As Thailand now looks to revive its economy, it is wooing Indian tourists, who are among the world’s top spenders. As many as 661,751 Indians have visited Thailand this year according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand.  It is not just Thailand. Several other countries including those in the Middle East and Europe are also trying to woo Indian tourists.

In 2018, Indian travellers spent over Rs 6.5 trillion — $9.4 billion.

The American Express Travel: Global Travel Trends Report, earlier this year indicated that Indian travellers have been keen to adopt the new normal and most of them have already resumed travel plans – both domestic and international.

A study by Pahle India Foundation noted that several countries are dependent on tourism for its economic growth. While in Maldives, tourism directly accounts for 39.6 per cent of its total GDP, in Cambodia the figure is 14.1 per cent and in Vietnam it is 9.3 per cent, the study pointed out. In the UK, tourism accounts for 3.7 per cent of its overall economy and 2.6 per cent in case of the US economy. The tourism industry has strong interlinkages with many other sectors including logistics, aviation, hospitality, handicraft among others.

A McKinsey report noted that in the pre-Covid-19 phase, China accounted for more than 27 per cent of 2019 tourism receipts. But given the ongoing Covid 19 restrictions in China, the road of return for Chinese visitors on the international tourism map will not be anytime soon.

“More and more countries therefore are now banking on Indian tourists. During the Covid restrictions, large number of Indian travellers visited Maldives, boosting its tourism based economy,” a senior executive of MakeMyTrip said.

Also read: How tourism can become the X-factor powering New India’s rise