Ease of moving places for the Indian tourist

The Indian passport gained the most strength in the last six months, according to the latest Henley Passport Index, which lists countries by the number of destinations holders can travel to without needing to obtain a prior visa. Gratifying as the development is, India now ranks 77 - up from 85 - and has quite a way to go to make it into the top 10 list. Typically, acquiring a visa becomes easier with rising per-capita income, explaining the strength of passports issued by G7 countries. By this yardstick, India remains a middle-income country that imposes 'costs' on outbound travel. Yet, the next wave of global travel is expected to be led by Indians, and it would be in the interest of popular destinations to make themselves more welcoming to the Indian tourist. A degree of reciprocity is involved with India having to make the visa process easier for inbound travellers.

Indians seem to favour destinations in Asia because of improving connectivity, favourable exchange rates and easier visa requirements. Efforts to strengthen the Indian passport within the Asia-Pacific region could accelerate the nation's climb in global rankings. India has a large untapped potential for inbound convention tourism that should benefit from improving connectivity and an easy visa regime. Saturation of this category in mature Western markets, and the geographical diversity of India's offerings against Asian competitors, should help the country meet its target of doubling its share of the global MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) tourism market. The expanding footprints of the Indian aviation and hospitality industries are facilitators.

Beyond its rising economic power, India projects a fairly open foreign policy that contributes to the strength of its passport. The country is also the biggest supplier of migrant workers across the world. It is also the biggest recipient of remittances. This adds to the need for India to place special emphasis on facilitating foreign travel.