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Indian tourists to raise GCC hotel occupancy by 10.8m in 5 yrs – Report

Indian tourists to raise GCC hotel occupancy by 10.8m in 5 yrs – Report
Indian tourists to raise GCC hotel occupancy by 10.8m in 5 yrs – Report

Mubasher: The number of Indian travellers to the GCC region is expected to add 10.8 million hotel rooms in the next five years, according to data published before Arabian Travel Market 2019 (ATM).

Indian tourists worldwide are projected to reach 22.5 million by the end of this year, while reports from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) forecast a 122% growth to 50 million by 2022, according to an official statement.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are forecast to witness a 6% rise in Indian visitors by 2022, according to a statement.

The latest research conducted by Colliers International, ATM’s official research partner, expected that around 9 million of Indians, representing 37% of the Asian country’s total outbound market, are set to visit the GCC by 2022, the statement added.

Indian tourists, will visit the region for various purposes including leisure and business, are ranked among the world’s highest spenders, as the visitor’s expenses are expected to hit $45 billion by 2022, up from $23 billion this year.

“Despite recent weak Rupee exchange rates, which have seen the Rupee lose around 14% of its value against the US dollar over the last 12 months, the Indian outbound market has continued to grow at an average annual growth rate of 10-12% over the last seven years,” Exhibition director ME, ATM Danielle Curtis said.

Dubai welcomed more than 1 million Indian tourists in the first half of 2018, rising 3% from the year-ago period.

During the full-year 2017, the UAE hosted 2.3 million Indian visitors, representing about 13% of the nation’s annual visitors, while the number is forecast to rise at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7% to 2022.

Colliers International’s research further indicated that Saudi Arabia will witness a 7% increase in number of Indian tourists, while Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman will see a 6% rise each in the period between 2018 and 2022.

“Supporting this demand, in the UAE alone, there are currently 1,065 weekly flights to India corresponding to 130,000 seats per week, meanwhile, on-going bilateral talks are continuing to take place to increase airline frequency between India and all GCC countries,” Curtis added.

ATM will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) from 28 April until 1 May 2019.

“The influx of Indian visitors to the GCC shows no sign of abating, with every reason to believe India will maintain its position as a top source market, moving forward,” Curtis said.