India
India
Travellers from India made 18.8 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$33.3 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 604,000 visits from India. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was a record £804 million, with an average spend of £1,332 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- In 2023, there were almost more than twice as many male than female visitors from India. Almost two-in-three visits were made by Indian residents aged 25-54 years old.
- 33% of holiday visitors (excluding British expats) are making a repeat visit to Britain (within ten years).
- Just over half of the visits from India to Britain are made by people who reside in the Maharashtra and Delhi states.
- 86% of departing Indians (excluding British expats) say they are ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a visit, above the 82% average across all markets.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the Indian market
- Those in India have a generally positive view of Britain. According to the 2023 Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index, they ranked Britain fourth for its nation brand among 60 nations overall, third for ‘historic buildings’ and fourth for ‘sports’ and ‘people’.
- For Indian respondents, the cultural products or services they most expect to be produced in Britain are ‘films’, ‘museums’ and ‘modern design’.
- Indian respondents expect that a trip to Britain would be ‘exciting’ and ‘educational’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 33.3 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 8 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 18.8 |
| Most visited destination | United Arab Emirates |
| Most visited destination in Western Europe | France |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 1,433.3 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 9,339 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 5.8 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 7.7 |
Caring for visitors
Family is extremely important in Indian life. Visitors will often ask for family suites or interconnecting rooms.
The use of the ‘Namaste’, a greeting with folded hands, is usually appreciated among Indian guests. It is best to wait for your guest to extend their first to shake it.
Many Indians are vegetarian and teetotallers, and it is vital that a good variety of vegetarian options are made available on menus.
Leisure visitors from India are less likely than those from the average market to use a credit card while in Britain.
Whilst many visitors from India speak good English, some may have issues understanding slang or accents.
The leisure and travel trade
The travel trade changes slowly in India. It still plays a pivotal role in booking outbound travel while online booking is mainly popular for domestic travel. Digital sources are used mostly for travel inspiration and destination information.
Brochures are planned and produced in December or January. Discussions should ideally begin one year in advance, but can still occur in October or November as last-minute itinerary changes are common.
Telephone contact and face-to-face interaction is appreciated, as well as the provision of brochures.
Access to Britain from India
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 138 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 36,245 |
| Airports with direct routes in India | 10 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 4 |
- Of all the airlines operating the India to Britain route in 2023, British Airways and Air India served the most departing seats, with a combined share of 72%.
- In 2023, the routes connecting Delhi and Mumbai to London Heathrow served the most departing seats, with a combined share of 72%.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from India to the UK exceeded 2019 levels by 35% in 2023.
- The current reduced Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for India is £88.
Further resources
India Market Snapshot.pdf
India Market Profile 2021
India Aviation Profile
India COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
Where visitors from India to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
How Indian travellers use social media on holidays compared with travellers from other countries
Indian Visa Research
Perceived barriers to exploring Britain beyond London for Indian visitors
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data come from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed.
