Skift Take
The travel industry is making a global shift to capture India’s booming outbound tourism. From hotels and airlines to credit cards and digital platforms, everyone’s racing to cater to this surging wave of Indian travelers. As the market soars, the India opportunity is simply too big to ignore.
India’s tourism industry is undergoing a significant transformation. The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) projects the outbound travel market to reach $55.4 billion by 2034. At the core of this boom is India’s expanding middle class, driving both domestic and international travel as disposable incomes rise.
Indian tour and travel operators are also expected to see a 15-17% revenue increase in fiscal 2025, according to credit ratings agency CRISIL, which attributes this growth to improved infrastructure, rising incomes, evolving travel behaviors, and government efforts to boost domestic tourism.
India’s growing prominence on the global travel stage is further evident, with 2024 projections already at $18.8 billion. The surge of first-time tourists, as highlighted by McKinsey & Company, is a key factor. In 2023, 28.2 million Indians traveled abroad, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, while overseas spending hit $31.7 billion, with 54% dedicated to travel.
Global travel and hospitality leaders also recognize the potential of this burgeoning market. Skift analyzed recent earnings calls from these industries to gauge their outlook on India’s evolving role in global tourism.
India’s Push to Middle East Tourism
Accor: Sebastien Bazin, CEO of Accor, in the latest earnings call, highlighted the robust demand within India, noting the potential for Indian outbound travelers to double in the near future. “When it comes to the outbound of India, you have 40 million Indian people traveling abroad and 80% of them go Southeast Asia or they go to the Middle East. That 40 million could end up being 80 million in 1 year or 2 years from today,” he said at the latest earnings call.
This surge, he suggests, will have a profound impact on hotel markets in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, where a significant portion of Indian travelers head. “There’s no slowdown in demand in many of the airlines in the world and certainly not in India,” Bazin added.
Wynn Resorts: Talking about the Wynn Resorts coming up in UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah, CEO Craig Scott Billings said at the recent earnings call that while Europe is an important market for the UAE in general, India is also a huge market for this part of the world. “There’s a lot of folks there. There’s a lot of wealth in India, and that’s going to be an important market.”
Wizz Air: The aviation sector is similarly bullish on India’s potential. In its latest earnings call József Váradi CEO, Wizz Air, remarked on the “sparkling demand” from India, which is driving the need for more aircraft and infrastructure.
There Is no Slowdown in Demand
Hilton: Pointing out to the demand in Asia Pacific at the latest earnings call, Hilton CEO Chris Nassetta said the hotel company hasn’t seen any real signs of demand weakening in India.
Airbnb: Meanwhile, Brian Chesky, in Airbnb’s latest earnings call, positioned India as a crucial market alongside other major Asian economies.
Highlighting India’s rapid growth, noting a nearly 30% increase in nights booked in 2023 compared to the previous year, Dave Stephenson, Airbnb’s chief business officer, recently spoke about India as a burgeoning travel market with vast growth opportunities, positioning it among Airbnb’s top strategic priorities.
IHG: In its latest earnings call, IHG CEO Elie Wajih Maalouf reported nine hotel signings in India this quarter, highlighting the country’s strategic importance to the company’s growth. IHG recently signed a voco in Srinagar, IHG’s first hotel in Kashmir, slated to open in October 2026. This move aligns with IHG’s broader plan to expand in key leisure destinations across India, capitalizing on the country’s booming tourism sector.
Sudeep Jain, managing director for South West Asia at IHG, recently emphasized the rising trend of domestic travel to leisure destinations, noting that the signings reinforce IHG’s commitment to expanding its footprint in these high-potential markets.
The Push to Aviation
Airports in India are rapidly expanding to accommodate this growth, with Delhi’s airport now boasting a capacity of 100 million passengers.
Airports de Paris: In its latest earnings call, Augustin de Romanet, chairman and CEO of Airports de Paris (ADP), talked about the strategic significance of India’s airport infrastructure, forecasting that the country’s major airports are poised to emerge as key hubs in Asia.
He emphasized India’s position as a major aviation market, with an 8% compound annual growth rate in sales over the past decade, a trend he expects to continue given the substantial aircraft orders from airlines like IndiGo, Air India, and Akasa Air.
ADP’s investment in India, including a 49% stake in GMR Airports, aligns with this outlook.
Romanet pointed to the rapid growth of India’s population, particularly its middle class, as a catalyst for a sharp increase in air travel, contingent on the development of appropriate infrastructure. He also highlighted the vast potential in India’s market, especially with anticipated privatization of regional airports, which could offer strategic expansion opportunities for ADP.
However, he noted the company’s cautious approach, emphasizing the need to adapt their business model to capitalize on the right opportunities at the right time.
Visa: This trend is supported by government initiatives aimed at boosting tourism infrastructure and the increasing availability of travel-related financial products. Ryan McInerney, Visa CEO, pointed to the launch of India’s first co-branded credit card with rich airport-linked benefits with partners like Adani One and ICICI Bank, designed to cater to the evolving needs of Indian travelers. He said this would be for a target base of 400 million customers through the Adani One platform.
Skift India Travel Podcast
Skift Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia is joined by business leaders, and experts from throughout the industry and Skift’s newsroom, to explore the challenges, opportunities, and trends shaping the Indian travel industry.
