Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities drive 53% of India’s forex demand, Thomas Cook India says
Thomas Cook India’s forex report points to travel-spend momentum beyond metros: Tier-2 cities contribute 41% and Tier-3 cities 12% of demand. Branches still handle 75% of purchases, but digital accounts for 25% and continues to grow.
What happened
Thomas Cook (India) · Thomas Cook India reports Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities generate 53% of forex demand, led by leisure travel. Digital forex purchases represent
Key facts
- Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities: 53% of overall forex demand
- Tier-2 cities: 41%
- Tier-3 cities: 12%
- Tier-1 cities: 47%
- Leisure travel: 57% of forex demand
- Corporate travel: 27%
- Student travel: 16%
- Ages 25-40: 37%
- Ages 41-60: 36%
- Ages over 60: 21%
- Ages 18-24: 6%
- US dollar: 49%
- Euro and British pound: 23%
- Asian currencies: 11%
- Middle East currencies: 9%
- Australia and New Zealand currencies: 5%
- Canada: 3%
- Branch-assisted purchases: 75%
- Digital channels: 25%
- Digital forex adoption: up 25% year-on-year
- DIY platform usage: up 50% year-on-year over two years
Why this matters
Target partnerships or acquisitions in regional travel distribution, fintech onboarding and last-mile currency fulfillment to capture non-metro demand while migrating branch-led customers to digital channels.
What to watch
- Digital forex share moving above 30% of purchases, especially in Tier-2 cities.
- Growth in passport issuance, international flight departures and visa applications from non-metro catchments.
- Branch transaction growth versus online order growth and the proportion of online orders fulfilled through branch pickup.
- RBI or regulatory changes affecting forex documentation, digital KYC, prepaid cards, cash delivery or authorized-dealer distribution.
- Promotional pricing and distribution expansion by banks, neobanks, travel OTAs and fintech forex platforms.
- Changes in outbound travel costs driven by rupee volatility, airfare inflation, visa friction or tax policy.
- Expand Tier-2/Tier-3 service coverage through franchise branches, bank/agent partnerships and scheduled home delivery rather than relying only on owned outlets.
- Build an assisted-digital journey: online FX-rate lock, document upload, local branch pickup, doorstep delivery and multilingual customer support.
- Target high-intent cohorts such as students, first-time international leisure travelers, pilgrimage groups, SME travelers and visiting-friends-and-relatives segments.
- Bundle forex with travel insurance, international SIM/eSIM, visa assistance, prepaid cards and holiday packages to protect margins.
- Use city-level demand data to pre-position currency inventory and reduce stock-outs in emerging travel corridors.