From Click to Takeoff: India’s Mobile-First, AI-Powered, and Experience-Driven Travel Boom

India’s travel landscape is no longer just about destinations—it’s about discovery, digital behavior, and deep personalization. As the country emerges as one of the world’s most exciting travel markets, travel and hospitality businesses have a massive opportunity to ride this momentum if they sync with how Indians are envisioning, planning, booking and living out their trips in 2025.

What’s powering India’s travel surge? Let’s unpack the biggest shifts in the Indian travel ecosystem and outline exactly how brands can capitalize on these changes, from mobile dominance and AI trip planning to the rise of Tier II travelers and sustainable tourism.

1. The New Age Indian Traveler: From Small Towns to Global Destinations

A new cohort of Indian travelers is on the rise—and they’re not from metros. In fact, the surge is being led by Tier II and III cities. Enhanced internet access, aspirational content on social media, and rising disposable incomes are fueling travel ambitions like never before. According to EY, this shift is transforming the entire industry—from how demand is created to how packages are marketed.

Performance marketers must now design campaigns that reflect this democratization of travel. With more people from the middle class and younger demographics now actively exploring travel opportunities like weekend getaways, local experiences, and longer holidays, localization across language, creative assets, and pricing will be key to capturing this growing segment and resonating with their aspirations.

Meanwhile, outbound travel is also booming. In just the first half of 2024, 15 million Indians traveled internationally, a 14% increase from the previous year and 12% higher than pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Indian overseas spending jumped to $31.7 billion in FY24, a 25% rise from the previous year. And with Indian scholars abroad projected to increase spending from $28 billion to $80 billion, global travel is becoming a lifestyle, not a luxury.

2. Mobile is King: How Indians are Planning Travel in 2025

In India, mobile isn’t just a device—it’s the travel agent, the planner, the concierge. In 2024, mobile users generated 70.5% of all online traffic to travel and hospitality websites, globally.

India has also emerged as the largest market for travel app downloads, accounting for 15% of global downloads between January and September 2024. In Q2 alone, Indian travel app downloads crossed 110 million.

Booking behavior has gone mobile too. Consumers prefer transacting via apps—from booking to resolving issues—making it crucial for brands to invest in high-performance mobile journeys. In fact, online travel agent (OTA) search volumes saw a 14.99% growth from FY’24 to FY’25, reaching an average search volume of 164.74 lakh, showing rising digital demand.

Even AI-driven trip planning is seeing major traction. In 2024 alone, 1.3 million users in India engaged with AI trip planners, generating nearly 300,000 custom itineraries. 

3. Social Media: The Ultimate Travel Influencer

68% of Indian travelers in 2025 cite social media as their primary source of travel inspiration, with travel influencers, destination vlogs, and trend-based reels playing a central role in shaping decision-making.

Social media ads directly influence travel decisions—41% of travelers say they’ve booked trips based on a social ad. Moreover, India's social commerce industry is expected to grow by 34.1% in 2024, reaching $7.2 billion. Platforms like Instagram and YouTube are not just brand discovery zones—they’re travel booking funnels.

The overall ad spend in India's social media advertising market is projected to reach $1.63 billion in 2025, indicating a strong shift toward performance-based travel marketing.This is a call-to-action for travel brands to double down on creative, targeted, and conversion-optimized social campaigns.

The implication for travel brands is clear: social is the new travel marketplace—creator-led, story-driven campaigns now drive both awareness and conversions.

4. The Rise of Spontaneous Travel & Bleisure Trends

Indian travelers aren’t planning months ahead anymore. In 2024, nearly 50% of international travelers made last-minute flight bookings, reflecting a new era of spontaneity, convenience, and flexibility.

At the same time, bleisure travel—the fusion of business and leisure—has become a global force. With a current valuation of $709.2 billion, it’s projected to reach $4.2 trillion by 2034, growing at a CAGR of 19.5%. Campaigns that cater to these evolving booking behaviors—highlighting flexibility, short-notice deals, and dual-purpose packages—can drive stronger engagement and faster conversion cycles.

5. UPI & Digital Payments: Powering Seamless Travel Experiences

The rise of digital-first spending is another cornerstone of India’s travel boom. Indian travelers spent $31.7 billion abroad in FY24, and UPI is making this spending seamless, secure, and scalable. In fact, UPI is now accepted in countries like France (with the Eiffel Tower among early adopters), the UAE, Singapore, and Bhutan, enabling Indian tourists to make direct payments abroad with ease. Guests are not only booking online—they’re expecting end-to-end digital convenience, including real-time bookings, app-based support, and frictionless refunds.

For travel brands, this means prioritizing digital payments infrastructure, highlighting convenience and speed in creatives, and offering payment-linked incentives like instant cashback, EMI options, or loyalty points.

6. Sustainable & Experience-Driven Travel is on the Rise

With India’s tourism industry promoting sustainable travel as a key growth pillar, there’s a rising emphasis on eco-conscious and immersive experiences, from green-certified stays to wellness retreats.

One of the most exciting shifts in Indian travel is the rise of event-led getaways—whether it’s cheering at a stadium or soaking in the energy of a live concert. Nearly 49% of Indian travelers are now planning their trips around major sports events, with 71% of Gen Z (18–24) especially driven by such experiences. Similarly, the allure of live music has seen remarkable growth. In 2024, travel bookings for concerts surged by 44%, reflecting a clear shift towards experience-led travel among Indian consumers. This trend is further underscored by the increasing number of global music stars performing in India—events by artists like Coldplay and Ed Sheeran have attracted thousands, boosting demand for flights, accommodations, and local experiences across host cities. 

Cities hosting such events are seeing spikes in accommodation demand, F&B footfall, and attraction visits, making them hotspots for geo-targeted, time-sensitive campaigns. Sponsorships, real-time promotions, and location-based marketing will be key to tapping this surge.

7. The Future: Where AI, Apps, and Personalization Will Take Travel Next

As we look ahead, the Indian travel market is poised for exponential growth. The overall travel and tourism market in India is expected to generate $25.01 billion in revenue in 2025, with an 8.06% annual growth rate. 

The online travel market specifically is set to reach $19.05 billion in 2025, and grow to $31.38 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 10.5%. The travel technology market, currently valued at $374.50 million, is projected to double to $745.58 million by 2033.

Package holidays will dominate this growth, with the segment expected to hit $11.23 billion in 2025, and grow to a user base of 118.12 million by 2029. User penetration is expected to rise from 8% in 2025 to 11.8% in 2029, with an ARPU of $215.97. Notably, 60% of total travel revenue in India is expected to come from online sales by 2029.

AI will be central to this future. From predictive booking models to personalized itineraries, AI will drive better engagement, smarter targeting, and higher returns. For performance marketers, the call to action is clear: leverage AI not just in product experience, but across campaign delivery, budget allocation, and creative optimization.

Final Boarding Call: How Travel Brands Can Lead This Digital Takeoff

The next phase of India’s travel boom won’t be won by those who offer more destinations. It will be won by those who offer smarter discovery and deeper personalization.

For travel brands and performance marketers, the opportunity is vast—but so is the competition. The difference will come from using data-backed strategies  and a deep understanding of how Indians now plan, and book their trips.

Now’s the time to be present where your traveler is—on mobile, on social, in the moment—and build campaigns that truly take off.