India : The new superpower for Global Shopping?

India’s economy grew substantially in 2023, with estimates showing a 7.3 per cent expansion due to high levels of capital formation. India has become the world’s fifth-largest economy, overtaking the United Kingdom

And the population is young the median age is 27.6, more than ten years younger than that of most major economies. What’s more, consumption of goods and services, including leisure and recreation, is forecast to double by 2030.

The country’s forecast growth in GDP per capita, accompanied by a growing propensity for international travel, could lead to a wave of Indian travelers setting out to see the world. If India follows China’s outbound travel trajectory (which it could, due to similarity in population size and per capita income trajectory), then Indian tourists could make 80 million to 90 million trips a year by 2040.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s outbound tourist market was among the fastest-growing markets in Asia. India has already recovered 61 percent of its prepandemic market, with 13 million outbound tourists in 2022. This represents a much quicker recovery than most Asian countries.

 Where do Indian travelers choose to go? Proximity is a key decision factor. In fact, around 70 percent of travelers choose nearby destinations. With a travel time of less than four hours, and a large Indian diaspora, the Middle East is a destination of choice for around one-third of Indian travelers, closely followed by South Asian destinations. For long-haul trips, North America and Western Europe stand out as preferred choices. While the top destinations have remained fairly consistent over the past decade, others are shaking up the rankings.