The great Indian middle-class getaway: How they are redefining travel in an inflation era

“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” — Paul Theroux For India’s middle class, it’s never been truer. The glamour fades fast when EMIs, rent, and grocery bills bite, yet the urge to travel endures. Families may trade Singapore for Sikkim, or Bali for Bhuj, but the desire to escape routine still drives them to pack their bags, albeit more cautiously. Nevertheless, for India’s middle class, which accounts for hundreds of millions of consumers, the response to slow wage growth and episodic inflation has been creative: shorter trips, smarter bookings, rediscovered domestic routes, and a new reverence for value. The practical choices that many make perfectly serve the “inflation era” traveller, one who values experiences over extravagance, compares every fare before booking, and plan