Axis Bank marks World Tourism Day with nationwide Tourism & Hospitality outreach engaging 5,000+ customers
Brings flagship MSME knowledge-sharing platform Evolve to Goa for a special Tourism & Hospitality edition
Panjim, 24 September 2026: Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India, is deepening its engagement with the Tourism & Hospitality sector through a nationwide outreach on World Tourism Day. The Bank will engage more than 5,000 customers and recognise approximately 1,000 entrepreneurs and businesses contributing to India’s tourism economy.
As part of the outreach, Axis Bank is hosting a special Tourism & Hospitality edition of Evolve, its flagship MSME knowledge-sharing platform, in Goa. The event brings together entrepreneurs, industry stakeholders and experts to discuss changing traveller preferences, emerging opportunities and the evolving needs of organizations preparing for the next phase of development.
These efforts build on Axis Bank’s broader engagement with businesses across the tourism and hospitality value chain through sector-focused solutions, industry partnerships and specialised banking propositions. The Bank recently partnered with the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) and launched a dedicated Hotel & Hospitality Programme under its MSME portfolio, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the tourism sector.
Tourism & Hospitality encompasses a diverse network of enterprises spanning hotels, resorts, restaurants, travel operators, transport providers, event companies and allied businesses. As these enterprises continue to grow in scale and sophistication, demand has been increasing for specialised financial solutions, digital capabilities and faster access to capital. Axis Bank is working closely with businesses across the ecosystem to address these evolving requirements.
Tourism: A Growth Engine in Transition
Tourism is one of India’s most significant economic multipliers, contributing 5.22% to the economy and supporting 13.34% of total employment. Its impact extends far beyond hospitality, supporting businesses across travel, transport, food services, retail, handicrafts, and local commerce. As India advances towards its aspiration of becoming a $10 trillion economy, tourism-led enterprises are expected to play an increasingly important role in entrepreneurship, job creation and regional development.
The sector is also undergoing rapid transformation. Rising domestic travel, improving connectivity and changing consumer preferences are leading to greater interest in wellness, heritage, wedding, experiential, and spiritual tourism. Businesses are investing in capacity expansion, customer experience, technology, and operational capabilities to meet the rising demand.
As enterprises become more specialised and growth-oriented, they increasingly require banking partners that can provide seamless access to credit, payments infrastructure, transaction banking and sector-specific financial solutions. This is reshaping how businesses access capital, invest for the future, and build long-term resilience.
Building for the Next Phase of MSME Growth
By supporting businesses through different stages of their journey, Axis Bank has built one of the country’s largest MSME franchises. Today, the Bank serves around 1 million MSME customers and has established itself as a leading player in the segment, with an MSME market share of around 8.4%, and 9.3% of incremental industry MSME credit captured over the last five years.
The Bank’s combined Small Business Banking, SME and Mid-Corporate portfolio stands at over ₹3,061 billion, accounting for 24% of its total loan book, with the SME portfolio growing 25% year-on-year in Q1FY27. The portfolio is diversified across ticket sizes and sectors, with 44% of exposures below ₹10 crore.
Axis Bank brings together relationship-led banking with digital capabilities, offering more than 35 MSME products and over 15 digital journeys. Its sector-focused propositions span hospitality, education, pharmaceuticals, rooftop solar, and tailored solutions for women entrepreneurs. Increasing use of transaction data, GST records and digital footprints is simplifying access to formal credit and improving turnaround times for businesses.
Supporting Tourism Enterprises at Scale
For Axis Bank, Tourism & Hospitality is a strategic focus area within its MSME portfolio. The Bank offers sector-specific solutions spanning working capital, collections, payments, cash management, trade and foreign exchange designed around the operating realities of tourism-led businesses.
Its dedicated propositions for hotel and hospitality enterprises include tailored lending, current account offerings, digital payments and payment gateway capabilities, cash management, banking transactions, and trade and foreign exchange solutions.
Together, these capabilities help businesses across the tourism value chain strengthen operations, improve efficiency, and respond to changing customer expectations in an increasingly digitised world.
Goa: Driving Tourism-Led Growth
Goa is one of India’s leading tourism destinations and home to a vibrant network of tourism-led enterprises. The State welcomed over 1.08 crore visitors in 2025, underscoring the scale of economic activity supported by tourism and its allied sectors. Beyond hospitality and travel, growth is increasingly being driven by areas such as destination weddings, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), wellness tourism, staycations and experiential travel.
With more than 1.5 lakh Udyam-registered MSMEs, Goa serves as a strong example of how tourism can drive entrepreneurship, employment, and local economy. This makes it a fitting backdrop for discussions on the future of tourism-led enterprises and the trends shaping the sector.
Evolve: Bringing the Ecosystem Together
As the ecosystem continues to evolve, access to industry insights, peer learning and expert perspectives are becoming increasingly important. This is where Evolve, Axis Bank’s flagship MSME knowledge-sharing platform, plays a meaningful role.
Since inception, Evolve has engaged more than 10,000 entrepreneurs across over 50 cities, creating a platform for business leaders, industry experts and banking professionals to exchange ideas, experiences and best practices.
The Goa edition forms part of Axis Bank’s broader World Tourism Day initiative and brings together stakeholders from across the Tourism & Hospitality ecosystem to discuss evolving business needs, industry priorities and and the realities shaping the sector.
Commenting on the sector’s evolution and the role of MSMEs in shaping India’s tourism growth story, Vijay Shetty, Group Head – Commercial Banking Group, Axis Bank, said: “Tourism & Hospitality sector demonstrates how MSMEs can create economic value far beyond individual businesses. The sector supports jobs, entrepreneurship, and local economic activity across the country while creating opportunities for a wide network of enterprises. As travel demand evolves and new segments emerge, we see significant potential for tourism-led businesses to contribute meaningfully to India’s growth journey. Through tailored solutions, industry partnerships and platforms such as Evolve, we are committed to supporting entrepreneurs as they scale and build sustainable businesses for the long term.”
Prashanth T.S., Group Head – Mid-Corporates & Medium Enterprises Group, Axis Bank, added: “Tourism businesses today are more ambitious, more sophisticated and more digitally enabled than ever before. Whether it is capacity expansion, upgrading customer experiences or managing seasonal cash flows, businesses increasingly require banking solutions tailored to the realities of the sector. At Axis Bank, we are working closely with entrepreneurs across the tourism value chain to help them access the capital, capabilities and support needed to scale and capture emerging opportunities.”–
