India, Nov. 12 -- The Covid pandemic and global wars were widely expected to choke international travel. But each time, it came back faster than expected, said VFS Global founder and CEO Zubin Karkaria at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit.

"Whatever geopolitics or whatever environmental conditions are there in the world, travel will always come back, and it will come back with a vengeance," he added.

Crises cause only brief anxiety or logistical hurdles, during which domestic travel picks up, Karkaria said, adding that post-Covid "revenge travel" showed that the urge never waned.

India, he said, has become the "powerhouse" of global mobility, and foreign visits have turned from aspiration to necessity. Thirty years ago, a fore...