Indian visitors to GCC to increase 81% by 2024

The number of Indian tourists travelling to the GCC is expected to increase 81 percent from 5.4 million in 2018 to 9.8 million in 2024, growing at a Compound Annual Growth Rate, CAGR, of 10 percent, according to the latest data published ahead of Arabian Travel Market, ATM, 2020.

As destinations throughout the Middle East prepare to showcase their latest offering at ATM 2020, to be held in April 2020, Colliers International predicts more than 20 percent of India’s total outbound market will travel to the GCC by 2024 – with business, place of work and leisure underpinning this demand., Emirate’s News Agency (WAM) reported.

"This 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 as the region prepares to welcome an estimated increase of 81 percent by 2024, providing a significant boost to the region’s tourism industry as we look ahead," Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said.

On average, Indian travelers spent approximately $1,100 per trip made to the GCC in 2018, according to the latest data from Euro monitor International, with business and experience-seeking tourists likely to spend at least 15 percent more per trip.