Tying the Knot Abroad: Market Sizing Indian Wedding Tourism

India recorded a cruise tourism footfall of 470,000 in the 2023-24 financial year – its highest ever. Domestic tourists accounted for nearly 80% of this, as international cruise tourism in India has yet to revive to pre-Covid levels. 

It’s inevitable: Every spring when we pull together the Hot List, our annual collection of the world’s best new hotels, restaurants, and cruise ships, a staffer remarks that this latest iteration has got to be the best one ever. After a year’s worth of traveling the globe—to stay the night at a converted farmhouse in the middle of an olive grove outside Marrakech, or sail aboard a beloved cruise line’s inaugural Antarctic voyage—it’s easy to see why we get attached. But this year’s Hot List, our 28th edition, might really be the best one ever. It’s certainly our most diverse, featuring not only a hotel suite that was once Winston Churchill’s office, but also the world’s largest cruise ship and restaurants from Cape Town to Bali. We were surprised and inspired by this year’s honorees, and we know you will be too. These are the Hot List hotel winners for 2024.

More than 81% of the Indian GenZs – aged between 18 and 25 years – start planning their first international trips as soon as they secure a job or receive their first paycheck, online travel agency Skyscanner has revealed in a new report. Indians are historically known to start saving as soon as they are employed and have been conservative with their travel spends. These findings highlight how the youth, especially the growing middle class, is changing the tourism landscape in the country.

The European Commission has introduced a new visa “cascade” regime for Indian nationals applying for Schengen visas in India. This regime looks to offer longer-term, multi-entry Schengen visas, based on the applicant’s travel history.

Indian travelers have an increased interest in weekend getaways and spiritual tourism, according to online travel agency MakeMyTrip’s first-ever travel trends report. Searches for destinations with or around religious spots increased by 97% in the last two years, the platform stated in the report, which was released on Monday.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand on Thursday hosted a group of more than 8,000 incentive visitors from India. The delegation is part of the authority’s goal of receiving at least 1.7 million Indian visitors this year, it said in a statement. 

Deciding where to visit in India is not easy.

Hyatt Hotels definitely has its eyes on India and the focus specifically is on domestic Indian leisure travelers. “The leisure travel market is primarily driven by Indians traveling within India and discovering the country,” said CEO Mark Hoplamazian during his recent visit to the country. 

Hotelbeds, which had planned on an IPO in Spain this summer, has reportedly delayed those ambitions until the tail end of 2024 or early next year.

The travel and tourism industry in India is projected to generate revenue of nearly $24 billion in 2024, according to industry promotions body India Brand Equity Foundation. At an estimated annual growth rate of 9.6% between 2024 and 2028, the industry is also expected to reach a market volume of $34.25 billion by 2028. 

The Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators is determined to increase Indian arrivals to the island destination and is taking steps to achieve this.

Corporate travel in India is booming – spending surged nearly 25% in 2023. And online travel companies are ramping up their efforts to profit from it.