Within the autumn of 2023, Thailand and Malaysia prolonged visa-free entry to Indian nationals within the hope of attracting vacationers from the nation at a time once they had been travelling abroad like by no means earlier than. Gradual post-pandemic financial restoration in China had evidently hit vacationer inflows to Southeast Asian hotspots, whereas India’s restoration by way of worldwide passenger visitors was booming. In the meantime, rising locations in different areas, notably Central Asia and the Caucasus, additionally picked up by way of curiosity amongst Indian vacationers.
A 12 months on, each Southeast Asian nations seem happy, a lot in order that they determined to prolong the visa-free entry facility for Indian passport holders additional. Aviation and journey business insiders say the visa waivers have stimulated demand for journey to Thailand and Malaysia, which airways have recognised.
Knowledge reveals that the variety of Indians travelling to the 2 international locations has grown considerably within the wake of those measures, and airways have jumped on the alternative by considerably growing capability between India and the 2 international locations by including flights and locations.
Taking off
Within the December quarter of 2024, the overall variety of flights in each instructions between India and the 2 international locations rose 29.2 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 14,409, with the deployed seat capability rising 26.6 per cent to twenty-eight.02 lakh, in response to an evaluation of knowledge from aviation analytics agency Cirium.
Within the upcoming January-March quarter, the variety of flights is about to rise additional to 16,131 (up 43.7 per cent YoY), with a cumulative seat capability of 31.44 lakh seats (up 41.1 per cent YoY).
Whereas capability deployment is just not the identical because the precise passenger load, it’s consultant of progress in passenger visitors and airline demand estimates. India’s official information for worldwide air passengers is offered solely till the June quarter of the present fiscal, and even that reveals a major improve in visitors over the corresponding interval final 12 months.
Up to now 12 months or so, Indian airways in addition to these from Southeast Asia have launched numerous new flights, densifying the community between the 2 areas. These embody IndiGo’s Chennai-Penang and Bengaluru-Langkawi flights; Air India Categorical’s flights to Bangkok from Pune, Lucknow, Surat, and Amritsar, and its Hyderabad-Phuket service; Air India’s Delhi-Kuala Lumpur and Delhi-Phuket flights; Thai AirAsia X flights between Delhi and Bangkok; Thai AirAsia’s Hyderabad-Bangkok and Chennai-Phuket flights; AirAsia’s Kuala Lumpur-Port Blair service; and Malaysia Airways’s flights from Kuala Lumpur to Amritsar, Thiruvananthapuram, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata.
“With the inclusion of those flights to Penang (from Chennai), IndiGo will now function 28 weekly flights to Malaysia from two cities in India. The nation’s latest visa waiver for Indian residents is sure to create an excellent higher demand and quick access for enterprise in addition to leisure travellers,” IndiGo’s head of world gross sales Vinay Malhotra stated not too long ago when the airline launched its Chennai-Penang service.
“We’re seeing rising demand within the worldwide sector, supported by measures like visa-free entry, which have made journey extra accessible and cost-effective. We thank the Indian authorities for the profitable negotiation of an extra Air Service Settlement between India and Thailand, together with visa exemptions for Indian vacationers and the waiver of Thai vacationer visa charges,” Thai AirAsia X CEO Tassapon Bijleveld stated on the launch of the airline’s Delhi-Bangkok service a number of weeks in the past.
Hop and go
Other than being common locations in themselves, Thailand and Malaysia’s main cities – Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur – are vital worldwide aviation hubs. Visa-free entry additionally encourages Indian travellers to discover locations past these international locations through the use of these airports for connections and including a stopover to their broader itinerary with out a lot trouble. Business insiders say this, too, is including to heavy passenger flows to those international locations.
Flights between India and Thailand in October-December jumped 35.5 per cent YoY to eight,782, whereas deployed seat capability was larger by 31.4 per cent at 17.44 lakh. Within the January-March quarter, flights are set to rise to 9,821 (up 48.3 per cent YoY), whereas deployed seat capability is seen at 19.48 lakh (up 44.3 per cent YoY).
As for flights between India and Malaysia, the December quarter noticed a 20.5 per cent YoY rise in variety of flights to five,627, and seat capability was larger by 19.3 per cent at 10.58 lakh. Within the March quarter, flights are anticipated to rise additional to six,301 (up 36.8 per cent YoY), and seat capability is seen at 11.92 lakh (up 35.7 per cent YoY).
Official worldwide passenger visitors information launched by the Directorate Normal of Civil Aviation (DGCA), whereas obtainable solely till the June quarter, additionally means that visa-free entry to Thailand and Malaysia has bumped up the variety of Indian travellers visiting these international locations.
The variety of passengers who flew on direct flights between India and Thailand in April-June rose 21.8 per cent YoY to 11.61 lakh. Passenger visitors on direct flights between India and Malaysia jumped 35.3 per cent YoY to eight.42 lakh, reveals an evaluation of worldwide passenger information launched by the DGCA.
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