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India

See the latest market data for India – including traveller visits and spend, length of stay, behaviours and preferences.

India

Travellers from India made 21.8 million outbound visits in 2019, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$22.9 billion.

In 2022, the UK welcomed 516,484 visits from India. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £764.32 million, with an average spend of £1,480 per person.

Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.

Visitor characteristics

  • In 2022, there were almost more than twice as many male than female visitors from India. Two-in-three visits were made by Indian residents aged 25-54 years old.

  • 33% of holiday visitors (excluding British expats) are making a repeat visit to Britain (within ten years).

  • Just over half of the visits from India to Britain are made by people who reside in the Maharashtra and Delhi states.

  • 86% of departing Indians (excluding British expats) say they are ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a visit, above the 82% average across all markets.

Explore the inbound data in full

Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Please click on the button below and select the country you are interested in.

Perceptions of Britain in the Indian market

  • Those in India have a generally positive view of Britain. According to the 2022 Anholt Nation Brands Index, they ranked Britain fifth for its nation brand among 60 nations overall, fourth for ‘culture’ and fifth for ‘people’.

  • For Indian respondents, the cultural products or services they most expect to be produced in Britain are ‘films’, ‘museums’ and ‘modern design’.

  • Indian respondents expect that a trip to Britain would be ‘exciting’ and ‘educational’.

Global context

Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.

Measure

2019

International tourism expenditure (US$bn)

22.9

Global rank for international tourism expenditure

15

Number of outbound visits (m)

21.8

Most visited destination

United Arab Emirates

Most visited destination in Western Europe

France

Key demographic and economic data

Measure

2023

Population (m)

1,433.3

GDP per capita PPP (US$)

7,841

Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)

5.7

Annual GDP growth (%)

5.6

Caring for visitors

  • Family is extremely important in Indian life. Visitors will often ask for family suites or interconnecting rooms.

  • The use of the ‘Namaste’, a greeting with folded hands, is usually appreciated among Indian guests. It is best to wait for your guest to extend their first to shake it.

  • Many Indians are vegetarian and teetotallers, and it is vital that a good variety of vegetarian options are made available on menus.

  • Leisure visitors from India are less likely than those from the average market to use a credit card while in Britain.

  • Whilst many visitors from India speak good English, some may have issues understanding slang or accents.

The leisure and travel trade

  • The travel trade changes slowly in India. It still plays a pivotal role in booking outbound travel while online booking is mainly popular for domestic travel. Digital sources are used mostly for travel inspiration and destination information.

  • Brochures are planned and produced in December or January. Discussions should ideally begin one year in advance, but can still occur in October or November as last-minute itinerary changes are common.

  • Telephone contact and face-to-face interaction is appreciated, as well as the provision of brochures.

Access to Britain from India

The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.

Measure

2023

Weekly aircraft departures

138

Weekly seat capacity

36,060

Airports with direct routes in India

10

Airports with direct routes in Britain

4

  • Of all the airlines operating the India to Britain route in 2023, British Airways and Air India served the most departing seats, with a combined share of 71%.

  • In 2023, the routes connecting Delhi and Mumbai to London Heathrow served the most departing seats, with a combined share of 72%.

  • The highest rate of flight departures in 2023 are set to take place in October to December.

  • In 2023, seat capacity for the full year is set to exceed pre-COVID levels (2019) by 34%.

  • The current reduced Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for India is £87.

Further resources

India Market Profile 2021

Download (5.74 MB)

India Market Snapshot.pdf

Download (1.04 MB)

India Aviation Profile

Download (2.51 MB)

India COVID-19 Travel Sentiment

Download (481.62 KB)

Where visitors from India to the UK reside in their own country

Download (157.06 KB)

How Indian travellers use social media on holidays compared with travellers from other countries

Download (793.52 KB)

Indian Visa Research

Download (1.3 MB)

Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for Indian visitors

Download (2.45 MB)

How we source this information

We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data come from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.

Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed. 

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