So ran the headline on a piece in a recent edition of The Economist. I have added the interrogative. They are visiting, not conquering.
Thirty years ago, I started a three-year research contract to look for ecotourism in African and Asian national parks. At the time, extravagant claims were being made for the beneficial impacts of this form of tourism on local communities living adjacent to protected areas and the conservation of wildlife and habitats. For the record, we found no evidence of any significant difference between the impacts of ecotourists and any other kind of tourists.
In India, we worked at the Keoladeo National Park at Bharatpur in Rajasthan. Back then, domestic tourism in India was growing fast, and the Keoladeo, originally a colonial duck shoot, was known as a bird park devoid of dangerous wildlife. The National Park Warden was concerned about the increasing use of the reserve as a park for picnicking. Twenty years later, I was there on holiday with my camera, like everyone else, in pursuit of that perfect bird photo. I was the poor cousin. The Indian birders had much superior kits, and there was no sign of picnickers.
As the graph below shows domestic tourism has grown rapidly in India.
Number of domestic tourist visits in India from 2000 to 2022 (in millions) © Statista
This domestic tourism growth has been driven, and continues to be driven, by growing prosperity and the emergence of a strong Indian middle class with means and motivation to travel.
There has also been a significant increase in outbound tourism driven by rising incomes, easing visa restrictions and the growth of budget airline IndiGo. The number of Indian passports has grown from 52 million in 2014 to 93 million. In ten years, the numbers have nearly doubled.
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Number of departures of Indian nationals from 2000 to 2022 (in millions) © Statista
Overseas spending by Indian travellers tripled between 2010 and 2023. The Indian middle class is expected to be twice as big by 2047. McKinsey expects the number of international departures by Indian tourists to reach 80 or 90 million by 2040. Political constraints make visas difficult for Indians wanting to travel to Europe. Thailand and Malaysia have suspended visa requirements for Indians and Abu Dhabi and Dubai are recruiting Bollywood stars as brand ambassadors. Thailand estimated that Indians generated $1.8 billion or around 0.4% of Thai GDP in 2023.
The Economist reports that the “Indian passport is a weak document, providing visa-free or equivalent entry to just 58 countries.” Iran, Kenya and Sri Lanka have followed Thailand and Malaysia and abolished visas. When Azerbaijan launched an e-visa for Inidans in 2017, annual arrivals tripled in the first year and then doubled to 160,000. Europe is much less friendly. The Economist reports that 19% of Indian applications for British visa applications were denied in 2023 and 15% of Schengen visa applications.
The availability of direct flights has helped. The Economist reports that 31 Indian cities now offer international flights to 322 destinations, and there were just 23 airports providing flights to 272 countries in 2015. As The Economist points out, “as India itself gets pricier, other places start to look like a bargain. At peak times, Thailand offers better value than Goa”
