India First Travel Sentiment Gains Ground as Hospitality Leaders See Domestic Opportunity

Ayu Tripathi of Aahana Resort, Renuka Kaushik of Jaypee Hotels & Resorts and Samir MC of Tamara Leisure Experiences said domestic tourism, rooted celebrations and experience led travel may benefit from changing consumer sentiment.

India’s hospitality sector is watching a possible shift in travel behaviour as consumers reassess discretionary spending, outbound holidays and large celebrations, while showing continued interest in domestic destinations and experience led stays.
Industry leaders said the Prime Minister’s appeal around non essential outbound travel and discretionary expenditure could encourage more travellers to explore India’s regional destinations, wellness stays, nature retreats and smaller tourism economies.
Ayu Tripathi, Director, Aahana Resort, said travel decisions today are becoming more emotional than purely aspirational. She said people are no longer choosing destinations only for novelty or distance, but for how they want to feel when they return.
Tripathi said the remarks may encourage more travellers to rediscover the richness, diversity and emotional familiarity of experiences available within India. She added that recent years have already seen a shift towards slower and more rooted travel, with people seeking cultural connection, time in nature and destinations that allow them to pause.

According to Tripathi, this trend also gives Indian hospitality an opportunity to move from aspirational travel towards more emotionally resonant and experience led travel. She said stronger domestic travel and celebrations can create a wider impact across local hospitality ecosystems, including regional destinations, artisans, community led experiences and smaller tourism economies.
She said Aahana Resort is continuing to focus on experience led stays, including longer multi day visits, nature led experiences within the forest landscape, wellness offerings centred around rest and restoration, and food experiences inspired by local ingredients and regional flavours.
Tripathi added that the same sentiment may influence weddings, with families increasingly preferring celebrations that feel more personal and connected to the destination.

Renuka Kaushik, Head of Marketing, Jaypee Hotels & Resorts, said the travel and hospitality sector entered 2026 on a strong footing, supported by domestic tourism, weddings, MICE activity, experiential travel and premium leisure demand.
She said the Prime Minister’s appeal may create a more cautious consumer mindset in the short term, especially among middle income households. However, she added that it is still early to assess the full impact, and the industry has not seen any significant slowdown in bookings or travel demand so far.
Kaushik said the change is more likely to appear in spending patterns than travel intent, with consumers choosing shorter holidays, domestic destinations, intimate celebrations and affordable experiences.

She added that this could support staycations, wellness retreats, spiritual tourism and drivable leisure destinations. Resorts, heritage properties, hill stations and premium domestic leisure markets are also expected to gain from this trend.
Samir MC, CEO, Tamara Leisure Experiences, said, “The hospitality and travel sector is currently operating within a broader environment shaped by evolving global economic conditions, increasing focus on fiscal prudence and responsible consumption, alongside a stronger policy push towards strengthening local economic ecosystems. This also presents an important opportunity for the industry and citizens to collectively support an “India-first” travel and consumption ecosystem, one that not only addresses evolving leisure preferences but also directly benefits local communities, artisans, transport providers and farmers.”

He added, “The sector is likely to remain conscious until international inbound and outbound travel sentiment stabilises. Though, the domestic market is expected to remain resilient, supported by sustained demand across experiential tourism, wellness-led hospitality, nature-centric stays, and destination-driven travel within India. Operational agility, consumer value consciousness, and service adaptability will remain will continue to remain critical in the near term.”
Together, the responses indicate that while travel spending may become more selective, domestic hospitality demand is expected to remain supported by local experiences, destination weddings, wellness tourism, nature based stays and regional travel.

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