10% annual increase in travel insurance, youth at the forefront:Rich youth’s changed preference; 40% Indians going to new countries like Japan-Maldives for holidays

The preferences of Indians traveling abroad for tourism are changing. In the financial year 2025-26, over 40% of Indians chose new countries like South Korea, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Japan, and the Maldives for holidays. According to data from Tata AIG General Insurance Company, there has been a significant change in travelers’ age, preferred destinations, and insurance purchases. Although countries like the UK are still among the most preferred, the pace of travel to these new destinations is the fastest. Southeast Asia alone accounted for 26% of all international travelers purchasing insurance. This region saw a year-on-year growth of over 10%. Now, travelers include people of all ages. The craze for visiting these new destinations around the world is rapidly increasing. The largest share of this consists of working youth under 50 years of age, who are abandoning traditional methods and directly purchasing insurance and making bookings through online platforms. The trend of purchasing online travel insurance via the internet has recorded an average annual growth of 10%. There has been no significant change in the number of days Indians spend on foreign travel for the past two years. Indians are spending an average of 24 days abroad during holidays. For destinations like Europe and America, this trip was the longest, lasting about 32 days, while for trips to Southeast Asia, people are spending an average of 11 days. According to Chandrakant Said, Vice President of Tata AIG, there has been an increase in the trend of families, seniors, and first-time international travelers opting for travel insurance during the busy holiday season. Indian travelers are paying the most attention to safety abroad.
The share of seniors aged over 55 among those traveling abroad has reached 22%. This shows the increasing confidence of senior citizens in traveling abroad. However, the largest number of travelers is still working professionals. Among all travelers, people aged between 21 and 55 have the largest share at 66%. Season – May-June sees the highest trend of international travel Due to the summer holidays, May and June were the busiest months for international travel. During this period, air travel remained the first choice for people going abroad. Approximately 98% of travelers going abroad with insurance traveled by flight.