This means that Indians, who are making travel their favourite pastime and using this option for utilising their disposable incomes, have more options to holiday at a desired location in the world. India is fast moving from a savings society to a consumer society and travel is getting a preferred share of this spend.

In 2018, approximately 30 million Indian travellers are expected to travel outside of their country spending billions of dollars. With double digit annual growth forecast over the next few years, this market is expected to grow to 50 Million by 2020 according to UNWTO.

What is the most visible trend among Indian outbound travellers? Do they still rush for the cheapest deals and count their dimes when they are holidaying abroad?

That's slowly but surely becoming a blast from the past. Indians are opting for hotels in higher categories — they're trading up from three- star hotels to four & five stars. It mirrors the rise in disposable incomes of outbound travellers.

What do India’s super-rich like to buy with their buckets of money?

Indians are no longer coy about splurging on luxuries when they travel abroad. Affluent Indian travellers today spend, on average, Euro 6,816 per person (including airfare) when they are holidaying in Europe. Budgets have ceased to be a constraint for them because they seek out good food, great experiences & quality hotels. If they book a cruise holiday, they don't settle for anything less than the sea- facing cabins or the ones with balconies.

Destination weddings are getting bigger & bigger. What is the next big thing for the Indian outbound travel market? Spa holidays. The travel trade is yet to cash in on the growing propensity of Indians to spend on wellness when they're abroad.