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Indian tourists abroad

The Times of India

May 23 2015

Desis among biggest spenders on UK vacations

Kounteya Sinha

Indians are among the biggest spenders while holidaying in London, tourism data released by the city mayor's office has shown. As many as 213,000 Indians visiting London over nine months from January to September 2014 spent £172 million. India is ranked 17th in terms of countries for the number of visitors to London during the first three quarters of 2014, seventh for number of nights spent in the capital and 16th for the amount of money spend.

In the 12 months to September 2012, Indian visitors spent £159 million in London alone. But this saw a 40% rise to £220 million in just one year to Sept 2013.

Indian tourists: 2015

The Times of India, Jan 31 2016

Mobility score of citizens in China, India and advanced countries, 2015; Graphic courtesy: The Times of India, Jan 31 2016

Himanshi Dhawan

World to cash in on India's newfound wanderlust

3Cr Indians set to tour world by 2018

Among the top destinations for Indians are Dubai and South-East Asia. Dubai has registered a 26% increase with 16 lakh Indians visiting the country in 2015. Singapore similarly registered 10 lakh Indian visitors with a 7% year-on-year growth. A recent UNWTO Visa Openness Report 2015 points out, “When comparing data between 2015 and 2008 for some of the fast growing outbound markets, such as China, India and the Russian Federation, it becomes clear that destinations continue to make special efforts to facilitate visa formalities for tourists originating from these economies.“ As a direct consequence India's mobility score has increased from 32 in 2008 to 50 in 2015 suggesting that more and more countries are laying down the red carpet.

World Travel & Tourism Council's Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2014

India, one of the largest outbound markets

The Times of India, April 27, 2016

Indian travellers among biggest spenders abroad

Saurabh Sinha

rotter has emerged as one of the biggest spenders who is being wooed aggressively by the world for his big bucks. Rajeev D Kale, Thomas Cook (India)'s president and COO, outbound tourism, said, “India is one of the largest outbound travel markets globally . World Travel & Tourism Council's Travel & Tourism Economic Impact 2014 (shows) that the total expenditure on outbound travel in India was Rs 75,000 crore in 2013 and (is) projected to be Rs 160,500 crore in 2024.“

According to Cox & Kings, an average India traveller spends Rs 3-4 lakh on a US trip, which usually lasts for 15-33 days. The travel giant says the corresponding figures for UK are Rs 4-6 lakh for 10-20 days; Rs 2-3.5 lakh for a 3-4 days visit to Fran ce and Italy which is part of an extended European trip; Rs 1-2 lakh for 4-5 days in Hong Kong or Singapore and Rs 2.5-3 lakh for a trip of 10-12 days in Australia. This includes airfare, hotel stay , local travel and sightseeing. “On an average, Indians spend around $1500 on hotel, food, sightseeing and shopping as compared to Americans who spends $1,000 and Europeans around $700 on an average,“ a senior Cox & Kings official said.

With this kind of spend, it is no surprise that Indians are in the top spender list of many countries. Britain counts Indians as the 14th largest spenders in their beautiful island nation.And, the German National Tourism Office (GNTO) says Indians are the fourth largest spenders for them, in terms of expenditure per person, per trip.

According to Visit Britain's Ritushri Dhankher, Indian tra vellers spent £443.6 million or Rs 4,259 crore (at current exchange rate of Rs 96 to a Pound) in 2014. Their average spend per person, per trip was £1,139 (Rs 1.1 lakh). Tourists from Gulf and China were bigger spenders at £3,461 (Rs 3.3 lakh) and £3,024, (Rs 2.9 lakh) respectively. Fellow Commonwealth Australians were only marginally ahead at £1,179 (Rs 113,000).

Romit Theophilus, director for India at GNTO, said Indians were at number four with an average spend per person, per trip of 2,741 euros (Rs 205,575 at current exchange rate of Rs 75 to a Euro) in Germany . Only travellers from Gulf, Australia and Japan were ahead at 4,344 euros (Rs 3.2 lakh), 4,160 euros (Rs 3.1 lakh) and 2,905 euros (Rs 2.2 lakh), respectively .

However, in terms of total spend by travellers from a country , India was the seventh biggest contributor in Germany in 2014 with a revenue generation of 0.8 billion euros or Rs 6,000 crore. The Americans were at the top position at 4 billion euros or Rs 30,000 crore. But the reason for Indians being at number seven is the Schengen states' insistence on giving short-term visas to Indian travelers, which is a deterrent to repeat visits. The US, on the other hand, generously doles out 10-year, multiple-entry visas to Indian travellers.

Tourism Australia's Nishant Kashikar said in 2015, over 2.3 lakh Indian visitors went to the continent and “contributed over Rs 5,500 crore in the Australian economy .“ Indians are the 10th largest spenders in Australia.

Travel portal Yatra president Sharat Dhall said, “Indians typically love to shop which means that they are willing to spend that extra buck. Hence, they are benchmarked as some of the biggest spenders.“

With this kind of money power at their disposal, tourism boards of several foreign countries regularly hold road shows here apart from organising India fests in their own nations.

10th highest spenders on hotels

The Times of India, Nov 23 2015

Indian tourists rank 10th on spenders' list on hotel rooms abroad, finds study

The average Indian has been shedding that price-sensitive when travelling abroad, it tag seems. Indian tourists featured in the global top 10 list of nationalities who spend the most on hotel rooms abroad. With an average spend of Rs 9,351 per night, including taxes, when on an international trip, Indian travellers stood 10th on the list, which was led by travellers from Argentina.The Argentinians spent an average of Rs 10,456 per night followed by US tourists, who spent Rs 10,330 per night. The third rank went to the Swiss, whose av erage hotel room spend per night was Rs 10, 238, said a report released by Hotels.com.

But when it came to spending on hotel rooms within their own countries, the Swiss topped the list with an average spend of Rs 12,088 per night, followed by travellers from Singapore, who spent an average of Rs 9,298 per night, and those from Norway , who paid Rs 9,004 a night domestically.

If one were to look at best value accommodation when it came to spending on hotel rooms domestically , Indian travellers ranked fourth with an av erage payment of Rs 5,346 a night.

Topping the list of nationalities who paid the least when travelling domestic were people from Malaysia, who paid an average of Rs 3,645 per night.In the second spot were the Thai, who spent an average of Rs 4,502 per night, while those from Russia came third at Rs 5,063.

“Of the 32 countries analysed, 29 nations paid more abroad for travel than at home with some showing a significant gap between the two amounts,“ said the report, adding that only those from three countries paid more at home than abroad, with Swiss travellers bearing the highest difference, spending Rs 1,850 more on a domestic hotel than a foreign one. They were followed by travellers from Singapore with a difference of Rs 1,326 and those from Denmark with a difference of Rs 82.

Luxury air travel

2011-16: Highest growth in India, China

The Times of India, May 23 2016

Study: India sees highest growth in luxury air travel 

During 2011-16, Asia had the highest percentage increase in air travellers who booked business class seats for their outbound travel, with India and China leading the pack with solid two-digit growth, said a survey carried out by a travel industry major.

Luxury travel, that is, air travel in first class or business class is expected to go up in the next 10 years, with the growth rate in outbound luxury travel projected at 6.2%. In comparison, outbound air travel will grow only by 4.8%, said a report released by Amadeus, a travel IT solutions provider. Among the countries that will see the highest growth in outbound luxury travel are India and China.

“India's booming middle class presents great potential for luxury travel investment over the coming decade,“ said the report, adding that a high percentage of the business and first class travel out of India was seen on the medium and long-haul routes, that is, on routes to destinations like Singapore, London, Newark etc.

“Driven by India's impressive luxury market growth, south Asia's luxury market will expand at a faster rate than any other region,“ the report said. India's luxury market has been growing at an annual rate of 12.8%, which is higher than that of any BRICS country , it added.

When it comes to market leaders, North America and Western Europe account for 64% of global outbound luxury trips, despite making up only 18% of the world's population.

2016: Vacations taken by Indians

See graphic

Vacations taken by Indians, top 5 international and domestic destinations, 2016; The Times of India, Dec 25, 2016

See also

Civil Aviation: India