Indian airlines to carry half of country’s intn’l traffic by FY28 | Image:Air India
Travel trends 2024: The first three months of 2024 have registered 97 million passengers traveling through Indian airports for both international and domestic trips. As of March 2024, domestic travel surged by 21 per cent compared to 2019, while international travel experienced a 4 per cent increase.
Indian travelers are increasingly exploring key markets, with a substantial 53 per cent surge in visits to Japan, a 248 per cent leap in visits to Vietnam, and a remarkable 59 per cent rise in visits to the United States, compared to 2019. Amsterdam, Singapore, and London are trending as the top three summer holiday destinations for Indian travelers in 2024.
The global travel sector is breaking boundaries in 2024 as consumer spending on tourism remains robust and passenger traffic soars, according to the latest report from the Mastercard Economics Institute (MEI). Released today, the MEI’s fifth annual report, “Travel Trends 2024: Breaking Boundaries” provides comprehensive insights into the evolving landscape of the travel industry across 74 markets, including 13 in the Asia Pacific region (APAC).
Drawing on a unique analysis of aggregated and anonymized Mastercard transaction data, including Mastercard SpendingPulse™ and third-party data sources, the report takes a deep dive into key tourism trends for 2024. Here in India, a few themes stand out.
More Indians are travelling
In 2024, fueled by a growing middle class and expanded route capacity, more Indians are traveling internationally than ever before. In the first three months of 2024, 97 million passengers travelled through Indian airports. Just 10 years ago, the same figure would have taken a whole year to achieve.
While domestic air passenger traffic surged 21% above 2019 levels, international travel rose by 4%. Notably, Indian travelers are increasingly exploring key markets, with a 53 per cent increase in visits to Japan, a 248 per cent growth to Vietnam, and a 59 per cent rise in visits to the United States, compared to 2019, despite a stronger US dollar. This trend signifies a major shift in Indian travel habits towards widespread exploration and discovery.
According to the report, Amsterdam, followed by Singapore, London, Frankfurt, and Melbourne are the top five trending destinations that Indian travelers are visiting this summer (June – August 2024), as measured by the change in share of flight bookings.
“Consumers in the Asia Pacific region have an intense desire and willingness to travel and are becoming increasingly savvy to ensure they get the best value and unforgettable experiences from their trips,” said David Mann, chief economist, Asia Pacific, Mastercard. “For tourism authorities, retailers, the hospitality and F&B sectors, the bottom line is that costs matter. In today’s economy, foreign exchange rates and spending power have become vital components in driving a traveler’s assessment of value when they are making their plans. This suggests that businesses targeting tourism dollars need to review their current strategies, and shift them, if necessary, to maintain their appeal to travelers.”
Travelers continue to prioritise experiences
Consumers globally continue to prioritise experiences over material goods. This is playing out in the travel sector as spending on experiences, especially nightlife, totals 12 per cent of tourism sales – the highest point in at least five years. Additionally, a burgeoning fine dining scene in India has translated to marginal outperformance of the fine dining category for in-destination tourism dining. As of March 2024, spending on casual dining rose by 49.2 per cent, while fine dining saw a 55.2 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
