The Indian city of Delhi is expected to see the largest rise in inbound arrivals in Asia this year, according to research for World Travel Market London – the leading global event for the travel industry – released today (Tuesday 7 November) at WTM London.
The Top 100 City Destination Ranking WTM London Edition, by Euromonitor International, estimates the city will see 2.8 million more inbound arrivals in 2017 – the biggest growth in Asia in absolute terms.
Delhi will see numbers soar by 37.7% year-on-year to a total of 10.3 million, says the report.
Although Delhi will see the most in absolute terms, the fastest growth rate in Asia this year will be seen in Indonesia, where Denpasar – the gateway to Bali – will see inbound arrivals soar by 52%, followed by Jakarta (48.5%).
The report says Indonesian cities are expected “to benefit from a Chinese influx, boosted by the waiving of visa requirements”.
Delhi will see the third fastest growth rate (37.7%), followed by two other Indian cities: Agra (26%) and Mumbai (23.5%).
The growth in India is largely thanks to the launch in 2014 of e-visas, says the report.
And the expansion is set to continue, with Delhi predicted to welcome 12.9 million inbound arrivals in 2020 and 18.8 million in 2015.
India also performs strongly on a global stage, as it has six cities in the top 100 ranking.
Delhi is 21st, closely followed by Mumbai in 22nd place. Others are Agra (35th); Chennai (45th); Jaipur (48th) and Kolkata (89th).
The report further highlights how the Indian economy is heavily dependent on cash transactions – but India’s cities are “driving a cashless revolution”, with the push towards digital payments coming from governments, companies and consumers.
Mobile payment app PayTM (Pay Through Mobile) is one of the companies that has been successful in making cashless payments easier for Indians, helping them to buy travel products without cash.
In September 2016, PayTM launched a booking feature for railway tickets and in less than a year, this “travel outsider” had become the second largest retailer of rail tickets in the country.
Major online travel agents such as MakeMyTrip and ClearTrip have followed suit by investing in mobile wallets, says the report.
WTM London, Senior Director, Simon Press said: “India Tourism was the Premier Partner for WTM London last year, as the country promoted its ‘Incredible India’ brand to the world.
“We are heartened to see that the country’s tourism business is doing so incredibly well.
“It’s fascinating to read in this Euromonitor report how modern technology, such as e-visas and mobile payments, are boosting the inbound tourism and domestic travel sectors.”
-ends-
About World Travel Market
World Travel Market (WTM) portfolio comprises five leading B2B events across four continents generating more than $7bn of industry deals. The five events are:
WTM London, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend three-day exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Around 51,500 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international media visit ExCeL – London every November generating around £2.8 billion of travel industry contracts. http://london.wtm.com/. Next event: 6-8 Nov 2017 – London.
International Golf Travel Market (IGTM) now in its 20th edition, is the meeting place for the global B2B golf travel community. More than 600 golf tourism suppliers join 350 pre-qualified buyers and 100 international press for four days of unmissable pre-scheduled appointments, exclusive networking opportunities and invaluable industry and trend updates. Taking place in a different destination every year, IGTM brings together 1,400 golf tourism professionals from over 65 countries. http://igtm.wtm.com/. Next event: 11-14 Dec 2017 – Cannes.
World Travel Market Latin America now in its fifth edition attracts about 9,000 unique senior executives. The event generates US$ 370 million of new business. Taking place in Sao Paulo Brazil, this show attracts a global audience to meet and shape the direction of the travel industry. More than 7,000 unique visitors attend the event to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry news. http://latinamerica.wtm.com/. Next event: 3-5 April 2018 – Sao Paulo.
World Travel Market Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. Nearly 5,000 travel industry professionals attend Africa’s leading inbound and outbound travel and tourism market. WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, media, pre-scheduled appointments, on-site networking, evening functions and invited travel trade visitors. http://africa.wtm.com/. Next event: 18-20 April 2018 – Cape Town.
About Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading, international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. ATM 2017 attracted almost 40,000 industry professionals, agreeing deals worth US$2.5bn over the four days. The 24th edition of ATM showcased over 2,500 exhibiting companies across 12 halls at Dubai World Trade Centre, making it the largest ATM in its 24-year history. www.arabiantravelmarketwtm.com Next event 22-25 April 2018 – Dubai.
About Reed Exhibitions
Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events business, enhancing the power of face to face through data and digital tools at over 500 events a year, in more than 30 countries, attracting more than 7m participants.
About Reed Travel Exhibitions
Reed Travel Exhibitions is the world’s leading travel and tourism event’s organiser with a growing portfolio of more than 22 international travel and tourism trade events in Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Our events are market leaders in their sectors, whether it is global and regional leisure travel trade events, or specialist events for meetings, incentives, conference, events (MICE) industry, business travel, luxury travel, travel technology as well as golf, spa and ski travel. We have over 35 years’ experience in organising world-leading travel exhibitions.