Saudi Arabia’s flag airline Saudia said it would strengthen its presence in India in an effort to boost the Kingdom’s tourism goals of attracting 7.5 million Indian visitors annually by 2030. The airline said it is focusing on increasing flight frequencies between the two countries using a modernised fleet.
In May 2024, the Saudia Group, which includes full-service carrier Saudia and low-cost carrier Flyadeal, signed a deal with Airbus to purchase 105 A320neo and A321neo aircraft. The order includes 54 aircraft for Saudia and 51 for Flyadeal.
Saudia also said that it is testing its AI-powered platform called “Travel Companion” to provide personalized solutions to customers. The platform would also help travelers to book hotels, transportation, and other activities. The carrier said in a statement that it has also reformed its loyalty program — AlFursan.
Currently, Saudia operates 54 weekly flights across six Indian cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kochi and Kozhikode.
Saudi’s India Bet: Saudi Arabia has an ambitious vision of having 150 million visitors by the end of 2030. As a part of this vision, Saudi is looking at India and China to meet its tourism targets. While the Kingdom is aiming to attract 20-25% of Chinese tourists who take mid-to-long-haul flights, it is expecting 7.5 million Indian visitors by the end of the decade.
Saudia is not alone in its efforts. At the Skift Global Forum East last month, Steven Greenway, the CEO of Flyadeal, said that India is likely to play a key role in the carrier’s cross-border expansion.
Speaking about the role India and China would play in Flyadeal’s expansion plans, Greenway said, “Less so China, more so India because you have more of a prevalence of worker and religious traffic. The [Indian] subcontinent is certainly something that is on our radar for the next 12 months, particularly India for the sheer market size.”
The Kingdom is also likely to capitalize on sports tourism to attract Indian travelers. Saudi Arabia has a strategy to bring big sporting activities to the country, and it recently hosted this year’s player auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) — the highly popular annual cricket tournament in India.
Data We Love: Religious Tourism in India
India’s mass spiritual gathering — the Mahakumbh — is set to be hosted next year in Prayagraj. In a curtain-raiser event for the pilgrimage festival, the Uttar Pradesh Tourism Department said that over 400 million devotees globally are expected to visit the fair.
In 2019, the Kumbh festival held in Haridwar witnessed over 240 million visitors. The last Mahakumbh held in Prayagraj in 2013 had 78.6 million visitors.
For the upcoming festival, a modern tent city is being constructed near the venue. The city will feature accommodations such as villas, Maharaja (king) tents, and deluxe tents. Around 1,600 Swiss cottages are also being set up. The vent will also feature activities such as helicopter rides and water sports.
Air India Express Ramps Up Operations
Budget airline Air India Express has commenced daily direct flights from Bengaluru and Kolkata to Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly known as Port Blair) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
It will increase operations from 14 weekly flights to 21 in the middle of December, doubling its frequency from Kolkata. Air India Express also said that starting January 1, it will commence direct operations between Sri Vijaya Puram and Chennai.
The low-cost airline has also started operations in Jammu. On Sunday, it commenced daily direct flights from Jammu to Delhi and Srinagar. Air India Express said that its network now covers over 50 destinations.
EaseMyTrip Partners With Yas Island Abu Dhabi
Online travel company EaseMyTrip has partnered with the Middle Eastern leisure and entertainment destination Yas Island Abu Dhabi for a joint campaign. As part of the campaign, 30 Indian content creators will engage in challenges across theme parks in Yas Island while showcasing the destination.
The campaign will be released as an episodic series on YouTube, with one content creator being crowned as the winner. Miral Destinations, which is the destination partner for the theme parks, said the collaboration is a part of the destination’s vision to bring more Indian tourists to Yas Island.
IndiGo Announces Kolkata-Phuket Flights
Budget airline IndiGo has announced daily direct flights between Kolkata and Phuket in Thailand. Scheduled to commence later this month, this would mark IndiGo’s second direct flight to Phuket, after Delhi.
The decision is in line with Kolkata’s efforts to strengthen its infrastructure to meet the growing demand for travel from the region to Southeast Asian destinations.
With this addition, IndiGo will operate 93 weekly flights between the two nations. Thailand had set a goal of attracting at least 1.7 million Indians this year, and had introduced a visa waiver for Indians to meet this goal. Last month, Thailand further extended its visa waiver for Indians, sparking speculation it could become a permanent policy