modi’s move continues to go unheard at India’s Supreme Court, which critics say increasingly favors the government. Mr. Modi’s officials say Jammu and Kashmir will get to elect members of the legislative assembly in the future, but it is unclear if and when the status of full statehood in India’s federal system will be restored. One official pointed to the state of Punjab, riven by insurgency in the 1980s, to argue that “nation building” is a slow process and takes time.

“Peace is what every Kashmiri wants, but peace with dignity,” said Mehbooba Mufti, a former chief minister of Kashmir, who formed the state’s last government in coalition with Mr. Modi’s party. “Not this kind of peace where you are scared to open your mouth.”

Ms. Mufti was among the leaders put under house arrest three years ago. She and several other politicians in Kashmir said the government continued to restrict their movement, parking security vehicles outside their homes and sometimes even putting locks on their gates.

Since New Delhi took control, there has been a significant reduction in infiltration of militants from Pakistan, government data show, and a slight drop in terror incidents. But the number of civilian deaths, about 40 a year, has remained largely unchanged.

Officials in Kashmir have put the number of active militants in the valley below 100.

Lt. Gen. Upendra Dwivedi, the leader of the Indian Army’s northern command, which includes Kashmir, said the support for militancy from across the border now consists of the smuggling of grenades, pistols, and drugs — some of which are dropped by drones that fly over from the Pakistani side.

“Whatever is happening is very little and we are trying to reduce it even further,” he said.

But for many residents, the calm is an uneasy one.

Irfan Abbas, a chartered accountant who was at the tulip garden with a group of friends, was weary of the new normal.

“So much suppression, so much depression,” Mr. Abbas said. “It is like a volcanic situation — it can explode any time.”

Hari Kumar is a reporter in the New Delhi bureau. He joined The Times in 1997. More about Hari Kumar

Mujib Mashal is The Times’s bureau chief for South Asia. Born in Kabul, he wrote for magazines including The Atlantic, Harper’s and Time before joining The Times. More about Mujib Mashal

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India’s outbound tourism expected to reach $44.7 billion by 2032 

India’s outbound tourism is expected to reach $44.7 billion by 2032, a recently released report produced in association with the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has revealed. Between June and August 2023, international leisure flight bookings from India have increased by 40 per cent in comparison with the same period the year before, the highest recorded level of outbound leisure flight bookings from India in the post-COVID-19 era.

Singapore has received the highest flight bookings from India, followed by San Francisco (USA), Melbourne (Australia), Toronto (Canada), and Bali (Indonesia). In the period considered, the USA, the UK and Canada were the most booked destinations. Bali and Singapore were the most popular choices in the Asian region.

India’s foreign exchange earnings from tourism during January- April this year were at $8.667 billion compared with  $3.115 billion in the same period in 2022, data from the Ministry of Tourism has revealed. For perspective, India earned a total of $25.6 billion in foreign exchange from tourism in 2019, an increase of 8.3 per cent.

In 2022, India generated Asia’s highest outbound travel volume, exceeding those of China, South Korea, and Japan. Moreover, foreign tourist arrivals in India stood at 31.3 lakh between January and April, up from 11.7 lakh arrivals in the year-ago period, as per the ministry. 

India saw about 21.9 per cent of foreign tourist arrivals from neighouring nation Bangladesh, followed by the USA, from where 16.3 per cent of total travelers came, another 10.3 per cent from the UK, five per cent from Canada, and 4.5 per cent from Australia.

Interestingly, Madurai, Bhubaneswar and Varanasi were the most searched domestic destinations for flights, while Auckland, Jeddah and Colombo came out as the most searched overseas destinations.  Travellers from India are also eyeing destinations such as Hong Kong and Tokyo in the Asian region, which reduce their flight budget by up to one-fourth.

Surge in international traffic The Ministry of Civil Aviation has reported an 88 per cent increase in the flow of international passengers during the first quarter of 2023, compared to the same period last year, indicating a robust recovery for the aviation sector. India has open sky arrangements with 23 countries, which has facilitated unlimited operations between India and these countries. Additionally, more than 1.23 crore people have travelled on Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (Udan) flights. A total of 148 airports, nine heliports and two water aerodromes have also been developed and operationalised to offer improved connectivity across the country.

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Religious tourism is booming in India and hospitality companies are now catching up to cater to this demand.

Bulbul Dhawan

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) announced the signing of a fourth hotel in Varanasi, a 101-key Ginger hotel. It currently has two Taj Hotels and a SeleQtions hotel (as part of the Tree of Life conversion) in Varanasi, a city with deep cultural and religious significance.

On Thursday, IHCL also announced the signing of its reimagined Gateway brand in Sarnath further strengthening the hotel company’s spiritual tourism circuit.

With these two additions, IHCL will have 24 properties in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, of which 11 are under development. 

Once popular for being home to the Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh is now looking to build itself as a religious tourism hub through cities like Prayagraj, Kashi, Ayodhaya, Varanasi and Sarnath.

The Uttar Pradesh government has launched about 500 projects with an investment of more than INR 850 billion ($10.2 billion) to develop religious and spiritual tourism spots.

Impact of Religious Tourism

The tourism industry in Uttar Pradesh has been transformed after the inauguration of the Kashi-Vishwanath corridor in Varanasi in December 2021, according to state tourism deputy director Preeti Srivastava said.

“After that, in 2022 and 2023, a total of more than 130 million tourists visited the pilgrim city. The success from this project was also implemented in other parts of the country, including Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.”

She added that with Ayodhya now being developed as a religious destination, and Mathura next in line the tourism prospects of Uttar Pradesh are set to bolster. 

Booking.com while noting the Holi and Easter Holiday trends in March had also noted that spiritual destinations were among the most-searched . 

In January, the public opening of a controversial Hindu temple in Ayodhya saw half a million visitors on the first day.

On December 31, Oyo Group CEO Ritesh Agarwal had tweeted, “80% more users are searching for stays in Ayodhya today! Seeing one of the highest spikes.”

Na hills, na beaches!  80% more users are searching for stays in Ayodhya today! Seeing one of the highest spikes 👀  #CheckIn2024 — Ritesh Agarwal (@riteshagar) December 31, 2023

“If a destination like Varanasi, Ayodhya, or Mathura is developed, the tourists that visit will then spill over to other regions. Since these are one or at most two-day destinations, tourists then prefer to club more cities in Uttar Pradesh together. There are many tourists who come to Lucknow, which allows them to explore the Mughal heritage. They then go to Ayodhya, Prayagraj, and Varanasi,” she said, adding that tourists also visit smaller destinations along the way. 

Entry of Hospitality Brands

Expecting its annual tourist footfall to reach 850 million by 2028, the state is seeking to create a robust hotel supply chain, paving the way for the entry of major hospitality brands.

Accordingly it is eyeing investments to the tune of INR 320 billion ($3.8 billion) in the hospitality sector to cater to the expected increase in demand. The focus is on tourism hotspots of Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj and Agra.

Last year, Japanese hotel chain Hotel Management International (HMI) signed an agreement to develop 30 new hotels in the state. These will be located in Agra, Varanasi and Ayodhya. 

HMI public relations director Takamoto Yokoyama said, “Uttar Pradesh’s efforts to realize and develop the tourism potential have created immense possibilities for the hotel industry. Varanasi has seen a significant increase in tourism after the development of the Kashi-Vishwanath corridor. For us, this is a great chance.”

Some recent key developments in the spiritual destinations in Uttar Pradesh include:

• Wyndham Hotels and Resorts opened a Ramada Plaza in Varanasi last year
• ITC Hotels signed boutique hotel Storii Prayagraj in May 2023
• IHCL and Radisson Hotels Group have expressed interest in opening five-star hotels in Prayagraj
• Hilton Opened DoubleTree by Hilton in Varanasi in September 2023

The Ayodhya Effect

Currently, this boom is led by hotel development in Ayodhya, which was revamped recently in the run-up to the consecration ceremony of the Ram temple held in January .

The town could attract over 50 million tourists annually, according to a report by brokerage firm Jeffries.

In January, Radisson opened its Park Inn by Radisson in the city. In an interview with Skift , Radisson Hotel Group executive vice president Elie Younes said that religious cities in India are a focal point. Another Radisson hotel is coming up in Ayodhya, while it has one under development in Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. 

Last year, IHCL signed two hotels in Ayodhya under the Ginger and Vivanta brands. The company signed its third hotel at the destination this year, under the IHCL SeleQtions brand, and is planning a fourth property under the Taj brand. 

Apart from this:

• Domestic hospitality company Lemon Tree Hotel is also planning a 200-key property in Ayodhya
• Online travel company EaseMyTrip also entered the hospitality industry with a hotel in the holy city
• Wyndham has signed a Ramada Encore hotel in Ayodhya
• Hilton is also looking at Ayodhya as it ramps up signings in India.

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Tags: boutique hotels , budget hotels , easemytrip , hilton , Hilton Hotels , hospitality , hospitality news , hotels , Indian Hotels Company , itc hotels , radisson hotel group , religious travel , taj hotels , wyndham , Wyndham hotels

Photo credit: The holy ghats of Varanasi. Varanasi District website

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Maldives urges Indians to ‘please be part of its tourism', says 'our economy depends…'

Emphasizing on the history shared by india and maldives, tourism minister ibrahim faisal said the newly elected government wants to work with india..

Amid a strained bilateral ties following derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Maldives' minister has urged Indians to “be a part of their tourism" as their economy “depends on it". Emphasizing on the history shared by India and Maldives, Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal said the newly elected government wants to work with India.

The Maldives' minister said, “We have a history. Our newly elected government also wants to work together [with India]. We always promote peace and a friendly environment. Our people and the government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals. As the Tourism Minister, I want to tell Indians to please be a part of Maldives’ tourism. Our economy depends on tourism."

Hundreds of Indians had dropped their plans to visit the Maldives after three Maldivian officials made derogatory comments on India and PM Modi after the latter posted photos of Lakshadweep Islands on his X handle. Since January, the number of tourists visiting the island nation declined by 42 per cent. Last year, the number of Indians visiting the Maldives from January to May stood at 73,785 as compared to 42,638 during the same time in 2024.

India slipped to sixth spot on the 'Top 10 Markets' list of Maldives Tourism , as per a daily report released by the island nation's Ministry of Tourism on March 4. India's rank on Maldives Tourism charts has been dropping ever since Mohamed Muizzu became Maldives' President.

Meanwhile, India and Maldives held a bilateral meeting to discuss the replacement of the Indian military personnel, going forward with “India Out" campaign which was promised by President Mohamed Muizzu during the election campaign.

"Discussions were held on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including development and defence cooperation. Both sides noted with satisfaction that the Government of India will replace military personnel at the last of the three aviation platforms by May 10, and all the logistical arrangements are going ahead as per schedule," the press release added.

(With agency inputs)

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'Our economy depends on it': Maldives urges Indians to contribute to its tourism as numbers decline

The number of indian tourists in the maldives has sharply declined in 2024, taking it from the topmost to the sixth position after january following a decrease of 42 per cent in arrivals. this decline has been attributed to president mohamed muizzu's pro-china foreign policy..

In an interview with news agency PTI, Maldivian Tourism Minister Ibraham Faisal underscored the historical relations between India and the Maldives. "We have a history. Our newly elected government also wants to work together (with India). We always promote peace and a friendly environment. Our people and the government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals. As the Tourism Minister, I want to tell Indians to please be a part of Maldives’ tourism. Our economy depends on tourism," he said.

The India-Maldives ties have come under stress as President Mohamed Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the president in November that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel from his country. Soon after coming to power, Muizzu forced the withdrawal of the 88 Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms gifted by India to the Maldives.

Why has there been a decline in Indian tourists?

A full-blown backlash was directed at the Maldives following derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian officials after the Indian PM posted photos and video of the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India’s west coast on January 6 on his X handle. Mariyam Shiuna, Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts, while commenting on the photos of PM Modi, dubbed him as a ‘clown’ and a ‘puppet of Israel’.

Scores of Indians, including multiple celebrities, cancelled their reservations and dropped plans to visit Maldives. The tourism arrival statistics reflected how from being a top visitor country, India’s position went down from topmost to sixth position after January. As per a local media report, the number of tourist arrivals from India declined by 42 per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the first four months of last year.

At the start of this year, India was the top tourist market for the Maldives. Data from the Maldives Tourism Ministry shows that the highest number of tourists there come from India. Out of the 17, 57,939 tourists in 2023, India led the number of tourists with 2,09,198 arrivals, followed closely by Russia  (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118).

However, now India has slipped to the sixth position among the top tourist markets. According to Tourism Ministry statistics, Maldives recorded a total of 43,991 tourist arrivals from India as of May 4. Between January and April of last year, Maldives recorded 73,785 tourist arrivals. This year, the number stands at 42,638.

After the row occurred, former Maldives Minister Ahmed Mahloof said on X that if Indians started to boycott the country, it would have a huge impact on the country's economy. "I'm deeply worried about the escalating situation regarding the sensitive comments about our closest neighbour. Indians boycotting the Maldives would have a huge impact on our economy. It would be hard for us to recover from such a campaign. I call on the government to swiftly take serious action to solve the issue ASAP," Mahloof wrote.

Muizzu's pro-China stance

In the presidential elections, Muizzu contested with the India-out campaign. After assuming charge he maintained that he will keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel. He has previously accused India of meddling in the affairs of the Maldives, despite it being India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

While India was forced to withdraw most of its military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the country, Muizzu travelled to China in January and met top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping. On his return, he said, "We may be small, but this doesn't give them the licence to bully us." Although he did not name any country, his remark was seen as a swipe at India.

Despite this, India has agreed to supply essential commodities to Maldives after the island nation's request. The government will export certain quantities of essential commodities including eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal, stone aggregate and river sand to Maldives during 2024-2025 under the bilateral trade agreement between the Government of India and the Government of Maldives.

(with inputs from PTI)

ALSO READ |  India, Maldives review withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the island nation

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ATM 2024: India’s travel market is a $72b opportunity in the making

Travel & tourism.

As demand surges, Indians prefer destinations about 5 hours away

Dubai: How do you tap the tourism potential of Indian travelers?

The fifth largest economy in the world, India is home to 1.44 billion people - and 27.3 million people travelled out of the country in 2023. That number is expected to reach 30 million this year, which is why there’s so much interest in Indian tourists. And became a talking point at the Arabian Travel Market on Monday.

At the session – ‘Unlocking the true potential of Indian travelers – the moderator Virendra Jain, co-founder and CEO of Videc, set the ball rolling, saying that the Indian travel market is a $49 billion opportunity that is estimated to grow to $72 billion by FY-2026, driven mainly by a young and digitally-savvy population.

Jain said: “India right now has 93 million active passports. 14 million of them were issued in 2023, seven times the number of passports India issued in 2000, which is symbolic of the upward trajectory of travellers coming from India.”

Jain was joined by Ross Veitch, CEO and co-founder of Wego, Raj Rishi Singh, CMO and CBO-Coporate of MakeMyTrip, and Ankur Garg, Chief Commercial Officer of Air India Express.

At the end of 50 minutes, they were sure that the profile of Indian travellers had changed, with leisure and tourism forming a critical avenue for spending.

Within 5 hours

One uniform observation was the preference of Indians for destinations that require only five hours of flying time. That makes the UAE a destination of choice, and Dubai is seen more like a domestic destination.

How do you attract the Indian tourist? Five ways, maybe.

Cheap and easy visas, affordability, direct flights and payment systems are among the factors travellers take into account before deciding on a destination.

Ease the visa regime

Veitch insisted that the visa regime is a critical factor in attracting Indian travellers. A Schengen visa will take 30 days, if you are lucky, and a US visa appointment would take up to 365 days, he said.

“The best thing you could do if you want to stimulate this market is to rationalise your visa policies,” Veitch added.

Garg concurred, saying visa policies do matter. “The visa cost starts having a lot of product impact. We have seen countries with visas on arrival and countries where the visa cost is low. When the international destination is cheaper or at par with the domestic destinations, the decision will depend on the ease of getting the visa and the cost of visa,” the Air India Express official said.

What spurs Indians to travel abroad? Veitch says income is one of the main drivers.

“More than 50 million households in India are on more than $10,000 a month today. That number is growing at a rapid pace, and in another four years, it will add another 30 million households.

“So, with overall incomes going up, the number of people who can afford to travel outside is also going up.”

Garg said Indian travellers no longer come from only the metros but also from smaller cities around the country. “From Amritsar Jaipur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Indore and Goa, we have seen that kind of traffic in the last two to three years. I feel that a lot of growth is going to come from having non-stop connectivity from the next set of towns and cities in India to international destinations,” the chief commercial officer of Air India Express said.

Changes to travel patterns

Even the pattern of travel has changed. Rishi Singh pointed out that Indians now readily opt for weekend travel.

“Earlier, the Indian scenario was one long and one short vacation. This changed to multiple short vacations, and at times people skip long vacations. And so I think it’s affordability and how fast you can reach that place [decides the destination],” the MakeMyTrip official said.

Rishi Singh said one of their surveys showed that 85 per cent of the respondents were first-time outbound travellers, which translates into 27 million outbound passengers.

Earlier, the Indian scenario was one long and one short vacation. This changed to multiple short vacations... - Raj Rishi Singh of MakeMyTrip

“When you are travelling internationally, there is this external anxiety, especially if you’re a first-time traveller. So it’s important to have someone to support you during the journey. So we’ve been trying to build journeys, both through digital and otherwise, where we deal away with this insanity,” the MakeMyTrip official said.

Jain noted that the payment system is one area that requires more attention. “Founded in 2016, UPI in 2022 accounted for six times the value of transactions compared to debit and credit cards combined [in India]. It’s way ahead in growth right now; there are seven countries that accept UPI as a payment mechanism,” he said.

“Travel is a lifestyle revenue that grows as the economy grows. So, there’s a correlation between outbound departure and GDP per capita. There is a very clear trend over 30 years as the per capita income has grown, and so have the outbound departure numbers,” Jain added.

“The Indian government is doing the right things, from a macroeconomic point of view, to sustain the sort of growth needed to drive this sort of outbound numbers,” Veitch said.

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Maldives lays red carpet for Indians after 42% dip in tourists

In may, the maldivian tourism minister appealed to indians to be part of the country's tourism as its economy depended on it. its foreign minister will be in india on may 9. the maldives is reaching out to indians after tourists from india to the country dipped by 42% in the first four months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023..

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• Maldives received 42,638 tourists from India between January and April 2024
• Sees decline of 31,147 tourists compared to same period last year
• This resulted in a revenue loss of Rs 468 crore or $56 million

"Please be a part of the Maldives' tourism. Our economy depends on tourism," Maldivian tourism minister Ibrahim Faisal recently appealed to Indian tourists amid a significant decline in tourist arrivals from India since the diplomatic row between the two countries erupted in January.

Indian tourists to the Maldives dipped by 42% in the first four months of this year in comparison to the same period in 2023.

Tourism Minister Faisal's remark during an interview was the latest in a string of attempts by the Maldives to woo Indian tourists back after Maldivian Tourism Ministry statistics that showed how India, from being a top visitor country, slipped to sixth position.

At the same time, there has been a steep increase in the number of Chinese tourists.

Four months ago, the scenario was quite different. Indian tourists were the highest foreign visitors to the Maldives in 2023 and China was in third spot.

HOW THE MALDIVES IS TRYING TO WOO INDIAN TOURISTS

The dropping footfalls have prompted the Maldives to reach out to India in a bid to woo back tourists.

Maldivian Tourism Minister Faisal was the latest to acknowledge the pitfalls of an 'Indian-mukt' Maldives tourism. Citing the historical ties between the two countries, Faisal said in an interview, "We always promote peace and a friendly environment. Our people and the government will give a warm welcome to Indian arrivals."

Days ago, the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators (MATATO) held a meeting with the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives and discussed "collaborative efforts to promote tourism". The tourism body also stated that it would hold road shows across key Indian cities to promote the Maldives as a tourism destination.

"Plans are currently underway to launch comprehensive road shows across key Indian cities and to facilitate influencer and media familiarisation trips to the Maldives in the upcoming months," the association said in a statement while calling India a "crucial tourist market" to the Maldives.

Moreover, Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer is also coming to India for his first high-level ministerial visit.

Foreign Minister Zameer is scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday and regional issues are likely to be among the topics up for discussion.

The developments come as ties between the Maldives and India nosedived following derogatory remarks by three Maldivian ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media last year.

The row started after PM Modi visited Lakshadweep in the first week of January and shared images of its pristine landscape. PM Modi's posts were seen in the Maldives as the promotion of Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination to the island nation.

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