The Indian outbound market

India is ranked 25^th amongst the world’s markets in terms of expenditure on international travel. Outbound travel has been growing at a fast rate in recent years, in line with the booming Indian economy and increased personal affluence.

Holiday preferences

The most popular type of holiday abroad is touring holidays.  Visiting friends and family is also a major driver of tourism, and Indian travellers will often combine both in a longer holiday.  A distinctive characteristic of the Indian market is the inclusion of children and often grandparents in the travel party.  The choice of destinations available to Indian holidaymakers is continually growing and exploring their own diverse country is also popular.  

Perceptions of Scotland

Scotland is perceived positively by Indian people, whose main perceptions of the country are its beautiful scenery (very different from India) and the special cultural aspects such as kilts, whisky and castles.  There is however a lack of detailed knowledge about Scotland as a holiday destination, and it is often considered as a secondary destination during a longer trip to the UK.

Marketing activities

To increase the profile and understanding of Scotland as a holiday destination, VisitScotland works directly with the travel trade, who play a major role in this market, advising Indians on destinations and putting together trip itineraries.  In 2007 an online education programme for the travel trade was launched, which currently has just over 200 agents engaged in it.

Upcoming activities targeting the Indian market include partnering with SDI and whisky distillers for the Whisky Live event in New Delhi in February 2008, and hosting corporate targets along with SDI at the Johnnie Walker Challenge in New Delhi.  In addition, we intend to host around 20 buyers from India for Expo this year.

We also work closely with VisitBritain to increase the reach of our own activities and to benefit from their activities in promoting the whole of Britain to the Indian market.

To find out about our marketing activities in India and how you can become involved, please visit our Marketing Opportunities section.

Useful links:

Profiles of the Indian market are also available from VisitBritain and the European Travel Commission

The Pacific Asia Travel Association publishes reports on the Indian market:

Travel Trends Today – a news site with an outbound travel section.