Talk of a tourism recovery in Asia is still largely centered on the return of Chinese tourists.
But Agoda CEO Omri Morgenshtern told CNBC Travel that Indian travelers search for international travel faster than travelers in any other market in the world.
“The whole thing is booming,” he said. “Outbound travel (tourism) from India is growing far faster than any other country.”
While outbound travel searches from most Asia-Pacific countries were up 30% to 60% over 2019, outbound travel searches by Indian travelers jumped 225%, company data showed.
“India’s tourism industry is recovering strongly on the back of the country’s economic growth,” said Lalitya Dhavala, a valuation consultant at travel analytics firm Cirium.
“The data point to a strong recovery in domestic and international passenger traffic compared to 2019, with positive growth in scheduled capacity for the next quarter,” he said.
Where do they travel?
Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia are the top choices for Indian tourists.
According to Agoda data, from January 2019 to mid-May this year, Indian tourists increased their hotel and flight searches to Indonesia by 256%, to Singapore by 215% and to Thailand by 147%.
But searches for Vietnam — a country long overlooked by Indian tourists — grew even more. That’s a 390% increase over 2019, according to Agoda.
“Vietnam is in the top five, but it was never there in 2019,” Morgenshtern said.
According to Vishal Suri, managing director of SOTC Travel, before 2019, there were no direct flights from India to Vietnam, so the connectivity between the two countries is better now.
“Vietnam is a destination not too far from India and still in the Asean region. It’s only four or five hours’ flight time from most of the country,” Suri said.
Agoda’s Morgenshtern said Southeast Asian destinations remained popular among Indian tourists, but Agoda data showed their interest in East Asian destinations had waned.
Searches for hotels and flights to Japan and Taiwan have declined since 2019, according to Agoda. But searches for South Korea have increased since before the pandemic.
“Travel to Southeast Asia is exploding, but the cost of travel to East Asian countries is much higher,” Morgenshtern said.
But Morgenshtern expects tourism interest in East Asia to pick up soon. He also mentioned two other expensive markets popular with Indians – the US and the UK.
“I don’t understand why Indian clients who would go to Europe wouldn’t have a lot of fun going to Japan or Taiwan.”
Stronger spending power
Whether it’s a short vacation in Asia or a long vacation in Europe, Indians are spending money. They cost big.
“There is a perception that Indian tourists are low economically. That may be true domestically, but outbound, I think it’s actually on par with Chinese tourists when they visit other Asian countries,” said Agoda’s Morgenshtern.
According to Agoda, Indian tourists spent about 30% more on international travel accommodation last year than before the pandemic, and 20% more than the average for Chinese tourists.
In Thailand, Chinese and Indian tourists spend roughly the same amount at hotels, he said.
“Indians prefer to stay in four- or five-star accommodation, and branded hotels with familiar names,” SOTC’s Suri said. “They’re also looking for the right restaurant instead of going to a fast food restaurant.”
Cirium’s Dhavala noted that the increase in international travel has been limited to wealthier Indian tourists.
“The rest of the middle class is focused on domestic travel, and India’s low-cost airlines are well positioned to meet that demand,” she said.