MUMBAI: With a host of Asian countries offering visa-free travel to Indian tourists, demand for outbound foreign travel has gone up in the past two months, say travel companies.
“The announcement on visa-free entry for Indians to Thailand has seen strong interest - with an uptick of 30% in demand compared to last year,” said Rajeev Kale, President & Country Head, Holidays, MICE, Visa, Thomas Cook (India) Limited. “With visas forming a critical deciding factor for Indian travellers, the recent update on visa-free entry to Malaysia from December 1 is a smart move, clearly intended to catalyse visits from the powerful and high growth India market,” he added.
Daniel D’Souza, President & Country Head - Holidays, SOTC Travel said: “Indians are leveraging on every opportunity to travel and with the holiday season approaching, we witnessed a growth of over 20% YoY in our bookings for October-December2023.”
Visa-free entry apart, the year 2023 also saw comparatively relaxed visa guidelines being issued by many countries. After three years of travel-related restrictions and tough entry norms brought on by the pandemic, the documentation process for travel to many countries, especially those in Asia, have eased, said travel companies.
Scapia, a travel fin-tech company, said that the online searches for flights and hotel accommodations have sky-rocketed in the past month because of relaxed visa guidelines. “Hong Kong leads with an astounding 130% surge in searches in the last quarter of 2023. Following closely, Bangkok boasts a substantial 70% rise in flight searches in the last quarter of 2023. Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, has also joined the travel boom with a noteworthy 50% increase in flight searches,” it said.
When it comes to hotel accommodations, Sri Lanka took the centre stage with a 550% surge in stay searches for Colombo, in the last quarter of 2023, said Scapia, adding that Hong Kong followed with a 150% uptick in stay searches and Bangkok contributed to this travel crescendo with a 50% spike in stay searches in the last quarter of 2023.
Anil Goteti founder and CEO of Scapia said: “All of us have an inherent love for exploring new destinations, and developments like visa-free entries make these places even more accessible. The increase in travel searches is a positive sign, reflecting the growing enthusiasm among Indians to experience different cultures and adventures. The data indicate a tangible shift in travel patterns, thanks to the welcoming countries.”
Apart from the countries that announced visa-free entry for Indian tourists recently, other short and medium haul destinations that offer the same are Fiji, that permits a 120-day stay, Maldives and Mauritius, that allow a 90-day stay and Seychelles, a 30-day stay.
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