- Already 10-15% drop in foreign trip bookings , to drop further now
- Outbound Sector already hit badly due to middle east crisis
- Sharp rise in International Airfares
- Shift to low margin domestic tourism
- Promotion abroad request to centre for inbound tourism to increase forex inflow
By DEBAJYOTI CHAKRABORTY
KOLKATA | 13 MAY 2026
There will be a paradigm shift in the country this year towards domestic tourism during the forthcoming peak outbound tourism season, when the travellers will seek for cooler destinations within the country instead of the popular destinations in Europe or Australia. The long summer vacation season will soon begin in the schools and colleges in the country very soon when the summer peak tourism starts. Due to this shift the hill stations in the country will face a tremendous rush during the summer vacations this year, experts opined.
All the major travel and tourism associations leaders in the country have lended their full support after Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged the Indian travellers not to travel abroad at least for a year unless it is a necessity. After his call already the outbound tourism sector has witnessed further drop in bookings. The PM has also called for reducing fuel usage, putting pressure on the transport sector.
Mr. Jagdeep Bhagat, President and Founder Member of Tourism India Alliance (TIA) said, “The writing is on the wall” since the war broke out between US/Israel and Iran that there will be extremely difficult times ahead for the tourism industry in particular and for others in general. The hue and cry about what Prime Minister Modi suggested to the countrymen looks like coming from the perspective of political inclination rather than logical one. Many developed and developing economies in the world have called for similar measures to navigate this crisis. And who has to travel, will travel as long as flights are operating. Being in tourism industry for almost three decades, I strongly believe that the travellers don’t give a damn to such advisories. Micro, small, and medium tourism enterprises (MSMEs) should observe constraints to ensure sustainability and navigate financial challenges/operational limitations. Government, anyways is not coming out to help you run your business. Adapting fast to what the situation demands will be the mantra for success.”
Mr. Ravi Gosain, President of Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to promote domestic tourism and prioritize local travel holds significant weightage. He observed that when the government aligns holiday travel with economic patriotism, it notably influences consumer behaviour, leading to a shift in travel trends toward domestic destinations and a decrease in long-haul foreign bookings. “ There are no such restrictions though , but it is a safety measure only and I as IATO President feels that it will ease the pressure on the country’s forex reserve and will provide a big opportunity to focus on inbound tourism and the government can give a big boost on that direction by promoting domestic tourism abroad so that we can increase forex in our country ,” added Mr. Gosain.
Mr. Sunil Kumar, President of Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) has commented, “ In 2025 the country’s outbound departures had increased to about 6 % boosted by the significant domestic growth and continuous rising income of the middle and upper middle class sector . Now we have to focus on low margin domestic tourism even more in the country and the union government should provide all support in order to survive.”
Mr. Rajiv Mehra, General Secretary, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism and Hospitality says, “ We whole heartedly endorse the sentiment behind the Prime Minister’s appeal urging Indians to reduce leisure travel abroad and avoid holding weddings overseas. In recent years, there has been a growing trend of Indians travelling abroad for holidays, while affluent families are increasingly choosing foreign destinations for lavish weddings. The Prime Minister’s statement reflects concern over the challenging foreign exchange situation the country is facing, particularly at a time when the geopolitical conflict between Iran and the USA continues to create uncertainty and pressure on global markets. In such circumstances, conserving precious foreign exchange wherever possible becomes important. At the same time, while saving foreign exchange by reducing outbound travel is understandable, equal emphasis must be placed on earning foreign exchange by attracting more international tourists to India. This requires easing visa restrictions, improving connectivity, and significantly strengthening India’s tourism promotion abroad. It is unfortunate that a country blessed with immense natural beauty, cultural richness, spirituality and world-class historical monuments attracts only around two crore foreign tourists annually. India has the potential to emerge as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations if the right policy support and global marketing efforts are undertaken.”
Smt. Jyoti Mayal, Chairperson of Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council said that, “The need at present is to encourage Indians to explore domestic destinations and skip foreign leisure trips for the moment to reduce “avoidable dollar outflows” amid global economic uncertainty because of the war in the Middle east. The entire tourism industry of the country will definitely stand beside our PM Narendra Modi during this crisis period and reduce foreign currency expenditure. The crisis will open up new vistas in all sectors of domestic tourism.”
Mr. Abbas Moiz, President of Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI) said , “Travel and tourism have already been affected by the situation in West Asia, and PM Modi’s appeal is likely to intensify the impact. Domestic tourism may grow, but it is constrained by capacity, and we are struggling to meet current demand at reasonable prices. Outbound travel helped balance utilisation of domestic tourism infrastructure. For domestic, inbound, and outbound tourism to prosper, we need the right mix of all three; neglecting any one will weaken the other two.”
Mr. Rajnish Kaistha, Senior Vice President of IATO further explained, “ Those people who go out in exotic holidays and post their pictures, the social media cell will catch up with them that is one thing , but the fear in people’s mind is already there and due to Gulf War there is about 10 percent slowdown in outbound travel, the airlines are already bleeding so airlines are having a lesser number and they have to look into the issue of how to curtail services to India, post Covid inbound tourism which had faced a step motherly treatment by the government by allocating Rs.3.5 crores only budget and is a smokeless industry and if the centre now increases the inbound tourism budget by promotional activities for overseas marketing and participating in trade fairs and tied up the outgoing or falling foreign exchange or increase further, we have ten million foreign visitors and an increase of about 10 percent which is about one million plus will help us to earn an average $1000 spent by a foreign tourists , India will earn $10 billion extra and South east Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore are all working on this this. In the interest of the nation after pleas by the government , which is understandable, please help the inbound to tie up the balance of payments which will be hit badly due to shortage of funds from outbound tourism so that the jobs in this sector are also protected and will generate further employment.”
Dr. Kaulesh Kumar, Secretary General of ABTO has said that , “ Whenever India faced any major crisis due to war in the past, citizen’s fulfilled their responsibility on the government’s appeal. We need to do the same now and avoid unnecessary foreign trips and focus on domestic tourism. Buddhist Circuit tourism can be promoted abroad for further foreign tourist footfall in the country.”
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