Travel & Tourism – Jan-Mar’26 Earnings Preview – Travel demand faces turbulence
Published on 09 Apr 2026
The US-Iran conflict has led to disruptions in travel sentiment weighing on FTAs and discretionary demand in 4QFY26E. Due to unfavourable base (MahaKumbh in 4QFY25) the domestic aviation traffic reported a modest growth of 4.4%/2.3% YoY in Jan-26/Feb-26 respectively. However, the traction in Mar-26 was impacted by geo-political headwinds especially on international routes. As far as hospitality sector is concerned, while the pan-India RevPAR reached a new high of Rs8,249-8,625 (up 15-17% YoY as per HVS Anarock) in Feb’26, occupancy levels for major hoteliers took a beating in Mar-26 led by a slowdown in FTAs. The luggage sector also borne the brunt of West Asia war as demand sentiment was weak in Mar-26 with sharp inflation in key RM’s like PP & PC. We expect crude price volatility to impact near term earnings in aviation and luggage sector while the demand recovery in hospitality can be swift once the West Asia crisis normalizes. SAMHI IN and PARKHOTE IN are our top picks in the travel & tourism space.
