NEW DELHI: The UAE remained the leading travel destination for Indian nationals in 2024, followed by Saudi Arabia, the US, Thailand, Singapore, the UK, Qatar, Canada, Kuwait and Oman. Together, these top 10 countries accounted for approximately 71.1% of all Indian Nationals’ Departures (INDs) during the year.The data, part of the India Tourism Data Compendium 2025 released by the ministry of tourism, shows that overall, Indian nationals travelled abroad primarily for leisure and recreational purposes (42.5%), followed closely by visits related to the Indian diaspora (34.6%). Business and professional travel accounted for 14.9% of total departures, while pilgrimage (3.9%), education (2.4%) and other purposes (1.4%) comprised the remaining share.
“INDs from India have shown a strong upward trend over the past three decades, rising from 1.9 million in 1991 to 30.8 million in 2024, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7%,” it is stated in the compendium.
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While the Covid-19 pandemic caused a decline of nearly 73% in travel in 2020, a strong recovery began as restrictions eased, with departures rising by 152.6% in 2022 and surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching 27.8 million – a 29% year-on-year increase. In 2024, India continued its upward trajectory, recording growth of 10.7% over the previous year.Higher disposable incomes, improved air connectivity and greater exposure to global destinations are among the factors that contributed to Indian nationals travelling abroad in greater numbers.The data on traveller profiles shows that in 2024, Indian nationals travelling abroad were predominantly from the working-age population, with the 25-34 age group accounting for the highest share (27.4%), followed closely by the 35-44 age group (24.5%). As far as gender distribution is concerned, while females accounted for 34.1% of travellers in 2024, males made up the remaining 65.8%.If one looks at the data on destination countries visited by Indian nationals for the years 2019, 2023 and 2024, all three years saw the UAE ranked first. In 2024, approximately 7.8 million Indians travelled to the UAE, accounting for 25.2% of total departures – the figure has seen a steady increase, being 6.3 million in 2019 and 7.2 million in 2023.Saudi Arabia maintained its second position, attracting 3.4 million Indians in 2024, up from 3 million in 2023.The US ranked third across all three years, with 2.1 million departures in 2024. However, its percentage share declined slightly from 7.2% in 2019 and 7.3% in 2023 to 6.9% in 2024, despite growth in absolute numbers. Travel to Thailand, which held fourth position, witnessed revival in 2024 with 1.9 million departures, as against 1.4 million in 2023.
