Travel stocks experienced significant declines on Monday following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's advisory against non-essential foreign travel. According to reports from The Economic Times, shares of travel-sector companies including IndiGo, SpiceJet, ixigo, Yatra Online, Thomas Cook, and Easy Trip Planners fell by as much as 7%. Interglobe Aviation, the operator of IndiGo, declined over 4% to its day's low of ₹4,335, while SpiceJet dipped over 4% to its day's low of ₹13.41 on the BSE. The broader tourism sector was severely impacted, with the Nifty India Tourism index tumbling 3.2% to an intraday low of 7,337.90 level.
PM Modi urged citizens to avoid non-essential foreign travel for at least a year during the ongoing global crisis. As reported by The Economic Times, the Prime Minister said, "In this time of global crisis, we have to make a resolution keeping duty paramount and fulfil it with complete dedication. A big resolution is to use petrol and diesel sparingly. We must curb our use of petrol and diesel." Drawing parallels with the Covid-19 pandemic period, PM Modi suggested that India had successfully adapted to remote working systems, online meetings and virtual conferences, and urged these practices be widely adopted "in the national interest" to reduce fuel consumption linked to commuting and business travel. Addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad on Sunday, PM Modi also said India should revive COVID-era practices, such as work-from-home, virtual meetings, and video conferencing, to reduce fuel consumption and imports.
The advisory's impact extended across the entire tourism sector, with all 15 stocks on the Nifty India Tourism index trading in red on Monday. According to latest reports, InterGlobe Aviation was the biggest laggard, declining 5%, followed by GMR Airports at -4.13%, TBO Tek at -3.73%, Devyani International at -3.5%, Sapphire Foods India at -3.45%, and ITC Hotels at -2.89%. Other major declines included Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts at -2.62%, EIH Limited at -2.36%, The Indian Hotels Company at -2.16%, and Chalet Hotels at -2.15%. The sector has faced significant pressure over recent months, with the Nifty India Tourism index losing 10% over three months and 16% over six months.
The travel sector decline comes amid broader challenges facing Indian equities, with foreign investors significantly reducing their holdings in Indian stocks. As reported by The Economic Times, foreign ownership of Indian companies has reached a 14-year low, driven by slowing earnings growth, the AI boom in South Korea and Taiwan, and rising oil prices coupled with a falling rupee. The rupee experienced its worst year in 14 years during FY26, adding to investor concerns about market valuations. While India's story remains more diversified across banks, consumption, telecom and manufacturing sectors compared to concentrated AI-driven markets in Korea and Taiwan, global investors are currently prioritizing earnings momentum over broader economic diversification, leading to continued outflows from Indian markets.
