Chennai: Summer holidays for Indians to unique locations have been disrupted because the West Asia battle and a weakening rupee have pushed abroad tour bundle prices up by about 20%, offsetting the Centre’s reduce in Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on such packages to 2% from 20% and 5%.The battle has additionally led to a pointy drop in worldwide journeys between April and June, the height summer time travel season for Indian households. Rajiv Mehra, common secretary, Federation of Associations in Indian Tourism & Hospitality (FAITH), mentioned outbound travel has been badly hit. “We are seeing a significant drop in demand, with an overall decline of 15%-20% compared to last year (April-June 15, 2026 vs April-June 15, 2025). About 35% of Indians were travelling to the UAE and Gulf region, and that travel is now almost negligible. Travel to Europe has also dropped significantly.
Costly holidays
The key reason is the war, which has led to higher oil prices and insurance costs, resulting in expensive airfares. Currency depreciation, visa delays have further contributed to the decline,” he mentioned. Sriharan Balan, MD of Madura Travel Service, mentioned the US greenback strengthened in opposition to the rupee by almost Rs 10 over the previous year-from Rs 84 to Rs 94-making worldwide travel dearer.Travel fintech SanKash mentioned abroad bundle prices have risen 20%-25% year-on-year throughout many sectors. “The increase is recent. Till January, most routes were only 5%-10% higher. The real jump came after the West Asia situation worsened,” co-founder and CEO Akash Dahiya mentioned. SD Nandakumar, president & nation head – Holidays & Corporate Tours, SOTC Travel, mentioned traveller preferences have shifted. “Far East such as Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, China and Australia-New Zealand remain preferred. Nepal and Sri Lanka, along with domestic travel across Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal, Kerala, the Andamans and the Northeast, continue to see steady traction,” he mentioned.