Top 15 Travel Companies in India in 2026

Image credit: Desidime

India’s travel and tourism sector has witnessed phenomenal growth. It is said that the tourism and hospitality sector in India will generate $59 billion in revenue in 2028 and provide 140 million new jobs. By September 2023, 6.43 million foreign tourists and 1.73 billion domestic tourists travelled across the states and union territories of India.

The booming travel industry has indeed been backed by many of the major companies responsible for opening up vistas of opportunities for job aspirants. In this article, we are going to dive deep into some of the top travel companies in India to find out which one will suit your career objectives.

15 Best Travel Companies in India

Working for the top tour companies in India gives one the chance to be part of innovative teams and promote the overall development of the tourism sector and superior travel services to customers. Here in this article lies a comprehensive list of the top 15 travel companies in India one should consider for their travelling plans.

1. EaseMyTrip

EaseMyTrip built its entire reputation on one idea: travel shouldn’t burn a hole in your pocket. Since launching in 2008, the Gurugram-based company has grown into one of India’s biggest listed online travel agencies, covering flights, trains, hotels, and cabs — all without charging convenience fees on flight bookings, which is still its biggest calling card.

What makes it stand out isn’t flashy marketing; it’s consistency. The company has stayed profitable while several competitors burned through cash, and it’s now expanding into the corporate and international travel space to chase its next phase of growth.

2. MakeMyTrip

If online travel booking in India has a household name, it’s this one. Launched in 2000, MakeMyTrip has spent two decades building the largest travel platform in the country — flights, hotels, bus tickets, holiday packages, the works.

Its edge in 2026 is scale and trust: millions of monthly users, deep airline and hotel partnerships, and a growing stake from global travel giant Trip.com. For a lot of Indian travellers, “let’s MakeMyTrip it” is basically shorthand for “let’s book the trip.”

3. ClearTrip

ClearTrip has had one of the more interesting journeys on this list. It built its name on a clean, no-nonsense booking experience for flights, hotels, and buses — and then went through a major ownership shuffle, passing from Flipkart to Middle Eastern travel group Cleartrip Holdings.

The big 2026 update: in a rare reverse move, ClearTrip’s original founders bought the brand back in 2024, bringing it back into Indian hands and setting up a fresh chapter focused on rebuilding its domestic presence.

4. Kesari Travels

Founded in 1957, Kesari Tours is proof that “old-school” and “well-loved” can go hand in hand. It’s built its name on group tours and family holidays — the kind where everything from transport to sightseeing to meals is planned down to the last detail, so travellers can just show up and enjoy.

Its strength has always been trust across generations of Indian families, especially for pilgrimage circuits and value-for-money international group tours — a niche where Kesari still dominates.

5. Riya Travels

Riya Travel has quietly become one of India’s most respected names in air ticketing, visas, and foreign exchange, especially for corporate and NRI travellers. It doesn’t chase flashy consumer marketing the way OTAs do — instead, it’s built a reputation on personalised service and getting the paperwork right, which matters a lot for international travel.

6. Club Mahindra

Club Mahindra isn’t about booking a single trip — it’s about buying into a lifetime of holidays. As part of Mahindra Holidays, it runs a vacation-ownership model where members get guaranteed access to a network of resorts across India and abroad.

Its focus on family-first hospitality, quality resorts, and long-term member relationships has made it one of the most recognisable vacation-ownership brands in the country.

7. Goibibo

Launched in 2009 by Ashish Kashyap, Goibibo carved out its space by focusing on value — flights, hotels, buses, trains, and travel insurance, all bookable in a few taps. It’s now part of the MakeMyTrip Group, which gives it serious backend scale while it keeps its own brand identity and budget-friendly positioning alive.

8. Thomas Cook (India)

Few travel brands can say they’ve been around since 1881 — Thomas Cook can. Originally a British institution, its India business is now owned by Canadian investment firm Fairfax, operating independently as Thomas Cook (India) Ltd.

It’s built its 2026 identity around corporate travel, forex services, and curated leisure holidays, leaning on over a century of brand trust while modernising its booking technology to stay competitive with newer OTAs.

9. Expedia

Expedia is the American giant of this list — founded in 1996 as a travel venture inside Microsoft before spinning off into one of the world’s largest online travel companies. It now covers flights, hotels, car rentals, and vacation packages across practically every country on the map, India included.

Its strength is data and scale: massive global inventory, AI-powered personalisation, and a brand that international travellers instantly recognise and trust.

10. Thrillophilia

Founded in 2011 by Abhishek Daga and Chitra Gurnani Daga, Thrillophilia didn’t try to compete with MakeMyTrip or Goibibo on flights and hotels. Instead, it built a business around experiences — trekking, scuba diving, city tours, adventure sports, and offbeat activities that regular OTAs don’t really touch.

That focus has paid off. It’s now one of the fastest-growing names in India’s experience-travel space, riding the same wave that’s made “experiences over things” a real travel trend among younger Indians.

11. Travelocity

Travelocity, founded in 1996 by Terry Jones, was one of the original American OTAs that shaped how the world books flights and hotels online. Today, it operates as a brand under the Expedia Group umbrella, which means Indian travellers booking international trips still benefit from its inventory and pricing, even if the standalone brand isn’t as loud as it once was.

12. SOTC Holidays

SOTC has been organising group and escorted tours since 1949, and it’s now part of the larger Thomas Cook India Group. Its bread and butter is the fully-planned holiday — flights, hotels, sightseeing, and a tour manager who handles the logistics so travellers don’t have to.

It remains a go-to choice for Indians who want the reassurance of a guided, professionally run holiday rather than planning everything themselves.

13. Cox & Kings

Cox & Kings has arguably the wildest story on this list. Founded all the way back in 1758 by Richard Cox, it’s one of the oldest travel brands in the world — but the Indian business collapsed into insolvency in 2019 after a major financial scandal, and the brand effectively went dark for several years.

Here’s the big 2026 update: in 2024, Singapore-based private equity firm Wilson & Hughes acquired the Cox & Kings brand in India through the insolvency process and has been reviving it since, rebuilding its network of franchises and holiday brands from the ground up. It’s a genuine comeback story worth watching.

14. Amazing India Tours

Amazing India Tours has built its niche around one thing: showing India to the world, one custom itinerary at a time. Based in New Delhi, it specialises in tailor-made tours — Himalayan treks, Rajasthan heritage circuits, spiritual journeys through Varanasi — designed around what each traveller actually wants to see.

It’s smaller than the big OTAs on this list, but that’s the point — personal attention and deep local knowledge are its whole pitch.

15. Intrepid Travel

Founded in 1989 by Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester, Intrepid Travel built its name on small-group, sustainability-first travel — the opposite of a big-bus tourist crowd. Based in Melbourne, it runs curated group trips through India and dozens of other countries, with a strong focus on supporting local communities and minimising environmental impact.

For travellers who want authentic experiences without a massive carbon footprint or a massive crowd, Intrepid remains one of the most trusted names globally.

Conclusion

India’s travel industry isn’t just growing — it’s changing shape. Old, century-old names like Thomas Cook and Cox & Kings are reinventing themselves, tech-first players like EaseMyTrip and Goibibo are scaling fast, and newer entrants like Thrillophilia are building entirely new categories around experiences rather than just bookings.

Whichever one you choose — for your next holiday or your next career move — these 15 companies are the ones actually shaping how India travels in 2026.

FAQs

Which is the biggest travel company in India right now? By scale and market share, MakeMyTrip is still the clear leader, followed closely by EaseMyTrip and Goibibo in the online booking space.

Is Cox & Kings still operating in 2026? Yes — after going through insolvency in 2019-2020, the brand was acquired and revived by Wilson & Hughes in 2024, and it’s currently rebuilding its India presence through new franchises.

Which of these companies are good for a career in travel? MakeMyTrip, EaseMyTrip, Thomas Cook, and Club Mahindra all run large India teams across tech, operations, and customer experience, making them solid options if you’re exploring a travel-industry career.