India's Surge in Destination Weddings - India Report

28.08.2024 - 14:36 / skift.com / Peden Doma Bhutia / Narendra Modi / Bulbul Dhawan

Over 80% of Indians have either had or are planning a destination wedding, a survey conducted by search aggregator Skyscanner showed. This preference is strongest among Gen Z, with about 50% of that group indicating that they are considering a destination wedding. This figure is 33% among Millennials. 

Anam Zubair, Director Consumer Marketing, WeddingWire India, said, “The concept of planning a destination wedding in India is growing in popularity, with nearly a 13% increase year-over-year in the number of couples who are opting for destination weddings.”

According to the Skyscanner survey, which involved 2,000 respondents from India, there is an increased interest in holding pre-wedding festivities with their friends and family, especially in the aftermath of the Ambani wedding extravaganza. Indians are opting for weekend getaways, cruise parties, Italian-style gatherings, and concerts and events to celebrate.

Locations such as Goa, Dubai, Bali, and Bangkok emerged as preferred locations in the survey, along with the UK, Spain, France, and Italy.

Here are some of the trends that the survey revealed:

Despite couples willing to increase their budget for destination weddings, they are still careful with their spending. Mohit Joshi, Skyscanner Travel Trends and Destination Expert, said, “The survey shows that for 41% of respondents in India, prioritizing cost when picking destination wedding venues is key.” Hence, they start planning their weddings a year in advance to organize all the details, with 40% of the respondents relying on wedding planners to get guidance.

Big Fat Indian Weddings: Indian weddings are an extravagant affair. In a Skift feature earlier this year, my colleague Peden Doma Bhutia reported that the 2023-24 wedding season in India generated an estimated revenue of $75 billion. 

A survey by the Confederation of All India Traders revealed that between November 23 and December 15, 2023, about 3.5 million couples tied the knot in India leading to spending that totaled around INR 4.25 trillion ($57 billion). 

A typical Indian wedding at an international destination costs about $215,000, according to Skift Research estimates. And in 2024, destination weddings are projected to account for 21% of the total weddings

According to Skift Research’s survey, Indian destination weddings account for $1.9 billion (INR 159.6 billion) in outbound travel spending. To capitalize on this market, India is actively promoting itself as the next big wedding destination: Wed in India. According to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who called for Indians to host weddings in their families in India itself, having destination weddings within India would help boost the economy. 

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