Expanded airline routes and targetted promotional campaigns has made Southeast Asia increasingly accessible to Indian tourists
The aviation and tourism sectors in Southeast Asia are experiencing a significant transformation as the region intensifies efforts to attract Indian travellers, capitalising on India’s status as one of the world’s fastest-growing outbound markets, says a report by OAG, a global travel data provider.
OAG says that as traditional tourism sources like China have slowed, countries across Southeast Asia are pivoting to India to diversify their visitor base and drive post-pandemic recovery.
The report says that a combination of liberal visa policies, expanded airline routes and targetted promotional campaigns has made Southeast Asia increasingly accessible to Indian tourists. The declaration of 2025 as the ‘Asean-India Year of Tourism’ has further fueled this momentum, prompting a surge in marketing and collaborative initiatives across the region.
OAG says that Thailand remains the top Southeast Asian destination for Indian travellers, receiving 2 million visitors in 2024, an 8.6 pc increase over pre-pandemic levels. Malaysia witnessed even more dramatic growth, with Indian arrivals soaring by 54 pc to over 1.1 million.
The report adds that Vietnam emerged as a standout, tripling its Indian arrivals compared to 2019 and rising to become the country’s sixth largest source market, a remarkable leap from its pre-pandemic status.
According to the report this surge in demand is mirrored by a robust expansion in airline seat capacity. In 2025, scheduled seats from India to Southeast Asia are projected to be 29 pc above 2019 levels.
Additionally, Thailand leads with 3.8 million seats, a 21 pc increase and now boasts 39 direct routes with 19 Indian cities, a jump of 10 routes since before the pandemic. Malaysia and Singapore have also surpassed pre-pandemic seat capacities, with new connections to secondary Indian cities like Kozhikode and Lucknow.
The report adds that low-cost carriers such as AirAsia in Malaysia and IndiGo in India are driving much of this growth. AirAsia now operates 16 routes between India and Malaysia, doubling its pre-pandemic network, while IndiGo has expanded into secondary Southeast Asian destinations, connecting cities like Bengaluru to Langkawi and Chennai to Penang.
It adds that Vietnam and Indonesia have posted the most dramatic capacity increases, with seat numbers rising by over 1,900 pc and 2,400 pc respectively, thanks to revised air service agreements allowing more flights and seats.
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