BY DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
MUMBAI | 3 NOVEMBER 2026
There has been a significant shift in India’s Global Capability Centre (GCC) ecosystem in recent times. From being recognised primarily for cost efficiency and back-office operations, GCCs have now matured into strategic hubs for technology innovation, analytics, product development, commerce and decision-making.
According to inputs shared by Vikash Kejriwal, CEO, SKIL Travel, this evolution has created new demand for business travel within India and between Indian cities and their global counterparts.
Increase in GCCs Leads to an Increase in Business Travel:
Multinational corporations have been actively setting up more GCCs in India, and this has strengthened collaboration between Indian teams and their global counterparts. Senior leaders, technology experts, product teams and functional specialists have been travelling between India and regions such as the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and others for planning meetings, reviews, workshops and knowledge-sharing events. This bidirectional travel has created continuous demand for corporate travel, rather than travel being limited to occasional business trips.
GCCs Are Evolving into Strategic Hubs:
The evolution of GCCs signifies a major shift in the nature of business travel. These centres are responsible for functions such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, R&D, product engineering, data science and global operations. With this increased responsibility comes the need for regular in-person interactions with leading experts and professionals from around the world.
Tier-II Cities May Form New Business Travel Corridors:
GCC growth could extend beyond cities such as Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi-NCR, including Gurugram. Tier-II cities have been attracting growing interest, driven by talent availability, lower operating costs and developing infrastructure.
Cities such as Jaipur, Coimbatore, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Bhubaneswar may become significant GCC hotspots. As more businesses develop their teams in these regions, a network of business travel corridors may emerge between Tier-II cities and established metropolitan hubs.
GCC Growth Drives MICE Development:
GCC growth goes hand in hand with the demand for multinational events, including Meetings,
Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE). Large companies organise executive meetings, annual conferences, employee engagement events, training programmes, innovation exhibitions and partner programmes.
Connectivity May Determine Future GCC Locations:
Convenience will likely play a significant role in determining the locations of future GCCs.
Businesses are looking for destinations that offer convenient flight connectivity, reliable ground transportation and easy access to major business centres. Hence, improving domestic and international connectivity can make a city more attractive as a GCC destination.
In turn, growing GCC activity can create sufficient demand for business travel to justify further improvements in connectivity.
Thus, the expansion of GCCs in India is about more than just increasing the number of jobs and offices. The more strategic GCCs become, the more important business travel and MICE development will be in the next phase of India’s corporate growth story.
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