Outbound trips from India will surpass $42 billion by 2024 and the government could bring about certain policy changes to boost this growing market, a report said.

According to the 'Outbound Travel and Tourism - An Opportunity Untapped' report, to facilitate ease of doing business and promote the interests of Indian firms dealing in outbound travel, the government could look at steps like increasing direct connections to popular and upcoming destinations, allowing foreign cruise vessels to operate on Indian waters, besides taking concerted and coordinated efforts on multiple fronts to propel the outbound tourism market.

Nangia Andersen LLP Head - Government and Public Sector Advisory Suraj Nangia said, “The Indian outbound travel market is among the fastest growing markets globally with approximately 80 million passport level of purchasing power, especially among the middle class.”

The report noted that allowing foreign cruise vessels to include Indian destinations as a stop would encourage both inbound and outbound tourism as well as increase revenue for Indian ports.

“With a growing economy, young population, and growing middle class, India is ideally positioned to become one of the most lucrative outbound tourism markers in the world. Europe sees 20 per cent of the travellers from India’s outbound traffic, 10 per cent travel to Australia and New Zealand, while the rest of the traffic is towards South east Asia,” the report said.

In 2021, Indians spent approximately $12.6 billion on outbound trips, compared to $22.9 billion in 2019. While the reason for decrease in spending could be due to the pandemic but these figures point out the huge value that can be captured from Indian outbound travellers, the report added.

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