India's growing middle class poised to transform travel landscape
middle class is its future.” That seems to be coming true, if not fully, at least partially. India’s growing middle class is set to be in the pilot’s seat, steering change in the way it travels.
Globally, the middle class is already the largest spender. India is expected to become the fourth largest global spender on travel by 2030, and by then the middle class, with increased purchasing power, will make 47% of its population, say reports by Booking.com-McKinsey & Company, and People Research on India’s Consumer Economy-India’s Citizen Environment (PRICE-ICE), respectively.
A middle-class Indian household has been defined by the latter as one earning between `5 lakh and `30 lakh annually (based on 2020-21 prices).
India’s total travel expenditure is set to touch $410 billion in 2030, according to “How India Travels”, the report by Booking.com and McKinsey. In 2019, when the tourism industry, worldwide, had its best year, before Covid-19 hit, India’s total travel expenditure was just $150 billion.
India’s youth will be another factor that will make the country irresistible for global tourism players.
India’s median age is 28.2 years, more than 10 years younger than that of major economies. According to the UN World Tourism Organization, India is one of the top three fastest growing outbound tourism markets.
PROXIMITY MATTERS
Flight fare, food and local experiences are all factors that Indian travellers consider while choosing a destination, but distance pips them all.
Seventy per cent of travellers choose nearby destinations, with the Middle East accounting for one-third, says a McKinsey report, “From India to the World: Unleashing the Potential of India’s Tourists”, released in November last year. The UAE has been
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