Suman Billa, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, emphasised the need for fundamental reforms to boost India’s tourism sector. “We need to widen the infrastructure status, which will provide lower interest rates and longer repayment tenures for hotel properties. This needs to be addressed through coordination between the Ministry of Finance and the RBI. Currently, this is limited to destinations with populations under 1 million. We need to expand this, as without altering the capital structure, investments from private equity and funds will not flow in.” 

According to HVS Anarock, November 2024 saw most major markets record an increase in Average Room Rates (ARR) compared to the previous year, except Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Mumbai led the market with the highest ARR of INR 13,500-15,000, while Hyderabad posted the most notable growth, with a 28-30% year-on-year increase. 

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, said, “By 31 March 2025, we should achieve the same arrival figures we had in March 2020. Thereafter, we can focus on increasing those numbers further. Hotel rates should stabilise, airfare should stabilise, and the Government of India should immediately begin promoting tourism abroad through both print and electronic media to attract more business.” 

As per ixigo, domestic airfares to popular mountain destinations have surged due to rising demand. Flights from Mumbai to Dehradun saw a 13% increase in fares, while New Delhi to Srinagar fares jumped by 18%. Jammu emerged as a hot destination, with bookings up by 147% year-over-year (YoY). 

Julia Simpson, President and CEO, WTTC said, “We are keen to talk to the Indian government to ensure that it is reaching out to the aviation sector to help produce more sustainable aviation fuel because we can’t really do tourism without aviation. We need the aviation sector. We will have more people travelling by air and we need to do that more sustainably. And the only real opportunity right now is through sustainable aviation fuel. So we really encourage the Indian government to incentivize its production.”

According to ForwardKeys, in 2024, inbound travel to India shows a promising recovery trend, with a 9% increase compared to 2023 and a 5% increase above pre-pandemic level in 2019.  Key regional drivers of this growth are the Americas and Europe, which continue to lead the recovery.  The Americas demonstrate a strong demand for India as a destination, growing 7% year-on-year and 22% compared to 2019. 

Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo, revealed a surge in travel during the wedding season. “Indian travellers are on the move this wedding season, with around 35 lakh weddings expected across India between 23 November and 15 December 2024. Flight bookings to major metro hubs and top leisure destinations like Delhi, Mumbai, Srinagar, Jaipur, and Goa are seeing a strong 70-80% YoY increase,” he said. 

VisitBritain is hosting ‘Destination Britain Middle East and Asia’ trade mission for the first time in India from 20-22 November in Bengaluru. The event brings together UK tourism suppliers and over 70 buyers from India, the GCC, Japan, and South Korea. The mission aims to drive visitor spending across the UK by showcasing Britain’s tourism products and regional offerings. 

Pasang Dorjee Sona, Tourism Minister, Arunachal Pradesh, said, “We are still in the process of framing the tourism policy. The government is committed to fostering sustainable tourism. While inviting people to explore our natural treasures, we must also protect our fragile ecology. This balance is a major focus as we develop the policy. The policy is not finalised yet, but we are optimistic about having it ready by the end of next month.” 

Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director, Tourism Australia, said, “Inbound aviation capacity between Australia and India recovered quickly after international travel resumed and now sits well above 2019 levels. By December 2024, aviation capacity will be 333% of what it was in December 2019, with 26 flights per week between the two countries, compared to just 8 flights per week in 2019.”