Even as airlines continue to reroute flights around West Asia following the war earlier this year, Indian travellers don’t appear to have changed their holiday plans.
While the disruption raised short-term concerns, longer journey times and higher airfares have not dented overseas travel. Fresh data shared with Mint by tourism authorities across major markets such as Thailand, Australia, Singapore, the US and South Africa show demand has barely missed a beat. If anything, it is prompting more destinations to compete harder for Indian tourists.
Travel momentum
India’s own numbers tell a similar story.
According to the ministry of tourism’s latest Tourism Snapshot Report, Indian nationals made a provisional 32.71 million overseas departures in 2025, up 5.9% from 30.89 million in 2024.
Leisure remained the biggest reason Indians travelled abroad, accounting for 42.5% of overseas departures in 2024. Based on 2025 departures, that translates to roughly 13.9 million leisure trips last year.
The momentum has continued this year.
During the January-March quarter of 2026, India recorded 19.07 million international passenger movements, comprising 9.77 million departing passengers and 9.30 million arriving passengers, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
The UAE remained the largest international destination with 2.50 million departing passengers during the quarter, followed by Thailand (0.81 million), Singapore (0.74 million), Vietnam (0.20 million) and the United States (0.15 million).
The ministry’s data also shows accounted for 43.5% of overseas departures in 2025, while air travel represented 98% of all departures.
Travel companies say the bigger story is that India has become the market everyone wants.
“Everything from Brand USA to Morocco and Saudi, Australia and New Zealand are among the tourism boards taking a focused approach to doubling the figures in the travel segment. Outbound travel is no longer confined to standard hotel and sightseeing bookings; it now extends into wellness, culinary, sports and experiential tourism. In the post-war period, all eyes have turned to India, replacing Russia and China markets,” said Radhika Khanijo, founder of luxury travel company Welgrow Travels.
East leads
India continues to emerge as a fast-growing source market for Japan, which recorded an all-time high of 315,100 Indian visitors in 2025, up from 233,000 in 2024, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.
Similarly, Thailand welcomed 2.49 million Indian visitors in 2025, making India one of its top three source markets. Indian spent 93.86 billion baht ($2.8 billion) during the year.
Between 1 January and 20 June 2026, 1.19 million Indians had already travelled to Thailand, and the country expects around 2.5 million Indian visitors this year, generating an estimated 93.24 billion baht in tourism revenue.
“India is one of our top source markets, and the momentum has continued into 2026,” a Tourism Authority of Thailand official said.
South Korea’s Indian visitor numbers also climbed to nearly 200,000 in 2025, up 13% year-on-year from 176,668 arrivals in 2024, as demand for Korean culture, entertainment and travel continued to gather pace.
Spending more
Australia, meanwhile, is seeing Indians spend more—not just travel more.
The country welcomed close to 450,000 Indian visitors in the year ended March 2026, up from 443,000 in 2024. During the year, Indians spent A$2.5 billion ($1.61 billion) on their trips.
India’s outbound market is projected to grow from $18.8 billion in 2024 to $55.4 billion by 2034, at a CAGR of 11.4%, according to a FICCI-Nangia report.
Nishant Kashikar, country manager, India and Gulf for Tourism Australia, said Indian arrivals have grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.3% since 2010, compared with Australia’s overall inbound tourism growth of 8%.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s India Economic Strategy projects 1.2 million Indian visitors by 2035.
Beyond metros
Closer home, Singapore received more than 1.21 million Indian visitors in 2025, with nearly half a million arrivals between January and May 2026.
Markus Tan, regional director, India, Middle East, South Asia and Africa at the Singapore Tourism Board, told Mint that families are increasingly travelling alongside millennials and Gen Z tourists looking for neighbourhood experiences, local culture and nightlife.
The tourism board is also expanding its outreach beyond India’s metros into tier-I cities to attract first-time and repeat visitors.
For travel companies, the changing profile of Indian travellers is becoming just as important as the rising numbers.
Abraham Alapatt, president and group head for marketing, service quality and innovation at Thomas Cook (India) Ltd and SOTC Travel, said rising disposable incomes, better connectivity, easier visa processes and a growing appetite for experiential travel continue to fuel outbound demand.
South Africa welcomed close to 70,000 Indian visitors in 2025 and about 13,000 in the first quarter of 2026, keeping India among its top 10 source markets globally.
“The market benefits from strong outbound travel momentum, rising disposable incomes, an increasing appetite for long-haul holidays and growing awareness of South Africa as a diverse, year-round destination,” said Mitalee Karmarkar, marketing manager for MEISEA, South African Tourism.
The US remained the second-largest overseas source market in 2025, excluding Canada and Mexico, with 2.06 million Indian visitors.
Between January and May 2026, India ranked as the third-largest overseas source market. India remains its most important overseas source market.