Indian travelers shall be the story of the subsequent decade: Hilton exec

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, Indian travelers spent $34.2 billion on foreign travel in 2023.

But the present level of Indian travel is “tiny” in comparison with what's to return, Alan Watts, Hilton's Asia Pacific president, told Squawk Box Asia on Monday.

“The story of India is before us,” he said. “India Outbound will be the story of the next decade.”

According to the World Travel & Tourism Council's Economic Impact 2024 report, Indian travelers' outbound spending will greater than double to $76.8 billion by 2034 and 2023.

“If you think about India, it has the characteristics of China, the second largest accommodation market in the world,” Watts said. It has “1.4 billion people, a young population, historically strong GDP growth. But the infrastructure… is just being built in India.”

India is investing heavily in infrastructure to construct and improve its roads, high-speed trains and airports to double its economy to $7 trillion by 2030 and make India a developed country by 2047.

According to Airports Council International, India currently has the third most air passengers on the earth after the US and China. It is anticipated that 960 million latest passengers shall be added by 2042, it said.

On Monday, Air India, the country's leading airline, confirmed an order for 100 Airbus aircraft – 10 A350 and 90 A320neo jets – along with a then-record order for 470 Airbus and Boeing aircraft in 2023.

This is what follows a record-breaking order for 500 Airbus jets by India's low-cost airline Indigo in 2023, which Indigo says shall be delivered between 2030 and 2035.

On whether India shall be the “new China” in the worldwide travel industry, Watts said it “certainly seems to have the right characteristics to be that, and that's why the industry has been so optimistic.”

He also noted that outbound travel is growing faster in India than in China.

Global hotel corporations are also bracing for an explosion of latest travelers as tens of millions are expected to migrate to India's middle class in the approaching years.

On November 19, Hilton announced a deal to open 150 Spark by Hilton hotels in India, a “premium economy” brand that can launch within the United States in 2023.

When discussing the potential for branded hotel expansion in India, Watts confirmed that there are about as many branded hotels in India as there are in Las Vegas.

But now it's getting more attention from outside investors.

“What is different about India this time is its foreign direct investment. In fact, some of the big capital players are in India and that is new,” Watts said.

Marriott, IHG, Hyatt and Wyndham are also attempting to capture the growing interest in travel in India, and Marriott is announcing plans to achieve this 250 hotels on the subcontinent by 2025.

As outbound traffic from China stays subdued, more countries are wooing Indian travelers with latest visa-free agreements, direct flights and promoting campaigns.

Australia's “Howzat for a vacation?” campaign, launched in November in the course of the Australia-India cricket Test series, is anticipated to achieve 50 million people, based on the Minister of Trade and Tourism.

The variety of Indian travelers to Australia is anticipated to double by 2028, based on a press release announcing the campaign launch.