Nations of Central Asia and Vietnam are becoming preferred tourist destinations for Indians

Central Asian countries and Vietnam are becoming popular destinations for Indian tourists due to improved flight connectivity, easier visa processes, and competitive pricing. This trend is reshaping India's outbound tourism landscape, with significant increases in passenger traffic to these destinations.

In a recent turn of events, countries in Central Asia and Vietnam are emerging as new favorite destinations among Indians; as per statistics and trends. This can be attributed to several factors such as better flight connections, ease in visa procedures, and lower costs of traveling.

The sharp YoY rise in passenger traffic on direct flights from India indicates that the DGCA is optimistic about the second half of the 2023-24 fiscal year for several countries. Azerbaijan registered 750 per cent increase, while Georgia recorded nearly 200 per cent rise in the drunk driving incidents. Other Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan also experienced a significant increase in their growth rates, with 115%, 108%, and 70% respectively.

These destinations, which previously used to attract only the select travelers from India, can now accommodate more people. The new routes have been opened up by IndiGo, India’s leading low-cost airline that began operating direct flights to Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Georgia in 2023, which have made these new routes considerably cheaper.

This trend has been facilitated by visa policies, which have opened the doors to immigration to the developed countries for the developing countries’ citizens. The visa policies of Kazakhstan are lenient for Indian nationals and allow 14 days of visa-free stay for Indians; other countries like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, and Vietnam also provide e-Visa facilities for Indians.

It is important to point out that these destinations provide a value proposition that is different from traditional resorts. In a similar vein, the Head of Strategy at Cleartrip, Karthick Prabu, noted that there was a “double-digit increase compared to pre-pandemic levels” for bookings to these countries. According to Thomas Cook (India), there has been a demand rise of a whopping 300-600% these “almost-borderless travel destinations. ”

These are the places where one can get a ‘European look’ feel at a throw which is almost equivalent to what it costs to holiday in other domestic tourist attraction areas in India. Along with this, travel being becoming more and more an impulsive activity in the country due to the rising class, has also added to the demand.

In light of this trend, airlines are upping their services. IndiGo is offered daily flights to Tashkent, Almaty, and Tbilisi from August onward though before it was operating only 3-4 flights in a week. There is also the New Delhi – Ho Chi Minh City service that Air India has introduced to tap into the rising trend of travel to Vietnam.

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This new trend in travelling is a clear indication that Indian tourists are gradually adopting new preferences when it comes to travel and tourism, where they consider factors such as accessibility, affordable prices, and cultural experience. These new emerging destinations are gradually making a shift in the outbound tourism landscape as seen from India.