ON A BRIGHT JUNE AFTERNOON, the narrow street beside the Mandarin Oriental in Prague fell silent, save for the thundering beat of dhols. A procession of more than 100 guests, dressed in sherwanis and sequinned lehengas, accompanied by the groom on a horse, danced its way towards the hotel, blocking traffic for an hour. The interruption wasn’t accidental; it had been sanctioned by the tourism board.

The occasion was the wedding of Arjun Reddy, a Tesla executive from the U.S., with Marie Benes from Prague [names changed]. For the couple’s families, the seamless execution of a full-fledged Indian baraat (wedding procession) in the heart of the Czech capital was non-negotiable. For Prague’s tourism officials, it was a calculated investment. The two-day wedding with 180 guests cost around ₹5 crore and included chefs being flown in, especially from Hyderabad.

Czech tourism is not alone. From Bahrain’s dedicated immigration counters for wedding parties to Abu Dhabi’s complimentary visas for nuptials, tourism boards and hoteliers from Thailand to the French Riviera are increasingly bending rules and budgets to attract the Indian wedding market.

The stakes are high. India’s broader wedding industry is valued at more than $75 billion, according to KPMG in India, with high-net-worth families spending $2-15 million on a single celebration. The destination segment alone, estimated at $3.5 billion in 2024, is projected to balloon to $25.7 billion by 2033, according to market research firm IMARC Group.

WOOING INDIANS

It’s a windfall for the host economies. A single multi-day celebration can inject more than $500,000 into local businesses, from hotels and caterers to florists and transportation companies. That potential is spurring a race among tourism boards .

In Ras Al Khaimah, an emirate a short drive from Dubai, perks for wedding parties range from waived venue fees, complimentary visas and limousine pickups to half-price access to the VIP terminal. Iyad Rasbey, vice president of destination tourism development at the emirate’s tourism authority, calls it “a multi-pronged approach”. The goal, he says, is to create unique experiences.

Hotels, too, are retooling for this clientele. Conrad Bali hosted 18 Indian weddings in 2023 and had surpassed that number halfway through 2025. At Hilton properties across Asia and the Middle East, tailored packages include henna nights, custom menus by Indian chefs, and even “sustainable wedding” options that calculate and offset carbon footprints. “We’re seeing a 40-45% rise in couples who want minimal environmental impact without compromising on luxury,” says Manish Tolani, vice president & commercial director, South Asia, Hilton.

The Mövenpick Resort Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah has hosted over 20 Indian weddings since it opened in 2022. “Every detail from pre-event coordination to guest experiences and F&B customisation is tailored to reflect the couple’s vision,” says general manager Fabien Chesnais.

GLOBAL DESTINATIONS

Indian destination weddings have long favoured the beaches of Goa and the palaces of Rajasthan. But the hunt for novelty is pushing boundaries. “We’re seeing growing interest in Vietnam, Muscat, and South Africa,” says Aashna Saran, founder of Mumbai-based wedding design house Aash Studio. She says often if the first wedding in the family has taken place in say, Rajasthan, the second wedding will take place abroad. In FY25, about 10% of her weddings were hosted outside India. The budget ranges from $1.5 million to $5 million, with emphasis on customisation, cross-cultural design, global sourcing, and guest experience. “It’s no longer just about location — it’s about storytelling,” she says.

That ethos is echoed by Devanshi Patel of Mumbai-based Shreem Events, who recently staged weddings in the South of France, Abu Dhabi, and Sri Lanka with direct involvement from local governments. In Abu Dhabi, she says, tourism officials helped with everything from visa processing to airport formalities. In Sri Lanka, the tourism ministry offered logistical support for a 600-guest buyout at a remote Shangri-La resort. “Governments are starting to see weddings not just as tourism events but as cultural showcases,” says Patel.

For hotels in emerging markets, winning a slice of the Indian wedding pie often requires a steep learning curve. In Thailand, the JW Marriott Khao Lak — which hosts between 15 and 18 weddings annually — expanded its ballroom in 2022 to accommodate large ceremonies. Staff are trained in Indian customs, and menus are curated by Indian chefs. The Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, in Krabi now offers Jain-specific meals, pandit services, and mehndi spaces, alongside traditional Thai touches.

These adaptations are about more than just service; they’re about cultural fluency. At Badrutt’s Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, which hosted events for Mukesh Ambani’s family in 2019 (Akash Ambani and Shloka Mehta’s pre-wedding celebrations), offerings include Punjabi, Gujarati, or south Indian décor styles, and separate vegetarian kitchens. Guests can request in-room Indian tea or check-in desks staffed by Hindi-speaking personnel.

The logistical challenges can be formidable. In Prague, Hyderabad-based wedding planner Priya Maganti had to navigate a service culture unaccustomed to Indian events. Her team flew in décor from India, coordinated fittings across two countries, and secured permissions for a citywide baraat. These extra steps don’t come cheap. Maganti estimates budgets for international weddings she handles range from ₹2 crore to ₹5 crore. At times it’s cheaper than hosting a wedding in Udaipur, because the scale there is larger with 500-700 guests, she adds.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

Destination weddings ripple through local economies far beyond the banquet hall. In Thailand, musicians, caterers, and decorators from India relocate temporarily for the peak season. The Tourism Authority of Thailand is working with hotels to build larger ballrooms and relax noise restrictions. “In India, you can’t have a sangeet function post 10:30 pm in most city hotels, but internationally, hotels are accommodating us,” says Maganti, CEO and co-founder of RVR PRO and RVR Eventz & Design.

In the Middle East, destination weddings are a strategic piece of tourism diversification. And Europe, for its part, offers prestige. At the Oetker Hotels’ properties, couples can bring their own chefs to collaborate on authentic menus. Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, better known for Cannes Film Festival galas, now hosts multi-day Indian weddings at the bookends of its season. “The Indian wedding market is a valued part of our events strategy. We often accommodate full hotel buyouts at the start or end of the season to allow for elaborate celebrations. Our city hotels are ideal for more intimate celebrations, offering flexibility,” says Simon Neggers, SVP, sales, marketing & communications, Oetker Hotels.

For all their spectacle, the newest generation of Indian weddings is increasingly about meaning. Couples want the location to reflect their personal histories. “Destination weddings are evolving into destination storytelling,” says Patel. “The scale is still there, but the story is just as important.”

That evolution is reshaping the global wedding economy. And for cities from Ras Al Khaimah to Prague, there’s a recognition that in the fierce competition for travellers, few events rival the economic and cultural heft of an Indian wedding. As Maganti puts it, “When you bring an Indian wedding to a place, you’re not just bringing guests — you’re bringing a festival.”