India’s economic rise will introduce a new generation of middle class tourists to overseas travel

Indians made over 18 million outbound trips in 2014, an increase on the 16 million trips made in 2013. Barely two per cent of India’s population currently travel overseas but over the past five years the country’s middle classes have increased by over 10 per cent. This demographic is set to grow from 32 per cent at present to 50 per cent by 2030, making it a major source market with tourism boards vying to tap into this potential tourist goldmine

India is expected to increase its business travel and tourism following the election of Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pro-business government in May 2014. However, outbound tourism will be challenged by the domestic tourism industry, which is expected to experience a surge in business confidence, shown by its average of nine per cent annually over the historic period

Indian travelers characteristically have been avid business travelers with 40 per cent of all departures accounted for by business trips. While most of this MICE tourism has been consistently to the Asia-Pacific region, TTIC expects that changing trends in India’s economy will spur a rise in leisure and VFR travel to the Middle East and Europe over the forecast period

Key destinations include Thailand and UAE, as well as increasing visitors to the US. Although outbound tourism is growing, domestic investment could threaten the dominance of international trips

GDP per capita

GDP growth

Total outbound trips

Total outbound expenditure