‘Domestic travellers have surged from pre-Covid 2.3 billion visits to over 4 billion now:’ Sanjiv Puri

ITC Hotels chairman Sanjiv Puri

NEW DELHI: International inbound travel to India may remain well below pre-Covid high of over a crore seen in 2019, domestic travel is booming and keeping this overall industry alive here. ITC Hotels and ITC chairman Sanjiv Puri on Thursday said “domestic tourism has surged to over 4 billion domestic visits, significantly up from the pre-pandemic level of around 2.3 billion.” And “domestic visitor spending is expected to nearly double, from Rs 19 trillion in 2026 to Rs 36.5 trillion by 2036.”Pointing out the “immense potential ahead,” Puri said at ITC Hotels AGM: “India’s young, aspirational population, rising incomes and rapid urbanisation are creating a new generation of experience-led travellers seeking richer and more distinctive journeys…. This continued momentum in domestic travel is transforming Indian hospitality from a cyclical opportunity to a strategic growth engine. As India ascends on the global stage, the tourism economy will scale new horizons and trigger a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment and employment.”What India has seen post Covid is that the number of people going abroad for various purposes including tourism continues to rise, inbound to India continues to remain weak. So instead of high-paying foreigners and NRIs, domestic traveller has become the bread and butter for the travel industry here. The growth plans factor in the same trajectory. “ As India ascends on the global stage, the tourism economy will scale new horizons and trigger a virtuous cycle of consumption, investment and employment,” Puri said.Despite a continuing challenging geopolitical environment since last year’s Operation Sindoor that has been aggravated by the US-Iran war and airspace closures, the hospitality industry has been to sail through primarily on the strength of the domestic travellers and the events, including weddings, hosted here. In FY 2026, Puri said ITC Hotels’ total income grew 19% to over Rs 4,331 crore and PAT rose 29%.Detailing the expansion plans, he said: “Over the past 24 months, (ITC Hotels) signed 63 hotels and opened 29 properties, reaffirming the strength of our asset-right strategy in delivering accelerated growth and profitability…. we will continue to invest in promising opportunities whilst pursuing management contracts that are aligned to our strategic vision and business objectives. A pipeline of 78 hotels with over 8,000 keys supports our ambition to scale the operating portfolio to 250 hotels and over 22,000 keys over the next five years.”ITC Hotels is developing new properties in places like Puri, Visakhapatnam and Delhi, while expanding its hotel in Bhubaneswar, together adding nearly 670 rooms to its portfolio. It is also growing the inorganic route through the acquisition of a new property in Kerala and the signing of another in Ahmedabad. In addition, it has recently signed agreements for properties in Ayodhya, Bodh Gaya, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Jaipur, Rajgir, Shahjahanpur and Shirdi.