Indians spend 94.8% of GDP contribution on leisure travel\, says World Tourism report
Indians are world leaders when it comes to spending on leisure tourism and travel and have beaten Mexico, Thailand, Spain, Turkey, US and China, among others, to emerge as global leaders according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Economic Impact 2019 report.
The WTTC Economic Impact, which represents the global private sector of travel and tourism, measured country-wise contribution of travel and tourism to GDP and found that while India spent 94.8% of its total GDP contribution to travel and tourism on leisure, countries like US and China were far behind at 71.3% and 81.4%, respectively. Mexico, Thailand, Spain and Brazil are the next biggest spenders on leisure after India.
In contrast, India spend just over 5% on work-related or business travel.
In 2018, travel and tourism contributed 9.2% of India’s GDP, with a total value of $247.3 billion.
In 2018, travel and tourism contributed 9.2% of India’s GDP, with a total value of $247.3 billion. The bulk of India’s leisure spending, however, was on domestic travel at 87%, while the remaining 13% was on international leisure travel.
The WTTC Economic Impact report for 2019 also says the Indian travel and tourism sector outpaced the global and regional growth rates in 2018. While the global sector averaged a growth rate of 3.9%, Asia grew by 6.4% and India by 6.7%. The travel industry also created 4.27 crore jobs for the Indian economy.
India, the WTTC report said, is home to the thirdlargest travel economy in Asia, behind only China and Japan, and is also the largest in South Asia. India’s largest inbound international markets were the US and Bangladesh, which accounted for 9% of all tourist arrivals in the country, followed by 7% from UK, and 2% from Canada and Sri Lanka.
At a time of falling employment levels in the country, tourism has also emerged as one of the biggest employment generators. The travel sector alone is responsible for 8.1% of employment in India, which translated to over 4 crore jobs in 2018.
Parthiv Patel, Nidhi Tanti & Kelvin Cheung Share Secrets For A Perfect Trip
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Achieving Travel Goals
23 Mar, 2018
From using apps to prepare their itinerary, to packing light and staying hydrated — here is how these achievers make their long-distance travels comfortable.
Parthiv Patel, Cricketer
23 Mar, 2018
“I carry my iPad whenever I am travelling. It has all my movies and music which are essential while travelling. One app which I find important nowadays is Uber. The app has made it easy to go around a new city. I also make it a point to drink a lot of water while travelling and adjust my sleepclock in advance according to the country I am visiting.”
Rahil Ansari, Head, Audi India
23 Mar, 2018
“My work perks involve frequent travel to Germany and within India. I prefer doing early check-in as it gives me the choice to pre-book my favourite seat on the aircraft. I pack light during business trips and always carry my Beats headphones as it’s my travel buddy. Even though there are apps to help me in a new city, I prefer engaging with people to help me connect with their city and experience the local culture. I’m also a fan of the Instagram app because of its quirky features.”
Nidhi Tanti, VP, Suzlon Energy
23 Mar, 2018
“I go through a number of apps while preparing for my trip, be it TripAdvisor or the Lonely Planet. But my favourite is Instagram. I prepare my bucket list of places to visit by scrolling through the photo and video sharing app and the stories that people write. It is usually a combination of some handles that I follow and posts which are put up by people in my circle who are travelling.”
Kelvin Cheung, F&B director, Aallia Hospitality
23 Mar, 2018
“I pack all my meals and snacks, since I am particular about nutrition and taste. I also pack my stuff according to the occasion, so I know exactly how many clothes I need and don’t over-pack. I also make sure to download my favourite podcasts before a flight and carry a travel-size moisturiser to reapply onboard so I don’t arrive at the destination with dehydrated skin. I survive on my Google Calendar, so I’m always on time for my flights and my team knows where I’ll be. Flight Tracker is also a great tool I use to track my loved ones when they are flying.”
(Image: Instagram/@chefkelvincheung)
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WTTC president and CEO Gloria Guevara said, “Over the last decade, the Indian travel and tourism sector has experienced tremendous growth with the sector now almost double the size it was in 2008 in terms of contribution to the GDP.
“The government’s ETourist Visa on Arrival (ETVoa) has had a very positive effect on increasing international tourism arrivals and could be made even more competitive with other destinations in the region in terms of pricing.”
Guevara also said India is among the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.
