Indian tourists among world’s highest spenders abroad, reveals new data

Indian tourists are quite the spendthrift when it comes to vacationing, says a new study. A new data about the Indian tourists has revealed that they are among the world’s highest spenders per visit made abroad.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Indian outbound tourists account for 22.5 million of worldwide tourists in 2018. According to estimates, even this figure of tourists flogging abroad will increase by 122 per cent by 2022.

The latest research published by Colliers International, ahead of Arabian Travel Market 2019 (ATM), which is to take place next year predicts around nine million Indians will travel to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states by 2022 – a 37 per cent share of India's total outbound market - with business, place of work and leisure sustaining this demand.

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UAE tops the chart among Indian tourism

Among the top visited countries, the UAE tops the chart and in 2017 it welcomed 2.3 million Indian tourists which is 13 per cent of its total annual visitors. Dubai retained the top spot visited, adding to the country’s list of source markets for inbound tourism, with over a million Indian tourists arriving.

In addition to all the trots and the visits, the Indian tourists are also reported to be among the world's highest spenders per visit made abroad and this expenditure on the visits is also expected to increase from USD 23 billion in 2018 to USD 45 billion by 2022.

"Despite recent weak rupee exchange rates, which have seen the rupee lose around 14 per cent of its value against the US dollar over the last 12 months, the Indian outbound market has continued to grow at an average annual growth rate of 10-12 per cent over the last seven years," Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director, Arabian Travel Market told PTI.

"The GCC has benefited from this trend with Indian travellers' willingness and ability to spend on outbound travel supported by the country's pace-setting seven per cent GDP growth and a new generation of leisure attractions in the GCC as well as increased business opportunities and relaxed visa regulations for Indian nationals,” she added.

The influx of these Indian tourists has to do with the relaxed visa restrictions and the introduction of a free two-day transit visa, experts added.

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"The influx of Indian visitors to the GCC shows no sign of abating, with every reason to believe India will maintain its position as a top source market, moving forward. Supporting this demand, in the UAE alone, there are currently 1,065 weekly flights to India corresponding to 130,000 seats per week,” Curtis said.