Indians expected to spend Rs 76,400 crore in 2017 on travel across the world

Of all the Indians who travelled abroad in the last few years, one in five flew to Singapore, Thailand or Dubai. Be it for work, study or holiday, it has been well registered by now that these are three destinations that Indians are fiercely loyal to and it seems, they do not intend to stray anytime soon in the near future.

On the contrary, the forecast is that their affinity for these neighbours is only slated to grow stronger as by 2017, one in four Indian travelling abroad will head to one of these three places, according to travel statistics recently released by global consultants Euromonitor International. Moreover, the study said in 2017, of the Rs 76,400 crore they are expected to spend on travel across the world, Rs 18,010 crore will be spent on these three places alone.

Of the 154 lakh Indians who travelled abroad in 2012, 11 lakh went to Singapore, 10 lakh to Thailand and 9.8 lakh to the United Arab Emirates, contributing 20% of outbound traffic. In 2017, the estimate is that 25% of all Indians who will travel abroad will head to one of the three above mentioned destinations. Singapore and Thailand will each get about 20 lakh annual visitors from India, while Dubai may lag a tad behind with 19 lakh. On the contrary, the US and China are slated to get 8 lakh Indian visitors each, which is less than half the number of Indians estimated to go to Dubai.

While the gleaming strips of Clarke Quay in Singapore, the lively lanes of Bangkok or the gargantuan malls of Dubai will remain the top three foreign locales teeming with Indians, when one looks at the money spent by Indians on these holidays a different order comes along. Singapore continues to lead the list followed by the US and then UAE. In 2012, Rs 5,420 crore was spent by Indians who went to Singapore, Rs 5,080 crore by those going to the US and Rs 5,030 crore by those who flew to the UAE. But by 2017, UAE or Dubai will beat the US to gain the number two slot with an estimated Rs 7,570 crore to be earned in tourist revenues.

Way back in 2007, India travelled differently. The top four destinations were Singapore, followed by the UAE, US and Thailand. Then from 2007 to 2012, the way India travelled changed. Indian low-cost airlines launched flights to neighbourhood foreign destinations and travel portals mushroomed, which coupled to redefine "cheap holidays". At the same time, social media networks became popular and holidays were marketed through them to reach a young audience, said the report.

» Read Complete News.....

(You need to login first to read complete news).
New User? Register for FREE!
» Back to Travel News