International travel is no longer restricted to the elite in Tier I cities. A study on the increase in outbound international tourist traffic from India in 2018 showed that many of these travelers are from Tier II cities. Read on to find out more about Indians travelling abroad.
In 2018, VFS Global processed 52.8 lakh visa applications from Indians. This marked an increase of 13% from the previous year. Interestingly a large percentage of these applications were made in Tire II cities like Chandigarh and Jalandhar.
This data goes to prove that international travel is no longer consider a luxury only for the upper-class elite.
The increase in international tourists from India is not something new. According to the Union Tourism Ministry, the number of Indians traveling abroad has been consistently increasing for almost 2 decades.
While only 44.2 lakh Indians traveled abroad in the year 2000, 2017 saw almost 2.4 crore Indians travel out of India. This includes Indians traveling abroad for holidays, work opportunities, higher studies etc.
According to a report by Expedia and CAPA Centre for Aviation, by 2025, an estimated 1.4 crore Indians will travel abroad solely for leisure purposes.
| Year | 2000 | 2016 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Travelers | 44.2 lakh | 2.2 crore | 2.4 crore |
Visa applications from metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad have grown steadily over the years.
Along with this, a large number of visa applications are being submitted in Tier II cities like Jalandhar, Chandigarh, Goa and Pondicherry.
The number of visa applications received from Jalandhar and Chandigarh rose by 66% and 54% respectively between 2017 and 2018.
| City | Jalandhar | Chandigarh | Goa | Pondicherry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| % Increase from 2017-2018 | 66% | 54% | 45% | 43% |
The maximum number of visa applications received in 2018 was for travel to Canada, Malaysia, the Schengen countries, Thailand, the USA and the UK.
Interestingly, India was not the only country to show an increase in outbound international tourist traffic.
Other countries that showed a significant increase in visa applications for 2018 included the Czech Republic, Estonia, Japan and Turkey.
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