Tour booking sector bullish on India’s outbound travel forex this summer

Travel Forex trends: inbound travel forex in India is expected to touch $31 billion in 2024 as compared to $28.7 billion travel forex witnessed last year, Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Vice President Ravi Gosain told Republic Business. Comparatively, outbound travel forex from India is expected to see an annual increase this year to reach $38 from $27.1 billion mark recorded in 2023. Apart from IATO, many or tour and travel sector stakeholders have also indicated an 8-10 per cent increase in outbound travel forex. 

Forex travel trends 

Both inbound and outbound travel will witness a healthy increase in next three years due to Indian carriers ding more aircraft to ir fleet. Air India and Indigo have alrey placed large-scale orders which will see deliveries from 2026, said Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO) Vice President Ravi Gosain. 
“Increase in outbound will be higher than inbound because of surge in Indians travelling abro for both business and leisure. As per Gosain, Air India and Indigo are rapidly ding new countries to ir flight schedule connecting m directly to Indian cities. This will reduce airfares and make travel affordable, ded Gosain. 
Notably, projections charting trajectory of India’s aviation sector are expecting dition of 3,500 new aircraft by 2047. Airlines at present have placed confirmed 1,500 aircraft orders, for strengning existing fleet of 810 aircraft, as per a KPMG and FICCI report issued earlier this year.

Travel agencies upbeat 

positive sentiment regarding a boost to travel forex has also been expressed by travel agencies. Thomas Cook (India) Limited is seeing a significant uptick in its prepaid card business, up by 20 per cent YoY, Deepesh Varma, Executive Vice President - Foreign Exchange, told Republic Business.  

“We are seeing a strong demand for currencies like Turkish Lira, Indonesian Rupiah, Vietnam’s Dong. Digital penetration is on rise with increased customer confidence and convenience and our digital platforms now contribute 20-25 per cent to our business,” said Varma. “ need for doorstep delivery has become a key consumer demand,” ded Thomas Cook India Forex Executive Vice President Varma. 

“While top drivers for our forex business continue to be Europe, UAE, Thailand, US and Cana, we are witnessing strong emergence of short and free/easy visa destinations like Vietnam-Cambodia, Georgia, Turkey, Sri Lanka,” ded Thomas Cook India Forex Executive Vice President Varma.