On the occasion of 92nd Anniversary of EgyptAir, Amr Ali, Country Manager, EgyptAir, said, “Indian market is very crucial to us but instead of expanding we are focusing to stabilise the current operations in India. We will continue to monitor the Indian market and the traffic between India – Egypt and will introduce new routes at right time. Currently, our aim is to increase the traffic between Cairo and Delhi and enhance the options of cultural tourism, beach tourism, and wedding tourism between the two countries.”  

Akasa Air Co-Founder Aditya Ghosh said, “If you convert one day’s rail traffic to air, India would need 500 more aircraft. To maintain current growth, India will need 75 more planes next year. The US has 1,400 airports, while India has only 150-200, highlighting the immense potential and need to double the number of airports in India.”  

According to a study by Amadeus, corporate travel managers plan to invest 13% more in technology than they did in 2023, while Business Travel Agencies, Online Travel Agencies and Leisure Travel Agencies plan similar changes. On average, payments leaders intend to increase investment by 12% over the coming 12 months. Airports, however, intend to increase technology investment by 17%, which is larger than any other area of the travel industry covered by the study. 

Myong Kil Yun, Regional Director for India and SAARC Countries at the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), expressed enthusiasm about India’s momentum, targeting a record-breaking 200,000 Indian travellers this year. Recently, they conducted a series of roadshows in Bengaluru and Mumbai, showcasing diverse experiences from cultural performances to leisure and MICE opportunities, aiming to achieve this ambitious goal.

Booking.com unveiled how Indian travellers plan their trips in Travel Trends for 2024. According to the report, 61% of travellers book flights and 37% book event tickets well in advance. Car rentals, restaurant reservations, and even taxis are either booked along with the accommodation or left until closer to the trip date.   

Dato’ Muzafar Shah Mustafa, High Commissioner of Malaysia in India, said, “We hope that the visa-free program we’re offering to India will be reciprocated by the Indian government, granting visa-free access for Malaysians. There’s significant interest among Malaysians to explore India, and such reciprocity would be greatly appreciated.” 

Skyscanner’s report finds that nearly 3 in 4 Gen Z travellers meticulously plan their first international trips, with 76% arranging itineraries and 73% booking return tickets in advance. Over half (51%) prioritize budget-friendly flights and accommodations, for their first overseas trip, indicating a strong emphasis on financial planning among this generation. 

The European Union (EU) has adopted a new visa system called the “cascade” regime specifically for Indian nationals. Indian citizens can now be issued long-term, multi-entry Schengen visas valid for two years. This is a significant improvement compared to potentially shorter-validity visas offered previously. To qualify for the two-year visa, applicants must have obtained and lawfully used two Schengen visas within the previous three years. 

Naveen Kundu, MD, Ebixcash Travel has said that the travel corporate tax paid by corporations in India has grown by 160% over the last 10 years. Net direct tax collection has surged by 160% to ₹16,63,686 crores, indicating increased profitability among corporations. With the corporate tax rate slashed to 25% from the previous range of 30-35% announced in 2015, business houses now have an additional 10% from their theoretical revenues to allocate towards employee expenditures.  

Malaysia plans to build Southeast Asia’s largest integrated circuit design park and will offer incentives including tax breaks, subsidies and visa exemption fees to attract global tech companies and investors, the government said. Malaysia is aiming to turn Kuala Lumpur into a regional digital hub, with the goal of being among the top 20 countries in the global startup ecosystem index by 2030.