Here’s What’s Behind a Strong Outlook for Indian Tour Operators – India Report

Skift Take

Research firms and the tourism industry are bullish on the potential of India for both domestic and international travel. Credit Ratings agency CRISIL has projected that a record 30 million Indians will travel overseas this year.

Bulbul Dhawan

The revenue of Indian tour and travel operators is expected to increase by 15-17% during the 2025 fiscal year, according to projections by credit ratings agency CRISIL. The growth is driven by rising domestic tourism and increasing propensity to travel overseas, the agency said. 

“Improving infrastructure, rising disposable incomes, a behavioral shift in travel patterns, and the government’s increasing focus on boosting domestic tourism will further support the sector’s revenue growth,” it said. 

Factors Affecting the Tourism Growth: According to CRISIL, the domestic tourism market in India is being driven by quick getaways and weekend staycations, growing spiritual tourism, and improved last-mile connectivity. Gradual increase in inbound travel towards pre-pandemic levels and demand for corporate travel is also leading this market. 

On the other hand, higher disposable income along with visa-free facilities, simplified visa processes, more affordable travel packages and focus of Indian airlines on routes to new destinations in Southeast and Central Asia is spurring overseas travel from India. 

The agency has projected 30 million Indians to travel overseas this year, higher than India has ever previously witnessed. In 2023, 27.3 million Indian travelers traveled internationally, marginally surpassing the pre-pandemic figure of 26.9 million. 

Revenge Travel to ‘Regularized’ Travel: CRISIL Ratings director Poonam Upadhyay said that the trend of revenge travel that was observed post-Covid has now changed into “regularized” travel “with a significant shift towards shorter and frequent vacations, for both domestic and overseas trips.” 

A Skift Megatrend earlier this year highlighted how the growing Indian middle class and its increasing spending power is signifying an expanding market for travel services. 

A report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last month had said that outbound travel from India is emerging as the future growth engine for global tourism. Consulting firm McKinsey and Company said the same in its report, stating that India has a fast-growing pool of first-time tourists.

Akasa Air Carrying Capacity Increased 300% Last Fiscal

Budget airline Akasa Air’s carrying capacity in terms of available seat kilometers increased by 300% in the 2024 fiscal year, it has said. The airline now expects this metric to increase 50% year-on-year for the 2025 fiscal. 

Akasa has completed its second year of operations this week. Over this time, it has rapidly expanded its network to 22 domestic and five international destinations. The operations to the fifth international destination – Kuwait City – is set to commence later this month. 

Currently operating more than 900 weekly flights, the airline has surpassed IndiGo as the airline with the most on-time performance over the past year. 

Malaysia Targeting 1 Million Indian Tourists by the end of 2024

The Malaysian tourism ministry is aiming to welcome 1 million travelers from India by the end of this year. It added that India was a key tourism source market. 

In 2023, India was Malaysia’s sixth-largest source market, with over 670,000 Indian tourists visiting the country, data from Malaysia’s tourism department showed. This figure was up 107% from 2022. 

In April 2024 alone, 295,000 Indian tourists visited Malaysia, up 80% from the same month last year. For context, this figure is more than the number of Indian tourists to Malaysia in the first six months last year: 283,885.

Malaysia has made entry visa-free for Indian passport holders till the end of this year. 

Air India to Reward Loyalty Points on Legoland Theme Park Tickets

Full-service airline Air India has partnered with the operator of Legoland theme parks Merlin Entertainments. With this, members of Air India Flying Returns loyalty program will earn reward points on purchasing tickets to the Legoland theme parks in five locations: Windsor, New York, California, Dubai, and Malaysia. 

Air India is in the process of merging with its sister airline Vistara. As part of this merger, the loyalty programs of Vistara and Air India will also be combined. 

Vistara’s service quality over the past nine years has created a base of loyal customers, some of whom are skeptical about the merger. Air India is therefore trying to improve its fleet, customer service, and benefits to cater to the prospective customers of the merged entity. 

Zoomcar Launches Unified App for Guests, Hosts

Self-drive car sharing aggregator Zoomcar has launched a new unified app for guests and hosts. Before this, the company had two separate apps for guests and hosts. 

The app upgrade is meant to allow guests who have their own cars to also sign up as hosts on the platform, while also allowing hosts to easily book a car as a guest when required. 

Zoomcar said that the unified platform would allow hosts to manage multiple cars in one place while also checking the ranking of their car in real-time and track competition. 

Turkish Airlines Offers Free Tour Service to Indians

Turkish Airlines is offering its complimentary tour service “Touristanbul” to Indian travelers during their layovers, the airline has said. The service allows the airline’s passengers to explore Istanbul if they have a layover between six to 24 hours. 

Last year, more than 270,000 Indian tourists visited Turkey, an increase of 18% as compared to 2022. The country is aiming to attract more than 350,000 Indian travelers this year.