Indian outbound market to GCC to jump 50% over next 4 years

ABU DHABI / Emirates Business

Around nine million Indians are expected to travel to the GCC by 2021, according
to the latest figures from
Colliers International, as
destinations throughout the Middle East prepare to showcase their latest offering at Arabian Travel Market, which will be held at Dubai World Trade Centre from April 22-25, 2018.
Reports from the UNWTO suggest the outbound Indian travel market will grow to 50 million by 2021, with the average spend per trip by Indian travellers also increasing — UNWTO statistics reveal India is among the top 12 source markets globally that showed double digit growth in expenditure in 2016 — visitor spend reached a total of $23.1 billion in 2016, up 15.1% year-on-year.
Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said: “Surprisingly, there are just over 65 million passport holders in India out of a population of around 1.3 billion. Still it is no surprise that the growth of the global travel industry is being led by Asian travellers and the Middle East region can expect to benefit, with Indian tourist arrivals expected to grow by CAGR of 7-8%. “We have witnessed this growth first hand with ATM 2017 welcoming 54% more visitors from India compared to 2014.” Over the five-year period from 2012 to 2016, the average percentage of Indian arrivals out of total arrivals in Kuwait was 15.4%; KSA, 10.6%; Bahrain, 17.6%; Oman, 11.2%; and the UAE 9.8%.

UAE, India discuss bilateral ties
NEW DELHI / WAM

Dr Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al-Banna, UAE Ambassador to India, met Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu and discussed with him issues of mutual concern to the UAE and India.
During the meeting, Dr Al-Banna affirmed that the trade and economic relations between the UAE and India are not only robust but also extensive and cover many sectors. “The UAE is one of India’s most important trading partners. Indians are prominent investors in the UAE, while India is an important export destination for UAE manufactured goods,” Dr Al-Banna said. “Regular exchanges would further strengthen the tr-
ade and investment ties
between the two countries.”