The latest research published by Colliers International predicts around nine million Indians will travel to the GCC by 2022 – 37 percent of India’s total outbound market – with business, place of work and leisure underpinning this demand.

Indian outbound tourists will account for 22,5 million worldwide tourists in this year, with reports from the UNWTO estimating this figure will increase by 122 percent to reach over 50 million by 2022.

Adding to this, Indian tourists are among the world’s highest spenders per visit made abroad, with visitor spend expected to increase from USD23 billion this year to USD45 billion by 2022.

Danielle Curtis, exhibition director ME, Arabian Travel Market, said,: “Despite recent weak Rupee exchange rates, which have seen the Rupee lose around 14 percent of its value against the US dollar over the last 12 months, the Indian outbound market has continued to grow at an average annual growth rate of 10-12 percent over the last seven years.