Chinese and Indian Travelers Are Exploring More Destinations But They Need Easier Payments and Safety


Skift Take

Just marketing attractions to Indian and Chinese travelers is no longer enough. Destinations need to make travel simpler and safer for them.

More than 2.8 billion people — that’s the combined population of India and China — represent a traveler base no destination can afford to ignore. These travelers are increasingly exploring new places, but destinations must do more than promote their attractions: They need to make travel easier.

Simplifying payments for Indian tourists, for instance, has proven key to encouraging higher spending. Speaking at Skift Global Forum East on Thursday, Raj Rishi Singh, chief marketing and business officer at online travel company MakeMyTrip, said that India’s instant mobile payment system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has changed travel behavior. Indians, he said, are