Tier 2/3 cities drive 60% of India's corporate travel bookings in H1 FY26
MakeMyTrip, FCM, Cleartrip and Thomas Cook report nearly 60% of H1FY26 corporate bookings from non-metros, with executives accounting for 80-90% of hotel bookings across 200 smaller cities. Branded hotel signings outside metros jumped 29% YoY, adding 38,806 rooms, as SME-led manufacturing hubs fuel business travel.
What happened
Nearly 60% of corporate travel bookings in H1FY26 came from Tier 2/3 Indian cities, per MakeMyTrip, FCM, Cleartrip and Thomas Cook. Branded hotel signings
Key facts
- 60% non-metro bookings H1FY
- 80-90% hotel bookings executive travellers across 200 non-metro cities
- 66,500 corporates served by MakeMyTrip
- branded hotel signings up 29% YoY adding 38,806 rooms
- Tier 3/4 cities 42.3% of signings, Tier 2 30.2%
- Vijayawada 682,129 passengers +11.6%
- Visakhapatnam 1,456,686 +4.6%
- Nagpur 1,395,384 +2.7%
Why this matters
Target acquisitions or partnerships with regional hotel chains, SME-focused TMCs, and ground-handling assets across the 200 smaller cities anchoring this corporate travel boom.