Indian tourists flock to Southeast Asia as China's reopening falters
Long-term increase in Indian tourists could lead to a recalibration of airline capacity, hospitality offerings and tourism operators
For a decade or so, the sector was fuelled by China but official data from four Southeast Asian countries shows a weak recovery with the number of Chinese visitors in May at least 60% lower than the same month in 2019.
Key takeaways
- India could emerge as the next China "in terms of outbound tourism growth" over the next decade, though connectivity would be constrained by fewer airports there, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said in a May report;
- Flight bookings from India to Bangkok jumped by 270% between January to June this year compared with the same period in 2019, according to Indian OTA Cleartrip;
- In May, more Indians than Chinese visited Singapore while that same month nearly 63,000 Indians visited Indonesia compared with just over 64,000 Chinese.
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