Southeast Asia woos Indians with more flight seats and free visas

South East Asian countries, confronted with slower-than-expected growth from China, are w
ooing Indian tourists by offering more capacity, newer destinations with direct flights, and free visa entry.

According to OAG Aviation data, the India to southeast Asian nations route operated more than double the number of seats at eight million, compared to 3.8 million between India and southeast Asia in Q3 2019 just before the pandemic.

What was striking about Q3 2023 was that the number of airline seats between China and southeast Asia was 53 per cent of the 2019 levels, or 4.24 million seats.
 

Contrast this with