News Desk
MUMBAI — As the year draws to a close, Indian travellers are increasingly turning to Southeast Asia for their international getaways, with Thailand emerging as the most popular overseas destination in 2025, according to year-end booking data from MakeMyTrip, one of India’s largest online travel agencies.
For years, the United Arab Emirates — with its malls, manicured beaches and quick flight times — dominated India’s outbound holiday market. But as 2025 draws to a close, a different map is taking shape. According to year‑end booking data from MakeMyTrip, Thailand has overtaken the UAE as the most popular international destination for Indian travellers, marking a quiet but decisive shift in the country’s travel imagination.
The new top five — Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Malaysia and the UAE — reads like a catalogue of short‑haul, visa‑friendly escapes. It also reflects a deeper change in how India’s expanding middle class chooses to see the world: with an eye on affordability, spontaneity and cultural variety rather than the prestige of traditional luxury hubs.
Much of South and Southeast Asia’s appeal lies in its simplicity. Visa‑free entry to Thailand and Sri Lanka, streamlined e‑visas for Vietnam, and competitive airfares have made the region feel almost like an extension of India’s own coastline. For younger travellers — a demographic driving India’s outbound boom — the combination of beaches, nightlife, food and budget‑friendly itineraries has proved irresistible.
Vietnam, in particular, has surged. It climbed from seventh place last year to the top tier in 2025, buoyed by aggressive tourism campaigns and a reputation for offering “Europe‑like experiences at Asian prices,” as one MakeMyTrip executive put it.
A Notable Absence: The Maldives
Conspicuously missing from the top rankings is the Maldives, long the crown jewel of Indian honeymooners and families seeking overwater villas and turquoise lagoons. As recently as 2023, India was the archipelago’s largest source market.
But official data from the Maldives Ministry of Tourism show a stark reversal: Indian arrivals fell from more than 209,000 in 2023 to about 131,000 in 2024, pushing India down to sixth place behind China, Russia and several European nations. The decline continued into early 2025.
India’s outbound tourism has been expanding at a pace that has surprised even industry analysts, with record departures in recent years. But the destinations Indians choose — and the reasons they choose them — are evolving.
“Short‑haul international travel continues to gain momentum,” said Rajesh Magow, MakeMyTrip’s co‑founder and group chief executive. Relaxed visa regimes, he added, are “reinforcing India’s growing appetite for outbound travel.”
The shift is not merely economic. It reflects a generational change in how Indians think about leisure. For many, the ideal holiday is no longer a once‑in‑a‑lifetime splurge but a series of frequent, manageable trips — long weekends rather than long‑planned odysseys.
At the airport gates, the pattern is unmistakable. The lines for Bangkok and Krabi stretch longest. The chatter is about night markets, island‑hopping, and street food rather than shopping festivals in Dubai or curated luxury in the Maldives.
