India has moved up to be the third-largest source market for Thailand in 2024. A record 2.1 million Indians visited the Southeast Asian nation in 2024, nearly 30% more than 2023. The 2024 Indian arrival figures have also surpassed the pre-pandemic high of a little less than 2 million.
About 35.5 million tourists visited Thailand in 2024, according to estimates from the country’s ministry of tourism and sports. This was up from 28.2 million in 2023, and about 4 million short of the pre-pandemic high of almost 40 million. China was the top source market followed by Malaysia.
Indians continue to enjoy visa-free arrivals to Thailand after a visa waiver was announced in November 2023. This waiver was extended in May to continue till November, after which the government announced that Indian arrivals would continue to enjoy visa-free arrival “until further notice”.
Key Source in Southeast Asia: India was also a major contributor to Malaysia’s tourism between January and November last year. Over 1 million Indians visited the nation during the period, Skift has reported. This marked a 72% increase from 2023 and a 47% growth from 2019 levels. The surge was noted after Malaysia introduced visa-free entry for Indian travelers in December 2023. The 30-day visa exemption has now been extended till December 2026.
Vietnam has also been a preferred destination for Indian travelers. India was the sixth-largest tourism source for the country in 2024, according to data shared by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism on Wednesday.
Over 500,000 Indians visited the nation. “India recorded significant growth in the last few years, from 138,000 arrivals in 2022 to 501,000 in 2024, an increase of 2.6 times in just two years,” it said. India also recorded a 297% recovery from pre-Covid levels, it said.
Singapore is also looking at Indian tourists as a key market. In 2024, Indian visitors to the country crossed the 1 million mark in October, two months earlier than in 2023. Singapore Tourism Board had then said that it was expecting 1.2 million Indians to visit by 2024-end. It added that India was the third-largest source market for Singapore, recording an increase of 12%.
MakeMyTrip’s New Payment Option for International Flights
Online travel agency MakeMyTrip on Wednesday announced a new payment feature for international flights: Part Payment Option. The feature aims to allow users to get confirmed flight bookings by paying only 10-40% of the total fare upfront.
This will address a common pain point for travelers, especially large families or groups that might find it difficult to pay the entire amount upfront when booking an international flight, MakeMyTrip said in a statement.
It added that in the initial launch of the feature, it has been adopted by solo travelers, pairs, and families for long-haul and short-haul international flights. “The initial proportion of travelers using the part payment option organically to buy international tickets over INR 100,000 ($1,165) is significantly higher than the usual average,” it noted.
However, travelers would be required to make the balance payment before the travel date and within 45 days of making the booking. They will also only be able to modify their confirmed bookings after they complete the full payment.
This is the latest in MakeMyTrip’s efforts to capture a wide traveler base. In November last year, it introduced multi-currency payment options to allow users to make booking payments using the currency of their choice. “This feature simplifies payments in the currency of their choice for the Indian diaspora spread across the globe, as well as our international customers,” Rajesh Magow, co-founder and group CEO of MakeMyTrip, had said.
Royal Orchid’s Move to Capture Religious Tourists
Royal Orchid Hotels has signed a new property in Khatoo, Rajasthan. With 120 keys, Anantam Hotel & Resort is expected to open next month.
The property is located in a key pilgrimage city which is home to Shree Khatu Shyamji Temple and aims to capitalize on the growing trend of religious tourism. “Khatu Shyam Temple is one of North India’s fastest growing religious hubs and has witnessed a record influx of 2.5 billion tourists in 2023,” said Arjun Baljee, President of Royal Orchid Hotels Ltd.
Skift had earlier reported that in 2022, the number of domestic tourists who visited Indian pilgrimage sites was more than India’s population — 1.43 billion. This highlights a massive opportunity for religious tourism in India.
A KPMG report had noted that there has been a surge in this tourism segment post-pandemic in India. The Vaishno Devi temple in Jammu and Kashmir, for instance, is now visited by about 32,000 to 40,000 pilgrims a day, up from 10,000-15,000 daily visitors before Covid. A similar phenomenon has been observed at the Golden Temple in Amritsar and the Guruvayur temple in Kerala.
Akasa Air Appoints New Chief Operating Officer
Low-budget airline Akasa Air appointed Belson Coutinho as its new chief operating officer this week. In his position, Coutinho will look at the key operations of the airline to help it rank among the top 30 global carriers by 2030, Akasa said.
His area of responsibility will include the inflight services, airport services, maintenance and engineering, flight operations, and operational excellence. Apart from this, he will also oversee the Akasa Air Learning Academy, the airline said.
Coutinho has been a part of Akasa since its inception, and before this, he was the chief marketing and experience officer responsible for launching customer-focused initiatives.
TreeHouse Announces New Hotel in Karnataka
TreeHouse Hotels & Resorts has announced a new property in Karnataka’s Belgaum city. While it has not announced a specific timeline, the company said that TreeHouse Kambers will open “shortly”.
This is the latest development in a quick succession of expansion undertaken by the company. Last year, TreeHouse announced new properties in Ahmedabad in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh’s Hoshangabad, Hubli in Karnataka, and Sonipat, Haryana.
It also launched a new brand called Hi-way Motels to provide budget friendly accommodation options alongside highways and expressways. Through this, it looks to attract the growing market of road travelers.
Gulf Air Makes Changes For Flights to India in Summer
Bahrain’s national airline Gulf Air is working to refine its flight network into India. For this, the carrier is making adjustments for the upcoming summer 2025 season. Gulf Air said it would make reductions on some routes, while expanding on others.
The airline is expected to end its operations to Kerala’s Kozhikode in March, despite the fact that Kerala is a key source market from India for the Gulf region. It is also expected to reduce its flight frequency to Kochi to thrice a week from the current four weekly flights.
Meanwhile, Gulf Air is likely to increase its flight frequency to Goa’s Dabolim Airport to 7 times a week from the current four weekly flights. There is currently no other airline operating on the Goa-Bahrain sector. Flights to Bengaluru are also expected to double during the summer.
