- Travel employers plan to add more staff.
- Blue-collar roles lead at 52 percent.
- Mumbai records highest hiring intent at 29 percent.
The sector is expected to record a net employment change of 12.3 percent between October and March 2027, according to TeamLease Services’ Employment Outlook Report. It surveyed 1,239 businesses across 23 industries and 20 Indian cities between July and August.
“Travel and hospitality is a people-intensive sector where service quality and operational efficiency are closely linked to workforce readiness,” said Balasubramanian A, TeamLease senior vice president. “As travel patterns evolve and businesses prepare for seasonal fluctuations, employers will need to balance staffing flexibility with the need for consistent customer experiences.”
Hiring plans vary by role and city
Of the employers surveyed, 81 percent plan to increase their staff. This shows that plans to hire are common among businesses in the sector, rather than limited to a small number of employers.
Blue-collar roles lead the hiring plans, with 52 percent of employers looking to add staff in these positions. Sales and marketing follows at 50 percent, while finance stands at 40 percent. Information technology accounts for 31 percent and back-office and administration for 22 percent.
The figures show that hiring needs go beyond hotel and travel operations. Blue-collar roles mainly support day-to-day services, while sales and marketing staff help businesses attract customers and generate revenue. Finance, IT and administrative roles are also part of employers’ plans, showing the need for staff in both customer-facing and office-based jobs.
Hiring plans also differ by city. Mumbai leads with 29 percent, followed by Bengaluru at 27 percent and Delhi at 20 percent. Kolkata records 19 percent, while Gurugram stands at 18 percent. Mumbai and Bengaluru have the highest hiring intent among the cities listed, with Delhi also recording a figure of 20 percent.
It shows that employers plan to add staff in several major cities, rather than focusing on one market. Kolkata and Gurugram also feature in the plans, but their hiring intent is lower than in the three leading cities. These reflect employers’ plans and do not confirm that new jobs have been created or recruitment has taken place. The actual number of people hired may differ from current plans.
The salary outlook also points to a higher expected increase for travel and hospitality employees in fiscal year 2026-27. TeamLease projects a 9.2 percent salary increase, compared with 8.5 percent in fiscal year 2025-26. This is an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the previous fiscal year.
Growth in MICE, experiential tourism and travel demand from tier-two and tier-three cities are among the factors linked to the sector’s hiring outlook. These areas need staff for hotel operations, guest services, sales and event management, as well as other support roles. Employers may need to hire for a range of positions as demand for different travel services grows.
A recent report by ICRA projected India’s hospitality industry revenue to grow 7 to 9 percent in fiscal year 2026-27, down from an estimated 11 percent in the previous fiscal year.
