India’s travel and hospitality sector has recorded a significant hiring surge, showing a Net Employment Change (NEC) of +5.9 per cent for the second half of Fiscal Year 2026 (H2 FY26). This figure marks a substantial rise from the +3.9 per cent recorded in the previous half, according to the latest TeamLease Employment Outlook Report. This acceleration is primarily attributed to a strong domestic and inbound tourism recovery, the influence of global event-driven travel, and a growing industry focus on digital and experiential service models. The hiring surge itself is driven by rising tourist arrivals, global events, and increasing demand for experience-led travel.
The overall sentiment among employers is strongly positive. The report, which surveyed 1,251 employers across 23 industries and 20 cities, found that 68 per cent of employers plan to expand their workforce, while 21 per cent expect to maintain current levels. Only 11 per cent foresee workforce reductions. The growth is supported by a sustained rebound in foreign tourist arrivals and flourishing domestic leisure circuits, especially in wellness, heritage, and spiritual tourism. Furthermore, corporate and MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) travel growth is driving demand for skilled roles across hotels, airlines, and airports.
Employers are strategically moving away from traditional service-heavy staffing, increasingly focusing on frontline, digital, and experience-oriented functions. The sector is noted to be evolving toward experience-led travel, utilizing technology and analytics to personalize guest journeys. This shift is fueling demand for roles focused on digital merchandising, user experience design, and customer insight to enhance retention and service quality. Consequently, roles like Revenue managers, digital distribution specialists, and guest experience designers are among the most highly sought-after profiles. In the aviation and airport segment, airlines are expanding teams for operations planning and customer flow analytics to enhance efficiency across terminals.
Hiring demand is strongest in three key job functions: Sales and Marketing (51 per cent), indicating a growing emphasis on customer acquisition; Blue Collar (46 per cent), focusing on on-ground operations; and Back Office & Admin (39 per cent), underscoring process reliability. The strong interest in these areas signals that employers are prioritizing the strengthening of customer experience, operational reliability, and frontline service quality. Regarding location, the cities that have emerged as key talent hubs for travel and hospitality hiring are Indore (24 per cent), Bengaluru (22 per cent), and Jaipur (20 per cent), supported by local infrastructure expansion and tourism activity.
Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services, affirmed this outlook, stating that the sector is soaring on the back of a strong tourism revival and global events, with momentum driven by experiential travel and rising leisure demand. With the industry successfully leveraging renewed inbound travel, evolving guest expectations, and technology-led transformation, the outlook for travel and hospitality employment remains optimistic for FY26 and beyond.
