For all the buzz around India tourism, arrivals from foreigners in the first six months of 2024 were underwhelming: just under 4.78 million. That’s nearly 10% less than arrivals of 5.3 million in the same period in 2019.

Bangladesh emerged as the top source country for India, accounting for nearly 22% of visitors, according to the data released by the tourism ministry. The U.S., the UK, Canada, and Australia rounded out the top 5.

Those rankings could change when we see data for the second half of the year because of political unrest in Bangladesh, which led India to issue fewer visas.  

Among the major source markets, the U.S. has seen the most significant growth. For years before the pandemic, the U.S. held about 13% share among source markets. However, this has now increased to nearly 18%.

Canada and Australia have added about a point in share, while the UK has held steady between 9% and 10%.

A report last week from credit ratings agency Crisil looked at the first seven months and it said foreign arrivals were at 96% of 2019 levels. But it noted an important area of improvement: foreign exchange earnings were up 23%. 

“This suggests tourists are spending more during their visits, which can be linked to several factors, including a 20% rise in five-star hotel rates between 2019 and 2024, increasing tourist preference for luxury experiences and higher disposable incomes,” it said.

More Aviation Development: Amid this, the government has unveiled plans to build 29 new airports over the next 20 years to improve global connectivity, boost economic growth, and cater to the growing demand for air travel in Tier-2 and 3 cities.

Among these, Gujarat will get 9 new airports – the highest of any other states. According to data by the Airports Authority of India, between April and August 2024, nearly 7 million tourists visited Gujarat, of which, 923,000 were international visitors. The state saw nearly 60,000 flights during this period. 

Meanwhile, 13 other states will get one new airport each. The government is focusing on either developing or upgrading existing airports in small cities, and expanding capacity in metropolitan regions. As part of its plans, the new airports will have the capability to handle Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 planes to allow them to connect with international destinations directly. 

India’s Latest Tourism Play

The Indian government has decided to offer visa-fee waivers for the first 100,000 tourists entering the country under the “Chalo India” initiative. The tourism ministry is now working on finalizing the operational guidelines for this initiative. Earlier also, India had used visa fee waiver to boost tourism to the country after the pandemic. 

The Chalo India program was launched to allow Indian diaspora members to become ambassadors of the country and encourage 5 non-Indian friends to travel to India. Indian diaspora members will need to register on the special website, which goes live in a few weeks, and enter the details of their nominated friends, Skift’s Peden Doma Bhutia has learnt. The website will then assign a unique code after verification. These travelers can then use the special code to get a free visa.

India’s tourism ministry is also looking to develop key tourism destinations over the next three years by working in collaboration with culture, civil aviation, and railways ministries. “Destinations like Varanasi and Ekta Nagar in Gujarat succeeded because all ministries worked together — transport, tourism, railways, and others,” an official told Skift.

IndiGo Names Isidro Porqueras as New Chief Operating Officer

Indian airline IndiGo has nominated Isidro Porqueras for the position of Chief Operating Officer after the retirement of Wolfgang Prock-Schauer. If the appointment receives regulatory approvals, Porqueras will take over starting November 1, the company has said in a statement. 

Prock-Schauer is set to retire later this year after a 7-year tenure as the COO at IndiGo, and an aviation career spanning 40 years. He has played a crucial role in IndiGo’s growth since 2018, including during and after the Covid pandemic, said CEO Pieter Elbers. 

IndiGo is expanding its operations, entering not only more markets but also the premium space with a new business class cabin configuration and a loyalty program. It is also expected to commence long-haul international flights after it placed its first-ever order for widebody aircraft.

Kerala Had Record Domestic Tourists in Two Years: State Minister

In the last two years, the coastal state of Kerala has witnessed record number of domestic tourist arrivals, said tourism and public works minister PA Mohamed Riyas. Speaking at the 12th Kerala Travel Mart last week, he said that the state has recently released a campaign video called ‘Ente Keralam Ennum Sundaram’ to showcase its diversity and natural landscapes. 

In 2023, Kerala set an all-time record of domestic tourists, with 21.9 million tourists visiting the state. This was significantly higher than 18.9 million domestic tourists that visited the state a year before that. The 2023 figure was also nearly 20% higher than the 2019 levels. 

MakeMyTrip’s Move to Boost International Business Class Travel

Indian online travel company MakeMyTrip has partnered with 10 international airlines including Air India, Malaysia Airlines and Virgin Atlantic, to offer a discount of up to 20% on international business class fares. Apart from this, the OTA also partnered with ICICI Bank to offer an additional rebate of INR 10,000 ($120) to ICICI Bank cardholders. 

The initiative, which is active till October 2, has come after the company witnessed a 10% increase in searches for international business class fares between 2023 and 2024. It observed that Indian passengers are searching for business class fares for shorter international routes, including to Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Saudi Arabia: a shift from the traditional trend of business class travel being associated with long-haul flights such as to the U.S. and the UK only.

TreeHouse Hotels and Resorts Expands in Karnataka

TreeHouse Hotels and Resorts has signed a new property in Hubli, marking the hotel chain’s second property in the southern state of Karnataka. The 36-key TreeHouse Vedanta Pride is scheduled to open in November this year. 

The chain is on an expansion spree in India. Earlier this year, the chain signed a hotel in Madhya Pradesh’s Narmadapuram, marking its entry into the central state. It also signed a new property in Sonipat, Haryana and one in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. The company also launched its new website in May this year.