For India’s travel technology and B2B distribution ecosystem, 2025 was not a year of easy wins. It was a year that demanded discipline, resilience, and a sharp focus on execution. Amid geopolitical disruptions, volatile airline capacity, fluctuating fares, and uneven supply conditions, leading platforms were compelled to balance growth ambitions with operational stability, often absorbing market shocks so their trade partners did not have to.
Across companies such as TBO.com, Riya – The Travel Expert, RezLive.com, and TripJack, 2025 emerged as a test of fundamentals rather than scale alone. Platform reliability, partner trust, pricing transparency, and the ability to grow without compromising consistency defined performance. In many ways, the year reinforced a clear reality for the sector: sustainable progress would depend not on rapid expansion, but on how effectively technology, partnerships, and operational discipline could work together in an increasingly unpredictable global travel landscape.
2025- A Year of Steady Growth
For TBO.com, 2025 was defined by focused execution amid a volatile operating environment. Aarish Khan, Chief Commercial Officer, TBO.com, noted, “2025 has been a year of focused execution for us, marked by strengthening our core platforms, expanding relevant products, and deepening partner engagement.” He also acknowledged that the year saw multiple industry disruptions, including fluctuating airline capacity and fares, supply-side volatility, and pricing pressures across markets, reinforcing the need for operational discipline and long-term value creation.
A similar sentiment guided Riya – The Travel Expert through the year. For the company, 2025 delivered encouraging momentum across business verticals, supported by improving travel demand across leisure, corporate, and group segments. Reflecting on the year, Nitin John, Vice Chairman and Director, Riya Group, observed, “From a product and capability perspective, we placed significant emphasis on technology-led initiatives. Throughout the year, we focused on developing smarter, more innovative, and efficient solutions for our travel partners and customers, designed to simplify processes, improve turnaround times, and enhance overall user experience. Equally important was our focus on partner engagement. By combining global expansion with ongoing tech innovation, we delivered greater value to our partners, strengthened existing relationships, and built new ones. Overall, 2025 has laid a solid foundation for scalable growth, positioning us well for the opportunities ahead in 2026 and beyond.”
Alongside technology investments, the company strengthened its global footprint by opening new offices in Jeddah and the Philippines, enhancing its ability to support inbound and outbound travel with localised expertise.
For RezLive.com, growth in 2025 was driven by strong performance across key international markets and deeper supplier relationships. Jaal Shah, Founder, RezLive.com and Group Managing Director-Travel Designer Group, shared, “In 2025, RezLive sustained strong growth across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, where our distribution network and supplier partnerships remain deeply established. We expanded our global footprint further, adding inventory and SmartMatch AI features to enhance booking experiences for agents.” Jaal also highlighted that partner engagement remained a key focus, with deeper collaborations across hotels, attractions, and DMCs ensuring diverse and reliable product offerings.
At TripJack, 2025 proved to be a defining year for product innovation and partner collaboration. Hussain Patel, Co-Founder and Director, TripJack, remarked, “2025 was a defining year for TripJack, where our ambition to simplify travel translated into meaningful, measurable progress. Our most significant milestone was the launch of Hotel 2.0, a transformative upgrade to our hotel booking platform that delivered sharper search intelligence, richer content, and a far more seamless booking experience for agents. But what truly shaped 2025 was our consistent connection with our travel partners. Through TripJack Roadshows across India, we engaged more personally, listened more deeply, and built partnerships grounded in trust. In many ways, 2025 belonged to our travel partners as their feedback and collaboration helped us build a TripJack that feels more intuitive, dependable, and aligned with the evolving rhythm of Indian travel.”
Managing Disruptions, Pricing Pressures, and Partner Expectations
In 2025, the travel industry tested its resilience as geopolitical tensions, fluctuating airline capacity, and supply-side volatility across hotels and DMCs created an unpredictable operating environment. For travel companies, the challenge extended beyond internal management to absorbing instability for partners and customers while maintaining reliability and trust.
Echoing the importance of collaboration, Aarish Khan said, “Regional conflicts affected key routes, leading to sudden changes in airline capacity and fares. At the same time, hotels and DMCs faced supply issues, higher costs, and uneven demand, applying pressure on pricing.” He emphasised that closer coordination with partners, better planning, more transparent pricing, and effective use of technology were key to managing these challenges.
For Riya, external shocks once again highlighted the sector’s vulnerability to global developments. Nitin John remarked, “The travel industry has always been susceptible to global developments, and 2025 was no exception. Geopolitical tensions, regional conflicts, and operational disruptions across key corridors once again reinforced how quickly external events can impact demand, pricing, and supply chains in the industry.”
One of the most significant constraints stemmed from fare volatility. John elaborated, “Intense fare volatility, largely driven by fluctuating airline capacity and the entry of multiple carriers on newer sectors, resulted in compressed yields for the trade, placing strain on margins. While increased competition benefited end consumers through lower fares, it made yield management more challenging for the industry.” However, Nitin John noted that strong growth in passenger volumes across segments helped offset some of the impact, allowing businesses to sustain momentum despite a low-yield environment. From a strategic standpoint, he added that “Better capacity planning and closer collaboration between airlines, tourism boards, and trade partners could have helped navigate some of these pressures more effectively.”
At RezLive.com, maintaining consistency amid disruption emerged as a key challenge. Jaal Shah observed, “The travel industry faced turbulence due to regional conflicts, fluctuating airline capacity, and supply-side volatility in hotel services. Pricing pressures across markets added complexity. For RezLive, the most significant challenge was maintaining reliability and consistency across multiple destinations while ensuring competitive pricing. Our direct contracts, strict quality checks, and 24/7 multilingual support helped us navigate these disruptions.”
For TripJack, the disruptions of 2025 were both immediate and deeply interconnected. Hussain Patel explained, “Regional conflicts affected high-volume corridors, airline capacity shifted week to week, and hotel and DMC supply became increasingly unpredictable. For our partners, this meant sudden fare swings, last-minute hotel changes, and heightened pressure to manage traveller expectations. TripJack’s focus was on absorbing volatility so partners could continue delivering reliable journeys. We focused on three operational priorities that made a real difference: tighter supplier coordination for faster issue resolution, improved data signals to detect shifts early, and real-time communication channels with partners during peak instability. Looking ahead, industry-wide forecasting frameworks, unified disruption protocols, and consistent service standards across ground suppliers would significantly reduce the impact of such volatility.”
Scaling with Purpose
As travel demand stabilises and competition intensifies, industry leaders are entering 2026 with clearly defined priorities centred on deepening B2B relationships, strengthening technology ecosystems, and expanding global reach in a measured, value-driven manner.
For TBO.com, the year ahead is about building a more connected and sustainable B2B ecosystem. Aarish Khan said, “Our priorities for 2026 are focused on building a stronger and more connected B2B ecosystem. We want to deepen relationships with our existing partners and selectively expand in markets where we see real potential. Technology will continue to play an important role, particularly data-driven tools that improve efficiency, enhance transparency, and ease of doing business. At the same time, we will stay focused on sustainable growth by aligning our products and market presence with clear partner needs.”
Nitin John pointed out, “Our strategic priorities for 2026 are centred around three key pillars: strengthening our B2B network, deepening technology integration, and expanding our global footprint.” He outlined that the company already operates across seven countries, with established offices in the USA, Canada, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the Philippines, and plans to scale within existing markets and selectively enter new ones where demand for inbound and outbound travel solutions remains strong. “A key priority will be solidifying our roots in the Middle East, where we see sustained growth opportunities and long-term strategic value,” said John.
On the B2B front, Nitin John highlighted active participation in major industry platforms such as OTM, SATTE, ATM, and WTM, alongside Travel Partner Meets and Knowledge Series sessions across India. He said, “Importantly, through such activities, we are committed to reaching the last mile, particularly Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, where significant untapped B2B opportunities exist. Technology remains a parallel focus, with continued investment in building a seamless, intuitive, and scalable ecosystem aimed at enhancing usability, reliability, and partner experience.”
For RezLive.com, priorities for the year ahead are sharply defined. Jaal Shah stated, “Looking ahead, our priorities are clear: strengthening our B2B network by expanding partnerships with travel agents and consolidating relationships with hoteliers and suppliers; enhancing technology integration through automation and data-driven insights to improve partner efficiency; and expanding our global presence by entering new markets and diversifying our destination portfolio to reduce dependency on specific corridors.”
At TripJack, 2026 will continue to focus on strengthening agency capabilities alongside product innovation. Hussain Patel said, “Priorities for 2026 focus on strengthening our B2B network, advancing technology, and expanding our global supply to support the next phase of growth. We plan to deepen our presence across metros and Tier 2 and 3 cities through sharper regional strategies and specialised engagement. On the product side, we will continue investing in engineering, automation, and deepen supplier integrations to simplify workflows and deliver a seamless end-to-end booking experience.” Expanding international hotel content, DMC networks, and airline partnerships will further support rising outbound demand.
New Products, Markets, and Partnerships
As travel companies look ahead to 2026, the focus is shifting from incremental expansion to meaningful differentiation. New products, emerging markets, and strategic partnerships are increasingly being viewed as key levers to help travel agents enhance competitiveness, unlock new revenue streams, and deliver more integrated travel solutions.
Aarish Khan takes a measured view, observing, “We look at new products, markets, and partnerships based on what our partners actually need. Our main focus is on strengthening what we already offer and working with partners who provide better content and a reliable supply. Any expansion is done carefully, to give our trade partners better efficiency, more choice, and a more consistent experience.”
Nitin John reiterated that at the core of Riya’s strategy is a continued focus on empowering travel partners with more profitable and sustainable solutions. “There is a constant endeavour to equip our travel partners with better, more profitable solutions that not only help them sell more effectively to end customers but also retain a higher share of revenue. To achieve this, we are actively in discussions with potential strategic partners to build strong synergies that will add depth to our product portfolio and unlock new earning opportunities for agents,” said Nitin John.
From a market expansion standpoint, Nitin John highlighted that the Philippines and Jeddah are key focus markets for 2026. These regions present strong inbound and outbound potential, and Riya’s growing presence there allows us to develop more localised, high-impact travel solutions for its trade partners.
On the partnership front, Nitin John added, “We already have an ongoing collaboration with the Saudi Tourism Board, which has significantly strengthened our Middle East offerings. Building on this momentum, we are exploring tie-ups with additional tourism boards, enabling us to provide agents with better access, exclusive insights, and destination-focused products that enhance their competitiveness.” Overall, Riya’s approach for 2026 is not just about adding new products or markets, but about creating an ecosystem where travel agents can sell smarter, earn more, and grow sustainably through strong partnerships, relevant destinations, and value-driven offerings.
On his part, Jaal Shah said RezLive is set to broaden its offerings significantly in 2026. “RezLive is set to broaden its offerings with the introduction of air services, visa facilitation, and dynamic packaging solutions. These additions will empower travel agents to deliver more comprehensive, end-to-end travel experiences, combining flights, accommodation, and visa services into seamless, customisable packages,” he said.
Looking ahead, Jaal Shah sees the next phase of growth in emerging markets such as Africa and Latin America, where outbound travel demand is rising rapidly. “Our model of reliable, localised support and strong supplier partnerships positions us to add significant value in these regions. By combining new product verticals with geographic expansion, RezLive will redefine its offerings for travel agents and trade partners, ensuring they remain competitive and future-ready.”
Hussain Patel said, “2026 will be a breakthrough year for TripJack as we move toward a fully integrated, end-to-end travel ecosystem. After strengthening our portfolio with TripSafe and Cabs, we are now focused on unifying all products into a single, seamless ecosystem, reducing fragmentation and giving agents greater control over complete itineraries. We are expanding core supply through deeper airline partnerships, increased direct hotel contracting, and a broader supplier network across cabs and ground services. Key growth markets such as the Middle East, Europe, and Southeast Asia will see enhanced hotel content and stronger DMC support. Partnerships will be central to this journey.”
Hussain Patel also noted that TripJack is collaborating with global hospitality brands, tourism boards, and specialised service providers to bring exclusive content to Indian agents, while also strengthening its technology and payment alliances to improve speed, flexibility, and assurance.
In hindsight, 2025 was less about acceleration and more about alignment. It was a year that quietly reset expectations across India’s travel tech sector, shifting the conversation from volume-led growth to value-led execution, and setting the foundation for a more mature, resilient and partner-centric phase of growth in 2026.
