India is one of the top four leading destinations for bleisure & VFR, says Trevolution

86,780 airline tickets were sold to and from India in 2023

In a clear sign of rebounding air travel to India, a record 86,780 airline tickets were sold to and from India in 2023, says Trevolution Group, an American travel agency that specialises in the Visiting Friends and Relatives (VFR) segment. This represents record levels of airfare sales.

In a press statement, Trevolution Group says that India is one of the top four leading destinations for international airline  passengers travelling across leisure and business tourism, as well as the rapidly growing VFR segment.

The firm indicates a stable 17 pc growth across the market  compared to the previous year, amounting to USD 143 million in gross bookings, or over 12 pc of  the group’s total gross profit during 2023, exceeding USD 1 billion for the first time.

Trevolution Group says its airfare sales results in India have exceeded pre-pandemic levels, marking 2023 as the most profitable year to date. However, the most significant growth of 132 pc can be observed in India’s outbound travel sales, indicating this market’s rapid growth and economic development.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian air travel market is one of  the fastest-growing globally with approximately 152 million domestic passengers in 2023. Next to Delhi and Mumbai, Hyderabad also played a crucial role in India’s regional development throughout 2023.

Trevolution says that the growing demand for international travel to and from India is also reflected in the substantial  increase in sales across both Economy and Business class flights. That resulted in a high 161 pc growth in flights booked from the largest airports across India in Economy class and an even more significant 276 pc increase in Business class compared to last year’s commercial results.

The statement adds that fares for business class tickets to India decreased by 46 pc, while economy class fares showed a 11 pc drop.  The majority of air travellers from India in 2023 preferred such popular global destinations as the United States, Canada, United Arab Emirates and Thailand, as well  as flew domestically within the country. Thus, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and  Dallas remained the top destination cities, with Air India, Emirates and Turkish Airlines as the top three  air carriers of choice.

Alex Weinstein

As the proportion of the America-based Indian community is continuously  growing, this pattern is again heavily influenced by VFR tourism being one of the main factors driving frequent flights to India and back to North American cities, as well as vice versa.

“India continues to be a cornerstone of Trevolution Group’s success with our record-breaking sales  signalling a stable 17 pc growth in the market. Historically robust, this market is poised for further  expansion, given an increasing Indian diaspora in the US and Canada that is the driving force behind  the growth of the VFR sector. Recognising the untapped potential in this market, we are diligently  developing an all-inclusive travel app to better serve our clientele. Additionally, we are dedicated to  establishing a new corporate travel vertical, called Triplicity, recognizing the need for tailored  solutions in this sector,” says Alex Weinstein, the founder of Dyninno Group, which owns Trevolution.