Two things are happening in stark contrast of each other, and unsavory to both, India’s inbound trade and the Government. The gulf between inbound and outbound has continued to widen. In 2019, India’s best tourism year in terms of Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs), the country received 10.9 million visitors against 26.9 million outbound Indian tourists. India was producing 2.5 tourists for every single tourist it received.
In 2023, which was the first Covid-free travel year, India’s outbound tourism bounced back strongly, registering a record 27.1 million outbound visitors. However, inbound was different story. In the absence of any credible plan or promotions in the overseas market, India could barely reach 85 per cent (9.2 million) of its peak 2019 number. So, in 2023, India was producing nearly 3 outbound tourists for every single tourist it received.
Come 2024, there was near unanimity across stakeholders, Government or private, of not just a full inbound recovery but potentially, a growth. However, H1 2024 numbers were still 10 per cent behind the peak 2019 corresponding period. And if that was not enough, the political turmoil in India’s biggest tourism source market, Bangladesh that began in July not only decimated any hope of a rebound in H2 2024, but has potentially already dragged the year-till-date 2024 number below the corresponding 2023 period. As for the available data for H1 2024, India was producing 3.15 outbound tourists for every single tourist it received. And for June alone, the gulf has further widened to 3.4 outbound travellers for a single tourist received!
Now, what’s utterly surprising is that given the plethora industry associations and federations, inbound has miserably failed to argue its case so far. A big shout out and a joint representation, cobbled together bringing every sector of tourism industry, and led by some of the most powerful voices like those of Taj, the Oberoi, the Lalit, the Park, Marriott, Air India, IndiGo, and the IATOs and the HAIs of the industry, is the need of the hour!
