‘Travel industry growing faster in smaller cities than metros’:Thomas Cook India head says people are setting aside money and planning for it in advance

India’s consumer story is evolving beyond the metros. Rising aspirations, changing lifestyles and shifting spending habits in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are opening up new opportunities for businesses across industries. In an exclusive interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Romil Pant, Executive Vice President Business Head – Leisure Travel, Thomas Cook India, throws light on India’s evolving travel industry, changing traveller preferences and the growing opportunities beyond metro cities. Catch the full interview of Romil Pant, Executive Vice President Business Head – Leisure Travel, Thomas Cook India:
Q. What has changed the most in Indian travellers’ behaviour over the last five years? The world has changed. Before Covid, we used to think very conventionally. After the pandemic, people initially travelled in what was often called “revenge travel”, but over time, travel became a habit and an inevitable part of household planning. It became part of how people plan their money, holidays and family get-togethers. Earlier, many of us spent summer holidays visiting relatives. Today, parents are more aware and want their children to see and experience the world. This shift is visible not just in metros but also across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, in both the Hindi-speaking and non-Hindi-speaking markets. People are adapting to travel at a very fast pace, and increasingly, they are looking for experiences. Q. Why are Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities becoming such an important opportunity for the travel industry? The opportunity is significant, and the growth in these markets is strong. Our business, despite digitisation and the growth of social media, remains a relationship business, particularly in the holidays space. Trust and relationships are the most important factors. Travellers from smaller cities may initially feel some hesitation when travelling abroad. They are willing to pay for the trust, support and service that an operator provides. For example, someone travelling from a city such as Rajkot to Europe may need reassurance and guidance. Once the customer trusts you, the financial part becomes secondary. Repeat business and referrals follow, but trust and advisory are the starting points. Digital platforms, websites and apps can provide a lot of information, but they cannot replace the human touch and the relationship. Q. Has travel become a more regular part of household spending rather than a discretionary expense? For the customer groups that can afford to travel, middle, upper-middle and upper-income households—it has increasingly moved beyond being an occasional discretionary expense. People are setting aside money for travel and planning for it in advance. I know people who have started systematic investment plans because they want to travel to the US the following year. Of course, not everyone can afford to travel, and a significant economic downturn can affect spending. But for many households, travel has become an aspiration they plan around. Parents want their children to have better experiences and opportunities than they had themselves. That aspiration is also driving travel growth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. In fact, growth in these markets is even higher than in Tier 1 cities. Q. How does a consumer think about spending on travel compared with products such as phones, jewellery or watches? Travel is a different category. A phone, a watch or a piece of jewellery is a tangible product that you use over a period of time. What we offer is an experience of a lifetime. Once you travel, that experience remains in your memory. People therefore plan for travel as a separate category rather than necessarily treating it as competing with these purchases. Someone may invest towards a holiday and still buy a phone or jewellery. Travel involves a different thought process and is often planned independently of other purchases. Q. How have travel patterns changed from seasonal holidays to travel throughout the year? Earlier, April, May and June were the biggest travel months because they coincided with school and college holidays. If you missed those months, the year was often considered more or less over. That is no longer the case. Travel is now a year-round opportunity. People may plan one big holiday and two or three shorter breaks. Better air connectivity has made this possible. A four- or five-day holiday combined with weekends can become a longer break, and people can travel more easily from cities such as Indore and Bhopal to major hubs. The expansion of airports and the growth in domestic and international flights have also made destinations more accessible. This is helping domestic tourism and pilgrimage travel as well. Q. What surprises you most about consumers in markets such as Indore, Bhopal and Jaipur? One important learning is that India should not be treated as one uniform market. The language, culture, dialect, thought process, communication style and travel preferences vary from one region to another, even from one city to another. For example, Bhopal has a strong service-class character, while Indore is a trading city. As a marketer, you have to understand that difference. The way you engage with a customer, the kind of service you offer and the way you build a relationship may need to change accordingly. You have to win the customer’s trust first. In many Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, business is relationship-led. People value the time you spend with them, and personal interaction is a natural part of building that trust. Q. Which Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities are emerging as strong markets for travel? There are several strong and growing markets across India. Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar are doing well. In Rajasthan, Udaipur is a strong market; Surat and Vadodara are important in Gujarat. In central India, Bhopal, Indore, Raipur and Gwalior are emerging strongly. In Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi, Lucknow and Kanpur are important markets. Further south, Mangaluru, Mysuru, Kochi, Madurai, Coimbatore, Guntur and Nellore are doing well. Cuttack, Patna and Siliguri are also among the markets showing strength. Across these cities, we are seeing year-on-year growth and a growing appetite for new destinations and new experiences. Q. What role should print, digital and on-ground activations play in helping travellers reach these markets? A standalone medium is not enough. Print alone, digital alone or below-the-line activity alone will have limited impact. The approach has to be integrated. For example, if we are organising an event in Indore over a weekend, we announce it in print, support it with digital and invite people to come in, spend time with us and understand our products. Sometimes radio can also be part of the mix. These events can become family outings, with people coming together to explore travel options. The partnership works both ways. A credible media partner lends trust to a national brand, while the brand gives the media partner an opportunity to offer a useful experience to readers. Conversions may happen on the day or several days later, so follow-up is important. The association must feel credible and balanced, and the service has to live up to the promise made in the campaign. Q. With travellers researching destinations on Instagram, YouTube and AI tools, what value does a human travel advisor add? Today, many customers come to us with an itinerary they have prepared using ChatGPT, Google Gemini, YouTube or travel creators. What they may not have is the ability to bring all the details together or the relationships on the ground to make the trip work smoothly. A travel advisor can help with visas, tickets, insurance, documentation and itinerary planning. The advisor and the tour manager can also help when something goes wrong, for example, if a traveller falls ill or faces a problem at the destination. In Japan, for instance, navigating large train stations can be complicated, and language can be a challenge. These are situations where practical experience and human support matter. People do their research online, but after a point they can experience information fatigue. They want someone who can guide them, take responsibility and help them make the most of their holiday. That is the value they are paying for. Q. Are Indian travellers also moving towards slower, more relaxed holidays? Yes. The Indian traveller has traditionally wanted to cover as much as possible in a short period. Sometimes, we want a holiday after a holiday just to recover from the fatigue of the previous one. But travellers are evolving. Some customers now want to spend more time in one country or destination instead of rushing through several places. For example, a holiday in Switzerland may mean exploring one country in greater depth rather than trying to cover multiple cities and countries. People are beginning to value the quality of the experience and the memories they take back, not just the number of places they visit. Q. Which customer groups will be most important for the travel industry in the coming years? Our current sweet spot is broadly the 35-to-65 or 70 age group. These customers have spending power, are at a stage of life when they want to travel, and often make decisions around family holidays. Customers above 70 also travel, including for international trips and pilgrimages. At the same time, we need to build a stronger connection with the 25-to-35 age group. They will move into our core customer age band over the next five to ten years, so we need to be part of their consideration set now. I also believe the senior-citizen segment is underestimated. People in the 50-to-80 age group can have the time, energy, money and willingness to travel. While the industry is understandably interested in Gen Z, we should not overlook the potential of older travellers, who may be looking for longer and more relaxed holidays. Q. If you were starting a travel business today, what would you build it around? I would build it around relationships, reliability and trust. Even if I started small, I would make sure every customer was treated fairly and looked after, not just during the tour, but before and after it as well. You need to stay in touch with customers and build relationships that last, because travel can be a long-cycle business. We have customers who have travelled with us across two or three generations. Technology would be a bedrock of the business, but it would be an enabler, not the only way of doing business. I would combine technology and new routes of marketing, including social and digital, with print and traditional marketing to reach vernacular markets. Ultimately, the business would be built on marketing, technology, product and people. Q. What is one travel trend you believe is underestimated, and how would you describe the next phase of India’s consumption story? I think the senior-citizen travel segment is underestimated. In the search for Gen Z customers, the industry can sometimes overlook people in the 50-to-80 age group, who may have the time, energy, money and willingness to travel. Gen Z is an important segment, but we should not become overenthusiastic about serving it at the expense of other customer groups. Cruises are one thing which I think people must explore. As for the next phase of India’s consumption story, I would describe it through three words which are exploration, experiential and experimental.