Narendra Modi asks Indians to postpone overseas travel and weddings
Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants Indians to hit pause on international trips and destination weddings for at least a year, hoping it'll help the economy during the West Asia crisis.
At an event in Secunderabad, he said, "The growing culture of weddings abroad, traveling abroad, and vacationing abroad is becoming prevalent among the middle class. We must decide that during this time of crisis, we should postpone traveling abroad for at least a year," Mr. Modi said, making it clear he is looking for everyone's support.
Travel spending down, investments abroad rise
Official numbers show that spending on foreign travel has already dropped for two years straight: travel expenses under RBI's LRS fell 3.1% in the first 11 months of 2025-26.
But while fewer people are heading overseas, wealthy Indians are actually investing more outside India; foreign debt and equity investments jumped nearly 59%, and buying property abroad shot up by more than 76%.