Tier-2 and tier-3 cities now drive 53% of India’s forex demand, Thomas Cook India says
Thomas Cook India’s Forex Report 2026 says non-metro markets account for 53% of forex demand, ahead of tier-1 cities’ 47%. Leisure travel makes up 57% of transactions. Branch-assisted purchases remain dominant at 75%, while digital forex adoption rose 25% year-on-year.
What happened
Thomas Cook (India) · Thomas Cook India reports tier-2 and tier-3 cities generated 53% of forex demand, led by leisure travel and 25-40-year-old travellers.
Key facts
- Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities accounted for 53% of forex demand
- Tier-2 cities: 41%
- Tier-3 cities: 12%
- Tier-1 cities: 47%
- Leisure travel: 57% of transactions
- Corporate travel: 27%
- Student travel: 16%
- Ages 25-40: 37% of demand
- Ages 41-60: 36%
- Above 60: 21%
- Ages 18-24: 6%
- US dollar: 49% of demand
- Euro and British pound: 23%
- Asian currencies: 11%
- Middle East currencies: 9%
- Australian and New Zealand currencies: 5%
- Canada: 3%
- Branch-assisted purchases: 75%
- Digital purchases: 25%
- Digital forex adoption rose 25% year-on-year
- DIY platform usage rose 50% over two years
Why this matters
Target partnerships or acquisitions with regional travel agencies, branch networks and digital onboarding providers to capture high-growth non-metro forex demand.
What to watch
- Sustained digital forex transaction growth above 30% year-on-year in non-metro markets.
- Branch-assisted share falling below 65%, indicating meaningful migration from assisted purchases to app or delivery-led fulfillment.
- Expansion of international flight routes, passport service capacity or outbound package-tour sales from tier-2 airports.
- Regulatory changes affecting digital KYC, cash delivery, prepaid forex cards, wallets or cross-border payment limits.
- Competitive moves by banks, fintechs and travel firms adding franchise locations, local-language apps or aggressive rate guarantees in secondary cities.
- Prioritize tier-2 clusters with high passport issuance, outbound leisure travel, university populations and international airport connectivity rather than expanding uniformly by city tier.
- Build branch-assisted digital journeys: online rate alerts and booking, remote document pre-validation, scheduled branch pickup and post-trip currency buyback.
- Use regional-language acquisition, travel-season campaigns and partnerships with tour operators, visa agencies, airlines and education consultants.
- Segment products by travel purpose: cash and card bundles for leisure travelers, recurring remittance/forex solutions for students and business travelers.
- Track branch-level conversion from digital leads to identify where physical trust remains essential and where delivery or fully digital products can substitute.