International travel from India no longer just a metro story: Atlys

Ask anyone about their favourite part of planning an international holiday, and the visa application process is unlikely to be at the top of their list. This aspect is often associated more with stress than with joy, presenting a maze of paperwork, waiting periods, and uncertainty.

However, Santosh Hegde, head of marketing at Atlys—one of the country's leading visa processing platforms—has observed a shift in how Indians approach this essential step in travel planning. In a conversation with afaqs!, he shares insights into their changing preferred destinations, evolving travel habits, and even the seasons they now favour for travel. 

This shift reflects not just an increase in numbers but also a transformation in who is travelling, where they are going, and how they are organising their journeys.

Meet India’s new-age globetrotters: metro-savvy, tier-2 curious, and DIYers

If you thought foreign travel from India was all about big-city boardrooms and family summer breaks, think again. According to Hegde, the post-pandemic traveller is younger, bolder, and far more experimental.

“Millennials still make up our largest chunk – around half of our customers – but Gen Z is right behind them at 38%. They’re shaping how and where Indians travel,” he says.

The split between metros and smaller cities is revealing. Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai remain the top three outbound hubs, but there has also been an increase of 5x in applications from tier 2 cities such as Mohali, Surat, and Lucknow. “We’re seeing a wave of first-time international travellers from Tier 2 markets,” Hegde notes.

The DIY travel wave

One of the most notable shifts, Hegde says, is the rise of “DIY travellers”. Atlys defines its core audience as DIY voyagers – travellers who want to plan their entire trip end-to-end.

Typically in their mid-20s and a few years into their careers, they’ve likely tested the waters with visa-free countries like Thailand before venturing into more complex destinations. 

This group spans meticulous “hyper planners” and spontaneous “last-minute livers”, but the common thread is control: booking everything themselves, skipping agents, and finding joy in the process. “That’s the traveller we’re after,” Hegde says, “someone who wants the entire experience to be theirs, start to finish.”

India’s new boarding trends

While the US remains a dream destination for many Indians, bolstered by family ties and its vast, varied landscapes, there’s a growing appetite for newer spots. 

South Africa, for instance, saw a 22x spike in interest during Atlys’ recent sale, driven by its wildlife parks and relatively untapped appeal. Georgia has quietly become a hit, while close-to-home favourites such as Vietnam and Indonesia continue to benefit from quick flights and long weekends.Australia and the UAE also hold steady in the mix.

“Social media has played a huge role in this shift. People are discovering places they wouldn’t have even thought of ten years ago,” Hegde notes.

Seasons are no longer the boss

For decades, Indian international travel followed a predictable calendar: April to June for summer breaks and November–December for year-end getaways. Hegde asserts that this rhythm has undergone disruption. 

Post-Covid, travel demand is more evenly spread through the year, thanks to the rise of “shoulder season” trips, when airfares and stays are cheaper and crowds thinner. 

“The weather may not be perfect, but it’s far from bad, and people see that as a fair trade-off,” he notes. Add to that the rise of slow travel, where the goal is to soak in a place rather than race through tourist checklists, and you get a picture of a more deliberate, experience-driven traveller.

Shifting gears in the travel marketing game

Hegde says that Atlys’ media strategy now rests on three pillars: awareness, assurance, and authority, each with its own budget and channel mix. 

Awareness, which claims about 50% of the spend, focuses on telling potential travellers about Atlys’ on-time visa guarantee through YouTube (35–40% of the awareness budget), Meta, and print (10–15%). 

Assurance, which accounts for 20% of the budget, relies on travel influencers—a fitting choice in a sector where social media content has driven significant growth—to establish trust in a process that necessitates customers handing over their passports. 

The final 30% is channelled into authority-building, anchored by an in-house content team of creators, copywriters, designers, and editors producing advice-led posts, destination tips, and community discussions across Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

Breaking the visa barrier: Atlys’ Rs 1 travel gambit

With its cheekily named ‘One Way Out’ sale, Atlys captured the attention of the travel industry by offering visas to popular destinations such as the UK, UAE, and Australia for just Rs 1. However, this initiative was more than merely a promotional gimmick.

Hegde says the campaign was designed to strip away both the monetary and psychological barriers that make visas feel like a roadblock for Indian travellers, especially Gen Z and millennials.

Covering destinations that account for 92% of India’s international travel, the sale saw a 6x spike in new users and flooded Atlys’ funnel with first-time applicants, many of whom, thanks to the brand’s retention rates, are expected to return.

Atlys vs traditional visa solutions

Atlys views visas as the initial step in a traveller's journey — a gateway that uncovers intent, fosters trust, and identifies challenges in trip planning. Unlike traditional facilitators such as VFS or travel agents, which mainly provide the infrastructure for visa submissions, Atlys aims to transform the experience by tackling common pain points. 

The platform offers price transparency, real-time tracking, and clear status updates, turning what was once an opaque, stressful process into one marked by consumer assurance and control. 

Travel insurance, already part of Atlys’s offerings, sees a strong attach rate, but the primary focus remains on streamlining the underserved visa market.