Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #35

ASIA PACIFIC OUTBOUND
TRENDS & FIGURES
Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #35
2017 Summer Edition 39
© CSG-Info
Karva Chauth puja,
India
INDIA: ASIA’S NEXT BOOMING
OUTBOUND MARKET
WITH AN
AVERAGE
GROWTH RATE
OF 25% PER
YEAR, INDIAN
OUTBOUND
TOURISTS
ARE LIKELY
TO REACH
50 MILLION
BY THE
BEGINNING
OF THE NEXT
DECADE
While China continues to
catch most of the world’s
attention with number of
Chinese outbound travellers
hitting new records year
after year (over 122 million
last year), one would be
wrong to ignore the “other”
big Asian outbound growth
market: India.
India’s middle class population
was estimated at 267 million
in 2016. And by 2025-26
the number of middle class
households in India is likely to
more than double from the
2015-16 levels to 113.8 million
households or 547 million
individuals.
And this is not the only
impressive statistic about India.
It is due to rank among the
world’s youngest countries for
its population, and it is due to
overtake China as the most
populated country in the world
around 2022/2025.
All these elements point to a
boom in outbound tourism.
Currently, UNWTO estimates
that 20 million Indians are
outbound travellers. From that
number, according to a report
from Amadeus, some 40% are
travelling for business purposes.
With an average growth rate of
25% per year, Indian outbound
tourists are likely to reach 50
million by the beginning of the
next decade. Indian travellers
generally spend long holidays
when overseas. Trips to other
continents average 12 to
15 days. Indians are also big
spenders: on average, their
holiday expenses are four times
higher than their Chinese or
Japanese counterparts. Average
spending per capita for shopping
is around US$1,200 per person.
Honeymoons and wedding
trips are a big hit, especially for
deluxe hotels. In Asia, Phuket
and Bali are increasingly turning
into top destinations for Indian
wedding makers as ceremonies
in those islands are generally
cheaper and more luxurious
than in their own country.
Furthermore, contrary to China,
the outbound market is not
constrained by political or
societal constraints: there are
no travel restrictions on Indians
travelling abroad while most of
the middle class speaks excellent
English and is generally techsavvy.
Another factor is the
multiplication of flights
connecting India to the rest
of the world. Many low-cost
airlines connect now India to
Asia and to the Middle East.
Before long, it is expected that
long-haul budget carriers would
also connect the Indian subcontinent
to Europe. Last year,
some 99.5 million passengers
were recorded on airlines to and
from India. According to the
Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation
CAPA, this number should
rocket by 25% this year to reach
over 130 million passengers…