Nothing says “world-class tourism strategy” quite like slashing your international marketing budget by 97% and then hoping two airlines can pick up the slack. This week, India inked back-to-back partnerships with Air India and IndiGo, asking the carriers to do what the Ministry of Tourism is not willing to fully fund: convince the world to actually visit.
The numbers make the case for panic, not partnership photo-ops. Foreign arrivals last year dropped almost 10% and the country is yet to reach its pre-pandemic high of 11 million arrivals, which is in itself unimpressive for a country of India’s size and scale. Meanwhile Thailand, a country you could lose inside one Indian state, pulled in 35 million visitors. India, the fifth-largest economy on the planet, managed a 1.4% share of global tourism.
So now the plan is inflight entertainment reels and codeshare networks doing the heavy lifting once handled by an actual marketing budget. IndiGo brings reach. Air India brings a stopover dream modeled on Dubai and Singapore. Neither brings a fix for visa friction, safety perception, or a ministry that couldn't even spend the money it had.
Skift Aviation Forum
Profitability, capacity, AI, loyalty: the questions that set aviation's agenda for the year get argued out in one room, in one day.
The CEOs of International Airlines Group, Breeze Airways, and Los Angeles World Airports are among the first confirmed for the 6th annual Skift Aviation Forum, November 12 at TWA Hotel, JFK.
CLARITYPAY + SKIFT
On Airline Weekly Lounge, ClarityPay CEO Houman Motaharian explains how its JetBlue partnership could turn financing into a loyalty engine.
EDITOR’S PICKS
India’s Inbound Problem: With Its Marketing Budget Gutted, Government Enlists Air India and IndiGo
by Peden Doma Bhutia
July 31, 2026
India is compensating for shrinking marketing budgets by giving its airlines a bigger role in selling the country overseas. But this alone won't fix the structural challenges that continue to hold back inbound tourism.
IndiGo Co-Founder: Airport-Airline Ownership Is a ‘Massive Conflict of Interest’
by Peden Doma Bhutia
July 23, 2026
If the idea is to break the two-airline duopoly, the irony is hard to miss. India could end up replacing airline concentration with something even more powerful — a conglomerate that controls the skies, the gates, and everything in between.
Indian Hotels Company Targets Switzerland and Southeast Asia; Dubai Rebound Stalls
by Peden Doma Bhutia
July 22, 2026
IHCL would have preferred to enter Switzerland first, but instead chose Frankfurt, where strong India connectivity promised quicker returns, rather than rushing into a costlier, lower-yield Swiss market.
SKIFT TRAVEL 200
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