The Indian Prime Minister has urged people to "get married on Indian soil" instead of destinations like Thailand, Bali or the Maldives.
Tourism in the region is slowly returning to pre-pandemic levels, with more wealthy Indian families inviting friends and relatives to weddings in lavish destinations across Southeast Asia and beyond, such as Thailand, Bali, Phu Quoc and the Maldives.
Luxury weddings of Bollywood stars and the rich have long been a focus of media attention. Today they are attracting attention for a different reason: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is unhappy with people spending money on lavish weddings abroad.
Rich Indians come to Phu Quoc to hold weddings in 2019. Photo: Hang Tran
Mr Modi is concerned that overseas weddings will hurt the country's tourism industry. "There is a new trend that is developing where families are getting married abroad. Is this necessary?", Mr Modi said on Mann Ki Baat radio in late November. He said that if people get married in the country, "the money will stay in the country", instead of flowing abroad as it is now. Rich people going abroad for weddings and tourism will not help India create more jobs for its people.
The Prime Minister's remarks come amid a bumper season for India's wedding and tourism industry. According to the Confederation of Indian Traders, around 3.5 million Indian couples are expected to marry between November 23 and the end of the year, generating a revenue of $60.2 billion.
India's trade balance - the difference between the value of its exports and imports - is in peril amid a slowing global economy, said Biswajit Dhar, professor of economics at the Council for Social Development, a research body in New Delhi.
India has been named the fastest-growing major economy by the International Monetary Fund, but Dhar said the rupee’s fall was raising costs because much of that growth was driven by imports. “Anything that drains foreign exchange can be very serious,” Dhar said, referring to lavish weddings abroad.
India’s tourism industry is preparing to tighten regulations, including imposing higher taxes on any overseas spending by its citizens that exceeds a certain ceiling, a tourism industry official said.
Rajeev Kohli, president of Euromic, a nonprofit marketing association of destination management companies that organize events, opposes the policy. “It is inappropriate for the government to dictate how taxpayers spend their money,” Kohli said. The Euromic chief added that the new policy is unfair to a certain segment of tourists.
Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Indonesia are attracting wealthy Indians looking to get married abroad. Those in the Indian tourism industry say the trend should be encouraged. “The government should be proud because overseas weddings promote an understanding of the spending power of Indians,” Kohli said.
Rich Indians are known to be big spenders of international weddings abroad. In addition to renting luxury resorts, they also spare no expense hiring Michelin-starred chefs and famous singers to serve at their weddings. Middle-class families also splash out on luxuries like hiring a helicopter to take the bride and groom to the wedding venue. A high-end Indian wedding with fresh tulips flown in from Amsterdam, Netherlands, custom-designed dresses for the bride and bridesmaids, and expensive gifts for guests can cost $5 million.
Amid rising spending by Indians on weddings, tourism experts say Prime Minister Modi's comments will have "only a limited impact" and will be unlikely to stop the wealthy from continuing to travel abroad for weddings.
Sumit Agarwal, an economics professor at the National University, said the way for India to get back the money people spend on overseas weddings is to build infrastructure and upgrade high-end wedding venues at home. Agarwal said Thailand is one of the “great” wedding destinations because it takes advantage of its existing infrastructure. But this is “really a big problem” for India.
India is developing its tourism industry, but Agarwal said it is “not promoting luxury travel for people who do not consider cost as an issue”.
India is blessed with a number of attractive locations, ranging from the Himalayas to vast deserts and secluded white sandy beaches. Tourism experts say the remote Andaman and Nicobar Islands or Lakshadweep could easily compete with overseas wedding destinations if infrastructure is improved.
Ekta Sharma, director of Khyaath Design Holidays in Gurugram, said she helped a couple from the Philippines organize a week-long wedding in the pink city of Jaipur. She booked venues in old royal palaces and luxury hotels for international guests.
But India cannot always accommodate the wishes of wealthy wedding guests because of the shortage of high-end hotels here. "We would be happy to promote wedding venues in India. But the destinations are not ready right now," Sharma said.
Anh Minh (According to SCMP )
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