Indians spent $94 billion on domestic, int'l travel in 2018: Report

The travel and tourism industry is expected to grow by 13 per cent to $136 billion in 2021

Indians spent around $94 billion on 3 billion domestic and foreign trips in 2018, making the travel and tourism industry the seventh highest contributor to national GDP, said research on Tuesday.

The industry is expected to grow by 13 per cent to $136 billion in 2021, said the report called How Does India Travel by Bain & Company and Google India today.

The $136 billion spending will include a 12 per cent growth in transportation ($50 billion) and a 13 per cent growth in lodging ($21 billion) and consumption. This includes spending on shopping, recreation and food, which are set to grow at 13 percent ($65 billion) over the next three years. 

In 2018, Indians took roughly 1.8 billion trips, with both domestic and international travel growing 8 per cent over the last three years. Mid-market and budget hotels make up about half of the market. 

The report says that as more and more people come online, Indians will spend an additional $24 billion on online travel bookings over the next three years, a growth from 25 per cent in 2018 to 35 per cent in 2021.