Exploring India

As times change, tourism trends change too. Evidence is also that, curiously, only about one per cent of the tourism-related travel by Indians was to destinations abroad — against a total of 1.7 billion leisure trips that Indians took last year, just after the end of the long Covid-phase restrictions on travel. In a nation of 1.4 billion, where 80 per cent of the people in the lower income segments do not form part of the tourism circuit, the 1.7 billion leisure trips meant those who had the money were on a merry-go-round. The happy-go-lucky scenario obviously continued this year too. For the young, well-employed youths, every weekend is time for leisure trips. This is true of metro cities as also small-time towns. They reach out to destinations in the neighbourhood in their own vehicles, mostly, and relax. It could even be a one-day trip, but travel, they must.
The “one per cent” foreign travel by Indians is by itself a huge spread. In the past, tourism was an obsession for only the financially well-endowed. In recent years, more and more Indians have taken to such travel also as almost the entire middle-class now own vehicles, and highways are well-laid out. Lots of hotels and theme parks have sprung up to cater to individual tastes. Domestic tourism is largely family oriented while such tours abroad are both by individuals and families. A report released by McKinsey and Booking,com, which tracked air travel in specific, says “More and more Indians are now looking to discover small urban sports like two-tier or three-tier cities.” In tune with this, about half the hotels in these cities will be branded (starred) hotels. Also, in matching with the present economic growth and growing interest in tourism, the study estimates that there could be five billion leisure trips a year by 2030; meaning a big boost to the hospitality sector. This could make India the fourth largest travel spender in the coming seven years. In economic terms, spending on travel and tourism could hit $410billion from the $150billion level in 2019.
It is also noted that the major metropolitan cities — New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chennai – retained the top four positions in the travel and tourism sector. Yet, the trend is increasingly in favour of smaller cities, where too huge shopping and recreational facilities are currently being added with increasing frenzy. Notably, foreign travel from India is mainly to destinations like Dubai, Bangkok, Singapore and London. The US does not figure in the list of the first 10 top destinations for Indians, while Paris took the fifth place and Kathmandu the 10-th. What India lacks are cleanliness, smartness, a vibrant nightlife and quality entertainment avenues. Old necessarily isn’t gold.