Author: Disha Shah Ghosh - Mumbai

Mauritius continues to strengthen its position as a preferred island getaway for Indian travellers, with visitor arrivals witnessing a significant upswing in 2025. The destination recorded approximately 78,000 Indian tourists last year, marking a robust 33.5% growth compared to 56,000 arrivals in 2024. Building on this momentum, Mauritius is now setting its sights on crossing the 100,000-visitor milestone from India, a target that appears increasingly achievable given the strong performance in the first few months of 2026, said Dinesh Burrenchobay, Chairman, MTPA. From January to April this year alone, the island nation welcomed around 21,000 Indian tourists, reflecting an 18%…

Chris Franzen, Managing Director, Burgenstock Alpine Spa & Resort, Lucerne has highlighted India as a high-potential outbound market, with plans to deepen engagement across luxury, wellness, and MICE segments. Currently contributing around 2% of the resort’s business, the Indian market is expected to grow significantly, driven by rising demand from luxury FIT travellers and special interest groups. Franzen noted a clear shift towards bespoke, slow-paced travel, with Indian guests seeking immersive experiences rather than multi-destination itineraries. Curated offerings such as watchmaking workshops and farm visits are increasingly appealing to this segment. Perched above Lake Lucerne with sweeping views of the…

South Asia’f first fully integrated resort, City of Dreams, has recorded a strong response from the Indian market since the full launch of its facilities in August 2025. This has made India emerge as the property’s largest source market. While the hotel commenced operations in October 2024, the complete entertainment and hospitality complex became fully operational last year. Since then, the resort has witnessed robust demand from India across MICE, weddings and leisure segments. Hishan Singhawansa, Chief Executive Officer, Cinnamon Hotels & Resorts said Indian arrivals currently surpass domestic Sri Lankan guests at Cinnamon Life. Large movements have significantly contributed…

In an conversation with Disha Shah Ghosh, Alexia Vettier – CEO – Magnicity, speaks about the growing popularity of observation deck experiences due to popularity of AR/VR content. He spoke at length about their focus in India, opportunities for revenue generation, and trade partnerships. Q. Magnicity has built a strong presence around observation deck experiences. What differentiates your model from traditional attraction operators, and how do you position Magnicity as a revenue generator for destination partners? Magnicity is not a traditional attraction operator — we are a destination amplifier. Our observation decks offer more than panoramic views: we create immersive,…

Basant Kumar Giri, Founder & CEO of REN Tours & Treks Bhutan, speaks to Disha Shah Ghosh about the kingdom’s growing appeal, evolving traveller preferences, and the key experiences they are promoting in India. Q. How would you evaluate the current level of awareness among Indian travellers about Bhutan? Bhutan has recently become a preferred destination for many Indian travellers. There are several reasons behind this growing appeal. First, the country itself is extraordinarily beautiful and peaceful. It is India’s closest neighbour, and importantly, the only carbon-negative country in the world—an aspect that increasingly resonates with travellers who are environmentally…

Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), a global community of niche luxury hotels, is making a comeback of sorts in India, with 12 hotels in its portfolio from India now, from 5 in the past year. SLH has also added 87 new hotels to date. Talking to TravelBiz Monitor during his recent visit to Mumbai and Delhi, Mark Wong, Senior Vice President Asia Pacific, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, shared, “The Indian market has been producing good results for us, especially after Covid. This is a sort of re-emergence of SLH in the Indian market. The strategy is…

Twenty-eight people were killed and several others injured when terrorists opened fire on tourists in Pahalgam yesterday, marking the worst terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir in recent times. The assault occurred at a time when the region was gaining attention for its booming tourism industry. As tourism is the backbone of the local economy, this horrific incident is expected to deliver a severe blow to the sector. Condemning the incident, Ajay Prakash, President of TAFI, said, “We strongly condemn the barbarous attack on innocent tourists in Kashmir. Mere words cannot express the horror of this dastardly deed, and our…

Amid record number of Indian travellers visiting the nation Down Under – the three lesser-visited destinations of Canberra, Northern Territory and South Australia are keen to engage with the key distribution partners in the Indian market. While direct air access continues to remain a challenge, these destinations are confident of their offerings resonating with the Indian traveller’s interests. However, the success of this exercise on the ground rests on consistent engagement, and capturing the interest of the Indian travellers via newer itineraries. The family travel segment, FITs and MICE segments are the three verticals that can drive demand beyond the…

Sopa Lodges – Kenya & Tanzania is keen to tap into the Indian market, having appointed Global Destinations as its representative in January this year. As a first step, they participated in the recently concluded Outbound Travel Market (OTM) in Mumbai. Sharing her thoughts, Rosemary Muthoni, Director of Sales at Sopa Lodges, said, ‘India is a key source market for us, and we have seen encouraging outbound growth from India to East Africa. Overall, we grew 25% in revenue in 2024 compared to 2023, with a 10% contribution from India. Therefore, despite our local DMCs being present here, it was…

The island nation of Fiji has seen a steady surge in visitors from India, and the country is hopeful of a double-digit growth in numbers this year. Talking to TravelBiz Monitor during his recent visit to India, Brent Hill, CEO Tourism Fiji, said, “India is a growing tourism source market for Fiji. Starting 2025 and onwards from here, it has the opportunity to grow as the biggest market for us. We are starting to invest and undertake more activities here having seen value from this market.” In 2024, 10,000 visitors originating from India visited Fiji. This is besides the Indian…