India’s tourism recovery up , domestic tourism leading
Travel Biz News —
India’s travel tourism sector shows strong recovery with domestic tourism leading the way , according to 2024 Economic Impact Research (EIR) released by London based World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) .
The data shows that whilst domestic tourism is driving the recovery of the sector in India, international travel spend remains below pre-pandemic levels.
The sector’s contribution to India’s GDP reached just over INR 19.13TN in 2023 – almost 10% ahead of 2019 levels.
Employment in travel tourism grew by 10% to reach just under 43MN, 8% more than in 2019.
Domestic visitor spending was 15% ahead of 2019, reaching INR 14.64TN however international visitor spending remained more than 14% behind 2019 last year – INR 0.4TN less being spent by international visitors last year than in 2019.
Such strong growth in domestic visitor spending is evidence that domestic visitors have led the sector’s path toward post-pandemic recovery.
WTTC projects that tourism will contribute almost INR 21.15 TN to the Indian economy in 2024, an increase of 21% from 2019. Jobs are predicted to increase by 2.45MN this year, equivalent to one in 11 jobs in India.
International visitor spending is expected to grow more than 17%, to reach INR 2.85TN, while domestic visitor spending is projected to continue growing this year, with a 9.6% increase to reach more than INR 16TN.
The Indian Government’s ambition to facilitate 100MN inbound tourists at the 100th anniversary of India’s independence in 2047, as part of the @2047 vision, will supercharge the Indian economy and make India one of the world’s most popular travel destinations.
WTTC forecasts that across South Asia, Travel & Tourism will contribute INR 25.1TN this year, with jobs supported by the sector reaching 54.77MN by the end of 2024. Domestic visitor spending is expected to reach INR 18.3TN this year whilst international visitor spending is anticipated to reach INR 3.8TN.
29 June 2024
Photo : Golden Temple in Punjab ( Incredible India )
