Manpreet Bindra, President, FCM Meetings and Events said, “The global M!CE market size, in terms of revenue, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.6 per cent from 2022 to 2030 to reach USD1,563.3 billion.”   

As per ‘Vision 2047: Indian Hotel Industry’ report by the Hotel Association of India (HAI), Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in India are projected to increase to 15 million by 2024, and touch 25 million by 2030. It is further projected to grow attracting 100 million tourists by 2047. 

According to tourism statistics report by MOT, Indian departures during January-June 2023 were 1,32,08,837. 42% of this travel was for leisure and holidays with the percentage share of the top 5 source countries being UAE, Saudai Arabia, USA, Thailand and Singapore.   

Air India Express (AIX) will add 50 Boeing 737 Max aircraft to its fleet by December 2024. This will help the airline grow its existing West Asia network and launch new domestic and international routes, including those to Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, and the Maldives.

WelcomHotel by ITC Hotels, Rama International, Aurangabad, will host the 38th IATO Annual Convention in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, from 29 September-2 Oct. The theme of this year’s convention is “Inbound Tourism and Emerging sustainable trends”.

Under MOT’s campaign “India Says I Do”, around 25 key destinations were selected to explore how India fits into their wedding goals and captures the essence of India’s grandeur. It also aims to explore new avenues and scale tourism in India to new heights.

HAI has presented ‘Vision 2047 – Indian Hotel Industry-Challenges & the Road Ahead’ to V Vidyavathi, Tourism Secretary. It highlights that direct contribution of hotel industry to GDP was $40 bn in 2022, expected to reach $68 bn by 2027, and $1 tn by 2047.

UP tourism is offering substantial discounts on stamp fees for property leasing and registry. Investment of ₹500 cr in a five-star hotel will lead to rebates of upto ₹40 cr. Also, special incentives are being provided for hiring female staff and substantial number of employees.

Amid visa woes, Germany has earmarked an investment of about ₹4.5 cr on marketing in India to be a preferred destination amongst Indian tourists. To address the lingering visa-related concerns, Germany is making its visa procedures smooth, and reducing the processing time which currently spans up to eight weeks.

Manoj Saraf, MD, Gainwell Travel, said that Indian cruise traveller have evolved and are now amongst the top sailors in Asia – Pacific region. “From 3 nights, they have now moved to much longer and more experiential itineraries,” he said.