{"id":521312,"date":"2026-06-27T14:22:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:22:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/521312\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T14:22:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T14:22:22","slug":"global-tourism-boards-bet-big-on-indian-travellers-to-power-growth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/521312\/","title":{"rendered":"Global tourism boards bet big on Indian travellers to power growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGo for Tomorrowland. Stay for everything you didn\u2019t plan,\u201d exhorts the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Mumbai, tempting Indian travellers<\/a> to book a year-end trip for the electronic dance music (EDM) festival that\u2019s being held in Asia for the first time and extend their stay to catch other attractions as flights to the Southeast Asian country are \u201cshorter\u201d and logistics are \u201csimpler.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the world\u2019s top EDM events, Tomorrowland is branching out from its home in Belgium to Pattaya.<\/p>\n

Also Read: Tourism sector can create 100 million more jobs by 2047: FAITH<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Tomorrowland lived solely in Belgium, that planning came with distance, cost and a certain level of commitment that kept it in the realm of aspiration for many Indian travellers,\u201d said TAT, Mumbai. The Thailand event will be held December 11-13.<\/p>\n

TAT joins other global tourism boards<\/a> and luxury travel brands that are relying heavily on the Indian market to drive growth.<\/p>\n

Regardless of some negative social media commentary on the behaviour of some Indian travel groups, as a cohort they are regarded as a resilient and high-spending customer base amid the global uncertainty stemming from geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n

Between January 1 and June 15, Thailand received about 1.16 million Indian travellers, making the country its third biggest source market, after China and Malaysia.<\/p>\n

For 2026, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is targeting over 2.55 million Indian travellers and 97.86 billion baht ($2.97 billion) in revenue, highlighting India\u2019s market stability and its importance to the Southeast Asian nation\u2019s tourism ecosystem.<\/p>\n

The United Arab Emirates has similar expectations.<\/p>\n

Also Read: West Asia conflict may pressure hospitality occupancy, warns ICRA; FY27 estimate at 72-74%<\/a><\/p>\n

Abdulla Yousuf, director of international operations at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), said as operating conditions normalise, the emirate remains in \u201cclose dialogue\u201d with its airline partners including Etihad Airways and other carriers to explore opportunities for additional capacity and enhanced connectivity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia is a market of long-term strategic importance and the fundamentals remain strong,\u201d said Yousuf, adding that the emirate is \u201cwell positioned\u201d to support future growth in air traffic.<\/p>\n

Etihad Airways is currently operating at around 80% of its global capacity while Zayed International Airport handles approximately 300 flights each day.<\/p>\n

This month, DCT Abu Dhabi also concluded what it referred to as a C-Level trade visit from India including agencies, tour operators, and distribution partners for direct engagement with the emirate\u2019s tourism leadership.<\/p>\n

A year-round calendar of major concerts and sporting events, trade programmes across India and targeted campaigns are planned to drive demand.<\/p>\n

The Indian subcontinent was Abu Dhabi\u2019s largest source market in 2025.<\/p>\n

June Chepkemei, CEO of the Kenya Tourism Board<\/a>, said it aims to welcome over 178,000 Indian visitors in FY27, up from the estimated 150,000 in FY26 and will appeal to travellers to widen their expectations beyond wildlife and the Great Migration.<\/p>\n

Interest in the Maasai Mara National Reserve has been going up among Indian travellers following several celebrity visits.<\/p>\n

Chepkemei said India will continue to play a \u201csignificant\u201d role in the tourism growth plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is particularly encouraging is that India continues to demonstrate strong and consistent demand across multiple travel segments including leisure, luxury, family travel, destination weddings, and MICE,\u201d she said, adding that the market has also shown resilience despite challenges such as airline disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties.<\/p>\n

Indian travellers can currently travel to the country on IndiGo, Kenya Airways, Emirates, Qatar Airways and other carriers.<\/p>\n

Chepkemei said the Kenya Tourism Board is leveraging \u201cdata-sharing partnerships\u201d with airlines to facilitate evidence-based market analysis, including Indian traveller arrival trends, booking patterns and destination interest metrics.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese insights help inform route-prospecting and frequency-expansion discussions by demonstrating the growing demand for travel between the two markets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Instagram Reels and social media posts showcasing relatively newer locales, cafes and beach stretches have also led to Sri Lanka gaining popularity.<\/p>\n

Resplendent Ceylon, which has been recognised with a Michelin key distinction and operates luxury boutique hotels in Sri Lanka, said India business for the chain went up over 150% after the West Asia conflict commenced.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasier connectivity, along with Indians seeing Sri Lanka through a new lens, has amplified this,\u201d said Chamindra Goonewardene, senior vice president for brand and marketing at the chain.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very confident that there will be a further uptick and we are projecting upwards of a 100% increase for the second half of the year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visitor numbers at Tokyo Skytree from India are up 120% from May 2025 to March this year, said Tetsuya Omizo, director, sales division.<\/p>\n

Tokyo Skytree is the world\u2019s tallest freestanding broadcasting tower at 634 metres.<\/p>\n

\u201cAgainst a backdrop of improved air links, strong interest in Japan amongst Indian travellers, and growing demand for experiential travel, visitor numbers from the Indian market are on the rise,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Indian luxury travellers have been seeking longer stays, wellness-led getaways and milestone celebrations, said Vidya Sagar, general manager at Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Krabi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain optimistic about the second half of the year as we expect this momentum to continue across wellness, family travel and celebrations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cGo for Tomorrowland. Stay for everything you didn\u2019t plan,\u201d exhorts the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Mumbai, tempting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":521313,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[72,113,222221,61,222222,208368,60,222223,166202],"class_list":["post-521312","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-global-tourism-boards","tag-ie","tag-indian-travel-market","tag-indian-travellers","tag-ireland","tag-kenya-tourism-board","tag-thailand-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521312"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521312\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/521313"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521312"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521312"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}