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Anchit S.
Transport and Infra
Anchit S. is a professional with a diverse background in working with transport, infrastructure, and private equity (PE) clients to develop digital transformation, growth, and investment strategies. He holds a BSc. (Hons.) in Government and Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), a Master of Science (MS) in Informatics with a focus on Data Science from the University of Amsterdam, and an MA Program in Social Sciences specializing in Economics and Finance from the University of Chicago. Anchit also completed his A Levels at National Junior College and Class 10th from Delhi Public School - R. K. Puram. With a rich educational background, Anchit's expertise spans across various disciplines.
Highlights
For lessons on how to do it, look to the South-East Asian countries that were early to grasp India’s potential. They are now redoubling their efforts in hopes of replacing China’s flagging numbers. In 2019 Chinese accounted for 11m of Thailand’s 40m overseas visitors. Last year they were a mere 3.5m out of 28m. Indians, by contrast, keep coming. A decade ago around 1m visited annually; that level was already reached in the first half of 2024. Many are on their inaugural trip abroad. Margaux Constantin of McKinsey & Company thinks Bangkok could take over from Dubai as Indians’ number-one leisure destination this year. Thailand’s #tourism ministry estimates that Indians generated 63bn baht ($1.8bn) in 2023, or around 0.4% of Thai GDP.
Moreover, Indians tend to be last-minute travellers. Britons book international trips three months in advance, on average, and Americans two months. Indians do so barely 30 days earlier. That is not enough time to get a visa to Europe or North America. Indians still travel to America and Britain in big numbers, largely to see friends and family in the huge Indian diaspora; visa problems make them less appealing as holiday destinations. Europe performs even worse. No country in the Schengen region is among the top ten destinations for Indians except France, which comes seventh. Germany and Italy rank below Kuwait and Qatar. Europeans worried about being swamped can rest easy; Indians are taking their rupees elsewhere.
After visas, the biggest factor influencing where Indians decide to go is the ease of getting there. Direct flights have surged: 31 Indian cities now offer international flights to 322 destinations, up from 23 and 272 in 2015. “Foreign airports are knocking at our doors pretty much every other day,” says Pieter Elbers, the boss of IndiGo, India’s largest airline.
3 interesting insights on luxury #travel from McKinsey & Company’s recent state of travel
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Asia has strong planned growth in #luxury #hotel capacity
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No, luxury travellers are not 60+ retirees
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No, they don’t want 24/7 digital service. What they want is to mingle.
Just in time for White Lotus in #Thailand
