{"id":23522,"date":"2026-05-24T19:40:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/?page_id=23522"},"modified":"2026-05-24T19:40:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:10:47","slug":"business-travel-report-2026-launched-by-thomas-cook-india-sotc-travel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/business-travel-report-2026-launched-by-thomas-cook-india-sotc-travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Business Travel Report 2026 Launched by Thomas Cook India &amp; SOTC Travel"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Insights from 25+ leading Enterprises on India\u2019s evolving business travel landscape<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-23523\" src=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"472\" height=\"614\" srcset=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2.jpg 1967w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2-231x300.jpg 231w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2-787x1024.jpg 787w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2-768x1000.jpg 768w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2-1180x1536.jpg 1180w, http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/on-the-left-Indiver-Rastogi-President-Group-Head-Global-Business-Travel-Thomas-Cook-India-and-SOTC-Travel-launching-the-report-2-1574x2048.jpg 1574w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>65% corporates expect business travel volumes to rise in 2026 <\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Over 70% are adopting tech-led solutions for booking, approvals &amp; expense management<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>68% corporates see growing Bleisure trend<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>62% focus on value-driven decisions balancing cost, safety &amp; compliance<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>56% prioritize traveller experience, flexibility &amp; duty of care<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Close to 60% corporates revisiting travel policies for tighter controls &amp; efficiency<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>GST compliance &amp; ITC optimization a key focus for 55% corporates<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>Thomas Cook (India) Limited, and SOTC Travel, released their Business Travel Report 2026, offering insights into\u00ad\u00ad the evolving priorities, patterns and pressures shaping business travel across India.<\/p>\n<p>The survey conducted over a two-month period, was based on responses received from 25+ leading enterprises across sectors including BFSI, manufacturing, hospitality, healthcare, conglomerates and professional services, along with insights from internal booking and transactional data. The report highlighted a strong revival in business travel demand, alongside a heightened focus on cost optimization, policy discipline, traveller experience and compliance.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Business Travel Trend Report 2026 key observations:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Business travel demand remains resilient: <\/strong>Nearly 65% of corporates expect their business travel volumes to increase over the next 12 months, while 30% expect it to remain stable. Only 5% anticipate a decline. This translates to 95% of respondents projecting stable-to-growth spend, underlining travel\u2019s continued role in driving growth, client engagement and business continuity. Client meetings, sales-related travel and internal business-critical movement continue to dominate business travel demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Technology and data-led decision-making on the rise: <\/strong>More than 70% of corporates are increasing their reliance on digital tools for booking, approvals, expense management and MIS reporting, enabling improved visibility, policy compliance and data-backed decision-making across business travel programs.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Shift towards value-driven travel management: <\/strong>While cost optimization remains critical, over 62% of respondents highlighted a move towards value-led travel decisions \u2014 balancing cost efficiency with safety, reliability, compliance and traveller well-being. This has elevated the role of managed travel programs and strategic travel partners.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Traveller experience, flexibility and duty of care gain prominence:<\/strong> Alongside business objectives, over 56% of respondents acknowledged the growing importance of traveller experience, flexibility and duty of care \u2014 particularly for frequent flyers and senior leadership. The findings point to a clear trade-off between traveller convenience and policy compliance, underscoring the need for smarter, more flexible travel policies supported by technology and data-led controls to reduce friction while maintaining governance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Policy tightening and supplier renegotiations gain momentum: <\/strong>Close to 60% of corporates indicated that they have tightened or are in the process of revisiting their travel policies. Renegotiation of airline and hotel contracts, rationalization of preferred suppliers and stricter approval workflows have emerged as key levers to offset rising costs and tax-related pressures.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>B-Leisure travel on the rise: <\/strong>68% of corporates report that employees are increasingly extending business trips to include personal leisure time \u2014 blending work and downtime. This growing shift is prompting organizations to reassess travel policies, clarify cost\u2011sharing norms and offer greater flexibility to support work\u2011plus\u2011leisure travel.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Domestic hubs dominate, with growth in international business travel: <\/strong>72% of corporate travel continues to be domestic, led by key business hubs such as Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune. These cities remain critical for client meetings, internal reviews and project-based travel. On the international front, Singapore, Thailand, Hong-Kong, Maldives, Dubai-Abu Dhabi, UK, Italy, Netherlands, USA, South Africa and Australia remain preferred destinations for leadership meetings, supplier engagements and strategic business expansion \u2014with China and Japan emerging strongly on the radar.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u00ad\u00adRising airfares and costs driving sharper controls: <\/strong>A sharp 80% of respondents reported an increase in Average Ticket Prices (ATP) over the past year \u2014 with over 36% witnessing a significant rise of more than 15%, and 45% reporting a moderate increase of 5\u201315%, highlighting tighter controls, advance booking mandates and closer monitoring of travel spends.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>GST and input tax credit challenges add pressure to travel budgets: <\/strong>GST-related complexities continue to weigh on business travel programs. Over 55% of respondents highlighted challenges around GST applicability, compliance and input tax credit (ITC) optimization \u2014 particularly for air travel and hotel stays. This has led corporates to increasingly seek structured invoicing, compliant supplier ecosystems and expert support to minimize leakage and improve tax efficiency.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Indiver Rastogi, President &amp; Group Head, Global Business Travel, Thomas Cook (India) and SOTC Travel, <\/strong>said, \u201cWe are pleased to have launched the Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel Business Travel Report 2026, which presents a comprehensive view of how leading Indian corporates are recalibrating travel strategies in an increasingly dynamic environment. The findings highlight a clear shift towards value-driven programs, accelerated technology adoption and tighter governance. At Thomas Cook India and SOTC Travel, our sustained engagement with customers and deep market understanding have enabled us to anticipate shifts early and introduce innovations such as Dhruv.ai, our voice-enabled AI advisor, and TravelOne, our integrated booking and management platform \u2014 helping create smarter, policy-aligned and technology-enabled travel ecosystems. As business travel continues to evolve amid economic, regulatory and technological changes, we aim to publish this report regularly to equip industry stakeholders with actionable insights that support informed, future-ready decision-making.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insights from 25+ leading Enterprises on India\u2019s evolving business travel landscape 65% corporates expect business travel volumes to rise in 2026 Over 70% are adopting tech-led solutions for booking, approvals &amp; expense management 68% corporates see growing Bleisure trend 62% focus on value-driven decisions balancing cost, safety &amp; compliance 56% prioritize traveller experience, flexibility &amp;&#8230; <\/p>\n<div class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/business-travel-report-2026-launched-by-thomas-cook-india-sotc-travel\/\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23522"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23525,"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/23522\/revisions\/23525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pulseonline.co\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}